Product Description

In a chilling novel of artificial intelligence by the author of Cold Fire and Twilight Eyes, a computer with human-like qualities develops criminal obsessions and a capacity for violence. Reprint.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1531147 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover

Review
“[Koontz] can scare our socks off.”
—BOSTON HERALD

“A master storyteller, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking, but always riveting.”
—SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

“One of our finest and most versatile suspense writers.”
—MACON TELEGRAPH & NEWS

“His prose mesmerizes…Koontz consistently hits the bull’s-eye.”
—ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT

About the Author
Dean Koontz was born into a very poor family and learned early on to escape into fiction. His novels have sold over 200 million copies worldwide and more than thirty have appeared on national and international bestseller lists. He lives in southern California with his wife, Gerda and a vivid imagination.

Customer Reviews

Needs to be re-released with BOTH versions included.
When I read this 1997 version of Demon Seed I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I did feel that it lacked a certain something that I couldn't quite put my finger on(besides length.) Then I spotted the original 1973 first edition in all of its tattered, musty glory at a second hand store. While I was somewhat turned off by it's yellowed pages and slight odor, what more could I ask for at twenty five cents? Plus I had heard that the original was slightly different and very hard to find. I had expected to find the same story with a few different charactor names and phrases but found myself reading a very different story.

This review is being written to contrast both versions of this novel and make others more aware of the original, which desperately needs to be brought back. I am assuming that anyone reading this review has already read or has become familiar with the plot of the 1997 version through reading other reviews.

I was immediately elated to find that this 1973 version(#1) favors Susan's point of view, which is completely absent in the new version(which I'll call #2, so I don't confuse anyone.)Proteus does speak in his/it's perspective in an interview like in #2, but not nearly as much. Susan is timid, shy and reclusive and seems much finally being able to know her thoughts gives her character a much more fragile and innocent disposition, unlike the tough willed, strong character that she conveys in #2.
While there are a lot of similarities there are also many differences between the plots of 1 and 2 that make each one uniquely different.
Susan's "Therapy" in #2 is termed Computer bleeding in #1, a process in which she actually has holes in the back of her neck which literally plug her into the jacks in the system in order to relive/repress her painful memories from the past.
Alex, her ex-husband, is not portrayed as the heartless abuser he was in #2 but as a patient and loving husband whom Susan could not get close to because of her issues from her past(She was raped by her sadistic Grandfather, among other things).
There is no creepy helper(I forget his name at the moment but I'm sure you know who I mean) to kill off unwanted visitors and keep Susan in line, this is done instead by little grey tentacle-like beings created by Proteus called Amorphous alloys. Proteus also controls Susan through the use of subliminals(he gets into her head and forces her to do whatever he wills her to do, THAT sounds familiar.)
Susan's pregnancy occurs at a slower rate of 10-11 months in #1 rather than the speedy gestation of a mere 4-5 months in #2. Also, the freaky offspring is much different, though equally horrifying.
There are also many other differences but hopefully I've interested enough to try to track down the original.

Honestly I find it difficult to choose which version is the superior one. I think I prefer #1 because Susan's point of view was desperately needed and makes her so much more likable as a heroine who overcomes so much in the story. However, because of such an emphasis being placed on Susan this time around, Proteus' developing personality/love/obsession regarding Susan was not explored enough to be believable for me. The only reason why this wasn't an issue was because I was already very familiar with the psychological dynamics of the lovesick computer program from reading #2.
It is also evident that many of the differences between 1 and 2 were probably changed because they didn't really make sense.
In #1, Susan is portrayed and seen as a vulnerable HUMAN being in a mother earth/goddess type of way and yet she also possesses computer-like qualities and can be controlled through the computer, unlike the Susan in #2.
Although I liked the amorphous alloy idea in #1 better than the smelly, retarded weirdo in #2, it seems a bit sketchy on how one would be able to explain how the house was always adequately supplied with food, and not to mention who supplied the sperm for Proteus' hellish creation.
There are other discrepancies between the two that could use a little clarification.

While each version is cleverly written and very good on it's own, both of them are strengthened and contrasted by eachother. Although there are too many differences between the two that rule out the idea of somehow merging them into one master work, I believe that many reviewers who gave #2 a low or mediocre rating might change their minds after reading #1. Both versions need to be re-released together in a single volume so readers can experience both Proteus's and Susan's perspectives and decide for themselves. Both are excellent works and need the credit that they are due.

Demon Rewrite
Koontz wussied-out, when he completely rewrote his wonderful 1973 novel of the same name into this Politically-Correctified "update."

The original I would give at least four stars, and if you can find it anywhere don't miss out. It suffered slightly from some over-science-fictioney terminology, but its basic story of a mad supercomputer tyrannizing a captive woman for rape and attempted reproduction had real raw power and a driving edge. It was the first book of Koontz's I ever read, and I still pull it off the shelf now and again for another go. It's still one of my favorites.

The rewrite turns the supercomputer into a sociopathic fourteen-year-old voyeur (a potentially interesting observation on artificial intelligence, but it doesn't work here), and the hapless victim into a wisecracking Rambo, completely ruining everything that initially made the story such a winner. Koontz used to write much more realistic characters, which is what made his early fiction so powerful. Today, he too often idealizes his characters to pander to a Yuppie audience, and it frequently - as it does here - undermines the credibility of his work.

The 1977 MGM film version, starring Julie Christie, differs from both Koontz versions (it's closer to the first), but is quite good.

Very Interesting
I read "Demon Seed" a few years ago. I was on my way back across the country on a train, and knew that I was going to need something to do on the ride back. So I picked up this novel in the train station in New Mexico, expecting to do a little reading and then go do something else. Seeing as it was over a day-long trip between New Mexico and Detroit, I knew that I would finish this short book with little problem. Sadly I this book enthralled me, and I finished it in only about two hours, and had nothing left to entertain me on the trip.

The concept of a psychopathic, killer computer is not a particularly new concept. The twist that Dean Koontz puts on this novel that I really liked was that it was written in first person narrative perspective, from the point of view of that computer, complete with spontaneous outbursts of frustration. This was pure genius.

The only real drawback to "Demon Seed" was that it ended rather abruptly. This is a minor complaint, however.

This book is highly recommendable for anyone who likes a good thriller. This may be an isolated incidence of brilliance on the part of Koontz, however. After having read "Demon Seed", I felt that I would enjoy most of Koontz's writing, if this was indicative of his style. The next Koontz novel I read was "From the Corner of His Eye", which was easily the worst novel ever written. Now I am torn between the brilliance in "Demon Seed", and the horror of "From the Corner of His Eye", in deciding whether I should ever read Koontz again.