Author: Dean Koontz

Even though this book is in the horror category, it doesn't totally belong there. That's because a lot of Dean Koontz books get classified as horror because there doesn't seem to be a good category for his work. In this book an intelligent golden retriever has been created through genetic manipulation--so you could say this is a science fiction book. However you classify it, the book is good.

Koontz has a beautiful way of describing animal to human interaction. The story which seems so far-fetched at first, draws you in, and half-way through the book you find you're totally hooked into this idea, that you believe this dog really can think and communicate with humans. The wonder of that idea is expressed nicely.

I cared about the main characters, and the dog!, and wanted to read another book about them when this one was finished. Alas, Koontz has not written a sequel, and maybe that's just as well since it would be hard to top what he did here. There are other Koontz books that have very intelligent dogs who communicate in various ways, but this one was the first and is my favorite.

I also like this book because the characters develop over time in a believable way, something that is lacking in so many books out there these days.

This is a fun, exciting read. Yes, there are a few gory parts, but they really do seem necessary to the story.