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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Sixth in the Odd Thomas lite horror series revolving around a young man who sees ghosts and feels compelled to help people. It's been 19 months since Stormy died.
My Take
This is an Odd adventure with very little of Annamarie, who appears as almost a cameo. Instead, Koontz is introducing a new branch of characters who help. In some respects this was somewhat same-same with a a descent into cliché, and yet it did have some terrifying moments. Mostly, however, this was a confusing story. I didn't understand a lot of what was going on, even as it introduced a deeper level of scare with the new cast about whom we don't learn much. I'm frustrated with not knowing what's going on with Annamaria, what her deal is. I can't believe Odd just keeps going along with her.
Oh, not fair! I'm craving cheese meatloaf...and I've never had any before!
Eeek! Koontz, this is not fair pulling in cultural references like scary movies! It makes it too easy for me to imagine the scary stuff and makes Odd feel like a regular guy. It also compounds events in the normal-seeming truck stop. A very lucky stop as it prepares him for what's to come.
Other Odd sure gave me the creeps, but I did love love Kipp and Mazie's! Oh…"Purdy was all heart, not all face" is such a lovely sentiment and so true. I remember meeting this gorgeous guy, truly drool-worthy. And he was dumber than a box of rocks. Turned me off completely. I would look at him and not see the beauty, but the slog of a conversation, the tedious time spent in his company.
Odd was irritating in this one. Normally, I enjoy his politeness and his scruples, but those qualities felt exaggerated in this, and Odd came across as a dork. I wanted to smack him a few times. Especially that scene at the end when Odd wants to release that last captive in the truck, and Hitchcock is telling him no.
Oh, if only therapy could work this fast…! Still, it is a better version than most.
The Story
Odd's gift seems to pull in the wandering helpers as well as the ghosts in need. It's lucky for him that Edie Fischer pulls in, in time to help Odd escape the rhinestone cowboy, even if he's not interested in taking the place of her deceased chauffeur.
It's a lucky, if odd rescue with yet another inscrutable woman holding back information. Must be destiny that Odd keeps attracting people who don't question his purpose.
The Characters
Odd Thomas is a fry cook. A very good fry cook who makes the fluffiest pancakes. He also sees and acts for the dead. Since Odd Hours, 4, Odd travels with Annamaria, the very pregnant and very inscrutable Lady of the Bell. Traveling with them are Raphael, a golden retriever from Odd Hours; Boo, a German shepherd ghost dog, who chose to accompany Odd in Brother Odd, 3; and, young/old Timothy, the dead boy from Odd Apocalypse, 5. Stormy Llewellyn was Odd's much-loved girlfriend who died in Odd Thomas, 1.
Edie Fischer seems a lot like Blossom from Odd Hours in that she roams the countryside following, looking for...something. And matchmaking. Oscar is her former chauffeur. Heath was/is her beloved husband with many talents including magic. Purdy Feltenham was his best man for the wedding.
The easygoing and amused Alfred Hitchcock is Odd's current ghostly friend.
Andy Shephorn is with the California Highway Patrol, and an Edie-believer. Gideon and Chandelle ride a Harley. Kipp, a former equities trader, Mazie, a former lawyer, and their sons, Tracker and Leander, have quite the armory in their fortress. Edie believes in proper weaponizing. Harmony is Leander's wife. Justine is Tracker's second wife; they specialize in printing. Big Dog is their humongous Great Dane.
Among the missing are Jessie and Jasmine Payton, eight- and six-year-old siblings, ten-year-old Jordan, and Verena Stanhope, who also sees dead people. Chet, a diner, and Sandy, one of the waitresses, inform them of the other missing children.
The cowboy trucker in his rhinestone suit is very menacing---his personality certainly does come out in this!
Lyle Hetland is the current high priest. Rob Burkett is an office guy, and Jinx is one of those being favored. Zebulon is one of the more powerful demons.
The Cover
The cover is a scene within Odd's face. A bright blue night with the yellow of reflecting lights on his right cheek as Odd stands on the center line and faces down the rhinestone trucker.
The title is so very Deeply Odd himself as he falls so very deeply into this adventure.
dj68's review against another edition
1.0
As you know, this is the 6th book in the Odd Thomas series and deals with Odd coming across a dangerous cowboy who has plans to kill a bunch of children. Odd starts a cross-state hunt to stop him and along the way he meets 86-year old Edie Fischer, who helps him on his way; she’s as mysterious as AnnaMaria but far more action oriented.
I LOVED the first Odd Thomas, as most of us did, and didn’t really feel I needed a sequel. But we got them, with varying success. I have found the odd-numbered books better than the even-numbered, and that is especially true for this book. I am not a slow reader and bought the UK edition of the book the day it came out – and one month later I’d barely gotten halfway through. Up until then I’d only liked chapter 14 and some few – VERY few – scenes that came before and after. That first half of the book is the most boring stuff I’d ever had to paddle through. I know, I could just stop, but I have promised myself to read all of the Odd series, even though I feel Koontz has lost his grip on what makes books, well, gripping. Back in the day I was the biggest Koontz-fan in Europe (maybe an exaggeration, but I was a BIG fan), but in recent years he’s just been lacking in quality. I’m not only talking about him going overboard with his catholicism and right-wingery either, he seems to have lost the edge, to dare going to dark places, and in this book his descriptions of skies and seas and lakes and houses and rooms and the such REALLY went into overdrive, so much so, that I occasionally zoned out and just read the damn paragraphs without really absorbing them, but just to get them over with. We don’t NEED half page descriptions of some room, ESPECIALLY not in the middle of a chase. Also, hammers on anvils isn’t the best way to describe even the hardest rain, methinks.
Often his descriptions of the most mundane things are laughingly stupid. Like: “Blood has an odor faint but distinct, of conceit and modesty, of courage and cowardice, of charity and greed, of faith and doubt, in short the fragrance of what we might have been and the smell of what we are…” No, Koontz, the smell of blood is coppery and sweet, no more, no less. This isn’t even clever or profound, it’s just a ramble of the worst kind.
At one point he even had Odd mention that he’d read a book called Twilight Eyes.
Later, as he’s driving with Edie, they start talking about laws and she says something about “idiot laws” and Odd asks “what law?” and she says, “Oh, all kinds of laws, sweetie. Idiot safety laws, bone-headed environmental laws that actually contribute to pollution…” I know that you’re a Republican, Koontz, but you’re still allowed to think for yourself and not believe every lie Fox News tells you about pollution and/or global warming; it’s not a hoax, maybe if you actually READ the gazillion, independent studies on it and its effects, instead of equating science = evil, God = good, then you might actually avoid sounding “bone-headed” yourself. And idiot safety laws?? What, shouldn’t there be limits on how fast you can drive? You DO know, that even a few miles extra an hour can cause severe damage that could be avoided by just driving a bit slower, right?
Then, as he and Edie are talking in a diner, he comes up with this gold nugget (he’s talking about mottoes to live by when it all goes to hell and states some examples): “The secretary of defense announces from Sweden that he is having a sex-change operation, is in love with the prime minister of Russia, and has given his lover our nuclear launch codes.” REALLY, Koontz? In that short sentence you display an ugly opinion of trans-, homo- and xenophobia. Transgendered and/or gay people are a threat to the US? This IS what you’re saying with this, and it’s a blatant lie, it is typical right wing-Michele Bachmann-paranoia crap; but it is no wonder, as it’s well known that Koontz has supported Michele Bachmann, John McCain and Mitt Romney who all LIVE for installing fear for foreigners and gays in the American population. Shame on you for this, Koontz, you had a lot of gay readers back in the day and since none of them are hurting YOU, why do you have to be such a bigot?
Just a few pages later he, ironically, muses on this: “Usually I spare myself from the news, because if it’s not propaganda, then it’s one threat or another exaggerated to the point of absurdity […], of bigotry and oppression misnamed justice, of hatred passed off as righteousness…” This IS all very true, but, again, Michele Bachmann and her ilk are the worst offenders in doing this, AND YOU SUPPORTED HER! That is bigotry!
Then he becomes delusional: “Among the nations of the Earth in all its hstory, ours is one of the few that has not brought forth its Hitler, its Stalin, its Pol Pot, its Mao Tse-tung, its Vlad the Impaler.” A lof of nations haven’t brought forth one of those, the US not being one of them: the massacring of Native Americans, Bush starting a war on grounds there were lies, bombings, shootings. Yup, it all adds up. You have just as much blood on your hands as a lot of other warring nations.
Near the end of the book, when all is ending with kids and dogs and happy sunrises, he writes: “I will not say that they were all beautiful by the standards of our culture, which is obsessed with models and airbrushed celebrities…” Well, dear Mr. Koontz, when was the last time you had a less attractive female lead in one of your books? They all have long black/blonde hair (never redheads) and deep almon-shaped brown eyes/deep truthful blue eyes, they all move with grace and have slender legs and full breasts and what have you. In a LOT of your books you have equaled beautiful = good, ugly = evil, so you’re as much to blame in that culture you slam. That’s bigotry too. I even remember in one of his earlier books, I think it was The Eyes of Darkness, where he had an elderly maid think about how this culture idolizes young people. Again, Koontz IS part of that culture, as it seems that the older he gets, the younger his protagonists are.
Which brings me to his slamming of Hollywood and everything it stands for; that is deeply ironic, since his books use every Hollywood cliché available.
His love for dogs is also too exaggerated; in one scen, Odd is attacked by three Dobermans, pacifies them, and freaking starts APOLOGIZING for having to do it!
And would it have killed you to kill off just ONE of the 26 children in this book? I don't wish death on anyone, but it's suspense fiction and the stakes are supposed to be high. ALL the bad guys die, ALL the good guys survive - where is the excitement in that? Booooring!
Of the five or so people Odd kills, one of them is a young woman, the only woman in the entire book who shows any sexuality and the only one of the killed ones whose death throes is disgustingly described. I’m not saying Koontz is a misogynist, but catholicism is and it’s also afraid of sex and he’s a self-proclaimed catholic, but I find it realy disturbing that he’s in a way “slut-shaming”, intentionally or not.
My last gripe with this book is his decriptions of Satanism. Maybe Koontz should take the time to read The Satanic Bible; Satanism is NOT about sacrificing children, or grown-ups, or goats or anyting else like that; it is NOT about summoning the devil. It IS, however, about not wanting to be shamed for all the stupid things the bible says and live your life as YOU see fit, without hurting anyone. That is ALL satanism is about. Of course, there’s always some bad seed in every group, even catholic priests abuse kids, but get your facts straight, Koontz. Also, some of the symbols the satanists use are ankhs and Celtic crosses. These are NOT associated with satanism in any way, it isn’t just catholicism that is good and loving, far from it, in fact!
Normally I hate spoilers, but for this book I actively sought them out to see if ANYHTING would happen that would make it worthwhile, but found nothing and thus had to FORCE myself to finish it.
Overall this is a very, very, very bad book; I WILL read the last Odd book, but then I think my 28 year long affair with Koontz is over. It seems like a loooong time since Whispers, Watchers, Midnight and Dragon Tears. MAYBE I will read Chris Snow #3 if he ever gets around to write it; I’m not sure, because even though they were alright books, they are not among my favourites.
Too bad, because you have given me many a good read.
I LOVED the first Odd Thomas, as most of us did, and didn’t really feel I needed a sequel. But we got them, with varying success. I have found the odd-numbered books better than the even-numbered, and that is especially true for this book. I am not a slow reader and bought the UK edition of the book the day it came out – and one month later I’d barely gotten halfway through. Up until then I’d only liked chapter 14 and some few – VERY few – scenes that came before and after. That first half of the book is the most boring stuff I’d ever had to paddle through. I know, I could just stop, but I have promised myself to read all of the Odd series, even though I feel Koontz has lost his grip on what makes books, well, gripping. Back in the day I was the biggest Koontz-fan in Europe (maybe an exaggeration, but I was a BIG fan), but in recent years he’s just been lacking in quality. I’m not only talking about him going overboard with his catholicism and right-wingery either, he seems to have lost the edge, to dare going to dark places, and in this book his descriptions of skies and seas and lakes and houses and rooms and the such REALLY went into overdrive, so much so, that I occasionally zoned out and just read the damn paragraphs without really absorbing them, but just to get them over with. We don’t NEED half page descriptions of some room, ESPECIALLY not in the middle of a chase. Also, hammers on anvils isn’t the best way to describe even the hardest rain, methinks.
Often his descriptions of the most mundane things are laughingly stupid. Like: “Blood has an odor faint but distinct, of conceit and modesty, of courage and cowardice, of charity and greed, of faith and doubt, in short the fragrance of what we might have been and the smell of what we are…” No, Koontz, the smell of blood is coppery and sweet, no more, no less. This isn’t even clever or profound, it’s just a ramble of the worst kind.
At one point he even had Odd mention that he’d read a book called Twilight Eyes.
Later, as he’s driving with Edie, they start talking about laws and she says something about “idiot laws” and Odd asks “what law?” and she says, “Oh, all kinds of laws, sweetie. Idiot safety laws, bone-headed environmental laws that actually contribute to pollution…” I know that you’re a Republican, Koontz, but you’re still allowed to think for yourself and not believe every lie Fox News tells you about pollution and/or global warming; it’s not a hoax, maybe if you actually READ the gazillion, independent studies on it and its effects, instead of equating science = evil, God = good, then you might actually avoid sounding “bone-headed” yourself. And idiot safety laws?? What, shouldn’t there be limits on how fast you can drive? You DO know, that even a few miles extra an hour can cause severe damage that could be avoided by just driving a bit slower, right?
Then, as he and Edie are talking in a diner, he comes up with this gold nugget (he’s talking about mottoes to live by when it all goes to hell and states some examples): “The secretary of defense announces from Sweden that he is having a sex-change operation, is in love with the prime minister of Russia, and has given his lover our nuclear launch codes.” REALLY, Koontz? In that short sentence you display an ugly opinion of trans-, homo- and xenophobia. Transgendered and/or gay people are a threat to the US? This IS what you’re saying with this, and it’s a blatant lie, it is typical right wing-Michele Bachmann-paranoia crap; but it is no wonder, as it’s well known that Koontz has supported Michele Bachmann, John McCain and Mitt Romney who all LIVE for installing fear for foreigners and gays in the American population. Shame on you for this, Koontz, you had a lot of gay readers back in the day and since none of them are hurting YOU, why do you have to be such a bigot?
Just a few pages later he, ironically, muses on this: “Usually I spare myself from the news, because if it’s not propaganda, then it’s one threat or another exaggerated to the point of absurdity […], of bigotry and oppression misnamed justice, of hatred passed off as righteousness…” This IS all very true, but, again, Michele Bachmann and her ilk are the worst offenders in doing this, AND YOU SUPPORTED HER! That is bigotry!
Then he becomes delusional: “Among the nations of the Earth in all its hstory, ours is one of the few that has not brought forth its Hitler, its Stalin, its Pol Pot, its Mao Tse-tung, its Vlad the Impaler.” A lof of nations haven’t brought forth one of those, the US not being one of them: the massacring of Native Americans, Bush starting a war on grounds there were lies, bombings, shootings. Yup, it all adds up. You have just as much blood on your hands as a lot of other warring nations.
Near the end of the book, when all is ending with kids and dogs and happy sunrises, he writes: “I will not say that they were all beautiful by the standards of our culture, which is obsessed with models and airbrushed celebrities…” Well, dear Mr. Koontz, when was the last time you had a less attractive female lead in one of your books? They all have long black/blonde hair (never redheads) and deep almon-shaped brown eyes/deep truthful blue eyes, they all move with grace and have slender legs and full breasts and what have you. In a LOT of your books you have equaled beautiful = good, ugly = evil, so you’re as much to blame in that culture you slam. That’s bigotry too. I even remember in one of his earlier books, I think it was The Eyes of Darkness, where he had an elderly maid think about how this culture idolizes young people. Again, Koontz IS part of that culture, as it seems that the older he gets, the younger his protagonists are.
Which brings me to his slamming of Hollywood and everything it stands for; that is deeply ironic, since his books use every Hollywood cliché available.
His love for dogs is also too exaggerated; in one scen, Odd is attacked by three Dobermans, pacifies them, and freaking starts APOLOGIZING for having to do it!
And would it have killed you to kill off just ONE of the 26 children in this book? I don't wish death on anyone, but it's suspense fiction and the stakes are supposed to be high. ALL the bad guys die, ALL the good guys survive - where is the excitement in that? Booooring!
Of the five or so people Odd kills, one of them is a young woman, the only woman in the entire book who shows any sexuality and the only one of the killed ones whose death throes is disgustingly described. I’m not saying Koontz is a misogynist, but catholicism is and it’s also afraid of sex and he’s a self-proclaimed catholic, but I find it realy disturbing that he’s in a way “slut-shaming”, intentionally or not.
My last gripe with this book is his decriptions of Satanism. Maybe Koontz should take the time to read The Satanic Bible; Satanism is NOT about sacrificing children, or grown-ups, or goats or anyting else like that; it is NOT about summoning the devil. It IS, however, about not wanting to be shamed for all the stupid things the bible says and live your life as YOU see fit, without hurting anyone. That is ALL satanism is about. Of course, there’s always some bad seed in every group, even catholic priests abuse kids, but get your facts straight, Koontz. Also, some of the symbols the satanists use are ankhs and Celtic crosses. These are NOT associated with satanism in any way, it isn’t just catholicism that is good and loving, far from it, in fact!
Normally I hate spoilers, but for this book I actively sought them out to see if ANYHTING would happen that would make it worthwhile, but found nothing and thus had to FORCE myself to finish it.
Overall this is a very, very, very bad book; I WILL read the last Odd book, but then I think my 28 year long affair with Koontz is over. It seems like a loooong time since Whispers, Watchers, Midnight and Dragon Tears. MAYBE I will read Chris Snow #3 if he ever gets around to write it; I’m not sure, because even though they were alright books, they are not among my favourites.
Too bad, because you have given me many a good read.
desidevabookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Best one yet! This book INSTANTLY jumps into the crazy journey Oddie must go through and the amaz people he meets on the way is just wanting you to want more! This is book 6 out of 7 and I find myself sad that it's almost done. In the end, it's all as it should be🤍
lauraav's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this one so much also love that Alfred Hitchcock got to talk. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra didn’t talk . Also found this story as well as the others in the series very good I highly recommend these to everyone.
stepriot's review against another edition
4.0
I'm having a good time, but the nostalgia for a time that never was gets old.
rlisaacs's review against another edition
4.0
This one was better than the previous one. Of course, my only complaint for the previous one was the fact that there was too many descriptions and not enough action or interaction with other people. There was probably still an excess of that in this book too. Probably some of it could've been done without. But a lot of it is also Odd Thomas' inner thoughts and thinking as he's getting ready to move, and I do like seeing how his mind works. So for the most part, I enjoyed this book a lot more. Odd Thomas is still our wonderful Odd Thomas. A hero who refuses to call himself as such. He meets a lot of interesting characters in this book, which also helped keep my interest. Both the good and the bad that he came across.
This 'true nature of the world' confuses me. Not because I doubt that this interpretation is in some ways correct, but because we are seeing it through Odd's eyes, and he's not fully brought in yet. Or, if he is, he doesn't understand it yet. And since we're getting the story through his eyes and thoughts, his confusion becomes our confusion. (Makes sense, except Odd is kind of fine with remaining confused, and I'm not. But I still enjoyed this.)
Only one book left in the series, and from the sounds of things, we're coming full circle here. What that exactly means, I have no idea. But I think we're finally on our way back to Pico Mundo, and I do sincerely hope that Odd is able to save the day and all the people he loves.
This 'true nature of the world' confuses me. Not because I doubt that this interpretation is in some ways correct, but because we are seeing it through Odd's eyes, and he's not fully brought in yet. Or, if he is, he doesn't understand it yet. And since we're getting the story through his eyes and thoughts, his confusion becomes our confusion. (Makes sense, except Odd is kind of fine with remaining confused, and I'm not. But I still enjoyed this.)
Only one book left in the series, and from the sounds of things, we're coming full circle here. What that exactly means, I have no idea. But I think we're finally on our way back to Pico Mundo, and I do sincerely hope that Odd is able to save the day and all the people he loves.
roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
While the philosophy got a bit tiresome and wordy at times, this book makes great strides in Ting the series together and paves the way for a finale in the near future. Odd is delightful as always, and he picks up some great new characters. The stakes are higher here, and the evil greater.
rainbowsparkle7x's review against another edition
5.0
I love Dean Koontz's ability to combine the profound with the profane, and such a wonderful blend of humor woven into the darkest tapestry. Excellent book.
jonnyj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0