Dean Koontz Ditches Alien, Supernatural In Velocity

Dean Koontz continues improving as an author and has reached the point where he can write a taut, suspenseful novel without relying on the supernatural. Readers following the prolific writer's career are undoubtedly impressed by his continuing growth, and Velocity may be his best work ever. The novel is certainly the one that conjures image of Mary Higgins Clark and Tony Hillerman.

Young actors should be clamoring to play the role of Billy Wiles in any movie adaptation of Velocity even though Koontz work is not especially well known for traveling to the big screen. Koontz fans will undoubtedly spend their reading time looking for a supernatural influence, or at least a government industrial giant hand directing the action, but the author keeps his action plausible and exciting.

That is the most explicit spoiler you'll get from this review.

Velocity is too well written to lose its magic for the sake of literary criticism.

The Plot In Exactly One Hundred Words

Billy is an ordinary guy with the litany of faults we all are saddled with. A nice guy who has lost his way -- bartending and caring for his ill girlfriend, Billy is Everyman with the positive and negative in those characters. He receives a bizarre communication -- he must choose whether a young or elderly woman will die. Both have redeeming qualities, and Billy does the normal thing e shows the note to the local police and dismisses its contents until one woman is killed. Billy soon faces increasingly difficult choices, all of which he feels powerless to stop.

What Works Well

The horrendous choices Billy is offered are easily to relate to while remaining horrible enough to create real tension for the reader. Dean Koontz does a spectacular job in capturing Billy's hesitancy about how these events could be happening to him. As the events escalate, Billy plunges into a constant stream of introspection, questioning and fighting off his vulnerability and self-esteem issues.

What Doesn't Work As Well

Billy's poise and grace under fire may ultimately be a liability. While Koontz shows the vulnerability and fear, Billy is able to quickly recover. Some of that change is likely a form of expediency.

Velocity isn't a Salman Rushdie or Umberto Eco novel, after all, and a Western popcorn audience expects more page-turning and less plumbing the depths of the character's motives. Despite the emphasis on action, Koontz manages to infuse Billy's character with enough depth to make him one of his richest characters ever.

Finally, as the the story progresses, readers may have difficulty sorting out the plot's threads. The novel starts with a bang, but pace yourself, don't skim and you should be fine.

The Bottom Line, Dog Earred Pages and All

Velocity is the culmination of Dean Konntz' growth as a mainstream rather than genre author and certainly one of his most suspense-packed books.

Five Things To Remember From This Review

1. No aliens, no talking dogs, just solid mainstream fiction.
2. Billy is one of Dean Koontz' strongest characters ever.
3. The premise is straight out of Alfred Hitchcock.
4. Velocity would make a terrific movie.
5. The plot goes off in a variety of directions, showing a little more depth than the linear Koontz offering.