Watchers
Published: February 1987
Author: Dean Koontz
Genre: American, Animals, Fiction, Genetic Engineering, Ghost, Hard Science, Horror, Literature, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
Check the summary of this book here:
The Review
Dean Koontz wrote the thriller Science Fiction Watchers. Watchers, along with Strangers, Lightning, and Midnight, are credited with launching Koontz's career as a best-selling novelist. The novel is a fast-paced adventure set in the 1980s, before mobile phones, the Internet, or caller ID, and when phone books and public payphones were the standards.
It is not continuous action. There are portions where the key characters, both protagonists and villains, are developed in-depth. The two antagonists are genuinely terrifying pieces of work. One is a professional assassin who has an unhealthy idea that by murdering people, he may achieve immortality, while the other is a genetic abomination designed to kill. Mr. Koontz takes so much time fleshing them out that the reader is on edge even before the climax.
Despite the mutant murdering so many people, the author does such a superb job that I felt sorry for it. The amazing dog Einstein was the actual thrill for me. I was more worried about the dog's survival than about the people.
Mr. Koontz presents extremely horrific scenes that some readers may find excessive. The genetic organism is called "The Outsider," and it not only has a telepathic link to Einstein, but it is also obsessed with murdering the dog. Only at the end of the book will you realize why the novel is titled 'Watchers.'
Watchers by Dean Koontz is another of my all-time favorite books. I've read this story countless times over the years, and every time I enjoy it more! I bought the paperback, hardback, kindle, and audio edition of the book to ensure that I always had it ready to read, and I always buy all forms of a book that I enjoy or if I like the author, as I often state. When I saw the option to purchase an E-book copy, I leaped at it.
What can I write about this gripping story? Beautiful story! Unbelievable and terrifying storyline! As you read from one terrible event to the next, your heart will race!
The Outsider is a terrifying nightmare monster. It destroys mirrors wherever it goes because it despises its own reflection.
These two items were produced by the military as possible weapons, and The Outsider despises Einstein and wishes to destroy him at any cost.
And this is the story's fundamental premise: The Outsider is seeking Einstein, and Einstein is trying to hide and avoid capture by the Government, the Military, or The Outsider.
There are various other components to the plot as well, including Travis's life, Nora's history, and her connection with Streck.
In varying degrees, the book covers a wide range of distinct characteristics of good and evil, or good and terrible.
Can the hero and heroine, as well as the book's star, a beautiful, clever dog, withstand an incredible terrible extraterrestrial opponent and a horrible, vicious human enemy?
I can only highly recommend reading this story! In my opinion, it is one of Dean Koontz's greatest works, if not his best.
A delightfully terrifying, emotional, insightful, amusing, and enthralling novel whose characters will tug at your heartstrings and stay with you for the rest of your life!
Einstein, sometimes known as Fur Face, is the most memorable fictional dog I've ever met.
Everything Koontz writes in his afterword is accurate since I've had the same talks about Watchers with my fellow readers, many of whom are now going to go back and reread it.
This is vintage Koontz at his finest! And if wishes were horses, there would be a sequel eventually!
You may think that the following few words of this review are about the movie adaptation of this book, but that is not the case. The book is excellent and highly recommended, but the movie is just that, a movie, and you will understand what I mean after reading the following...
This book has inspired four films, all of which are based on the tale. The first was filmed with the star as a teenager (in the novel, the male is an adult in his 30s), a teenage female friend, and the dog. I definitely advise you to read the book!
The book inspired a series of low-budget horror films.
-1- Watchers (1988)
-2- Watchers II (1990)
-3- Watchers III (1994)
-4- Watchers Reborn (1998)
I saw these movies, and while they are not a true adaptation of the book, they are nonetheless enjoyable to watch if you want to relax or pass the time.
Travis is a sixteen-year-old youngster in the film adaption, while Nora is his mother. The Outsider is called OXCOM, and Vince Nasco is changed with NSO agents seeking for the monster. Travis has a girlfriend called Tracey as well.
I discovered a few links for these movies, but I felt they were untrustworthy for more than a few individuals, so I'll put them here as soon as I find suitable links or if someone can supply me with decent ones.
The film does not do the book credit and does not contain the plot as it is written! Worse, the following two remakes of this fantastic narrative strayed so far from the book's plot that the filmmakers should be ashamed to have named those films after such a brilliant book.
SO, if you see a movie named "Watchers" with the author Dean Koontz's name on it, be advised that the film does not mirror the genuine tale in the book!
Final Thoughts
One of the most adored tales I've ever read. Watchers was by far my favorite of all the books in which I enjoyed several of the stories since they had heart. I've always wanted an intelligent dog named after Albert Einstein.
The story of the watcher pierced my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I was hoping that the movies they created would accurately depict the plot, but I believe none of the attempts came close. But, alas, no. So Einstein will live on fondly in my mind.
From Travis, the primary character, to Einstein, the major purpose of the tale, there is some amazing character work in this book (Einstein is easily one of the best characters in the book). Characters like Streck, on the other hand, are written with amazing depth and thought, making them extraordinarily well thought out and intriguing characters in the plot.
Nora is maybe the finest character in the entire novel. She has a lovely and caring personality, and Koontz does an excellent job of portraying her. She is an interesting and complex character, believable in her problems with marital abuse and also in her interactions with Travis and Einstein.
The Outsider is another fascinating figure, as you attempt to view the world through its dark eyes and darker heart, with its hate and contempt for everything, nonetheless, you can see why it feels this way.
This is an epic thriller that, despite its age, demonstrates how clever Koontz was even back then. This is an excellent read that you will enjoy regardless of genre.
Even before Michael Crichton's 1990 book 'Jurassic Park,' Mr. Koontz used 1987 'Watchers' as a springboard to address science's moral restrictions and the future of recombinant DNA.
He also discusses the significance of vaccinating pets and the contentious subject of employing animals in scientific study. In the Afterword, the author remarked that 'Watchers' was his best-received novel. If the supporters are also dog lovers, I can see why. It's a solid, simple journey.
I could go on and on about DNA restructuring or tweaking DNA for research and modification to solve some genetic abnormalities in people, such as death, which is encoded in our genetics, or DNA and we must remove this time bomb that causes us to age.
The same is true for cloning; we can clone our best minds and combine them with the use of DNA and genetic research, and even control it all, but the problem is fake morality, which is causing humanity to suffer for the benefit of a few who know that if we win this war, the rule of a few will be over.
I simply wanted to add the preceding few paragraphs since the issue in this book is the same, but I believe we can use all of these divine technologies for the good of mankind while still controlling evil corporations and nations from utilizing them against us, the people of the entire planet. In simple words this book is really, really, really hundred percent recommended.
Synopsis
“A “superior thriller”(Oakland Press) about a man, a dog, and a terrifying threat that could only have come from the imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.
That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation...”
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Rating: 100/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.
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