Whatcha reading?

Whatcha reading?

Saturday, January 30, 2016

False Memory:Dean Koontz

I really enjoyed this book because it was original and made me think. It dealt with the idea that a psychologist can program you to have phobias and to do your bidding when "activated". Martie's childhood friend Susan develops agoraphobia and divorces her husband who she believes has had an affair. Martie drives Susan to her appointments and suddenly develops autophobia and fears she will hurt her husband or herself. Susan confides in her the same day that someone is coming into her house at night and raping her as she is sticky with seaman in the morning, but there is never any trace that someone was there. Susan can't explain why, but she thinks it is her ex-husband. Susan set up a video recorder on night and when she plays it back sees that her psychologist Dr. Ahriman was the rapist, but that she let him into the house after getting a phone call. She remembers nothing of it. Tipped off by her odd behavior the doctor returns to her house and finds the tape playing. He decides to command her to kill herself after having her write a suicide note he dictates. Martie and her husband don't believe Susan killed herself, but Martie starts seeing Ahriman for her condition. Her husband Dusty waits in the waiting room and realizes he has chunks of time that he can't remember. Dusty's brother tries to jump off a building and kill himself and while in the drug rehab starts reciting a haiku while in a trance after Dusty said a name, asking who it was. Dusty then realizes Martie is acting similarly. He by chance puts Martie in the trance and understands what has happened, but not by who- They are able to "un-program" themselves and Dusty's brother. With the help of another Doctor they figure out Dr Ahriman has programed them and many others in other towns. In the end of one of Ahriman's patients who is not programed kills him because he wasn't paying attention to what the info he was feeding her would do because he was wrapped up in trying to get rid of Martie and Dusty before they destroy him.

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