Forever Odd - Dean Koontz

Advantages: Fast Paced, gripping story
Disadvantages: None at all

This is the latest offering from Dean Koontz, author of so many brilliant horror/suspense/thriller books. I believe Koontz is hard to categorise, he has his own unique genre. He has written loads of books, my personal favourites being "False Memory", "Seize the Night" and "Lightning". This one is the second book which features Odd, the first being "Odd Thomas". We are also promised a third in the series, "Brother Odd" which is released in November. ...
...is dedicated to Trixie, Koontz' dog who, if you visit Koontz' website, has a very amusing writing style herself! *** Main Characters *** Odd Thomas - The 21 year old narrator of the story. And no, it's not a nickname, it's his real name. Odd has a "gift" - he is a friend to the dead, who seek him out to help them. He also has what he calls "Psychic magnetism". The very recently deceased Dr Jessup - Has come to visit Odd in the middle of the night, ... Read review

Advantages: A great read, gripping, page-turner
Disadvantages: Not as strong as some of Koontz's other novels

"Forever Odd" is the second in what has become a trilogy of novels about Odd Thomas, a 21-year-old man with supernatural talents and an ability to get himself caught up in just about every serious crime that happens in his home town of Pico Mundo. Odd's name could be a nickname given to him by his friends and colleagues because of his unusual abilities; more likely, it's because his dysfunctional parents got it wrong when they registered his birth ...
...Either way, Odd Thomas was born with the ability to see the dead, and - using them - Odd helps Pico Mundo's Chief of Police, Wyatt Porter, to solve the town's crimes. He can also see other creatures, bodachs, that tend to act as portents of impending disaster and has the ability to use Psychic Magnetism to seek out people he's looking for; helpful when the police can't find the bad guy. On top of all this, he was also born with an acerbic wit and ... Read review

Advantages: not a bad story but nothing amazing or ground-breaking and quite formulaic
Disadvantages: Majorly disappoints after the impact of it's predecessor.,....

FOREVER ODD takes Koontz's best-loved character, from his self-titled debut novel, and gives him a second outing set in the sleepy town of Pico Mundo. It is unusual for Koontz to write a sequel as normally his collected works stand alone but it is not without precedent; previously Koontz has written two back-to-back novels about another character named Jonathan Snow who suffers a rare skin condition that means he can only come out at night. Odd ...
...talents. As a sequel, FOREVER is something of a disappointment and you get a real sense that this could easily have been a stand-alone novel with just a few alterations to the plot. In fact there is a feeling that this could've been an old story that Koontz had lying around, not sure what to do with it, not good enough to be released on it's own merits until Koontz adapted it for the character of Odd Thomas with the idea of starting a money-spinning ... Read review

Advantages: Another Dean Koontz book
Disadvantages: A rather ordinary Dean Koontz book

...to this particular location. Forever Odd is a rather routine search and rescue thriller with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. The first half of the book is quite pedestrian in pace and it was largely my appreciation of Dean Koontz's narrative style that kept me reading. Despite the rather mediocre and somewhat predictable plot and the comic book villians, I still took delight in Mr Koontz's skill as a wordsmith. As a long ...
...It had none of the shudders and nasty surprises that I have enjoyed in his previous books. It also lacked that sense of wonder and spirituality that Koontz often brings to his stories and characters. In conclusion, a very ordinary 'odd' one out for a well established master of the genre (Despite this, I've already bought his next book!). I bought the paperback edition at Amazon price £5.59 publisher Bantam ISBN 0553588265 I have since seen a ... Read review

Advantages: Story, Characters ect.
Disadvantages: Sligtly unrealistic but you don't really care.

...Odd Thomas is the first installment of the 'Odd' series, which is followed by Forever Odd and Brother Odd. I'm a Dean Koontz fan, but by far this or Life Expectancy have to be the best of his books, so I'm not biased. The book is set in Pico Mundo a small town in the desert, with the main character Odd Thomas actually narrating the book. The main characters are: Odd Thomas - The main character sees the dead and the shadows (bodachs) Stormy Llyewellyn - Odd's girlfriend, and 'destiny'. She was abused by foster parents after her real parents died. Chief Porter - Odd's friend, apart from Stormy one of the only people who knows Odd sees the dead. Little Ozzie - Odd's friend, has 6 fingers on 1 hand. The one who made Odd write the book and owning a 50 year old cat, who he insist is that old. The story starts with Odd seeing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: It's an 'Odd Thomas' novel, they're always good and easy to read
Disadvantages: This one's a little too farcical in places

...Odd Thomas is clearly a favourite of Dean Koontz. Having started with the novel by the same name, he quickly followed it up with "Forever Odd" and brought out a third novel at the start of this year: "Brother Odd." Odd is a strange little character with a dry wit, a passionate sense of right and wrong and a desire for peace, tranquility and a quiet life doing nothing more than cooking pancakes for the customers at his friend's restaurant in his home town of Pico Mundo. Unfortunately for Odd, he can also see the dead and has the power of Psychic Magnetism, which tends to draw him towards violence and danger in the weirdest forms. In his quest for the quieter life, and having lost his girlfriend and almost lost his best friend in the two previous novels, Odd decides to take a break from his hometown and takes up residence... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful