Odd Hours by Dean Koontz Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Odd Hours
Book Review: 2 1/2 STARS
Summary: 3 Stars
I really enjoyed the previous Odd Thomas books, especially the first one. I do not think this book stands alone. If you have not read the others I think you will be completely lost. Having read the others I have such mixed feelings!
I love the dialog and humor of Odd Thomas with Hutch, Utgard, and Chief Hoss Sackett. The downright profound observations made with Birdie on pages 218 and 219 were amazing! Yet the dialog with Annamaria drove me nuts.
The first scene at the pier seemed endless... had I not read his other books I would not have read beyond this point. What was with the coyotes??? The bell??? The sea glass??? The grate with the lightning bolt ring???
I love the character of Odd and thought Birdie could make a very interesting main character someday. Blossom was another very interesting character. I wanted so much to like this book. I think generally speaking Dean Koontz is a wonderful, thoughtful, and witty writer and yet this book disappointed me.
I hope he can make Annamaria a more interesting person in the next book... yes I will read the next one.
I really like Dean Koontz. Not every book can be the best one. When you've written as many books as he has there are bound to be some that are better than others. I hope he doesn't get discouraged by negative comments because we will all lose if he doesn't continue to share his observations, humor, and creative ideas - they are a gift.
Book Review: 3 1/2 Stars. Not the Best in the Series
Summary: 3 Stars
Haunted by dreams of a powerful red tide, Odd Thomas, accompanied by two otherworldly sidekicks--his dog Boo and the Chairman of the Board--is drawn to a small California coastal town, where nothing is as it appears and where he confronts overwhelming and sinister forces out to stop his quest. BT.
Koontz's latest Odd novel (by the way, a very likeable character), starts out very slow and drawn out. About a third of the way through it picks up and pulls you in.
Lately Koontz's writing style is more literary prose than suspense. He is a very skilled writer but has been lacking in creating a suspenseful supernatural thriller. The Odd series is not his best work, but since I've read them all and they're quick reads, I'll continue to see where this series goes.
From inside: ...If evil geniuses are so rare, why do so many bad people get away with so many crimes against their fellow citizens and, when they become leaders of nations, against humanity?
Edmund Burke provided the answer in 1795: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Book Review: 3 1/2 Stars...Enchants and Fizzles
Summary: 4 Stars
Five weeks have passed since Odd Thomas left the monks of St. Bartholomew, and he is seeking rest and solace on the shores of sleepy Magic Beach. He lives with an eccentric old actor named Hutch, and he has already run across some other intriguing characters as part of his ongoing gift with magnetism.
The book opens with Odd walking the boardwalk and connecting with a nebulous woman named Annamaria. Before we have a moment to relax and catch up with Odd's new locale, he is threatened by a menacing trio and finds himself on the run. The truths he discovers in this little town could endanger millions of lives, and he must rise again to the challenges of his gift, protecting lives and offering comfort to such wide-flung souls as Frank Sinatra.
"Odd Hours" has everything we have come to expect from our fictional fry cook hero. There's humor, philosophical musings, suspense, thrills, and a heavy dose of humility and grace. The writing is some of the strongest and most memorable from Koontz's already extraordinary literary abilities.
Koontz is known for writing his stories as they come to him, letting them lead him along, and that is nowhere more evident in "Odd Hours." At times, this meandering style of plot leads to unexpected places, and I like that element of unpredictability. At other times, this style can be frustrating, and in "Odd Hours" it led to my only complaint: The story itself is really the bare bones of a novel, and could've been encapsulated in half the pages by a less verbose author. And, in conclusion, there are a number of threads that seem to lead nowhere--particularly, Annamaria and her pregnancy.
I love the Odd Thomas character, and it's always fun to see what adventures he finds himself in, as well as what characters he might free from their wandering state between life and beyond. Koontz continues to enchant with his prodigious skills, and yet he also frustrates with his sometimes fizzled endings. I still can't help but highly recommending this book. In an era of paint-by-numbers bestsellers (I won't name names), Koontz refuses to fall into the mundane.
Book Review: A Good Read
Summary: 5 Stars
All of Dean Koontz's books are good to read. I find they are better than S. King's books. This is the continuing saga of Odd Thomas. And after reading this one I feel there will be more. I read it quickly. I am more than satisfied with my purchase.Book Review: A fun read
Summary: 4 Stars
When readers last met Odd Thomas, he was attempting to rescue the brothers of St. Bartholomew's Abbey from a mad genius who had taken up residence in the previously peaceful monastery halls. Now, in the fourth book of this series, Dean Koontz has his young hero struggling to save several entire cities from total destruction.
Odd Thomas, for those unfamiliar, is just 23 years old but has already led a full life of love, loss and danger. He has the ability to see the dead, lost and confused souls who are unable or unwilling to "move on." He is called upon to help them out, finding the person who hurt or killed them, or just ease their transition to the next life. He doesn't particularly enjoy this gift, preferring instead the quiet life of a fry cook (although he dreams of being a tire salesman), but has little choice in the matter. With not much family and having lost the love of his life 17 months ago, Odd has been wandering in California, feeling drawn to certain people and places. In ODD HOURS, he finds himself in the small coastal town of Magic Beach caring for an aging and reclusive movie star.
Despite his current peaceful and comfortable situation, Odd is having a frightening recurrent dream of a red tide of destruction, and he fears it is prophetic. In this dream is the image of a young woman who turns out to be 18-year-old Annamarie, pregnant and, like Odd, alone. One moment they are standing on a pier watching the fog roll in, and the next Odd is being chased by three killers. Before page 20, the action starts and doesn't let up until the end of the novel. Even then, readers are left with more of a cliffhanger than a conclusion.
In the course of the night, Odd must outrun the bad guys, find a safe place to hide Annamarie, escape jail (after being arrested hiding out in a church with someone's dog), convince the ghost of Frank Sinatra to leave this world behind, deal with a tugboat full of villains and, of course, save all those cities. The pace is fast as Odd races the clock and tries to figure out the intentions of the group of men who are after him. The antagonists, especially the apparent ring leader, Hoss Shackett, are stereotypical, but the supporting cast is intriguing. Too bad Koontz didn't give them bigger roles in the story. Most likely, though, they will show up in the next installment, because Odd and Annamarie seem to have a sort of mystical connection that Koontz promises to explore further. Who is she, and how does she know so much about Odd? And why was he so willing to risk his life for her without any questions asked?
ODD HOURS is not as successful as the first two Odd Thomas books, but like the third one, BROTHER ODD, it is still a fun read. Despite the fact that it is heavy on the action with little explanation and the ghost of Sinatra is less interesting than the ghost of Elvis was in the previous installments, Odd Thomas remains a charming character and his "gift" unique and compelling. One can only hope that the next entry will have more by way of explanation and insight into the story of Odd and Annamarie, less preaching from the author and more of the winning balance of action, humor and horror that makes these novels so readable and enjoyable.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman