‘After Death’ by Dean Koontz

Published by Thomas & Mercer,
18 July 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-66250046- 6(HB)

Michael Mace is a man on a mission.  He is not sure exactly where it is going to take him nor what he will be required to do.  If he gets it wrong all hell could break loose, literally…

A few days ago, Michael had been working as security chief for the so called Beautification Project.  Shelby Shrewsbury, senior biological scientist on the project and his best friend, had asked Michael to take the role because he was feeling increasingly uneasy with the cutting edge enterprise.  Under the guise of cosmetic testing, the research was looking at “nanomachines and archaea” and Shelby was concerned that the findings posed a threat to humanity.  The last time Michael had met with Shelby, the brilliant but painfully shy physicist was grappling with a far more pleasant conundrum; he had fallen in love with Nina Dozier but was too timid to ask her out on a date.  Before Shelby could pluck up the courage for that conversation, though, a devastating event killed Shelby and Michael along with the other fifty-three people working in his lab.  A temporary mortuary was erected, and the affected areas were quarantined for safety and security.  Then, inside the morgue, nanotechnology takes over and things become weird... 

Michael is resurrected and discovers he possesses “uncanny powers” that enable him to inhabit computer programs and manipulate A.I.  He follows a prompting that leads him to the gang-ridden neighbourhood where Nina and her teenage son John have made their home.  John’s father, Aleem, had abandoned both his unborn baby and Nina when he discovered that she was pregnant.  Now, Aleem has decided he wants his son to become a member of his gang.  He pays Nina a visit that is as unwelcome as it is unexpected.  Knowing he will be back to claim John, she is terrified, but Michael walks into her dilemma, driven by an inner belief that John is crucial to ensure the salvation of humankind.  He cannot forget what Sheldon said during their last meeting when he described John as a boy who “could be the hope of the world…”. 

Michael, Nina and John prepare to leave town and foil Aleem’s designs for his son, pursued by the gangsters.  A life and death chase ensues, but the low-life criminals are not the only ones hunting their unfortunate prey.  Durand Calaphas is a dazzling but amoral genius who works for the U.S. government’s Internal Security Agency (ISA).  He needs to eliminate Michael and those in his care, to ensure that no one finds out exactly what was being developed by the Beautification Project.  The born-again security specialist will need to call upon his newly acquired gifts and overcome his peace-loving non-violent disposition if he is going to be able to thwart these formidable adversaries. 

I loved this novel.  It writhes with suspense and tension as it describes a world in which new technology is a tool for evil and exploited by underworld thugs as well as government sanctioned enforcers.  Societal breakdown and governmental corruption are key themes in the novel as criminals and the state use disinformation to control people.  Koontz continues his wonderful habit of inserting literary allusions into his books; in this story he also threads the tender love shared between a good man and woman and a mother and her son.

Exhilarating, emotional and germane, After Death is thought-provoking as well as entertaining.  A brilliant read!
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent

Dean Koontz is acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" nd as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean 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 Koontz lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda.

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.