The Watchers Book Review

I have never been one to like science fiction movies or books. I’ve steered clear from anything about genetically-altered monsters with doctors in labs as well as books with the storyline involving aliens like E.T.  Robots taking over the world. I always get bored and choose a new book by the first chapter. This is why the novel “Watchers,” by Dean Koontz, was such a pleasant surprise.

Since Watchers follows a sci-fi-like storyline, I wasn’t too excited to get into it. However, by the end of the first chapter, around the time I would have given up on most sci-fi books, I was fixated on it. In just the first 15 pages, the author Koontz had already intrigued me and made me question who all these seemingly random and unrelated characters were, and how they come into play later.

In this novel, a golden retriever named Einstein befriends the down-out-of-luck Travis Cornell. Einstein can communicate in almost human-like ways and latches onto Cornell. Throughout the course of the book the reader comes to realize that Einstein is not the only peculiar animal. The Outsider, a devious creature from Einstein’s past, starts hunting the loving and cared for dog. Cornell and everyone he has met through Einstein are put in danger, whether they knew it or not.

Each chapter left me with questions, and most of them weren’t solved until the end. I spent from 9 to 12 p.m. reading Watchers and only taking breaks along the way to make mint hot chocolate and get a snack. After a goodnight’s sleep I picked it up again that following morning, happy that it was in fact the weekend so I would have the whole rest of the day to finish it at leisure. Then, everything made sense and was completed in a neat package.

These questions and surprises kept coming along with a plethora of diverse characters to follow. From assassins to friendly veterinarias, I had to highlight and go back to certain pages to keep from confusing each character too much. At first it’s hard to believe what all these characters will have to do with each other, but as they go about their lives each character intertwines in and out of other characters lives until their purpose in the novel is made clear. This was a style of writing I hadn’t seen much of but in the end really enjoyed because of how it kept me reading. Nora Devon, a socially awkward and timid 30 year-old, ends up helping Cornell in ways I didn’t expect. Vince Nasco, a cold blooded killer, ends up having a run in with all things connected to Einstein.  

Another memorable aspect of this novel is not only its abundance of characters but how easy they are to fall in love with and root for. The retriever is one of those characters. His intelligence helps him determine when people are feeling down and how to help brighten their mood based on the situation. The name “Einstein” seemed to fit this gifted dog because of his high intelligence.

It was easy to fall in love with Einstein and his fun loving personality, but what threw me about this book was the way Koontz could make the reader feel empathy for the creepy creature in the forest terrorizing California. He does this by giving the creature human characteristics like his love for Minnie Mouse.

These characteristics caused me to feel for the ugly monster given the name “The Outsider.” Even the name provoked my emotions since I feel empathy for any outsider, whether they’re a little kid or a gnarly yellow eyed monster.

I never expected to like this book but I was pleased with the shocking new revelations the author threw in. This wasn’t just another sci-fi book. I even surprised myself a bit by falling in the emotional trap and pitying the yellow-eyed be-header of a creature called The Outsider.