La Pista dei Mutanti

by Dean R. Koontz

Il romanzo si svolge nell'anno 100.000. La civiltà è caduta a causa della diffusione dell'ingegneria genetica e si è stabilizzata a un livello feudale. Alla cima della piramide sociale ci soni i Puri: esseri umani geneticamente intatti, che fanaticamente considerano come inferiori, come animali, il resto della popolazione, composta di mutanti straordinari e meravigliosi. In questa società nascono occasionalmente dei telepatici, che quasi sempre vengono scoperti e uccisi. Jask, uno di questi telepatici - e precedentemente un Puro - viene scoperto, e allo scopo di fuggire è costretto a unirsi a un altro telepatico: un uomo-orso chiamato Tadesco. Ma mentre Jask pensa solo alla fuga, Tadesco cerca di individuare la Presenza Nera: una macchina, o un essere alieno, capace di riportare alle stelle l'umanità che se ne è separata quando via ha incontrato intelligenze troppo smisuratamente superiori alla sua.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Ebooks, Audiobook, Juvenile

150 pages, Cartonato con sovracoperta

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Librarian's Note: This author writes under the name Dean R. Koontz and Dean Koontz. As both names appear on his works, both should be kept.

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray 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.

Known Pseudonyms:
Leigh Nichols,
Brian Coffey,
David Axton,
Owen West,
Deanna Dwyer
Aaron Wolfe.
K.R. Dwyer
John Hill
Richard Paige
Anthony North

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightmare Journey was one of four novels by Koontz that were published in 1975, but was the only one to appear under his own name. It was also the last of his books to appear with the genre label "science fiction" printed on the spine. It's a far, far future post-apocalypse story of mankind returning to a shattered Earth that's inhabited by mutant telepaths in a Koontz-standard tale of good versus evil. Instead of a dog, we have a cool bear, Tedesco, well-depicted on the nifty cover painting by Paul Lehr. It's a fast read, one of his better straight-sf books until the too-abrupt conclusion. He doesn't write them like this anymore, which, in a way, is a shame.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.7 STARS ***

An early science fiction book by Dean Koontz with some great lore and world-building, and a decent story.

Nightmare Journey has a great, if convoluted, concept. It reminded me of a couple of books and a film: Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, Robert Silverberg's Nightwings and Logan's Run (I haven't read the book, yet). All three feel like they meshed together and out popped Nightmare Journey, and what a three they are.

I really liked Nightmare Journey, but I did feel it was rushed, especially the later part of the book. I think it would have benefitted greatly by being about 200 pages longer. There is so much content squashed inside this small novel, as a consequence the book reads at a very fast pace.

[Karin Gorham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember when I read it but this is the book that started me reading fantasy and scifi.

[Travis Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictional dive into how people misjudge and mistreat each other based off of the most basic and incorrect assumptions. Not quite as scary as the modern day Dean Koontz books, but the horror elements are still very prominent.

[Annie Flanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

I have a funny story about it.

I originaglly read it in 1975. The name on it was Dean R Koontz, not Dean Koontz like his other books.

There was a really nice book store in Berkeley for umpteen years - Dark Carnival. One year Dean was going to be there on a Friday night to sign books. So I told my friend - one of the owners - a lady named Jay - that I was going to bring the book in to be signed. She and her husband Jack, started waving their hands in my face telling me - nooooo, Dean has never admitted to writing that book. His publisher is going to be there and it hasn't been publcly stated that he wrote that book.

Me being me - I showed up anyway - without the book and when it was my turn in line to get another book autographed, I boldy stated to him - although I'm buying this book - my fave of yours is still 'Nightmare Journey.' Dean just looked at me - and gave me 'a look.' His publisher almost fainted in his seat. Both Jack and Jay just stood there with their mouths hanging open.

Dean was really cool about it. He looked me in the eyes and said 'Thank you. I'm glad you liked it so much.'

.Every time he saw me after that he just smiled at me. :)

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I never knew Dean Koontz wrote any post-apocalypse themed stories. I knew him by his horror and thriller books. His descriptions of the ruined Earth were great.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. It suffers from using the classic science fiction trope of humans with psionic powers. It doesn't feel completely cliche but it's also rare to see anyone bring anything new to the trope. A member of the "upper class" who aren't mutants develops telepathic powers that makes him an outcast with both his kind and mutants like. He teams up with a mutant with a similar issue (who is also a man-bear) and they go on a quest to discover their destiny.

The setting is a far future Earth, where humans of the past had traveled through space, but when they encountered aliens that only communicated by telepathy they found themselves completely primitive. They returned to Earth with the hope to eventually develop the powers themselves, but of course there is a great war and centuries go by and all this information becomes lost or turned into myth as society devolves.

All that information is just talked about by characters for a few pages. It's a shame such a unique and cool concept was just the backstory to a plot that feels like any other random pulp 70s science fiction novel

[Oliver Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Dean Koontz books. It strikes the right balance between horror and science fiction. I have not found his other books to do this as well. If you've read A Boy and His Dog, think of this as a much more dysfunctional and wonderfully nightmarish version. It does not shy away from ideas one would expect from a character who is referred to as a Pure (only has human genetic code) and at the same time does not end up where one would expect these ideas to lead. There is a kind of Lovecraftian futility pervading the story that leads us to the end.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent sci-fi/fantasy novel. I like Koontz early efforts with this genre. Not quite Silverberg but close enough and better than many of that time. I would love it if he returned to this sort of thing more often. Though not heavy handed, this - for the most part - dealt with one race assuming they are superior to another simply because of their “purity” - a familiar attitude and a constant misconception that causes so much hardship in this world, past, present and, hopefully not, future.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

One hundred thousand years in the future, after man has been fatally humbled by his exploration of the stars and discovery of far more intelligent beings, civilization is struggling to return to the planet's surface. After man fled the stars, he tried to explore his own genetic frontier, creating horrible races of deformed beings - some scaled, some furred, tiny, winged and huge. Now Jask, a Pure who retains the original human genetic code, and Tedesco, a great bear with a human brain, are thrown together by their one shared and fatal trait - telepath. Hunted like animals by the fearful populace, they go in search of The Black Presence - which may be the key to mankind's place in the cosmos.

[Mark Carver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've got to hand it to Mr. Koontz - the guy knows how to tell a story. This book, like most of his books, is unchallenging crowd-pleasing fluff, but it's fast and fun. He gives the readers what they want, and he's especially good at striking chords with female readers, who make up the bulk of the reading public. This story is a sci-fi adventure/quest, which brings in the guys, but there are plenty of subtle touches designed to engage the women as well. Mr. Koontz fires on all cylinders and knows how deliver a slick product that casts a very wide net. While praise might be a bit of a stretch, his success is well-deserved.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so who knew Koontz back in the day wrote SiFi. Read this way back in the 70's. Pretty good story, I liked it more than his modern stuff. Very recommended

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nightmare Journey. Ok, well this is a very old book by Koontz from 1975. The story is science fiction, post apocalyptic and of course a thriller with bad vs good. Koontz showed a glimpse of his future writings but he has come a long way which is to be expected.
I was really lucky to find these yellowed page, earmarked paperback books for a reasonable price. Most copies were way out of my price range and dream. Ha But I persisted and found some with private sellers.

I really liked this book but was wondering if this was around the time that his wife gave him an ultimatum of successful sales of his books in five years and she would support them. Or if sales going nowhere, he would need to get a REAL job! God bless Gerda

[Karsyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes!! Definitely NOT my thing. I was ok with it til about half way through and when they had "insta-love" after 6 days. Blech. Maybe this is the first ever book of insta-love? It just wasn't enjoyable, though it had some good moments.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Written in the style of classic sci fi authors, I could feel Clarke and Asimov and the rest. And because of that, I feel the author had not yet developed his voice and the writing was too derivative. Still, it’s a fun story.

[Steve K · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's finally getting better.

[Freyja Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't really tickle my fancy that much, but it was alright.

[Ida · Rating 2 out of 5]

The setting had some potential, but it felt rushed and the ending was oddly abrupt imo

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different Koontz novel. I believe it is his last straight science fiction novel.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a sci-fi than later Koontz, I loved the characters in this one.

[Neal Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, quite enjoyable.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a really strange book and I started to get in to it. Then just "THE END"... Hated the way it ended...

[Michel Clasquin-Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book, although the ending was far too abrupt.

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1984 grade B+

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have the paperback of this book, published by Berkley in 1975.

[Sue Plant · Rating 1 out of 5]

not for me not enjoying it at all....