Nightmare Journey by Dean R. Koontz (1975)
I view Nightmare Journey as an end-stage early-stage Koontz novel. Koontz had already published over thirty novels in various genres (mystery, crime, suspense, adventure, horror, gothic, sleaze*, mainstream, and science fiction, and 1975 appears to be the rough jumping off point where he would begin his major best-selling career. His first major success, Demon Seed, was two years behind him, and the movie adapatation of the novel two years ahead. In later years he would drop the middle initial, update his physical appearance, go ga-ga over golden retrievers, and produce highly readable but frustrating highly readible but frustrating novel after novel. Life for Dean Koontz is good, and life in the 60s and early 70s was also pretty good as he learned his craft.
One way Koontz kept stirring the pot in his early science fiction novels was to toss in a lot of imaginative ingredients, roil them around in the cauldron for a chapter or so, then move on. the world-changing, sometimes galaxy changing, climax would come on suddently, mumble a few platitudes, then stop. The end. These early works were interesting, entertaining, basically forgettabe pieces of fluff. With Nightmare Journey and a few other books from that time, he appears to be trying to move from that template.
Joun Clute, in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, wrote, "Of those novels written within in a more normal sf frame, Nightmare Journey (1975) stands out, though overcompicated; it impressively depicts a world 100,000 years hence when humnaity, thrust back from the stars by an incomprehensible Alien intelligence, goes sour in the prison of Earth, where radioactivity has speeded mutation, causing a religious backlash."
And let me quote from Richard E. Geis's 1975 review of the book: "Dean R. Koontz has never been known for his depth or ease of characterization (even though he tries, he tries...) and his newest sf novel [...] is of his usual qalulity.
"Dean, from the beginning of his writing career (perhaps even in the myraid sex novels he wrote early-on) has been a do-gooder, an anti-authoritartian Liberal in the philosophies expressed in his stories. He has killed God a lot, and revolt against future dictatorships has been high in his favor.
"In this novel the brotherhood of man and of all telepathic beings is affirmed...except, of course, mankind turns out in the end to be superior in the psi depts. We are eventual rulers of the sevagram, I presume, after an incubation period on Earth.
"See, in the beginning, mankind went to the stars and eventually ran into superior beings -- telepaths -- who made us feel like turds. Mankind shrank back to Earth and played masturbatory games with his genes, with artificial wombs, and indulged in a final world war that wiped out civilization and left all kinds of ruins and wonders and a scattering of still-functioning devises and robots and such.
"In the time of the novel there are the Pures (a residue of parasitic, non-telepathic humans of 'normal' genetic makeup who practce a self-serving racist religion; their holy mission is to rid the ranks od tainted, genetically variant, humans) and the intelligent, surviving, viable results of artifical wombs whom the Pures contemptuously consider animals-that-talk.
"Jask is a Pure who suddenly developed telepathic powers (the seeds are sproutng...). He escapes, links up with a telepathic bear-man, and they eventually link with a party of three rather Different telepaths. The group seeks out the Black Presence -- an alien Watcher stationed on Earth to monitor mankind.
"There is danger, love, etc. as Jask gradually overcomes his Pure religious training and accepts his telepathy and the others as humans."
There is a soupcon of Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human here and a dash (unusual for an early Koontz SF novel) of sex.
When I finished the book, I really wasn't satisfied, but -- contrariwise -- was glad I read it.
I have only read one Koontz book and it was too scary for me.
ReplyDeleteI tried only one so far, DEMON SEED, and it was too clumsy and dopey for me, so I haven't ever tried again, though have accrued other DK texts because of issues of FANTASTIC, Ace Doubles, and the like, and I think one from gathering the knowledge that some of them were ghosted-from-outline by Ed Gorman.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, when I told Ed about the episode of the absurdist comedy series CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL which made an intentional muchness of a supposed upcoming visit to the hospital by Dean Koontz, I think Ed was amused and alarmed in nearly equal measure.
The excerpts you provide sure read like a Dick Geis review, all right. And the other like a Clute! Funny how them writing those can lead to that. And there are those who continue to insist that Koontz has enjoyed an alphabetical good fortune of having his books stacked rather closely to Stephen King's, but I suspect that the fact that both writers have many of the same flaws (not least logorrhea), and probably much of the same appeal to those willing to overlook them, are overestimating how often that propinquity was going to work all that readily in Koontz's favor till after DEMON SEED was the kind of minor hit it was. Don't think it did much for for William Kotzwinkle, for example.
Todd, Gorman wrote one of Koontz's Frankenstein novels (CITY OF LIGHT), although his name was delated from later printings (as was Kevin J. Anderson's name from later printings of the first Frankenstein novel, PRODIGAL SON). In addition, Gorman wrote the graphic novel TRAPPED, adapted from a Koontz story.
DeleteWas it only those two, Jerry? I had a sense there was at least one other Ed did the lion's share of the work on, but easily could be incorrect in this.
Delete