Horror Aficionados discussion
Buddy Reads
>
Odd Thomas series buddy read (spoiler warning)
message 151:
by
Mehmet
(new)
Apr 08, 2019 07:10AM
i have that Joe Hill and Peter Straub book. Jonathan also likes to listen to audio books. My brother started listening since last year. I myself prefer to read, slowly but surely. Reading is my time to relax after a hard days work
reply
|
flag
I wish I could read more but I have so much work to do at home. I’ll try reading for an hour before bed
I know I have been a little hard on the series based on my own expectations. But I do plan on seeing it through to the end. I will be somewhat sad when it is all over
@jonathan I’m sure I’ll get back to it.
Also one good thing I love about this series is that I can’t predict how it will all end since there isn’t one main antagonist that ties all of the books together. It is pretty interesting analyzing it from that perspective
@jonathan, if it works for you, go for it, the series I want to finish are annihilation, the hatching, and the passage.
How are you liking the passage? Did you see the television version?
I’ve read the first two books, loved them, saw the first 9 episodes of the tv show, loved it.
Hey everyone! I'm not really in a reading mood right now so I'll be taking a break. I just got caught up on all your comments and really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Hopefully I'll pick the series back up in a few weeks. I like how informal this buddy read is so I'll be checking in.
@Jonathan, Mob Psycho 100 is at the top of my "animes to watch" list. :)
Enjoy your break Cookie, hope everything ok and look forward to catch up when you are back.I am on chapter 12 on book three at the moment.
Just reach Odd Interlude which takes place between Odd Hours and Odd Apocalypse I think. So far Odd Interlude is slowly becoming my favorite so far.
ohhh did not now there was another short story included in the series. For some reason I was thinking it was a graphic novel
Yeah it is basically the length of a novel. It picks up right after the events of Odd Hours. I don’t recommend skipping it even though it is considered to be a side novel for some reason. Especially if you have been waiting to see more “paranormal / supernatural ” stuff.
The reading order for the main story novels is 1. You Are Destined to be together forever
2. Odd Thomas
3. Forever Odd
4. Brother Odd
5. Odd Hours
6. Odd Interlude
7. Odd Apocalypse
8. Deeply Odd
9. Saint Odd
I left the prequel graphic novels out of the chronological order and just stuck to the novels / ebooks / audiobooks
Only got a couple of hours left of Odd Interlude. It reminds me of a episode of Supernatural.
Just finished Brother Odd. Found the ending very rushed.
Just finished Odd Interlude. Definitely the best one in my opinion. It has all of the surreal craziness that I have wanted since the first novel. I’m noticing a very common trend with all of his books so far. All of his endings seemed a little rushed or more accurately it seems like every time the main protagonists meets the main antagonist, It always feels a little bit anti-climatic. The main villain always gets dispatched relatively quickly which is a little bit disappointing considering that the build up to it is always a little drawn out. I kind of wish that the author of the book would balance things out a little bit more, so by the time the hero reaches the main climax it doesn’t feel like it’s all wrapped up in a single chapter of the book. Since the first novel I just feel like all the villains are not that well fleshed out or thought out. I don’t mind a little bit of mystery and I don’t mind him keeping things somewhat vague, but with almost every novel I find myself scratching my head and wondering if the villain has any more backstory than what is presented in the book. I understand that this is a first person novel and that our hero might not realistically understand everything that he’s getting involved with but sometimes it feels like lazy writing even though I’m sure that’s not what the author had intended.
That's how i feel Jonathan, another issue is each book adds more to the universe which makes it more immersive but does not seem to answer any questions. I still feel like what we were told in the first book is the only knowledge we are told. The question marks from book one onwards are not addressed. Maybe later books will explain ?
I hope he does have a way of typing up loose ends. I am sure you are starting to notice that mysteries presented in a previous novel usually are not brought up again in the later novels. (Like the weird time loop thing briefly mentioned in the first novel.) I am starting to think the Bodocks will probably never be explained either. I mean I don’t want everything explained for me. Certain shows like Twin Peaks and True Detective can be mysterious and entertaining at the same time. By Odd Thomas is more like a less entertaining Stranger Things then a show about secrets like Twin Peaks. David Lynch keeps the viewer engaged by having characters encounter more secrets while also getting answers. Dean Koontz doesn’t seem to have that kind of quality in his story telling. I just hope at the end he doesn’t take the lazy way out and go all bible thumper on us. (Like say that this was all Gods plan therefore no explanation needed for all of Odd’s adventures.)
Just about 80% through Odd Interlude. This story of his borrows from his Demon Seed novel. Although he makes it more PG with a teen girl instead of a desirable woman. No naughty bits apart from the horror aspects, which remind me of Wrong Turn.
Oh wow. You got through Odd Hours really quick dude. Have you started reading more then one chapter a night? It took me almost a month to wade through Odd Hours after the disappointment of Brother Odd. I did like Odd Hours more then Brother Odd though. I didn’t hear you mention Odd Hours at all so I was just curious since Odd Interlude picks up directly after Odd Hours.
Well i had more chance to read and yeah I read Odd Hours really quickly. Finding the books pretty similar, although Dean Koontz was trying to diversify the story by bringing in different enemies and different supernatural beings. Enjoying but not wowed still. (view spoiler)
Mehmet. I couldn’t agree more. I would of rather he combine Brother Odd and Odd Hours into a single plot. They were both too similar and too many weird things in Brother Odd went absolutely no where. Parts felt utterly pointless and unfinished. It felt almost as if the author had all these cool concepts and ideas, then he was unsure as how to flesh them out and conclude all of it.
So far I have read all four main Series novels and two short story's. Odd Thomas: You Are Destined To Be Together Forever (Short Story)
Odd Thomas
Forever Odd
Brother Odd
Odd Hours
“Odd Interlude“ (Short Story
currently read Odd apocalypse
I am liking Odd Apocalypse so far. Much better then Brother Odd and Odd Hours so far. The only frustrating thing is it acts like Odd Interlude didn’t exist, maybe because Odd Interlude was written after Odd Apocalypse was written. It seems like Dean Koontz isn’t good at keeping continuity within his own series.
Odd Apocalypse has not gripped me yet. Just wonder why he has companions when they are so underused. The enemies in this book are super creepy though !
According to fantasticfiction website Odd interlude, Apocalypse and Deeply Odd all released in 2012.
Ha! That is interesting information. I agree his companions whether alive or dead are usually just background characters. Back in the first novel there was so much interesting ground work laid out for this radio DJ the main protagonist went to for some dark business card he found, as well as the mental and physical abuse in regards to a mother and father’s relationship with their child. And now we are several novels in while rapidly approaching the final novel , I still feel like all of that build up was for nothing. Same with the characters and events mentioned in Forever Odd that I keep thinking about. The mysterious near death experience hinted in the second novel was only briefly mentioned in Brother Odd and never brought up again. (Even when the concept of dying twice is brought up.)I can respect trying to keep things fresh and new for new readers. But does Dean Koontz not know his audience? I can’t imagine his readers not caring about continuity and canon.
Odd Apocalypse just feels so much alike previous novels i starting to get bored. Hope it picks up
Yeah I’m pretty disappointed as well. When I heard about the monsters I got really excited and over estimated the novel. It’s pretty obvious that it’s just a rehash of a lot of the same stuff that we saw in the previous novels. I’m starting to get bored with the series as well and starting to regret sticking around for the long run. Since I only have two more books (which I already purchased) I will try to power through it but it’s starting to get really frustrating for me as well. Honestly he probably could’ve condense all of his ideas for all these novels until two or three novels at best. It’s sad because the first novel held so much promise and the story contained so much cool spooky ideas and what we have now is not what I initially signed up for. If now feels like something I would see on the CW channel over where I live. (Which has a bunch of crappy young adult stories like Vampire Diaries which most adults like us wouldn’t be interested in.)
I think I’m ready to pick up the next one just to counter the stuff I’ve been reading.
great stuff Atl, hope me and Jonathan have not gave any spoilers away for you, during our chats, we are on the 5th main novel Odd apocalypse
I don’t think we have ruined any plot points, I thought we were doing a great job at being vague. Whether we like or dislike the story so far shouldn’t be spoiler territory. Though I will admit I have done my fair share of complaining and nit picking. But that is part of the fun is sharing the worst aspects of a novel alongside the best. ;-) I do apologize if I did spoil something minor though. :-(
we have been careful Jonathan, considering we read so far into the series. We cannot like all books, buddy reads are great because the different perspectives people come from when reading, make it so much fun.
Odd Apocalypse, is still too much like Brother Odd to build up to much excitement. Although this has to be most weird problem our friend Odd Thomas has faced so far.
the X files comparison made early on in our buddy read is spot on.
Yeah. Just reached Deeply Odd. One of the patterns of these novels is that every set up to each novel feels exactly the same. The same rehash of explaining who he is and why he does what he does. All of these novels would flow so much easier if he just restructured the introduction a different way.
wow some good ideas here in this book
Yeah. I like Deeply Odd more then I thought I would. I still have minor complaints but it is a improvement which is a nice relief. I have that sense of amusement that I felt with the first novel .
i find all the books have a humorous strain to them. The commentary by Odd can be witty at times. Other times its very preachy.
Yeah! You can say that again. Either sounds like he’s preaching to the choir or he’s bragging. Or sometimes I even feel like the narrator is lecturing me. Maybe that’s just an aspect of the first person narrative
just wrote my review on first five books. Reading Deeply Odd at the moment
Nice! I look forward to reading it myself. I always enjoy your reviews. I’m enjoying this book that we’re both on much more than brother odd and odd hours. It finally feels like things are paying off that were briefly mentioned in the previous novels. It might not be as great as I had hoped but it is something.
i am 73% through deeply Odd, still hoping that we can get some answers to the weird things going on. Though as the title suggest things are starting to get deeper in weirdness. Also the enemies are much darker, and nasty
I love the darker elements. I’m just tired of hearing him say he’s just a humble fry cook. And I’m tired of him talking about the ticket he got at the carnival that says he was destined to be together forever. If they can get rid of the repetitiveness, and answer some of the lingering questions I would be a happier reader.
yeah it really does start to annoy the amount of times he repeats himself. Considering we are so far into the series we only need to hear it once if he is that worried a new reader starts from here.
I wonder if one of the reasons I’ve been so hard with this series is because I’m listening to the unabridged version on audio. I would be curious if you end up liking it better than I do. And then I have to wonder to myself it’s if it’s because I am listening to a inferior version which is the lesser of the two versions. Sometimes things that are unabridged don’t tend to flow as well as the version that is edited by a publisher.
To be honest even if all the questions are answered in the last book i am still going to have to give the series 3 stars. It is not horrible or unreadable, just not as great as it could be. There are moments of imagination and even clever quotes. Just it is spoilt overall with info that is repeated over and over, plus stuff that lead no where.
Today I have started the last book in series Saint Odd
