THE ODD THOMAS SERIES by DEAN KOONTZ
While this is, of course, primarily a movie blog, I will occasionally review a book now and then, especially if it has some significance to movies. As this entertaining series had it’s first book adapted into an underrated and fun flick by Stepehen Sommers, I figured why not review the whole series as it has reached it’s final chapter by it’s author, Dean Koontz! Sadly, the movie Odd Thomas was sent straight to home media, but I would love to see the franchise continue in movie form with the perfectly cast Anton Yelchin returning as Odd! UPDATE: Obviously this statement was written before Anton Yelchin’s tragic death -MZNJ
WARNING!: Some of the reviews may reveal spoiler-ish information about the previous book. I tried to avoid this as much as possible, but it wasn’t always easy to convey the story without giving away some details of the previous installment!
ODD THOMAS by DEAN KOONTZ
I decided to check this book out after seeing the movie adaptation, which I liked very much. The book was a lot of fun, as was the film. It was delightfully offbeat with a truly endearing cast of characters and a suspenseful plot with hero Odd going up against some very supernatural and very human evils. A really entertaining and fast paced read…and who could resist a hero that is befriended by a spectral Elvis Presley? Anyone interested in checking out Stephen Sommers’ movie adaptation, it captures the spirit and a lot of the action of the book quite well and Anton Yelchin is perfectly cast as Odd as is Addison Timlin as Stormy Llewellyn.
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FOREVER ODD by DEAN KOONTZ
I enjoyed this second adventure of Dean Koontz’s offbeat hero, it’s not as good as the first book, but it is an enjoyable read and Thomas is such a likable and delightfully eccentric character that he gets you through any of the weak spots with his engaging wit and offbeat commentary. This book picks up six months after the last one with Odd still suffering the effects of the mall shootings. While he saved hundreds, there were still close to two dozen who did perish, his beloved Stormy among them. But things don’t stay quiet long for Odd, as a longtime friend is kidnapped and the boy’s father murdered by a sinister occult-obsessed woman and her two dangerous thugs. Odd tracks them to a burnt out casino in the desert only to find his friend is just bait in a trap and Odd himself is the actual prey. Can he get himself and his friend out alive?
While the story is on a smaller scale and the villainous Datura is a more over-the-top villain than he faced last time, she is a fun and detestable bad girl and Odd’s cat and mouse games with her and her thugs in the maze of burnt out casino floors and hallways is quite fun. Sure, it doesn’t have the suspense or mystery of the first book, but it still is an entertaining tale, even if on a smaller scale and it’s just fun to spend more time with Odd. He’s a great character. The one thing I do really miss though, is his camaraderie with Stormy. Their dialog exchanges were priceless in book one, but Odd’s inner monologue narration is certainly a lot of fun as always. Not an equal but an enjoyable sequel.
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BROTHER ODD by DEAN KOONTZ
I really enjoyed what is the ‘oddest’ Odd Thomas adventure, so far, from author Dean Koontz. After the events of the last book, Odd decides he needs a break from the real world and the supernatural and goes to the monastery of St. Bartholomew’s Abbey for some peace, quiet and reflection. But the supernatural finds him, as an appearance by the harbingers of doom, the Bodachs, signals something terrifying is about to befall this peaceful retreat of monks, nuns and orphaned children. Once again Odd is put to the test as something he’s never encountered before starts stalking and killing in this idyllic place and Odd himself has seen this form of death incarnate. And what does a mysterious Russian monk and an eccentric genius turned holy man possibly have to do with it?…maybe nothing, or maybe everything, but will Odd Thomas find out in time?
I really enjoyed that author Koontz set such a strange adventure for Odd in such a, by contrast, peaceful yet remote place. He goes outside the box here taking his story beyond the supernatural in a very entertaining tale that echos The Name Of The Rose, The Seventh Sign and a dash of James Bond. In other hands it might have been a mess, but Koontz is no stranger to mash-ups, he’s done it long before that became a pop culture phrase. Here he makes his story work and no better glue to hold it together then the wonderfully engaging and endearing Odd Thomas. A fun, fast read that takes us in new directions yet, still gives us all we want from an Odd Thomas novel. Chilling and fun with a very engaging cast of characters!
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ODD HOURS by DEAN KOONTZ
I really love Koontz’s Odd Thomas character and this is the first adventure of his that I was really disappointed with. The story takes Odd into James Bond territory as his stop in the shore community of Magic Beach leads him, his ghost dog Boo and the spectral Frank Sinatra into a plot that has corrupt locals allowing an undisclosed Middle Eastern country to deliver four nuclear weapons to their shores to be distributed to various U.S. targets.
The adventure doesn’t seem to fit the character, as it would Bond, or TV’s Jack Bauer and the supernatural elements that are usually well integrated in Odd’s stories are used here in very silly ways…Sinatra’s poltergeist activities…or simply as plot conveniences to get Odd out of trouble. Not to mention that the most intriguing new characters all take a backseat to the bland generic villains. After three previous efforts that were all very entertaining in various degrees, this installment would have been a complete disappointment if it weren’t for Odd himself who is still a delightful character, despite that the book takes him to places I was sad to see his character go. Not a complete waste of time, but very disappointing and hopefully Odd’s drastic actions in this book don’t sully a very unique and enjoyable character
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ODD INTERLUDE by DEAN KOONTZ
Odd Interlude was a special adventure written by Koontz that was originally only available digitally, but finally found it’s way to print. It is set between Odd Hours and Odd Apocalypse during a stopover at a roadside motel/diner/service station by the name of Harmony Cove. Here Odd encounters the Harmony family who are trapped and being controlled by strangely powerful man by the name of Dr. Hiskott. Odd is obligated to save them, but Hiskott knows he is there and would use the helpless Harmony family as tools to see Odd and his companion Annamarie, dead.
I really liked this book, it was very much like an episode of The X-Files with secret government research facilities, artificial intelligence, alien artifacts and DNA, and the horrifying result of that DNA’s mix with an already off-kilter scientist. It’s a fast read and a lot of fun and despite the previous events of Magic Beach, Odd seems more like his old humorous self. It’s a very enjoyable entry in the series and ranks with the better of the sequel books. A lot of fun. Too bad Odd didn’t take Jolie along with him, she was an engaging character.
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ODD APOCALYPSE by DEAN KOONTZ
Next installment of the Odd Thomas series is much better than the disappointing Odd Hours though, not as good as Odd Interlude. It does, though, take Odd in an intriguing H.G. Wells direction, with elements of time travel/management, eternal youth and mutant creatures from the future. When Odd and Annamarie find themselves staying as guests of an eccentric billionaire and his equally off staff, Odd is soon visited by spirits and off to right wrongs that may have been committed ages ago and somehow frozen in time. But with the appearance of mysterious and very vicious creatures and the increasingly strange behavior by his hosts, Odd finds himself running out of time in a place where time may be both standing still and tearing apart.
I enjoyed the book. The effects of the events of Odd Hours seem to weigh heavier on Odd in this story and though he is witty as ever, there is now a bit more of darkness to him as he tries to come to terms with those effects. The H.G. Well-ish story involving time control machinery created by Nikolai Tesla himself is entertaining and includes a mysterious little boy, mutations that may be from a future time and the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock. It returns Odd to more supernatural events with a Sci-Fi twist and while it doesn’t fit him 100%, it is far more of an Odd Thomas story than the ‘Die Hard At The Beach‘ that was the disappointing Odd Hours. And as far as his new companion, the pregnant Annamarie, I do have to admit her speaking in constant riddles and never really contributing much to the stories is getting tiresome already. Do something with the character soon, Mr. Koontz, or move on. She’s more annoying than intriguing. An entertaining book, but still not quite up to level of some previous entries.
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DEEPLY ODD by DEAN KOONTZ
Deeply Odd takes Odd Thomas back in more supernatural territory with the “Odd One” going up against a group of well organized and powerful demon worshipers led by a deranged, truck driving “Rhinestone Cowboy” intent on a sacrificial slaughter of 17 innocent children, unless Odd, an eccentric old woman named Edie and, none other than, the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock can stop them.
Deeply Odd is a fun book and reminded me of a dark, supernatural Smokey And The Bandit as Odd and Eddie, in her souped up limo, chase the 18 wheeler driving cowboy…who, Odd’s skills tell him is at the center of the planned slaughter…across highways till it’s climactic confrontation in a secluded farmhouse. There are chases, escapes and alternate dimensions and even a soul sucking demon who likes to wear Odd’s face, give or take a few eyes. The book smartly keeps Annamarie on the sidelines, which was fine with me, as the character’s speaking in riddles has worn out it’s welcome and despite the changes in Odd, has returned some of his more ‘buoyant in the face of danger’ personality and charming self-defacing humor. Definitely the best book since the delightful Brother Odd.
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SAINT ODD by DEAN KOONTZ
With his newest and final book in the series, Dean Koontz brings his para-normally gifted hero Odd Thomas full circle. The book opens with Odd racing home to his beloved Pico Mundo to head off the same cult he thwarted in Nevada in the last book. They are on their way to his hometown with mayhem and mass murder on their minds and they know who Odd is and he is among their primary targets. Now Oddie must join forces with old friends and new, to stop whatever fiendish plan these crazed demon worshipers have in mind. But time may be running out in more ways than one, as the closer Odd Thomas gets to home, the closer he feels he comes to finally being reunited with his dead love Stormy, as fulfillment of the fortune teller’s promise from long ago…YOU ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER!
Obviously, this book was a bittersweet experience for someone like me who has really enjoyed this series and loved the Odd Thomas character. Thankfully Koontz gives us a very fitting conclusion, in what is one of the series’ best books since the first. It’s no surprise he would bring Odd back to Pico Mundo for the finale and it was great to not only have Odd back on familiar turf, but working again with friends Ozzie Boone and Chief Wyatt Porter. We also have appearances from Odd’s new allies like the mysterious and energetic spinster Edie, who heads a secret organization out to thwart the evils of the world, and the enigmatic Annamarie, but Koontz keeps their involvement to a minimum and let’s Odd Thomas take center stage for his final adventure. The book is a blisteringly fast and engaging read and is a very suspenseful and entertaining story that brings the adventures of the gifted fry cook with a mission to a very satisfying end. Whether he reunites with his lost love or not, is up to you to find out, but Koontz gives this series a great send-off and finishes Odd’s adventures with one of his best. A really good book and a finale that ends the series with the conclusion it deserves. I will greatly miss this character and this series.
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