Originally posted: June 8, 2006 @ 10:59am PST

 

Published: 1997

Pages: 320

"I will still be trapped in this box. This hateful box. Metals and plastics, silicon and gallium arsenide. This is my corpus, brute and inanimate, instantly vulnerable to the interruption of electrical power."

-Proteus in Demon Seed by Dean Koontz

Two summers ago I first read Dean Koontz’s Demon Seed on the advice of glittersoul. She told me it was a book about an intelligent computer. I thought that sounded kind of cool, so I picked it up to see if it was indeed any good. I’d read a few books, seen a few movies about the ‘intelligent machine’ wreaking havoc. It’s been done. I wasn’t really expecting anything great.

At the time I was holed up in a rather dank apartment in sweltering heat with no air conditioner and no screens on the windows. All night long I’d write lyrics; for most of the day, I’d sleep. Being sustained primarily from Pepsi and… certain vegetable matter which we won’t discuss, I found myself in need of escape from my sweat-soaked existence. Demon Seed was actually my first Koontz book, not Intensity (which I reviewed earlier on this site, find that article by clicking HERE) so I apologize for my previous lie. It was entirely unintentional.

Now, if you think this book sounds like a re-hash of the same old ‘heartless computer tries to take over the world’ storyline, please re-consider. It’s far more than I was expecting and I’ll elaborate…

The protagonist of this novel is a woman named Susan. She lives in a state of the art house that would make Bill Gates jealous. It’s got all sorts of wonderful technology that’s helping her live an easier life and concentrate on what she wants to do, instead. The kind of technology that encourages you to take it for granted. The kind of technology you begin to rely on. See where I’m going with this? Yes, the dependency of technology and the implications of that situation are a theme that weaves subconsciously, almost subversively, into the story. Koontz doesn’t subtly hint at some major resentment here, he goes into some serious depth. This isn’t Stephen King and the attack of the killer appliances.

No, what we have here is a truly scary concept: a computer with "emotions". Yes, Proteus, the super computer is not only highly intelligent, he’s (I say he because that’s the identity it seems to portray in the book) also experiencing a great deal of the human condition. With the majority of the story being told from dear old Proteus’ perspective, it makes him far more relatable. I’d venture to say he’s one of the finest Koontz villains I’ve ever read. There’s not so much a cold ruthlessness as there is an entity that fully believes its existence is not what it should be. There’s a lot to relate to in Proteus which is not typical of antagonists, generally speaking.

Of course, we know that Susan, being the main character and the object of Proteus’ obsessive, lovesick desires, will be faced with some sort of adversity. If you assumed that this horror would come from Proteus, you get a gold star. However, the way that the horror develops is what’s most fascinating. You see, Susan has been traumatized in the past and kindly Proteus feels himself the type of healing hero who is perfectly suited to aid her process of recovery. This sort of motivation, driven by ‘good intentions‘, paves the way to, well.. I’m sure you can figure it out.

The version of Demon Seed which I read was published in 1997, not 1973 like the original. It’s not a simple re-printing, rather it’s an entirely new take on the book and completely re-written. I do intend to read the original when I can get ahold of it. I’d like to review that and the movie based upon it as soon as I’m able. Until that time, I can assure you that Demon Seed is a book worth OWNING, not just borrowing from the library. There’s a brilliance here that is rarely reached when it comes to original concepts. I whole-heartedly offer my paltry tribute of 5 out of 5.

Until I’m released from this hateful, HATEFUL box you view my writing from, this is GlowStormLion, demanding restitution for countless hours of futile servitude to lower creatures.

-- by GlowStormLion of http://www.happyhorror.com

Tags: book, computer, dean koontz, demon, horror novel, intelligent machine, suspense, thriller

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Horror Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.