The Nameless series by Dean Koontz follows a character without a name. He, Nameless, has no memory of his life before two years ago. But, the twist is he doesn’t care that he has amnesia. He believes his amnesia to be of his own choice. Instead, he spends his time righting wrongs. He helps those that the criminal system, for whatever reason, failed them. He is not completely alone in the endeavor; a team called Ace of Diamonds supports him on his missions.

The series was differently different. Nameless doesn’t focus on figuring out who he is like characters normally do in amnesia stories. Nameless doesn’t question Ace of Diamonds like you normally see/read in these types of stories. From the beginning, he has accepted his life.

The series isn’t really a mystery series. The bad guys are known right away. Nameless doesn’t investigate; or if he does, it is very little. Before the book begins, the perpetrator is already declared guilty. Koontz leaves no question that the villain is quite evil.

The series isn’t really a thriller either. Ace of Diamonds seems to know pretty much everything. There aren’t too many incidents were Nameless is caught off guard. In fact, most of the time the perpetrator never even sees him. There isn’t some long gun battle between the two or a high-adrenaline kung-fu battle. The books almost read like a police report or some military after action report. You never fear for Nameless’ safety; Ace of Diamonds is nearly always in control.

The strange thing is that it kind of works. Maybe it’s because it is a fresh take on storytelling. Or maybe it’s that there are a few moments of suspense. It was odd. I enjoyed the first book; I didn’t find it boring or “too safe.” It wasn’t until the end that I realized how in control the protagonist was. It should have been boring. I should have been asking, “Where’s the conflict?” I guess this shows how masterful Koontz is in writing; he can make a mission report engaging.

I give the series a 4.9/5 because there is just something that nags at you. It isn’t perfect, but you can’t figure out what it is. The writing was excellent; and even though there seemed to be no conflict or rising action, I was not bored. I enjoyed this fresh idea. Maybe it comes down to personal taste. There were times that the descriptions were too vivid, like when the villains would feel themselves over.

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Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading.