I was a little worried about reading a Dean Koontz. I read one of his in high school and it gave me nightmares so I never picked up another. However, I must say that I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a remarkable story, it was well written and I enjoyed the development of the plot and the characters. I like a story where the characters are real, believable and grow.

The only issue I had with the book was with the hitman Vince. I thought he was sadistic and was a little grossed out at first reading the many murders he committed in the first few pages. I was glad when Nora and Travis got the better of him, and thought "haha!" when he discovered he wasn't immortal. But even he was a well developed character that was believable in a psychoanalyzed way.

The language in a few places didn't bother me as much as it probably should have, I think the language lent to the persona of the characters who used it, and in the scenes it was used in gritty ways in stressful, terrible scenes. Even the sexuality wasn't overt, which was nice.

I enjoyed the concepts that man was god in embryo, and that with the ability to create comes immeasurable responsibility. It is an ethical question that even if we have the ability to create in a lab setting, engineering what we bring into being, should we? Einstein is remarkable, lovable (and made me want to run out and get a golden retriever)and a triumph of what we can create that is good and wholesome. The Outsider even deserves some pity for its role, its suffering and awareness that it was forever on the outside and an aberration of life, a miscarriage of the powers of creation.

I would recommend it.