Quicksilver
Dean Koontz
Thomas & Mercer 2022
ISBN-13: 9781542019903
Before reading Dean Koontz’s new fantasy crime novel, “Quicksilver,” be prepared to suspend reality and embrace characters with superpowers. And, as is typical for Koontz, whose books carry moralist messages on good and evil and seek the best of humanity, this one is no exception.
Three-day-old Quinn Quicksilver is abandoned on an Arizona highway, rescued by three men and is raised in a nunnery until he is nineteen when he gets a job with a local magazine. He’s content with his life until a magnetic force draws him to a remote place where he finds a valuable coin. Days later, he is surrounded by menacing American military-type agents who are referred to call as “Gestapo light.” He escapes, but only after killing both of them with his car. Mystified as to why anyone would threaten him, Quicksilver determines it may be connected to his earlier highway rescuers.
… rich in narrative and philosophy.
Once again, a magnetic force pushes him toward a deserted farm house where the agents are holding two people hostage. Quicksilver, with his intuition, rescues Bridget Rainking, who also possesses similar intuitive powers, along with her grandfather Sparky, who has a past he’s reluctant to discuss. Rainking explains to Quicksilver that it was no accident he came to their rescue: “Several sequences in our genome are not human.” Both were born fatherless, had unique visual and sensory powers, and both shared a unique DNA.
In a dramatic and tension-filled scene, the trio is chased by the agents using drones and heavily armored military tanks. They battle aliens who have come to destroy the world. They name them “Screamers,” who have six fingers that resemble tentacles, with gray and sinuous-like talons. These characters, explain Rainking, have been “welcomed into our world, by someone who’s been consumed by such an intense desire for power…”
The three, joined later by a seer, assume the role of guardians and set out to rescue those who are victims of drugs, sex exploitation and human trafficking. This particular novel was hard to fathom, even for a fantasy, but as always with Koontz, it’s rich in narrative and philosophy. Still, for me, Quicksilver was a quick read that quickly overflowed with disbelief.
Whomever wrote this review did not actually read the book. The synopsis is rife with errors. Quinn was 3 days old, not 3 years old, when he was found. He did not kill the agents in the diner. Not with his car or any other way. Conflating scenes is not great for a review.
Dear Laura, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We do strive for accuracy. We will take up this issue with the reviewer to whom the book was assigned and correct the errors soon. Again, mank thanks.
UPDATE: I asked our reviewer to double-check her review and here is her response: “Again, I apologize for my mistake on Quinn’s age. My review does not say he killed anyone in the diner. It says days later…he drives into an abandon ranch where there were two men who were dressed like the men in the diner (agents). On man shoots the windshield out of t Quinn’s car: “A guy in there heard me coming and drew his gun and squeezed off a round…. At this point Quinn “stomped on the accelerator.” One guy had a broken neck. The two men were dead. I don’t think it needs a correction.” We will correct his age. Again thanks for spotting this for us.