Odd Hours Review
This was the first book in the series that I think fits the description of sequel... or more aptly put, continuation of the original book.
In Forever Odd, Dean bored me to death because the book, to me, was pointless. He mentioned Forever Odd in Brother Odd, but only briefly and in no way did it pertain to the story. Now, In Odd Hours, you hear no mention of the casino happenings from the second novel. More and more I feel like Koontz is trying to say, "Sorry about that, folks, let's get back on track.
Odd is moving toward something in Odd Hours, something big, and I believe that the series has officially begun. It took Dear Old Dean two books to get here, but he finally knows where he's going.
The book begins like meth addict scrambling for a crystal he's lost down a drain. I wasn't expecting that. The fourth book in the Odd Thomas franchise is one long chase scene. If someone's not chasing Odd, Odd is chasing someone. There are a few very obtuse sections involving rhythmic underground noises and coyotes that are more than they appear to be which are never explained. Not to mention Annamaria. This girl is brought in, introduced, then shoved off screen in a damn hurry. I can't help but think that she will play a major role in the fifth book, Odd Apocalypse, which I will be reading next. Some have complained about the unanswered questions, but I like them. I finally have a reason to read the rest of the series.
***Spoiler Alert***
The chapters involving the boat journey, the nukes, and Odd's descent into darkness to save, as Annamaria puts it, "Cities," was some of the best suspense writing I have ever come across. Dean threw me a curve-ball, and I whiffed the swing like a roid-raging bean head. I didn't see that section coming. Odd has been such a tranquil character up until now, only acting out of shear desperation. Here, he is calculating and ruthless.
Then, he meets up with the big reveal. I laughed my ever-loving ass off during the back and forth in the final chapters. It was like watching a mystery film parody unfold. Dean must be part magician because he just pulled people out of thin air and piled them up like kindling for the winter. Someone shoots someone only to get shot by someone who then gets shot by someone else. No, really, that's how it goes. I knew I shouldn't be laughing, but by the time I reached the cliffhanger ending, my guts were hurting. I will say, I didn't see how the last baddie dies coming. Smooth bit of distraction done on Koontz's part there. But, the end, not the cliffhanger, but the final scene in the rectory, caused me to lower my initial five stars to four. Now, if Koontz meant for me to laugh at his outrageous pop-up bad guy act, then bravo, but somehow, I think he meant for me to take it seriously.
Much better than Forever Odd, not quite as good as Odd Thomas or Brother Odd, Odd Hours is just stupid fun for smart people. I recommend this one, but I will further state that you should avoid Forever Odd like the air-bourne version of Ebola. If anyone can tell me why we needed book two in the series, please, for the love of Tom Cruise, shoot me an email.
