While the premise of "Watchers" is interesting, the characters fail as engaging or realistic people. Each character seems to have one major characteristic or life-changing past event from which all of their actions grow.Take, for example, Nora. Essentially locked away for the first thirty years of her life by an emotionally abusive aunt, she experiences wonder and liberation when Travis introduces her to the outside world. While this leads to some sweet scenes, it is largely unrealistic. Lack of contact with the outside world for the initial thirty years of one's life would surely lead to severe psychological issues. It seems to be a creepy idea of the perfect woman-- a beautiful, sheltered creature who cannot wait to be introduced to life and love by our handsome hero, Travis.Speaking of Travis, he spent several years in Delta Force, the top secret anti-terrorist agency. However, we get very little information or detail about these years in his life! Has he killed before? What about his friends? His boot camp experiences? We may never know unless Koontz writes a sequel. For the purposes of this story, his Delta Force experience only serves to make him a handy action hero. However, after the death of his wife, he became guilt-ridden and excluded himself from his friends and neighbors.And so, our heroes are spared the baggage of knowing anyone but each other (with one exception, Nora's family lawyer). I understand that this simplifies storytelling, but for anyone who regularly reads novels for entertainment, it may come off as lazy, especially to fans of such detailed (and conscious of their characters' histories) authors as Stephen King.I would be amiss not to mention Lemuel, who works for the National Security Agency. While a somewhat appealing character, he is as much a one-trick horse as Nora or Travis.The best character is Einstein, the dog. I believe this is because the story is largely about his origin and journey into the world. This is the only Koontz book I have read, but he seems to be good at narrating the moment. When picking up a character in mid-life, however, his grasp of the past-- and how it affects people in the present-- is very sketchy.Other than weak characterizations, I found the story to be excessively action-oriented. The early chapters, especially, focus on not one but two serial murderers. Vignettes of Travis and Nora (in some spots) seem to be brief interludes between scenes of violence.The bottom line: "Watchers" provides a fascinating, albeit action-heavy and character-light, science-fiction story about an equally fascinating dog.
Haven't we all looked at the expression on our pet's face and wondered what were they thinking at one time or another? Koontz takes this notion and runs with it in Watchers. Travis is an ex-military that has lost the loved ones in his life and was taking a walk in the mountains trying to rediscover happiness. He comes upon a Golden Retriever that acts as if he is trying to warn him of impending danger ahead on the trail and convinces Travis to high-tail it in the other direction. He takes the dog home with him and learns that this is no ordinary mutt. This is an escaped secret lab experiment with the intelligence of a human. Travis names him Einstein. Nora has been sheltered her whole life by her extremely overbearing aunt. After her aunt's death, she struggles with coming out of her shell and adapting to the ways of society. Instead, she holes herself up in her aunt's house and trusts no one. In a moment of danger for Nora, she is saved by Travis and Einstein. From here the story really takes off as the two learn the extent of Einstein's intelligence and ability to learn and communicate. They discover that Einstein isn't the only lab experiment that escaped that day. The other one, called "The Outsider", is a monstrous killing machine that will stop at nothing to locate the dog through a mental telepathy bond and destroy him and all who get in the way. Throw in secret government agents trying to get their experiments back and a deranged mafia hit man and you've got a classic Koontz story for the ages.Koontz can be the cock-eyed optimist with his characters. A good always prevails against evil type of tendency. Watchers is no exception. But, the characters are so good and its easy to wish your own dog could do a fraction of the things that Einstein can. The story moves along at a nice pace and even though there are a few times where you roll your eyes at Koontz's infatuation with Golden Retrievers, it all works. Five stars for the dog lover. Four for those that don't.5 out of 5 stars covered in dog droolYou can also follow my reviews at the following links:https://kenmckinley.wordpress.comhttps://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2J1...TWITTER - @KenMcKinley5
What do You think about Watchers (2003)?
Very overrated...I had high expectations for the book, because of the almost universal applause it gets...and it turned out to be yet another Koontz dog novel.The characters in this novel are shallow and cardboard - the ex delta force soldier, a widower, falls in love with an abused woman. Of course despite her abuse lasting for years she gets out of the shell in several months and gets pregnant, drives a car, even uses weapons !The scene when they have weapons hidden all over their house is quite hilarious. Also, of course both of our heroes conveniently either invested their money/or inherited a large sum from a dead aunt, and don't have to work for the rest of their lives...and did I mention that the dog is special ?2 words: You can read this book if you are a Koontz fan, you might even get engrossed in it, but it's one of those books that you forget the moment you put it back on the shelf.
—Maciek
Yet another terrible novel by Dean Koontz. It is evidently fondly remembered because there is a "lovable" dog in the story; also, I suppose, because it was made into a series of B-horror films. It is no better than any other Koontz schlock. Two stars is actually a pretty good rating for a Koontz novel, though, and this is far from his worst. Still definately a waste of time--I don't think I'll ruin your reading experience if I tell you that the monster is some kind of genetically engineered baboon. So, yeah.
—Brett
Can I give more than 5 stars?! I've never been into Dean Koontz books, but this one is different. It tests the boundary between real and sci-fi. Koontz can be brilliant, mediocre, and really bad (I couldn't even finish Darkfall). But when he gets it right, he gets it really, really right! Though I rarely re-read novels, I was excited to pick this one up again after all these years.You will simply fall in love with the characters...including (perhaps especially) the dog. The dog (Einstein) is a brilliant, huggable golden retriever who has escaped the government-funded laboratory that created him. Through altered DNA, Einstein's intelligence is comparable to man's. The lab also created a killer monster that helps soldiers in battle. Unfortunately, the monster develops a hatred for the dog, and has also escaped to kill Einstein and anyone else that gets in it's way. A man named Travis takes in Einstein as a "stray", and has no idea what is about to come. Genetic engineering at it's best and worst. Even the monster garners a small bit of compassion, being the result of bad science. A lot of tension and suspense balanced with light moments, and emotional moments, that left me a tear-stained, snotty, blubbering mess! This story was exceptional, especially if you've ever dreamed of having your beloved dog actually communicate with you. It will make you think dogs and cats actually can talk. (I knew that all along!)Truly one of the BEST books I've ever read. As Dean Koontz himself has said, "...other books I have written are as good, but nothing has been better than Watchers."
—leslye
