Book Review - Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
Category Book Reviews
Dean Koontz brings back the Odd Thomas character in his latest book Forever Odd. While I was left wondering about some pieces of the story, I still must say I enjoyed the novel a lot...
Odd has the special ability (or curse) of being able to see the ghosts of dead people. They can also see him, and they communicate nonverbally. Unfortunately this often places Odd at the scene of a crime before anyone else knows what happened. In this story, he's drawn to a brutal murder scene of a doctor, who's also the stepfather of his best friend Danny. Danny, who suffers from a brittle bone disease, is nowhere to be found in the house, and Odd believes him to have been kidnapped by his biological father. By using his supernatural skills, he's able to track Danny and his captors to an abandoned casino that was devastated by earthquake and fire, never to be rebuilt. Odd tracks Danny down to a 12th floor room, but his captors are a bizarre lot. The main kidnapper, Datura, is a phone-sex goddess who got to know Danny and also learned about Odd's special talents. Her two accomplices are men seemingly under her spell. She's obsessed with death and the supernatural, and has staged the whole event to lure Odd into a place where she can get him to help her accomplish her main goal... to actually *see* the ghosts of the dead, not just feel them. She is a real nut case, and Odd needs to rescue Danny without getting both of them killed in the process...
Koontz has a great talent with first person dialog from his characters. I really enjoy Odd's personality and mindset, and he's one of the most realistic characters in a story that I've ever read. The whole reasoning behind Datura's obsession remained a bit of a mystery for me, as well as the way things ended. While it left me thinking "huh?", it didn't detract from the pleasure of reading the book. So while I wouldn't give it my highest recommendation, I'd still call it a book that would be worth the time spent on it.
Dean Koontz brings back the Odd Thomas character in his latest book Forever Odd. While I was left wondering about some pieces of the story, I still must say I enjoyed the novel a lot...
Odd has the special ability (or curse) of being able to see the ghosts of dead people. They can also see him, and they communicate nonverbally. Unfortunately this often places Odd at the scene of a crime before anyone else knows what happened. In this story, he's drawn to a brutal murder scene of a doctor, who's also the stepfather of his best friend Danny. Danny, who suffers from a brittle bone disease, is nowhere to be found in the house, and Odd believes him to have been kidnapped by his biological father. By using his supernatural skills, he's able to track Danny and his captors to an abandoned casino that was devastated by earthquake and fire, never to be rebuilt. Odd tracks Danny down to a 12th floor room, but his captors are a bizarre lot. The main kidnapper, Datura, is a phone-sex goddess who got to know Danny and also learned about Odd's special talents. Her two accomplices are men seemingly under her spell. She's obsessed with death and the supernatural, and has staged the whole event to lure Odd into a place where she can get him to help her accomplish her main goal... to actually *see* the ghosts of the dead, not just feel them. She is a real nut case, and Odd needs to rescue Danny without getting both of them killed in the process...
Koontz has a great talent with first person dialog from his characters. I really enjoy Odd's personality and mindset, and he's one of the most realistic characters in a story that I've ever read. The whole reasoning behind Datura's obsession remained a bit of a mystery for me, as well as the way things ended. While it left me thinking "huh?", it didn't detract from the pleasure of reading the book. So while I wouldn't give it my highest recommendation, I'd still call it a book that would be worth the time spent on it.
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Comments
Koontz is a recent discovery for me. I can really recommend False Memory and From the Corner of His Eye.
Posted by Ben Poole At 03:30:09 On 18/01/2006 | - Website - |
You should really pick up the Frankenstein series when you get a chance. It is an excellent twist on an old favorite.
Sean---
Posted by Sean Burgess At 06:38:58 On 18/01/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by Duffbert At 04:11:59 On 18/01/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by Jenn Pederson At 06:19:08 On 02/01/2007 | - Website - |