Pertaining To Forever Odd

Dean Koontz's beloved character Odd Thomas, a young man who can see the dead and evil spirits he calls bodachs, is back in Forever Odd, where Odd must rescue a kidnapped friend named Danny. Danny is in even more danger than a typical kidnapping victim. He suffers from a disease known as brittle bones that disfigures his body and makes him susceptible to broken bones. When Odd finally finds Danny's kidnapper, he discovers he's up against more than he bargained for.

Pros: I love Odd! This book is full of supernatural things, and not just Odd's abilities. The main theme of the Odd Thomas books seems to be how loving and merciful God is. That people who cling to this world, afraid of what they might find in the next, are missing out. God understands how difficult things are. He understands we're fallen. But as long as we try to be and do good, it doesn't matter how many times we fail; He'll welcome us into Heaven with open arms.

Cons: It's a horror book, although not as bad as the first Odd Thomas.

My Rating: MT (gruesome deaths, mostly-moderate sexual references, language)

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On Odd Thomas

In Dean Koontz's book Odd Thomas, twenty-year-old Odd has a gift. No, it's not his strange name. Nor is it his beautiful girlfriend, Stormy Llewellyn. He has a sixth sense. He not only senses evil, but also has the ability to see dead people - ghosts that are unwilling to let go - and evil spirits he calls bodachs. These spirits are drawn to evil, even evil that hasn't yet been commited. So when Odd spots a strange-looking man in a restaurant with several bodachs on his tail, he is immediately suspicious. Little does he know how twisted and evil his adversary really is - and what horrors he intends to inflict on Odd's hometown.

Pros: This book is extremely well-written. It's the first one I've ever read (and I've read hundreds) that has made me want to read every word. (Except the first crime - ugh.) I love the supernatural/Divine angle in the book. It shows that God cares for us and looks out for us, even though terrible people do terrible things. It seems pretty deep and asks a lot of questions, though few of them are actually answered. (Of course, that's only my opinion; sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake.) I love Odd!

Cons: Ugh. Koontz's books are rightfully labeled "horror" in my local library system.

My Rating: MT, but definitely not for the weak of heart (moderate to heavy sexual references and content, gruesome murders and a particularly horrible crime, language)

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In Relation To Odd Hours

In Odd Hours, Dean Koontz's lovable psychic Odd Thomas is back again. This time, Odd is living with an old actor near the ocean shore. Troubled by dreams of a red ocean and a young woman, Odd is certain that something terrible is going to happen. Then he meets the young woman from his dream - a very pregnant young woman who asks for his help. Little does he know the magnitude of what her pursuers are planning.

Pros: As always, Dean Koontz is an amazing writer, and I love Odd. This book's story is pretty different from the other ones, which is good. Every series needs variety or it gets old pretty quick. There was one scene that absolutely terrified me. The scene with the mirror. *shudders*

Cons: There aren't as many dead people in this one. I mean, Odd doesn't see as many. I had the hardest time imagining the scene on the pier.

My Rating: MT (sexual references)

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On Brother Odd

Brother Odd is the third book in Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series. Odd, exhausted by the ordeals of the last year or so, is taking a sabbatical as a guest in a monastery with an adjacent school run by nuns for children with severe mental and physical disabilities. When Odd spots bodachs, evil spirits attracted by violence, hovering over some children in the school, he knows something terrible is about to happen. Helped by Brother Salvatore, affectionately known as "Knuckles," Odd must avert the disaster before the school and everyone one in it are destroyed.

Pros: As a Catholic, I greatly enjoy any accurate book about nuns and monks, and this book is accurate. Also, it dispels the myth that the Catholic Church has historically been anti-science. The idea! As if it wasn't the Church that built the first universities, as if Jesuit priests weren't sometimes scientists themselves. It's also a great story. And spooky! Brrr!

Cons: I guessed the resolution.

My Rating: T (sexual references, language, spooky things)

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