Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)

by Dean Koontz

2007

Status

Available

Publication

Bantam (2007), Edition: Reprint, 464 pages

Description

Fantasy. Fiction. Horror. Thriller. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature.   As he steadfastly journeys toward his mysterious destiny, Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginningâ??but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member AliceAnna
I really like the character of Odd Thomas a lot. Polite and self-deprecating is refreshing. I enjoyed this book mostly except I found the menace facing the monastery to be hard to conceive. I liked the Russian character and Brother "Knuckles" as well and the ending with Boo and Elvis was the icing
Show More
on the cake. I would have rated it higher had the menace made more sense to me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member hairi
Though it is a typical work of Koontz, the language dragged us too much sometimes we got lost, but I still love the sarcasm and the hillarious remarks made my Odd. The way he handled the situation was somewhat exciting I couldn't put the book down.
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
I'd recommend reading the Odd series in order, since they add to the depth of the central character of Odd Thomas. More importantly the references contained within Brother Odd would surely ruin the twists that the previous two had in store. Brother Odd lends itself from several other books written
Show More
by Koontz; all the trademarks are there, including the lovable and intelligent dog (although Boo isn't a central character). Without revealing any plot, Brother Odd is a tale of self-analysis and of the evils of the human mind. There is more of a supernatural bent to this book than Koontz has used for several years and in doing so, he has created some scenes of real menace. Although the end is both predictable and weak, the path that gets you there is both riveting and, at times, tense. Different enough to be refreshing, with new and thought-provoking characters, Brother Odd is a worthy third instalment to the Odd series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
An interesting story, not quite the same as the others in the series, but still an good addition to the series.

Odd is taking time out in a monastery when he begins to see Bogans around the children in the care of the nuns attached to the monastery. Theres a snow storm brewing and Odd sees strange
Show More
things in the snow. Things that have a murderous intent but where are they from and why are they here?

Quick and light read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TW_Spencer
This is a very good book but slow to start but when it heats you might get burned.
LibraryThing member youthfulzombie
Odd is better when his enemy is a little less supernatural, this storyline goes back to Koontz's old days of supernatural unexplainable evil.
LibraryThing member madamemeow
I loved all three of the Odd Thomas books by Koontz. This one was no different. All three books have totally different feels to them, but the general character of Odd remains eternal. This book was another page turner, start to finish, Koontz hasn't let his readers down!
LibraryThing member cefeick
Odd Thomas remains an engaging character, but this novel wasn't nearly as good as the original. The particular encounter with "evil" described here was not that scary or compelling to me as a seasoned reader of "horror" or suspense or whatever genre this falls under.

I missed Odd's interactions with
Show More
his old Pico Mundo friends. A few cameos are too short to make it worthwhile.

I'd recommend the book if you enjoy the others in the "Odd" series, but it's not Koontz's best.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Heptonj
This is the continuing story of Odd Thomas after his retreat from the world to the peace and tranquility of a monastery where he meets and gets to know the monks and nuns. However, bodachs turn up to spoil the serenity and one monk and a Russian guest are not at all what they seem. Danger looms for
Show More
the children in care of the nuns and Odd must face horrors and awful peril in order to save them.

There is a good array of interesting characters in this book, along with the ever-present Elvis. Not quite as good I thought as the first two 'Odd' books but still well deserving the four stars I gave it. If this is the first 'Odd' book you read you will not be disappointed. Another excellent novel from Dean Koontz
Show Less
LibraryThing member ckavich
I was given the book, and unless it's given to you, do not waste your money. It was that good.
LibraryThing member madamejeanie
Odd Thomas has fled his beloved town of Pico Mundo for the peace and
solitude of a monastery, high in the mountains of California. His uncanny
ability to see the lingering dead had become almost more than he could bare,
so he decided to spend time in seclusion. The only ghosts in residence at
the
Show More
monastery are Brother Constantine, who committed suicide two years
before, and Elvis, who seems to accompany Odd wherever he goes. But the
months of peace come to an abrupt end when Odd begins seeing bodachs (those
eerily silent dark entities that always arrive before unspeakable horror)
among the children in the school for handicapped kids at the monastery.
Then, one night, he hears the voice of his beloved Stormy coming from the
mute face of one of the children. "Loop me in, Odd one." And he knows that
he's about to face something more horrible than anything he's ever imagined.

This is the third (and last -- so far) episode in the Odd Thomas saga. I
enjoyed it every bit as much as the others. I appreciate the light touch of
wit Koontz is capable of in the midst of horror and devastation. This story
is also open ended, which is delightful because that means that one day
there will be more Odd stories. 5 of 5.
Show Less
LibraryThing member readingrat
This installment brings back the bodachs (which were strikingly absent in Forever Odd) and once again we have Odd racing against an unknown deadline to curtail an unknown tragedy. This is another wonderful Odd Thomas story, this time with a bit of a sci-fi bent.
LibraryThing member scouthayduke
I remember reading the other two in this series and thinking they were refreshing in that you had an essentially good main character, but in this one it's like they've made the character a little too self-congratulatory.

I might also be trying to get a little too deep about a Dean Koontz book
LibraryThing member jbdavis
Brother Odd is even more different from Dean Koontz's previous two books about Odd Thomas as it is set in a Catholic monastery. Given the setting there is much more scope for bringing in elements of theology, not that one would say theology is Koontz's goal. However, it is obvious that Odd Thomas
Show More
is on an increasingly spiritual journey and retreating from the world to give himself time to think would seem to be the next step.

It is too bad for Odd that murder, bodachs gathering around the children at the attached school, and a mysterious Russian librarian give him little time to meditate. The dialogue in this book can be really enjoyable, especially the sparring matches that Odd and the librarian have when Odd is trying to discover his true identity. Brother Odd is my favorite of the three books, especially when you consider the touches that are scattered throughout. My favorite of the Odd Thomas books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SusanMayWriter
Having really enjoyed the first Odd Thomas, it makes the let down of the next two worse. This book is over wordy,-too much description & the plot is ridiculous & the ending blah. I have never thought Koontz was a great writer. He seems to run out of steam at the end. This book proves my opinion of
Show More
him & I won't read anymore. There are too many other gems out there.
Show Less
LibraryThing member svunckx
This is the kind of Koontz I am always expecting when I pick up one of his books. Great and unusual characters, dark moody settings and a twist of the supernatural to grip your attention. Too bad the ending is everything you expected it to be (or possibly less) but that couldn't stop me from
Show More
enjoying this book. They way Koontz takes you through this story is gripping - in such a way that I'd wish he delivered more of this in his other recent books. I for one am hoping that the Odd series will continue to meet this quality.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BobAvey
Odd, And Then Some
Brother Odd begins well, the unusual setting contributing effectively to the mood as the hero, Odd Thomas, sits in the window of a dark monastery, watching the night, waiting to catch his first sight of snow. And Mr. Koontz doesn't disappoint the reader by allowing the Odd one to
Show More
linger in peace for too long, robbing the story of conflict. As it should, the trouble starts right away.

For me, however, as the book eased into the middle, the story became somewhat diluted, not enough for me to lose interest, but enough for me to wonder if Koontz had not lost his rhythm for a moment. He began to delve into the humor side of his writing style, something he typically does with a near genius touch, but here he tips the balance too far. I began to suspect he wasn't sure where he was going with the story at this point.

Near the ending, the story again begins to build up steam, but the final action scene is rendered somewhat ineffective when the writer decides to do things a little differently. Throughout the book a mysterious character keeps both the reader and the hero on edge, wondering just what his true nature is. During the climactic scene, however, this character takes charge, overshadowing the hero. I'm surprised the editors did not catch this. Whether the day is saved, ruined or rendered indifferent, it should be the hero who effects this change.

For me, after the climactic scene, my interest was revived as we are once again solidly with Odd Thomas as the story segues nicely into the next Odd adventure.

- Bob Avey, author of Beneath a Buried House
Show Less
LibraryThing member slarsoncollins
I love Odd Thomas. All of them. You should read them and love them too. :)
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Odd has chosen to live at a monastery for awhile as a guest. He needs a break from the constant stress of his special "gift." Life at the monastery is less "spirit-filled" in the sense that there is only one ghost hanging out there, however, it soon becomes apparent that something is not right.

The
Show More
pacing of these stories is grand, it is impossible to read them slowly. I enjoyed the character of the Russian, and Brother Knuckles, but there wasn't much investment in anyone else. Odd has a very wry sense of humor, which I enjoy, but I don't enjoy his foreshadowing in the stories, or his fake entries in his journal. Waste of my time. While the predicament of this tale was interesting, it seemed far-fetched and more a platform for the author's beliefs and theories than a plausible story. These stories suit my mood at the moment, but will not hold a place on my shelves or in my heart.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jefware
This is where DK kills off Odd Thomas. Not literally but philosophically by putting his thoughts on the golden age of society (150 years ago!) in the mouth and mind of OT. It became tiresome and I quit reading it after I figured out where the plot was going.
LibraryThing member isabelx
The wintry morning ticked toward whatever disaster might be coming. Recently I had learned that really brainy guys divide the day into units amounting to one millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second, which made each whole second that I dithered seem to be an unconscionable waste of
Show More
time.


Needing to recuperate after the events of the first two books, Odd Thomas has spent the last few months living in the guest quarters of St. Bartholomew's Abbey in the Sierra Nevada. Surprisingly humorous in parts, such as Odd's discussion with the Mother Superior about which of the monks would be most suitable to help Brother Salvatore (aka Brother Knuckles) defend the abbey against the coming supernatural dangers.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nigelbarker
A really odd book. Interesting in places, but it just seemed to get more and more implausable, until eventually I made a conscious decision to give up on it 1/3 way through - something I almost never do.

If you like spooky, and coincidences, enjoy :-)
LibraryThing member Scoshie
After the tragic loss of his girlfriend Stomey, our intrepid hero Odd decides he needs some quiet time away from all the spirits who want something fom him. Hiding out at St Bartholomews Abby Odd notices that there is seem to be a large number of bodachs congregating and it is up to him to find out
Show More
why and how to stop whatever disaster they have planned.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jpporter
This is the third installment of the Odd Thomas series, and it manages to distinguish itself substantially from the first two books (both of which I've reviewed on this site). For this story, Odd has taken up residence in a monastery in order to recuperate from his first two adventures. The
Show More
monastery, however, is about to become the site of a major tragedy, and only Odd has the ability to see it coming, and to try to do something about it.

What I liked most about this book is that it lightens up a little bit (the first two books struck me as extremely depressing), with a noteworthy return of some of the humor that made the first book - Odd Thomas stick out. And it finally seems that something nice happens for Odd.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy
DK seems to take greater care with the turn of phrase and the descriptive words or phrases that set the moods, but sometimes at the risk of being digressive. Nonetheless, this is a much more thoughtful and original story, if a little slower paced than previous Odd Thomas stories. DK converted to
Show More
Roman Catholicism while in college and his some of his thoughts as a modern Catholic are revealed in this book. Interesting characters and, of course, David Aaron Baker is perfect.
Show Less

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2006

Physical description

464 p.; 4.15 inches

ISBN

0553589105 / 9780553589108

Barcode

1601424
Page: 1.3539 seconds