Book Review: Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

The third book in Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas franchise, Brother Odd is, in my opinion, the slowest starter so far. The process of building up the story here seems to be more tedious than in prior installments of the saga. In fact, It took me probably twice as long to read Forever Odd from cover to cover as it did the other two books. Maybe even longer to read it than the other two books combined.

That's not to say that it isn't a good story. Let's just say that it gets better the closer it gets to the end. Again, that's not intended to be a slam. But while I found it difficult to keep reading it through the first half of the book, I found it difficult to stop reading during the second half.

I don't know what it is about Odd Thomas that keeps Dean Koontz penning novel after novel about the unlikely hero. He seems to have found some connection to Odd that he just can't let go.

I won't go into spoilers here. I do occasionally (mostly when reviewing movies), but I like to leave the unexplored territory between the covers of a book for the individual reader to discover. I'll just say about this one: don't give up. You might find it a bit tedious at times, or even bordering on boring. But, like anything in life worth having, if you just stick to it and keep trudging through page after page, you will be rewarded in the end with another delightful Koontz tale.

I just have one question for the author though: why Odd Thomas? Can't we get a little Frankenstein love in the U.S.? I'll bet there are millions more like me that would absolutely love to get their hands on a third installment of that epic adventure!

Your comments?

Joe

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Book Review: Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

As I continue through Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series of books, I have recently finished reading the second of the series, Forever Odd. While I found Odd Thomas (click here for my review) to be quite enjoyable, I found Forever Odd to be very difficult to put down. It was a fast paced book that kept the action coming, page after page. While we continue to learn more about "Dean Koontz's most likeable character," he continues to learn more about himself.

While a great deal of book one in the series is devoted to the development of characters and setting, by book two we are already familiar with Odd Thomas, Chief Porter, Ozzie, and the town of Pico Mundo, and Koontz can spend a significantly greater amount of time working on developing the plot of his story.

I found myself up many late nights, digging deeper and deeper into the story, finding it more and more difficult to put the book down. Many of those nights I fell asleep with my nose in the book long before I decided that it was time to put the book down and go to sleep.

Perhaps one of the best parts of Forever Odd is the hook at the ending that makes you anxious to dive into the third installment, Brother Odd, which is just what I've done.

No spoilers here, sorry. Just grab the book and start a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Your comments?

Joe

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Book Review: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Every very successful author has his signature something. With Stephen King, it has always been Castle Rock, Maine. With Ted Dekker, it's the world of Other Earth. For Dean Koontz, it appears that it has become his character, Odd Thomas.

I originally passed up the Odd Thomas collection, for no reason really. I guess I just didn't know what it was about and didn't think it sounded too interesting. Until I saw the video series, "Odd Passenger," based on the Odd Thomas character. View the videos below, or skip ahead to read more.

Odd Passenger - Episode 1



Odd Passenger - Episode 2



Odd Passenger - Episode 3



Odd Passenger - Episode 4



Continued...

Those videos captured my attention, sparked my interest, piqued my curiosity -- give it whatever label you want, but I rushed out and bought Odd Thomas, the first of (so far) four books about Koontz's colorful character.

Odd Thomas sees dead people. They come to him seeking justice, mostly, though they can't really communicate what it is exactly that they want from him, because the dead don't talk. Or, in the case of the late, great Elvis Presley, they come to him at times just to hang out. To weep. To brood. When the dead refuse to let go of this world for one reason or other, they are doomed to roam the earth as a silent spirit, invisible to all but a very, very few.

In Odd Thomas, we follow Odd through his hometown of Pico Mundo, where his strange gift has him on a mission to save hundreds of people from certain death. With twists and turns unexpected, Koontz weaves a tale that will have you glued to the pages and send you rushing out (as I did) to buy the rest of the series.

To say much more here would be to reveal too many spoilers. I'm now reading Forever Odd and will soon be reading Brother Odd. Of course, Odd Hours is now out in hard back. So far, the only Koontz books I've read and enjoyed more have been the first two in his adaptation of the classic Frankenstein franchise.

Read Odd Thomas. You won't be disappointed.

Joe

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