Dean Koontz's first big foray into the "mainstream" was 1976's "Night Chills," a techno-horror thriller about mind control through subliminal suggestions. While Mr. Koontz did an excellent job overall, what made this novel especially effective was that something as insidious as subliminals really existed, and the events he depicted could actually come to pass.
Now, 18 years later, Mr. Koontz has taken a whole new set of real-world horrors and set them to circumstances in "Dark Rivers of the Heart."
The story centers on former Army Ranger/former cop Spencer Grant, a miserably desperate man who spends his days with his dog, Rocky, trying come to terms with a past that has left him with a hole in his memory, a huge scar on his face and an even larger one in his soul. Making matters worse is that the one good thing to happen in his life of late, a waitress named Valerie, has disappeared. Although he's only known her for a day, he's so sure she's the key to his future happiness that he sets out to find her.
What he finds is that Valerie isn't what she seems. Instead, she's the object of a relentless search being conducted by a clandestine government agency that will stop at nothing to find her. He also learns that his brief association with her has made him a target, too.
But for Spencer, the real horror comes in the form of a sociopath named Roy Miro, the leader of the aforementioned renegade agency, whose position not only allows him to operate with complete impunity but also gives him access to some very scary Orwellian devices. The fact that most of these devices are real is chilling enough; that they could be (and, according to Mr. Koontz, actually have been) used without constraints by power-crazed government agents to destroy innocent citizens is truly terrifying.
What isn't so frightening, however, is "Dark Rivers of the Heart." Simply, the idea is better than the execution.
The main problem is the characters. As usual, it doesn't take Mr. Koontz long to get the story going. Indeed, the first half of the book has Spencer and Rocky hunting for Valerie while unknowingly (at least for a while) being hunted by Miro, a scenario that culminates in an all-out (and overwritten) chase scene that lasts for more than 40 pages.
Unfortunately, the Spencer character doesn't really jell until he meets up with Valerie in the second half of the book. This arrangement forces Miro and Rocky to carry the entire front half, a task of which neither is capable: The Miro character simply lacks the depth needed to be truly disturbing; and Rocky is a dog, and a rather boring one at that.
The other problem in "Dark Rivers of the Heart" concerns its plot. In addition to the main story line, Mr. Koontz has two seemingly important subplots going. But as it turns out, neither one has any effect on the outcome of the main story. This was extremely disappointing, especially considering the amount of time he devotes to them: I kept wondering exactly how he was going to manage to bring everything together. He doesn't.
Finally, while certain parts of the story are predictable, others parts seem way too familiar for comfort, with glimpses of such past works as "Shattered," "Watchers" and "Whispers" showing through.
Of course, "Dark Rivers of the Heart" isn't without its redeeming qualities: Mr. Koontz at his worst is still pretty good. As in most Koontz novels, the pacing is excellent, there's some pretty good chemistry between Spencer and Valerie, and again, the subject matter is truly terrifying. But in all, these pluses simply aren't enough to overcome the fact that this one is more disappointing than not.
Mr. Krolczyk is a writer who lives in North Carolina.
BOOK REVIEW
Title: "Dark Rivers of the Heart"
Author: Dean R. Koontz
Publisher: Knopf
Length, price: 487 pages, $24