A Werewolf Among Us

by Dean Koontz

People - ordinary people - were afraid of Baker St. Cyr. Patiently the cyberdetective would explain that the computer half of his investigatory symbiosis did not "take over" when his human half joined with it. "A cyberdetective is part man and part computer, meshed as completely as the two can ever be. The highly microminiaturized components of the bio-computer remember and relate things in a perfectly mathematical manner that a human mind could never easily grasp, while the human half of the symbiote gives a perception of emotions and emotional motivations that the bio-computer could never comprehend. Together we make a precise and thorough detective unit."

And also a very dangerous creature. Which St. Cyr never went on to explain...

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Classics, Mystery, Thriller

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorites among the early Koontz novels that were published as straight science fiction novels. It's a mystery with a detective who has cybernetic augmentation to aid him in his investigations. There's a nice romance, too. It's longer than most of his of his other works from the same era, with more nuanced and detailed characterization, and a dollop or two of wry humor. I think it's one of those early books of his that stands up well with his more modern works, though the technology may be somewhat dated. Cool title, too.

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is something like #75 from koontz for me. very first story of his i read, Mr. Murder...paperback that one...early nineties when i read it. and at some point, i picked up a copy of The Dean Koontz Companion and discovered therein that koontz has a pile of titles that are not included on that "also by dean koontz" page, say like at the front-end of mr. murder.

this was before goodreads, before i was "on-line"...and although i looked for these early stories both in bookstores (used books-stores) and online when that became available, they either one were not to be found, or two, so pricey that they were beyond my budget. for whatever reason, reasonably-priced paperbacks are more available now than then.

a werewolf among us, dean r. koontz...he has since dropped the "r."...from 1973, a ballantine paperback. cover art by bob blanchard.
sbn 345-03055-9-125, 211 story-pages long

a dedication: for paul walker--
a blend of two genres
to which we're both addicted.

story begins:
one: a case begun
morbidly curious, the squint-eyed customs official examined the two holes in baker st. cyr's chest. he touched the flange of warm, yellow plastic that rimmed each of the female jacks, and he tried to determine how the flesh had been coerced into growing onto the foreign material.

st. cyr would not have been surprised if the man had sent for a flashlight and begun a detailed visual inspection of those two narrow tunnels in st. cyr's flesh. on a world as serene as darma, largely given over to the sport of the wealthy, a customs chief would rarely encounter anything unusual; therefore, when one of the four baggage inspectors had turned up an odd piece of machinery in st. cyr's smallest suitcase, the chief intended, understandably enough, to milk the incident for all its entertainment value.

"shall we get on with it? st. cyr asked.

you bet. okee dokee then, as the good doctor said (the chicken-coop truant on playing hookie, 1966)...onward & upward.

contents
the chapters are numbered and titled:
one: a case begun
two: rider in the storm
three: suspects
four: an ugly incident
five: a policeman and a girl
six: nightmare and paranoia
seven: the gypsy camp
eight: encounter with a wolf
nine: bloodhounds
ten: another corpse
eleven: a clever enemy
twelve: a murderer revealed
thirteen: proof
fourteen: confrontation with a killer
fifteen: a desperate barricade
sixteen: advice
seventeen: more than a case is ended
eighteen: a new life

time place scene settings
*the time is not provided, neither a fictional time nor a real time whatever that is. call it the future.
*the place is the planet darma, a kind of recreational planet for the extremely wealthy, a planet the reader learns, was colonized much like countries have been colonized in real time...still. the planet darma is one of thousands of planets in a kind of...big...union.
*a terminal/entrance to the planet darma (opening scene)
*the alderban residence, this five-level place built in a remote, somewhat mountainous region of the planet where our hero, baker st. cyr, a cyberdetective, has been called to solve murder
*various rooms in the alderban residence, library, a gathering-room, kitchen, rooms of the family members
*a gypsy camp higher in the mountains, about 40-miles away from the alderban home place
*new chicago, an industrial planet, from which baker st. cyr has left to travel to darma
*norya's silver trailer
*heavy-duty rover...that dane drives st. cyr in to see the gypsy woman

characters
*baker st. cyr, cyper-detective, who wears a kind of shell, a kind of computer that integrates w/his body/mind...when he is wearing the shell. baker st. cyr was the first teenage mutant ninja turtle! ooga booga! kowabunga, dude!
*squint-eyed custom official
*four baggage inspectors
*customs chief
*teddy, w/the voice of a handsome, fair-haired , earnest young boy, the alderban family robot, greets st. cyr at the terminal, brings him to the alderban home place...teddy is a master-unit robot. the reiss master unit corporation of ionus builds/programs units like teddy
*climicon...outfit that controls the environment, manipulates the atmosphere
*leon alderban, the first murder victim
*dorothea alderban, his sister, the second murder victim
*a young couple
*darmanian police...feds (police)
*teddy alderban
*jubal alderban, patriarch of the family, a sculptor...owner of alderban interstellar corporation
*trust lawyers
*jubal's wife, alicia alderban, ten years younger than jubal...44, a classical guitarist/composer
*dane alderban, boy/man, a historical novelist
*betty alderban, a poet, and the 3rd victim
*tina alderban, whom st. cyr developes a hankering for
*a du-aga-klava...werewolf on darma
*hirschal alderban, older brother of jubal, woodsy, naturalist, a kind of tarzan character
*seven limited response mechanicals (robots who serve dinner)
*jubal's personal waiter...one of the above
*the house computer
*an old gypsy woman, norya
*federal police...robotic helpmates
*otto rainy, inspector chief of the darma police
*lesser mechanicals...to do w/the past, key-possession at the alderban mansion
*uniformed techinicians
*walter dannery, former employee of the alderban corporation, fired for embezzling
*jubal's accountants
*dependent children, a sick wife, of walter dannery
*stalker, an old friend...st. cyr's dream/nightmare
*industrial detective talmud...friend of st. cyr's on ionus, another planet
*doctors and lab assistants
*trees, described as "dead men"
*salardi, a stocky man, human, living w/the gypsies...went to this location w/a team of scientists, stayed on
*a boy, seven, norya's brother
*several men...past
*physicians...past
*his mother...past
*a child killed...another
*a silver-black wolf
*bloodhounds...one of which is true dog, blue...may it do ya fine. gotta love the dogs in koontz's stories. blue is a hoot.
*the dogs' trainer, horace teeley...(although he doesn't speak w/a north georgia accent, alas)
*the woman on the other end of the line was genuine
*angela, a woman from st. cyr's past
*autodoc (a kind of 1973 google-search doctor)
*robotic-surgeons
*delivery boy from worldwide communications

a quote or two related to the story
"the largest companies maintained their own protection systems--sometimes their own armies--and, when they employed a million or more people, often had their own set of laws."

too, the alderbans have all been subject to hypno-keying, a kind of brain-washing process that enables their artistic side to elevate...at the expense of their human side...a kind of parallel to the shell that st. cyr wears to make him a better detective

werewolf prevention w/a twist
only with the sap of "dead men" can a werewolf be destroyed

a word
adumbrative landscape

a blue/yellow sighting
she nodded, put down the blue brush, picked up a yellow.

three laws of robotics
1st law: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2nd law: a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law.
3rd law: a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

update, finished, 9 sep 13, monday evening, 9:33 p.m. e.s.t.
good story. the dedication noted above says a blend of two genres...a sci-fi who-dunnit. included in that mix is a story about the perils of modern technology...and some of the portrayals herein echo what is happening in the world around us. a syrian civil war. thousands dead. yet because a gas was used and whatever the number is...yeesh, numbers...whatever the number is, to that, we must strut and fret and crow. as if we know that we have lost our humanity...or something.

herein, murders take place. family members are murdered. the family goes on, returns to the art it pursued prior to death taking one of its numbers.

so yeah, anyway...this story has many of the hallmarks that koontz has become well-known for...a blending of genres. have heard it said that koontz is a genre unto himself.

another thing i considered as i read this...comparing it to some of the titles, early titles now...on the "also by koontz" page where this title and many others are not included...but as i read, i considered this in light of some of those early reads, stories that i have likened to cheesecloth...the fabric is there, but a fabric lacking the pattern and weave of stories he wrote later. this story is different than those cheese-cloth stories...and i'd have to look to provide "proof" of what i mean...

that's not to say that this story is whole cloth. although it did have me turning pages at the end, to see what's what. i don't see the point of trying to rewrite something written. the story as we have it is a good story. the koontz who wrote this in 1973 is not the same koontz writing today in 2013...but i'm glad to have this one from '73.

onward & upward.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** 4.2 STARS ****

What a great title for a book; and just look at that glorious cover.

If you were to take Isaac Asimov's The Naked Sun and add Gene Wilder's Haunted Honeymoon, you woowoowo, you woowoowo, ahem, you'd probably end up with A Werewolf Among Us. This is a fantastic science fiction mystery with great characters.

After having now read 3 excellent Dean Koontz books, I can definitely say, I'm a big fan.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking through my ebooks and saw this from Koontz. I figured "something of his akin to 'Darkfall' or 'Whispers'."

Was I wrong. Originally published in '73, this is a pure scifi romp for the horror/suspense writer. Our protagonist is part detective with a twist: he has a symbiotic computer attached to him to help with the logic while he investigates.

Entertaining mystery.

[Williwaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining detective story with a science-fictional setting. Published in 1973, this book was issued as a paperback original, before Koontz made it big. Probably this book is mostly of interest to Koontz collectors or vintage paperback collectors.

[N. M. D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate mysteries but I gave this a go because my favorite style of story is cop-protagnist-in-fantastical-setting. I can rattle off a dozen movies I love that fit that bill, but I've read few books. I've also only read a couple shorts from Dean Koontz and his early SF stuff seemed decent.

Baker St. Cyr is not a real detective though--he's a PI. And he's the stereotypical noir-ish Detective Dark Past. The whole book feels like borderline satire. The murders happen amongst a wealthy family of useless, lounging oddities, living in a mansion on huge grounds, where no one ever sees or hears a murder in time. The red herring--in very Doylian fashion--is a potential supernatural explanation for the murders.

But the classic elements have been injected with SF steroids. The whole climate-controlled planet is for rich people. The mansion is so big you need a map. Everything is techy and robots serve everyone. The family has had the creativity centers of their brains artificially stimulated so they can paint and sculpt and write poems all day.

And then there's St. Cyr, who attachs a computer to his chest, fusing it with his mind to help him decipher things better.

It's a servicable bit of pulp, but I didn't care about anyone. The rich colonists could all go die; the suppressed native species were fine in their tragic way, but their presence is brief and not alien enough; and the lead is kind of a dick. He immediatatly wants to bed one of the 18-year members of the family as soon as he lays his very wolfish eyes on here. He doesn't react strongly to much, and he doesn't engage enough with his environment. One of the things that makes Asimov's Robot series great is that the lead has to investigate crimes on other planet's--and suffers harsh culture shock and new social restrictions on each world. St. Cyr is unaffected by his too-familiar surroundings.

It's very much a book writen by a man, with constant sexually-fuelled observations and efforts towards the main female character. It's rare that I physically roll my eyes while reading.

I also guessed the killers identity in the first ten pages, which doesn't feel like the intent.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been searching for a copy of this book for what feels like eons! So happy I finally found one. And, you know, I fully expected to be disappointed. Hear me out. Even the best have to start off somewhere and so it's only common sense to think that a lot of Koontz' earlier works might not be quite the polished greatness that are his most recent works, right? Wrong. I really thought this was different than a lot of the things he writes, but still just really freaking good. And the whole sci-fi element was wonderful. He has a really good grasp on what makes a great futuristic world (the believable factor) and combines old with new in this tale. Bravo. I honestly should have never doubted my favorite author.

[Mark Edlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science fiction - an interesting mixture of mystery and science fiction. Despite being written in the 1970's it has aged quite well. There is an interesting bit where the phone lines to the house are cut but good use of technology despite this. Koontz incorporates Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics quite nicely. Baker St. Cyr is a computer-enhanced detective asked to solve a murder which appears to be impossible to have been done. Are there really werewolves on the planet?
No Canadian or pharmacy references.

[James D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously one of Koontz' older works. The beginnings of his career of brilliance are all laid out here. Some fine tuning needed but a good story nonetheless. Worth an afternoon. Anyone comparing this work to later work by Stephen King shouldn't review books. If they would want to compare this to King's earlier works, go ahead. It will stand up to anything pre 1980. King and Koontz are equally compelling and talented. Comparisons need not be made. Enjoy both. Not everybody likes everything they read. "Couldn't get past the first few chapters" is a very poor and petty excuse of a book review.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow start, but a good ending. Still in the science fiction genre, but the horror is starting to come through

[Tommie Haag · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://www.tomfury.se/wordpress/2012/...

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear)]

I bought this book for next to nothing after reading other books by Dean Koontz. It is interesting to see how he developed as a writer, starting with, among others, this werewolf story.

[terrence ritchey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grrrr not as smooth as I thought

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd Koontz, 3 homeruns.

Flesh in the Furnace, Nightmare Journey and now Werewolf. Loving this early koontz dive. Don't remember who told me to grab his early early works but thank you!

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and thought it was quite a good twist on a combination of story types. The detective investigating a series of gruesome and puzzling murders of a single household, combined with local folklore putting the deaths done to a local legend of a werewolf.
The variations come in the Sci-fi elements added by Koontz. The detective is pair (in the sense of being directly connect to) an AI who aids him in has investigations. The household in which the murders take place is overseen by a AI Majordomo.
The story explores a few themes quite well which is impressive given the relative shortness of the book. We look at why sophisticated and educated people can still get sucked into local folklore, what happens to peoples mental state when they undergo treatment to identify their latent ability and they have the money and leisure time to simple do nothing else. The is staple mystery theme of revenge and the old Sci-fi standby of can robots do harm to people. All in all a good read for a shortish book

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

People - ordinary people - were afraid of Baker St. Cyr. Patiently the cyberdetective would explain that the computer half of his investigatory symbiosis did not "take over" when his human half joined with it. "A cyberdetective is part man and part computer, meshed as completely as the two can ever be. The highly microminiaturized components of the bio-computer remember and relate things in a perfectly mathematical manner that a human mind could never easily grasp, while the human half of the symbiote gives a perception of emotions and emotional motivations that the bio-computer could never comprehend. Together we make a precise and thorough detective unit."

[D.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Werewolf Among Us" is pretty much a murder mystery with a bit of sci-fi tech added to the mix. I agree with other reviews that this early work by Koontz shows promise but it's obvious he hadn't reach his full potential yet. A lot of the writing felt like he was trying to hard -- it wasn't the effortless narrative he later develops.

Even though I had figured out who the murderer was half-way through, it's still a worthwhile read. The plotting is good and he introduces the interesting concept of "hypo-keying." He should have done a whole story about that.

If you're looking for a quick, easy read, this should fit the bill.

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun plot spinner that makes a reader realize how much a master Stephen King is.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

couldn't read much past the first few chapters

[Janay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't care for it. Hard to get into. Disappointed in overall.

[Bill Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of Koontz's earlier works before he found his niche--not very good.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very different than the typical Dean Koontz book, but not bad.

[María]

This isn’t what I was looking for in Koontz. Scy-fi and werewolfs in the future. Maybe some other time but not likely.