Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)

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Product Description
Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill
the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn,
his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of
the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature

Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.

St. Bartholomew’s Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California’s high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd’s steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey’s most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews: Read 229 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A Worthy Sequel to Odd Thomas December 4, 2006
86 out of 88 found this review helpful

Dean Koontz is one of my favorite writers. He has been writing novels for longer than I've been alive (and I'm approaching middle age!). I've read most of Koontz's fifty plus novels, and I'm happy to say that BROTHER ODD is definitely one of the better ones.

BROTHER ODD is the third in a series of novels featuring the character of Odd Thomas, who Koontz introduced to the world in 2003. Many Koontz fans consider the first ODD THOMAS novel to be one of Koontz's best books, perhaps rivaled only by WATCHERS, his 1980s classic.

I personally agree with this assessment. The first ODD THOMAS was a true masterpiece of popular fiction. It is a remarkably well done novel with a highly imaginative plot and fully-drawn characters. Odd Thomas, the title character, is a enormously likable young man from the small town of Pico Mundo who has the uncanny power to see the lingering dead. He is probably my favorite Koontz character of all time. If you have not read ODD THOMAS, I strongly recommend that you give it a try; Koontz has received more reader mail about that book than any other novel in his forty year writing career.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of ODD THOMAS, Koontz released a lackluster sequel, FOREVER ODD in 2005. That sequel is considered a major disappointment by most fans, lacking the fine characterization and strong plotline of the first book. I personally found it to be Koontz's worst novel in several years. Needless to say, after reading FOREVER ODD, I was not thrilled to learn that Koontz was planning a third entry in the series.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by BROTHER ODD. This novel is a major return to form for Koontz, and is very similar in tone to the first ODD THOMAS novel. I won't rehash the plot, but it involves Odd retreating to a monastery in response to the events of earlier books. This novel has a much stronger plot than FOREVER ODD, and Koontz has wisely decided to spend more time on creating a brand new set of likable and interesting characters. I found this novel to be a pleasure to read. I especially enjoyed the funny and clever dialogue scenes between Odd and the other (highly eccentric) occupants of the monastery.

This novel isn't perfect, however. My major quibble with BROTHER ODD is that it's far too short. BROTHER ODD had a bit of a rushed quality that I found unfortunate. There are a lot of very interesting characters in this novel, but some of them only last for a few pages or so. Koontz writes two or three books a year now, and as a result his novels are dramatically slimmer than they used to be. A shorter length is fine for a fast-paced suspense novel like VELOCITY or THE HUSBAND; but I think the Odd Thomas books should be longer to allow more room for character growth and development. If Koontz had spent a few more months on this novel, he could have produced another masterpiece in my opinion.

Overall though, BROTHER ODD is a winner. If you read and enjoyed the first ODD THOMAS, you should enjoy this third entry. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

It just keeps getting odder and odder November 30, 2006
25 out of 31 found this review helpful

Like other reviewers I also like Brother Odd Koontz' newest installment on the Odd series. Unlike many other reviewers I like all three books, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd and now Brother Odd. I also think that each book has gotten stronger in story development. Obviously, as the main character forms in front of our eyes the books should get better each time.

In Brother Odd, Odd Thomas has retreated to St. Bartholmew's Abbey in an attempt to put some distance between himself and the dead that he sees almost constantly. Eventually trouble catches up with him at the abbey as bodachs, a particularily hateful form of spirit, begin to show up. This certainly means that huge trouble is in the offing.

Koontz is a master story constructor. He leads the reader through experiences and vistas that we are unable to experience in this world....thank God. Brother Odd is a scary book and certainly worth your while to read if you're looking for some unsettling escapism.

Peace

5 out of 5 stars

A Perfect Series, Absolutely Perfect! January 12, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I never, ever read a Dean Koontz novel in my life until a few weeks ago when I stumbled across a review of the first 'Odd Thomas' book. I have now read all three of them and I can say that I have never read a series of books with a recurring character that I have enjoyed this much. I hope and pray that there will be MORE!!!!

Odd Thomas is one of the most loveable, humble, engaging and endearing "people" I know....even if he does see ghosts and is only a lowly fry cook! I came away from the series feeling as if I'd made a quirky, sweet, new friend. The scenes with the ghost of Elvis are both bittersweet, heart-rending and funny as hell.

When I finished this book, I was crying my eyes out and my husband walked in shaking his head and said, "I don't think I've ever seen a person crying over a Dean Koontz novel!" I won't give away what made me cry, but it was joyous, poignant, moving and heartrending. I read it again later and cried again.

This is a fabulous, different, enjoyable series and a must-read if you like fabulous characters.

2 out of 5 stars

*********** OH, SIGH ************************** January 9, 2007
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

What can one say? Our beloved Dean Koontz just seems completely unable to recapture the magic readers experienced in the first installment of this trilogy---Odd Thomas. It is only the love affair with Oddie himself which keep many of us (at least myself) coming back for more...
In this, the third of the series, Odd has sought refuge at St. Bartholomew's Abbey. In addition to a religious institution, the Abbey is also a hospital/home to sick, mentally challenged children....who have no one else to care for them. And although the King of Rock 'N Roll is still omnipresent, Oddie can think of no other place more isolated and removed from the ills of the world. Until the day that Odd spots his first bodach, hovering maliciously over one of the children...and realizes that death and destruction will inevitably follow......

The bottom line is that there is no question that Dean Koontz is a great writer...and there is no denying his wit, which is pervasive throughout this novel. However....3/4 of the way through this book, and there is absolutely nothing going on. Endless descriptions of bodachs, hospital hallways, and the infirmed; inane dialogue between Odd and whom we may view at first as an adversary all come together to create an extremely slow-moving tale. With so much potential, the book is almost painful in its disappointment. If not for my love of the ever-quirky Oddie, I would have to let go of this series (clearly, there will be another).

Mr. Koontz has not yet assembled a follow-up worthy of the original Odd Thomas...I am ever-hopeful that eventually he will.

DYB

5 out of 5 stars

Better than Forever Odd November 29, 2006
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

If you look at my review for "Forever Odd," you'll find that I was a bit unimpressed by it--although that was, in large part, because of the high hopes the first book had set. [A word of warning, by the way: if you haven't read "Odd Thomas" and "Forever Odd," you may want to read them first, as this book gives away a lot of details from those books--especially the former.]

This third book in the Odd series sets the bar higher, and does so from the very first chapters. Even if you haven't read the first two books in the series, it's pretty clear that some terrible things are about to happen--and yet it took me a very long time to figure out what those things were, and why they were about to happen. And even before those terrible things unfold, there are some truly nightmarish scenes (it reminded me of "The Taking"). Amazingly, though, Koontz managed to keep some surprises even for the very last chapter (which may not be the end of the series).

My only complaint with the book is that Koontz trots out some of the same arguments he's been making for years (for example, there's one rant that could have been lifted verbatim from "One Door Away from Heaven"). But even that doesn't really detract from the novel: Koontz brings the monastery to life while simultaneously crafting the spookiest book he's written in quite some time.

If you're a fan of Koontz or Odd, you won't be disappointed.

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