False Memory -- a Memorable Read

I've never considered Dean Koontz a very good writer. Now don't get me wrong -- I'm an avid Koontz fan, and I've probably read 90% of the books he's authored. But in my experience, there are good writers, and there are good storytellers, and rarely does an author fall into both categories. Good writers write for the love of the language. They've mastered the art of prose, and you read their work for the writing more than for the story. Good storytellers, on the other hand, know how to tell a story. They write real page-turners, but their prose often leaves something to be desired.

Dean Koontz is an author that I've always labeled as a great storyteller. His pacing is marvelous, his plotting is intricate and creative, and he successfully grabs my interest from the very beginning of chapter 1 in most of his work. Yet I've always found his writing left something to be desired -- like he was just trying too hard. If you've gotten through his earlier works, you've probably heard street lights described as sodium vapor lights more than fifty times. Ladies and gentleman, can you say "repetitive"?

But I'll admit that I've been revising my opinion lately. After "Seize the Night," "Fear Nothing," and now "False Memory," I think Dean Koontz is finally coming into his own as a good writer and a great storyteller. Of course, "False Memory" is not going to win any Nobel Prize for literature, but it is a real accomplishment for Koontz.

"False Memory" is the perfect story for the turn of the millennium -- a story of technology, madness, and perfectly justified paranoia. It is the story of Dusty and Martie Rhodes, a happy, mentally healthy, young couple whose lives are turned upside down when Martie begins to suffer from a bizarre phobia -- autophobia, or the fear of oneself. She is suddenly afraid that she will hurt herself or others -- that she is capable of heinous acts of destruction with the simplest of objects.

Koontz is very good at raising the stakes, and he does this incredibly well in "False Memory". What starts off as an almost laughably frightening panic attack over her own shadow, rapidly becomes a nightmarish descent into madness for Martie, her husband, and a host of other likeable characters in "False Memory."

What I liked best about this novel was the characterization. I grew to care about Martie, Dusty, Dusty's half-brother Skeet, and the rest of the motley cast. I grew to despise the chillingly drawn villain, Mark Ahriman, psychotherapist and sociopath extraordinaire. And, in spite of Koontz's reputation as a creature writer, there is nothing supernatural about this evil-doer.

And in this, "False Memory" plays on some very good fears. Anyone who has even thought about seeing a therapist would think twice after reading the latest from Koontz. Mind control. Conspiracy. Murder. This book would have made a great X-file.

The plot of "False Memory" is tightly woven and intricately threaded, which is amazing considering the number of characters and the depth of the storyline. When Koontz puts something up there on the stage, you can be sure it's going to be used later on. Nothing is wasted in "False Memory". I particularly loved the haiku theme that ran throughout the novel. It was alternately hilarious and horrifying.

This use of theme ("Haiku"), in-depth characterization (including character background), and his generally-improved writing really puts Koontz on the platform with the really good writers.

"False Memory" was an ambitious work for Koontz. Not since "Watchers" has he succeeded so well in a novel. "False Memory" is the kind of novel that should make people sit up and pay attention to the horror genre. There is some great writing and some great storytelling going on in the horror scene, and "False Memory" especially should make this ring true.