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Fantasy. Fiction. Horror. Thriller. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. Heâ??s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and thatâ??s why heâ??s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Youâ??re invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than… (more)
User reviews
He heads out the door and sets off on foot towards the Doctor's house, hoping to find an accident rather than
After some exploration he decides Danny has been taken, and calls in the Police Chief--one of the few people in town to know of his abilities. Once the scene is under control, the Chief and Odd set off together in hopes that Psychic Magnetism will draw Odd to Danny. It doesn't work.
Sitting in the dark, where the Chief left him off, Odd is paid a brief visit by Elvis, which is cut off when he realizes that his gift didn't fail him after all--up the road is coming a van driven by the man who attacked him as he was trying to leave the Jessup house. He takes off on foot after it. And is led to another dead end.
Eventually the magnetism kicks in full force, and Odd finds himself below the city, in a network of Flood tunnels, pondering their immensity and the breadth of their existence. He is lead to an old abandoned and damaged Casino. Here he must spend the rest of the day trying to free Danny of his captors without further injury (Danny suffers from Brittle Bone Disease), trying not to get himself killed, and trying not to be too haunted by the ghosts still hanging on after their tragic demise at the Casino.
There is definitely, or so it seemed to me, a lot more tension in this story than the other. Maybe in part because the other exists, and this seems too much on top of it. But Odd finds his way through, bringing peace to some along the way, rescuing Danny, and making some decisions for himself that may well change his life.
Odd walks... a lot. Then, he walks some more. There is, quite literally, one-hundred-twenty paperback pages of Odd simply walking. Odd finds this, Odd finds that, going into great detail about pieces of garbage that litter the floor of Pico Mundo's sewer system. I'm a slow reader, I like to digest every line an author has written because, after all, they took the time to write it and I feel that every word deserves my attention. In other words, I don't skim or skip about. Because of this, I felt like I was mostly reading a text book on the workings of public waterways and casino architecture. Then, when Koontz does bring the action to Odd, it's very anti-climactic. Odd drones on and on during the pivotal scenes, ad nauseam, about how this is like that and so on. I've seen Koontz do tense, tight action sequences, but this book is completely, and I mean completely devoid of any of that. When the lead baddie bites the dust, Koontz just skips over the action. Skips it. That persons gone. Nothing more to see here. I figure Koontz was trying to let the reader fill in the blanks, but instead he just left me feeling blank.
The one saving grace this book has are the final pages. As with Odd Thomas, the first book in the series, Odd reflects on the human condition at the end and pretty much nails it. Even though the rest of the book stunk and dragged on forever (hey! maybe that's why the author called it Forever Odd) the ending had me in tears. The writing is good, as well, but you come to expect that with an author of Koontz's caliber.
I read this because I plan on reading the entire series. My next review will be for Brother Odd. I can only hope it's better than the second book.
When I first started reading, I couldn't remember why I like the first one so much, and I was starting to doubt that I had ever even liked Koontz. That only lasted about 25 pages. After that, I couldn't put it down. It was a great read that kept me enthralled until the last page.
What I had liked the most in [Odd Thomas] was the
Very quick read. I think it took me 2 days.
It wasn't as good as the first book though.(Odd Thomas)
I like his horror books better. I am re reading The Prodigal Son, because I thought that was one was such a great read.
Forever Odd is all about a chase. I
I recommend his Frankenstein books over these but it is just a matter what kind of genre you like.
Not to say that it’s not well written; it is. Some of the sentences and turns of
But the story itself was uninvolving. From the minute Danny was snatched I knew why; to get to Odd, to make Odd manifest his power and summon a spirit or spirits.
At the end, Odd goes off to ensconce himself as a lay person in a monastery. To get some peace because no doubt it is hard having no job (being a fry cook is so stressful that he had to get out). Oy vey.
CMB
As the story unfolds it's interesting to see how unquestioning belief in all that is said to be possible with the paranormal can cause problems. It causes serious problems with her but where the borderline is, is left up to the reader.
The downside of Koontz's maturation is that fans of his older stuff may feel that the greater emphasis on character and theme in "Forever Odd" comes at the expense of plot, complexity and, well, overall creepiness. While this novel's plot could have been more developed, the horror octane is of an unquestionably high grade. Indeed the earthquake-and-fire-ravaged Indian casino that serves as the setting for much of the book generates a fright level that rivals the hotel in "The Shining." And the spooks (live, dead, and undead) who haunt it would hold their own against Mr. King's Overlook Hotel denizens.
So if you're looking to be scared, but without fear of being guilty of literary slumming, "Forever Odd" (and its predecessor "Odd Thomas") will serve you as well as anything since Edgar Allan Poe.
-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
Koontz has stopped the over-the-top, totally dated, supernatural “horror” stuff and grown up.
As with its precursor, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd has a strong voice written in the first person. Odd is a likeable, strange and
Now, if he would just get back and write a 3rd in the previous series (Christopher Snow, dude who is allergic to sun/light) he started a view years ago....
Odd Thomas is one of the most interesting and original narrative voices. It really feels like some one you'd want to know... he is
A little bit slow, lacks some real action, and even though Odd continues to be funny and a great caracter, sometimes we just wish he'd grow up a bit...
And the ending, it didn't convince me and it didn't have any of the
Hated Datura! Hated!!
***Felt a lot like _Intensity_...
Koontz is one of those big names that sells a lot of books. Some of his stuff can be pretty good beach reads without a lot of depth. But the Odd Thomas series is different - there's considerable exploration of spiritual themes, and an interesting mix of characters that feel real as opposed to the cast of stereotyped characters some authors might have used in what could have been a vanilla Good vs Evil story.
Recommended, but start with the first for best effect.