Book Review: Fountain Society

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Fountain Society     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Wes Craven
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Simon & Schuster, Oct 1999, $25.00, 352 pp.

At White Sands Missile Range, several research projects are competing for military funding. Seventy-six years old Peter Jance heads up Hammer, a weapon system that will make American military superiority geometrically leap that much further over any rival. At the same time elderly Dr. Frederick Wolfe leads Fountain, a study into regenerating destroyed spinal columns.

As Peter closes in on his coup, his pancreatic cancer leaves doubt whether he will live to finish the project. Frederick offers a way to save the brilliant Peter’s life. He will extract Peter’s brain from the scientist’s dying body and place it inside another human body. Wolfe selects financial wizard Hans Brinkman because years ago he secretly cloned Peter with Hans being the results. Thugs abduct Hans in Europe, fly him to America, and transfer Peter's brain into his body. The only flaw is that Hans’ lover has good reason to suspect foul play. Then there is the revised Peter who was not morally comfortable doing what he agreed to have done.

Horror movie king Wes Craven (Elm Street) shows the vastness of his talents as he writes his first novel. FOUNTAIN SOCIETY is an intriguing medical horror thriller that raises questions of morality and ethics. Is it okay to kill an innocent person to save an Einstein or a brilliant but dying cancer researcher who might save millions of lives if he/she lived? Though there are a few minor leaps of faith involving secondary plots, the prime story line is intelligent, thought-provoking, and absolutely frightening. Welcome to the wonderful world of novels Mr. Craven.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner