Forever Odd

Odd Thomas #2

by Dean Koontz

I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it.

Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He's just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope.

You're invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen a lot of negative reviews for this book, and after reading it, I can see where people might feel that way. However, I thought it was very enjoyable. Sure it was weird and outlandish - with bizarre characters and haphazard dialogue, but I found it very entertaining.

The plot is basic good vs evil. The baddies are very spooky and cartoony. The leader is very focused and unreasonable in her goals - a one track mind of questionable motivation that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Odd manages to maintain a sense of humor even when facing adversity and his one-liners are often priceless.

It may not be the finest of literature, but I liked the next chapter in the world of Odd Thomas and I look forward to more.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

2010 reviewA re-read of the second book, in what I found was an innovative and compelling concept, continuing the adventures of Odd Thomas, who is trying to come to terms with the loss he suffered in the first book, when he finds himself involved with a brutal kidnapping of one of his closest friends. The philosophical thoughts and feelings of Odd are prevalent throughout this book during his arduous journey, trailing and then attempting to outwit the kidnappers; another special Odd experience by Koontz. Up a point to a 6 out of 12, Three Stars.

2006 reviewOdd Thomas - such a great concept, cool town, nice supporting cast, and just like that with this second book in the series, it may may have been ruined? A friend of Odd comes seeking him out for help and as a result Odd has to journey in sewers and storm drains to find the the villains, who are over the top and almost cartoony. Overall despite some OK humour and fair amount of adventure, the weirdness has began to feel weird for weirdness sake. A 5 out of 12, Two Star read.

2010 and 2006 read

[William Dalphin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Suppose you're a wealthy dominatrix. Just pretend for a second, okay? You've got this incredible body, and innate ability to get men to do whatever you want. You've also got a collection of voodoo items and knick-knacks, and you're very passionate about the spirit world. Naturally, instead of traversing the globe, gathering items of magical power, you scour the internet, developing online relationships with crippled people, right? Of course, because chances are good that one of those crippled people has a friend who can see the dead.

Hey, there you go! You found one who has a friend who can see the dead! You want to learn from this individual... maybe steal his life essence for your own so you can have his power for yourself, right? How would you go about doing that? What? Kidnap the guy and cut his heart out? No, no. Obviously, the right thing to do would be to kill the crippled guy's dad, kidnap the cripple, and drag him through a series of sewer tunnels out to an old abandoned casino in the desert! That way, you can test the friend to find out if he really can see the dead, right? Of course you could just kidnap him and cut his heart out and then if he's gifted, you've got the gift, and you've only killed one person instead of three. But hey, don't let logic get in your way!

Forever Odd is a continuation of Koontz's Odd Thomas stories. This time, Odd's crippled friend gets kidnapped by a dominatrix (you can stop pretending, it's not you), and dragged out to an abandoned casino to await Odd's inevitable rescue. Odd comes through with flying colors and a lot of insane deus ex machian on Koontz's part once again. Koontz is clearly the master of writing himself into a corner, and then coming up with retarded ideas for getting his characters out of the wacky situations he's written them into. How can one restaurant cook with a gift for seeing ghosts outwit a clever dominatrix and her two powerful bodyguards? Well, he can have an angry ghost cause a distraction, then a wildcat shows up to take out one badguy while another just magically goes blind and stumbles into the wrong room. Yay! While you're at it, Dean, why not just have the Hand of God come down from the sky and spank that naughty minx? That'll teach her not to kidnap cripples ever again.

This book is the equivalent of Dean Koontz coming to your house and dumping your children in a woodchipper aimed at your freshly washed sheets. Why does Dean Koontz hate humanity so much? The world may never know.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we discovered in Odd Thomas, Odd is able to see and speak to the ghosts of newly dead people and those who don't move on. Although they can't speak back they can guide and show him things. This makes life for Odd very difficult as the dead (including the ghost of Elvis) are all around him and he chooses to live in the small town of Pico Mundo in Southern California where life is quiet and few people know about his unusual gift. Odd recently lost the love of his life Stormy (Bromwen) Llewellyn and is still grieving her loss. Now his best friend Danny, a sufferer of brittle bone disease, has been kidnapped by a woman who is "crazier than a syphilitic bomber with mad-cow disease".

Odd embarks on a chase through storm drains and underwater systems to burnt out casino to confront the woman and her other-wordly companions in an attempt to get Danny back. There is plenty of action as well as a lot of humour and I enjoyed going along for the ride, however this felt more like an interlude in Odd's story rather than adding any more depth to it. At the end of the novel Odd announced that wants to move to an unusual place so that may lead to further development of his character. 3.5★

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m getting well into Odd Thomas.

He’s a cute character that sees dead people and while it’s probably more a YA series of books I am enjoying it.

Especially loving the Elvis side story.

Looking forward to seeing what Odd and Elvis get up too next.

Four stars.

[Paul E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd continues to be possessed by a middle-aged man AKA Dean Koontz, which is unfortunate more for the reader because you end up having to reread a formulaic almost puritan nature of a 20 year old kid. This story could have been so much better.
Ok, all jokes aside. This story had its exciting moments, but continues to be the same character mentalities as in all Koontz stories. The ending was very exciting until Koontz decided to simply drop the ball completely and use a "black out" to explain the ending. Really? "I don't know how I got here"? 2 1/2 - 3 stars.

[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title kind of suits this book because well, the main character's name is Odd, the story is also odd and even the genre is odd. You couldn't tell if it's horror or comedy. So, in short, Forever Odd is one odd book. Is it odd that I enjoyed reading this? :)

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this Odd Thomas book was a good and entertaining read, I say so resignedly.

Everything is here to make this as solid a book as the first; interesting plot, great supporting characters, etc. Additionally Odd's wit in Forever Odd seemed a bit more refined than the first book, and I enjoyed it a bit more because of it.

What I found unfortunate was that Forever Odd seemed stitched on to the first book in what I felt was a forced way. I couldn't escape the feeling that Odd Thomas was intended to stand alone, and these sequels were only drafted in response to the character's appeal. True enough, that's no reason to hate the book, and I don't - I just wish there were a few things that tied the plot more to the first book.

I wanted this story to really address Odd's interactions with the other people in Pico Mundo, and develop Odd's character even more after the events of book one. Instead, I think of book two as a side adventure in the overall story. It's certainly an entertaining and engaging one, but not to the extent that I'm wowed. Hopefully the third book ties things together in a more satisfactory way.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started quite slowly. I was kind of getting bored with most of it until the "Kali" concept. I am a great lover of anything involving Kali and her crazy ways. Props to Koontz for tapping into this.

This book was good; the end set up more of the series. Compared to Odd Thomas, this was a far weaker addition to the series.

Definitely necessary to read to continue on with the story, but I am looking for more suspense and horror with Book 3!

3 stars for me.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book in the Odd Thomas series is my least favorite. It seemed to me that Koontz had created a wonderful backdrop, an intriguingly complex setting peopled with quirky and delightful characters that should have been explored more fully and utilized to help him deal with his loss from the end of the first book, but instead (Spoiler!) there was a crazy evil kidnapping casino lady in a book that seemed too short. I enjoyed the story and the page turning, but was disappointed that there wasn't more to it. I suppose I should give it another go sometime.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of this series and because of that I was remembering this as a much weaker book than it actually is. The way that I remember it the woman serving as the bad guy, the woman a character describes as "crazier than a syphilitic suicide bomber with mad-cow disease," is really too evil to be believable. My memory says that she is the focal point of the whole book. This is why I should never rate by memory. She is indeed the main bad guy but her actual on camera pages are relatively few. She's still a little too evil, though.

Odd wakes up one day to find the ghost of Dr. Jessup standing over his bed. He quickly heads over to Jessup's house to find out how he died and what became of his son, Danny. Danny is a close friend of Odd's since the days that they were swapping Venusian-methane-slime beast cards for Martian-brain eating-centipede cards, which I'm hoping was a long time before this takes place. Danny has been abducted and Odd sets out to find him.

I said, "Sir, you know what's wrong with humanity?"
"Plenty," he said.
"The greatest gift we were given is our free will, and we keep misusing it."

My heart breaks a little every time I read that line.

Another fun memory thing - I remember this one as considerable shorter than the other books but it's only 30 pages shorter than the (my memory insists) much longer next book in the series? Memory! Luckily I now have goodreads to serve as my memory bank and I'll get to remember that I actually do like this book the next time around.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second in the Odd Thomas lightweight horror series revolving around a man who sees ghosts. Based in a tiny desert town in California---Pico Mundo.

My Take
I think Koontz uses this series to relax. He uses Odd's character to write the stories in this series and he uses the opportunity to relay his own philosophies about life. It certainly does allow Koontz to wander down some pretty odd paths and relate unrelated trivia! I did like the word association game Odd plays with Danny! Whew… Seems a bit much though to allow such a decision to hang on its conclusions.

Sad and yet hopeful. Odd comes to feel why Elvis likes to hang out with him. And Koontz provides a valid reason for his staying on this side of the veil.

You'd like Danny. He's got a great sense of humor and amazing insight. I particularly liked his comment about John Merrick, the Elephant Man about whom the film was created.

One thing about Odd is how peaceful he is to be around. Even when he's disarming a terrified friend or confronting armed thugs.

Ick...Datura's spouting gives Koontz even more opportunities for little one-offs! Sick, he is just sick! I wonder if they're threads of story ideas…?

The Story
It's Dr. Jessup's sudden appearance that worries Odd about his friend Danny and sends him rushing off to the Jessup house. Odd's just lucky that Chief Porter trusts him and his judgment as Odd speeds off to track his friend down, leaving the chief with the mess.

It's a terrifying chase with the kidnapper taunting Odd. And it just gets worse when he catches up to her. What she wants is...unimaginable.

The Characters
Odd Thomas is a metaphysical orphan. Yes, his parents still live, but even you would prefer to be an orphan to acknowledging them. Instead he fills his life with the friends who are his family.

P. Oswald "Little Ozzie" Boone is his hugely fat friend and mentor who wallows in good food as he writes several series of books about detectives. His latest? It definitely draws on his experiences with Odd and Terrible Chester.

Terri Stambaugh lives in her own world since her husband died of cancer some years back. She runs her cafe, the Pico Mundo Grille, and obsesses over everything Elvis. She also knows about Odd's abilities and employs him as a short-order cook. Bill Burton runs the Blue Moon Cafe.

Chief Wyatt Porter keeps Odd's secrets and together they solve crimes. He and his wife, Karla, both love Odd as a son.

Dr. Wilbur Jessup is a radiologist whose wife Carol recently died. Now there is only him and the son he adopted, Danny. One of Odd's friends from childhood, Danny suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, a.k.a., brittle bones, like the Elephant Man. He's a brilliant young man with a biting, dry wit. Simon Makepeace is Carol's first husband. Jailed for sixteen years for manslaughter and a nutcase furious in his own mind with his wife for betraying him.

Father Llewellyn was Stormy's uncle. Odd consults him about the next step he anticipates in his life.

Datura is a psychopathic nutcase with money to burn. She's obsessed with being able to see ghosts and not to simply experience them. Cheval Robert and Cheval Andre are two of her goons who help her with whatever she wants.

The Cover
The cover perfectly portrays Odd's world. A soft blue on one side and black on the other. It's Odd's hand reaching out from between the two sides, the two worlds that he inhabits. An oddly peaceful representation.

I don't know where the title comes from. Odd will be Forever Odd whether he chooses to hide as Odd Smith or stay Odd Thomas.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Odd Thomas's friend is kidnapped by a crazy psycho woman, Odd must find and rescue him before he is killed. Will he succeed in his mission? Read on and find out for yourself.

This book is pretty good and sets the tone for the rest of this series. Definitely check this book out with the rest of the series at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll just save you sometime and point out the big flaws I found in this book. I'll preface this by saying I love the first book and brother odd, the third, in my opinion is even better then the first. I'm not trying to say don't get into the series because of one blunder, but do my part in adding my opinion. It is an awesome series that has a blemish because unfortunately Koontz rushes into Forever Odd.

Problems

Odds best friend appears out of nowhere: odd specifically states everyone who knows about his gift in the first book. Then out of no where we get a best lifelong friend who has been like a bother to Odd for almost his whole life. Danny knows about his gift yet has never been mentioned before this book.

There was nothing really supernatural added to book: This was more of a survival tale then anything. While there were ghosts who play a role in Odds story such as jessup and the casino ghosts, it's all things we've seen before. Only dr jessup really contributes to solving the kidnapping of Danny. Otherwise most of the book is Odd waiting for a good time to escape the hotel. Odd basically spends the first book walking around hoping to be pulled toward Danny. The second half he is waiting for a good moment to leave. You never get that eerie feeling or wonder who committed the crime because there are basically no suspects until odd gets the phone call

The villains are poorly thought out and ridiculous: Detura, an evil genius phone sex operator. Her Minions are zombiefied bouncers with guns. Snake man, who really has no significance.

Characters are killed in ridiculous ways: the main villain datura is killed by a mountain lion. Seriously. A mountain lion saves the day. Odd shotguns another minion when he magically goes Into a blind trance. Their demise is comical at best

Overall I think Koontz just put out what ever he could As fast as he could. If y review seems jumbled and poorly written, it is. I really didn't feel the need to write out a well versed, grammatically correct and witty review for this book. I think my review reflects the overall feeling one will get from reading forever odd.

I do not mean to, as I said, turn you away from the series. I have read odd Thomas and forever odd both in the past 48 hours. I'm already half way into brother odd and so far it is my favorite book of the series by far. Keep reading and you will look past this blemish for the sake of the other books!

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Koontzland Group Read - August 2020

The Amazon Overdrive (audio) is read by “David Aaron Baker”. His “tone” brings easy/calm flow without “horror”. He’s makes listening great and the book smooth......
*
Odd Thomas, the short-order cook at a the breakfast cafe in Pico Mundo. Odd’s childhood friend Danny is kidnapped, his “step-father” is murdered. Odd finds Danny’s “birth” father, recent prison release is innocent?
*
Odd recalls Datura’s past (mentally, diseased person) in Panamint City, California - near Death Valley, with a casino/hotel of Ghosts & Poltergeists nearby.
*
Poltergeists (from the book) are German for noisy ghosts or spirits are - “impersonal as hurricanes. Cannot aim themselves or cause precise effects. They are blind, thrashing power & can harm human beings only by indirection. Flung debris to brain you, the effect is no less devastating than a well-swung club to the head.”
*
Odd’s “psychic powers” finds the “abandoned” hotel’s tunnel, deactivates the bomb strapped to Danny. Odd must capture the real evil power...
*
Recap. Datura kidnapped Danny to reveal Odd’s secrets, Odd killed her & Odd saved Danny.
*

Goodreads’s Koontzland 2020-2021 Group re-read schedule- the entire Odd Thomas Series.
1. Odd Thomas JULY
2. Forever Odd AUGUST
3. Brother Odd SEPTEMBER
4. Odd Hours OCTOBER
4.5 Odd Interlude NOVEMBER
5. Odd Apocalypse DECEMBER
6. Deeply Odd JANUARY
7. Saint Odd FEBRUARY

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Odd so so much - could he be any cuter?

Review to come

Audiobook Comments
Read by David Aaron Baker and he did a fab job with this one!

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Mauoijenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love love love these Odd Thomas books... On to the next one!!

[Deborah Joyner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't read Odd Thomas, I certainly suggest that you do - this follow-up volume finds Odd in another strange situation. Because Odd can see dead people, he knows something bad is going on when the ghost of his friend Danny's step-dad shows up at the foot of his bed. Danny has been kidnapped - and a strange woman keeps calling Odd with cryptic comments. Following the kidnappers to an abandoned casino, Odd faces down a strange set of killers. It's better than I can describe - Koontz's prose is fun and chilling - quite the best mix of horror and fantasy.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I liked this one more than the first book. It contained less doom n' gloom foreshadowing but kept up the creepy plot and wild characters. Still somewhat disturbing but interesting enough that I might listen to the third one. I like how philosophical Odd gets and the way he treats the ghosts.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ended up being a reread, didn't remember that I've read it at all. While the story of Odd is entertaining I'm not in love with the series. It's a good book to spend some time with but not more then that.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.

So for this book, I had started out listening to the audiobook but finished the last fourth of the book on my kindle cause my time for the audiobook ran out and I needed to return it to the library. The narrator was good though. I like him and he fits well with how I perceive Odd in my head. I may listen to instead of reading more in the series and I hope he continues to do them.

So this one didn't have the same scare that the first did. It lacked the Bodachs. Which were super a huge deal in the scare factor from the first book. It was also more casual, less rush, then the first. It was still really funny though and there were some scary moments. The chick in the book is super crazy too. I think it's interesting how the book swerves off out of story to tell little facts. The way it's done adds to Odd's character in my opinion. The book ended with a great setup for the next book.

How I choose my rating:
1* Hated it. I had to force myself to finish it.
2** Didn't like it. I didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other than for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this book's content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!!

[Quintin Van der Merwe]

I am still amazed by the amount of times I find myself laughing out loud when reading the "Odd" books. Brilliantly done and 5 starts for the interesting storyline. I stayed up almost all night reading this book and could not put it down.
The most brilliant thing about the book is that Dean writes in a clever way (yes, some of my friends did not get some of the funny parts); the way that things said in the beginning of the book ends up being absolutely hilarious later on while the book still keeps the serious foundation of the story that is being told. One can't help but love this character and to 'root' for him!
This is an easy read and yet brilliantly balanced, 'must read' book. I find myself struggling to find the words to describe the experience maybe because I just finished reading it now and should have waited a day or two before writing this review.
You have to then get the series of 'Odd' books and read it yourself to find out what I'm raving about here.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is based on a recent re-read:

Odd Thomas is at it again.... a great story with lot's of twists, turns and surprises.

A childhood friend of Odd’s has disappeared. The worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope.

I've been a fan of Dean Koontz for awhile now, but there's something so special, so... memorable... about Odd Thomas. He's a great character - funny, emotional, honorable - and that he talks to dead people just adds to the appeal.

Forever Odd, the second book in the Odd Thomas series has a darker feel to it than the first book. It's more emotionally involved - and I loved it!

If you're a fan of suspense/thriller/horror stories, but also want an amazing hero to join you on your reading journey, then you definitely need to read this series. And I'd strongly encourage you to read these books in order, though it's not going to be difficult to follow if you don't.

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Odd Thomas, one of my favorites from Koontz. I wasn't expecting it to be as great as the first in the series but I was looking forward to it anyway.

Sadly, it lacked that emotional spark that made Odd Thomas so appealing a read. This time Odd's friend is kidnapped and he spends the book attempting a rescue and battling a crazed female psychopath who wants Odd to conjure her a ghost. I found my mind drifting away far too often as I read. Too much action, too little emotion. Oh well, I'll just have to back and reread Odd Thomas again.

[Maciek · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILERS, but the book is not really worth anything so...
The protagonist runs around in the sewers and a deserted casino in search of a kidnapped childhood friend (about whom we didn't hear a word in the first book). He discovers that a succubi dominatrix has kidnapped his friend, but don't worry - a mountain lion jumps out from nowhere and kills her.
BOOL!
The End.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to admire Odd for his tenacity, perseverance and loyalty to his friends.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably my least favorite of the series :-(

Favorite Passages:

I hoped to hear the fading rumble of thunder. If a peal had awakened me, it must have been thunder in a dream.
_______

When I stepped onto the porch, this night proved to be like all others: deep, mysterious, trembling with the potential for chaos.
_______

My life is already muy strange and so complex that I keep a grip on sanity only by maintaining a minimalist lifestyle.
______

The Tree Of Death stands across the alley and down the block from the Jessup place....

Mr. Ying enjoys lecturing on the deadly nature of the lovely brugmansia. Every part of the tree - roots, wood, bark, leaves, calyxes, flowers - is toxic.

One shred of its foliage will induce bleeding from the nose, bleeding from the ears, bleeding from the eyes, and explosive terminal diarrhea. Within a minute, your teeth will fall out, your tongue will turn black, and your brain will begin to liquefy.
______

The telecom revolution does not always facilitate communication.
______

The porch overlooks a lawn and a half-acre woodlet of laurels, podocarpus, and graceful California peppers. In the golden morning sunshine, songbirds trilled and death seemed like a myth.
______

A bobbing tennis ball, a plastic bag pulsing as if it were a jellyfish, a playing card - the ten of diamonds - a gardening glove, a cluster of red petals that might have been cyclamen: Every object on the gray tide was luminous with mysterious meaning. Or so it all seemed to me, for I had fallen into a mood for meaning.
______

A fantastic perception arose that I had ventured into a construction that stood between worlds, or linked them, as if uncountable nautilus shells intersected in myriad dimensions, the fluid geometrics of their spiral passages offering pathways to new realities.
______

When I touched the stainless steel service door in the wall of the tunnel, a psychic hook bit deep, and I felt myself being reeled forward, as if my quarry were the fishermen and I the fish.
______

Lightning with a dragon's worth of teeth flashed across the black clouds, sharp and bright, and flashed again. Thunder crashed. The sky convulsed and shook off a million silvery scales of rain, and then millions more.
______

The world has gone mad. You might have argued against that contention twenty years ago, but if you argue it in our time, you only prove that you too, live in delusion.
______

The less depth a belief system has, the greater the fervency with which its adherents embrace it. The most vociferous, the most fanatical are those whose cobbled faith is founded on the shakiest grounds.
______

Lantern met lantern with a crash a brief bloom of light, and then we were in darkness relieved only by the sparks showering from the spinning horse and rider.
______

Like all mystical experiences, I suppose, when the ineffable seems about to be made clear, the moment passes, no less ephemeral than a dream. But after passing, this one left me electrified, as if I had been zapped by a different kind of Taser, one designed to energize the mind and force it to confront a difficult truth.
______

Evil never dies. It just changes faces.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uh oh, kids, it’s that time again. What time, you ask? Time for you to pull out your boots and grab your shovels because that synopsis is pure BULLSHIT!

First of all, Odd does not communicate with the dead, he sees the dead. Big difference. I mean sure, he can talk to them, but unless they whip out a pen and paper, he has no idea what they actually want.

Second of all, Datura is not an exceptionally cunning and fearsome enemy. You know what she is? Crazy. Not schizophrenic, bipolar, manic depressive or mentally unstable. This chick is simply nine cents short of a dime. And just let me add, worse character name ever. Well, second worst. Dreamweaver still ranks #1.

Third, there is no battle. There is a chase scene, a lucky shot, an improbable appearance from a mountain lion, another chase scene, and a starry-eyed fight sequence. And each one of these scenes showed Koontz totally reaching.

Finally, the whole sacrifices tipping the balance between despair and hope…utter shit.

Not only did this book contain one of the most non-existent plots in history, but it was also hollow and shameful. I understand authors write to get paid as well as tell their stories, but damn, you’re not supposed to rub it in our faces!! With each turn of the page all I kept thinking was, “How many damn bones does Trixie need? Does he need the money that bad?” With a story that consists only of repetitive tidbits of history and chase scenes (again, that’s the whole book), the only good thing is that you don’t need to read its predecessor to understand.

Now you would think that my love for the characters would have carried over from the first book, but it’s wasn't so. Odd’s pointless shuffling around, erratic thought process and unrealistic dialog killed whatever attachment I had to him. And aside from all of that, he had no development, nor did any other character in this book. Moving like puppets with their strings showing, this cast was empty and trite.

Oh, but wait, it gets better. Thanks to over-description, choppy and chaotic sentence structure, and bad editing, Koontz’s writing style murdered the pace and assaulted the atmosphere so badly that it committed suicide early on. Think I’m exaggerating? Here, let me give just a few examples:

“Danny has a lot better brain than any movie star of the past few decades.” – pg. 152

“Although Datura’s customary self-possession had given way to an evident excitement, to a twitchy anticipation, Andre and Robert exhibited all the enthusiasm of a pair of boulders.” – pg. 203

“She hurled more abuse at the cocktail waitress, in a language far more vile than she’d used thus far, and both of the Coleman lanterns pulsed, pulsed, as though in sympathy with the lightning that might at the same moment have been ripping though the sky outside.” – pg. 212

“That stormy day in the desert, however, much changed for me.” –pg. 256

“After putting the shotgun on the floor, I wiped my face with hands, blotted my hands on my jeans.” – pg. 257

And Mr. Koontz – Dean, considering that you wrote this book for the money, feel free to send me a check for $50. You know, for all those $.10 words you dragged out of the thesaurus. Because seriously, who uses such words like: somnambulant, semaphore, phosphorescent, disinclination, and threnody??

The only good I could find in this book was this one sentence:

“She’s crazier than a syphilitic suicide bomber with mad-cow disease.” –pg. 153

Hilarious!!!

My rating? I give it a 1. Don’t torture yourself and buy it for the ‘good days’ you had with Koontz. Dump him! And if you really need a hero, check out Jeff Strand’s Andrew Mayhem series. Now there’s a hero that captures me every time as if it were the first.



-As posted on Horror-Web.com

[Mohamed Metwally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Odd book doesn't waste time, it starts quickly with Odd finding himself in the middle of a murder/ kidnap, and I thought at first that this, like the first book, was a quick high octane intro that will be followed by the main feature, but that didn't happen, this was the main event, and the high octave kept getting higher in volume with the events keeping a heart racing pace through the 63 chapters of the story.

In this book Odd develops a more aggressive side, moving from the innocent helpful young man to a grown man that fights back to protect his life and the lives of those who matter to him (Danny in this case) even if it means killing, yet only in self defense. This is a big development to the Odd of book one, and I find it fitting to someone suffering a big loss, like Odd losing his soul mate for most of his life.

High in adrenaline pumping events that keep you glued chapter after chapter, holding your breath

MiM

[Laura Crosse · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this was a huge improvement on the first book in my opinion. In this book I actually totally fell in love with Odd and I couldn't get enough of his weird little ways. In the first instalment I thought it was difficult to warm to his character and I didn't really 'get' his weird humor and stuff but this has all changed. I now adore this character, he's so sweet and funny and refreshingly decent it's just fantastic.

The plot was so much better in this novel as well, I thought. I was hooked after the first couple of chapters whereas with the first in the series I found it took me ages to get into the story even a little bit. I felt the surroundings in Forever Odd made all the difference. The first setting when Odd begins his trip are the underground drainage system beneath Pico Mundo which are huge and cavernous and seem to be miles and miles long. They first instilled in us this sense of foreboding and anticipation that continued for nearly the whole book. They were a creepy place to be in and Odd, although he never faltered on his quest, felt as uncomfortable as the reader to be down there.

The second setting was the old Panamint Resort and Casino. It's basically an abandoned hotel that was partially destroyed by an earthquake and an ensueing fire that has never been restored or torn down. It just immediately had this creepy feeling as soon as Odd began to describe it's history. Buildings like these always fascinate me and if I'm ever near an old abandoned house, barn, castle, anything, I am compelled to go in and explore even if there is do-not-enter signs hanging omniously from the gates. I think this is why this setting intrigued me so much and it's definitely a huge part of why I enjoyed the story to the degree that I did.

The bad guy was a serious bad guy or gal as I should say. Datura was just plain evil and I wouldn't have liked to encounter her in any scenario. She was crazy and it was actually refreshing, weirdly enough, to have a certifiably insane bad guy! Odd handled her well however and I was glad to see her get her comeuppance in the end.

All in all this was thoroughly enjoyable and I'm now really looking forward to reading the next in the series and won't leave as much as a gap between books this time.