'Watchers' - Dean R. Koontz, 1987

​Perhaps unluckily for me, this was the first Dean Koontz book I ever read. Since then, no other book of his has matched up to this fantastic story.

The character of Travis is brilliant. And this tortured soul befriends a rather amazing dog who quite literally saves him and leads down a path of suspense and wonder.

I'm in awe of how he cleverly gives two points of view of a certain character in the book. He also terrifically employs a 'dual narrative' concept. These two separate story threads slowly and inexorably come together at the end of the novel.

My copy of 'Watchers'

The book has a hyper-real quality to it. A sort of an unreal quality. Even though it's gritty and grimy - at times it has a slightly hypnotic edge to it. Dreamy even.

But it's the characters; the characters that make this book so, so good. And Koontz uses exposition so brilliantly. There are times when you will be on the edge of your seat reading this.

I think the design of the cover for this book is superb. I love the blurred grass and there is a real sense that this is the 'point of view' of something as it quietly watches the house.

This book is full of great tension. Also, it makes you think about 'perspective' and how a point of view can be so different between two people - and yet both can be perceived as being 'right'.