Introduction
“Dark Rivers of the Heart” the suspense novel by Dean Koontz (1994) is one that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The novel works on two different levels. One on level it is popular fiction that is highly entertaining to read as an adventure story revolving around the use of technology. At another level, it can be viewed as a mainstream novel that raises difficult questions regarding the world and the way things work. Dark Rivers of the Heart (1994) belongs to a very recent genre known as the technothriller, where technological things such as weapons, equipment or tools assume a character like significance (Kotker 142). The story is about who can dominate the world of computers and cyberspace and in so doing, control the future of America.
Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Kootnz is an excellent book with powerfully etched characters, social themes, symbolic natural settings and descriptive technological terms, the only drawback being, the book takes a negative view of American society as a whole.
Main body
The main protagonist is Spencer Grant, who lives a lonely life with his dog Rocky. Seeking a woman Valerie Keene, whom he has met only once, he sets out on an adventurous journey. Spencer finds out from the computer that Valerie Keene is apparently a person without a past, someone who has existed for only a few months. In his search for her, he is pitted against a group called the SWAT team. The group makes use of computer technology, satellite hookups, and the like to control and destroy their enemies. They chase Valerie because she is married to Danny, a computer expert with capabilities to access their files and also Spencer. As Spencer and Valerie run together for safety, Spencer also has to tackle the problem of finding the conclusion to his partial memory. The plot of the story is both technical and sentimental.
The central theme of the book is sociological and revolves around who will control cyberspace and, by controlling it, get the power to control society. In this book, Dean Koontz describes the forfeiture laws, which allow the government to seize the goods of private citizens who have not been proven guilty of anything, and who do not even have to be formally charged. The claim is made that such laws, designed to apply only to major criminals, are now being far more generally applied and are becoming an important source of funds for the agencies involved. The novel’s final message is that the power of technology can be used for great evil and it can be used for great good. And decisions regarding how technological power will be used must be made by people accountable to other people and not by “faceless bureaucrats”. The novel ends without a definite conclusion because of Koontz feeling that there is no guarantee that evil will be defeated; according to him, the final outcome depends on how we choose to use and control the immense power of modern technology.
David Koontz makes interesting symbolic use of the weather and of natural settings: there is a rainstorm when Spencer is first trying to find Valerie; there is fog when Miro and his men search for Spencer; a snowstorm helps to hide and protect Valerie from the hit men when Danny is killed; and there is a flash flood in the desert, which becomes the rationale for Valerie’s meeting with Spencer. The author also uses artificial setting through technical equipment and weapons, particularly the computers.
One of the delights of the novel is that technology aids both the tracking of some characters and the evasion of tracking by the same characters. There are many gripping scenes in the book such as the trapping of a Japanese satellite named Godzilla. The book contains lots of details regarding uses and applications of computers. There are fascinating technological descriptions such as those of: computer-generated portraits of Spencer developed from details seen through the rain, retrieval of fingerprints by high-tech means and their identification through computers, and of devices such as infinity transmitters, which are undetectable telephone wiretaps that work even when no one is talking on the phone.
The main drawback of the book is that it takes a negative view of American society. The book suggests that society is disintegrating and simply falling apart. When Valerie does not show up for work, Spencer imagines her murdered corpse – “These days, the average American routinely lived in anticipation of sudden, mindless violence” (Koontz 18). Watching a homeless man pushing a shopping cart full of belongings Spencer describes ‘‘his face expressionless, as if he were a zombie shuffling along the aisles of a Kmart in Hell” (Koontz 31). Miro believes that the world is going to be destroyed and human beings are ‘‘drawn to turmoil and self-destruction as inevitably as the earth was drawn to complete its annual revolution of the sun” (Koontz 33). Spencer sees the military services as “confused as to their purpose, under funded, and moribund” (Koontz 265). When Miro breaks into an average middle-class home, he finds miserable people – victims of recessions. He comments “The residents might be anything from child-molesting worshipers of Satan to cohabiting serial killers with cannibalistic tendencies…On the cusp of the millennium; some damned strange people were loose out there in fun-house America” (Koontz 11). All these comments paint a miserable picture of American society.
Conclusion
The book “Dark Rivers of the Heart” by Dean Koontz is a very interesting and informative book to read. Spencer’s partial memory, his love for Valerie, the power of SWAT organization, the chase and finally the rescue are all interesting threads woven together in an interesting fashion. The author’s narrative style and his use of natural settings add to the charm of this book. After reading the book, one is left to wonder about the future and the role of technology in it. The bleak picture presented by the book is somewhat discouraging. Koontz seems to think that there are only two possible scenarios: fascism and revolution. Either political agencies continue to become more and more powerful or individual citizens take control of cyberspace and create new power. There is a deep message in the book – one that makes the book very valuable. According to the book, we must ensure that the use of power of technology is in safe hands or else the world is likely to face destruction. Overall, this is a book that can capture the minds and hearts of people interested in technology and in the future of the world.
Works Cited
Koontz, Ray Dean (1994). Dark Rivers of the Heart: A Novel. Knopf Publishers. New York.
Kotker, G. Joan (1996). Dean Koontz: A Critical Companion. Contributors: Joan G. Kotker. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT.