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Odd Thomas #5
Odd Apocalypse
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Horror (2012)Once presided over by a Roaring ’20s Hollywood mogul, the magnificent West Coast estate known as Roseland now harbors a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants — and their guests: Odd Thomas, the young fry cook who sees the dead and tries to help them, and Annamaria, his inscrutably charming traveling companion. Fresh from a harrowing clash with lethal adversaries, they welcome their host’s hospitality. But Odd’s extraordinary eye for the uncanny detects disturbing secrets that could make Roseland more hell than haven.
Soon enough the house serves up a taste of its terrors, as Odd begins to unravel the darkest mystery of his curious career. What consequences await those who confront evil at its most profound? Odd only knows.
Soon enough the house serves up a taste of its terrors, as Odd begins to unravel the darkest mystery of his curious career. What consequences await those who confront evil at its most profound? Odd only knows.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Dean Koontz
883 books37.3k followersAcknowledged 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
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
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,322 reviews
September 7, 2019
It took me a very long time to finish this.
That is a bad thing! I had very little interest in getting back to this one every time I was away from it.
The book before this (Odd Interlude) was my favorite in the series so far and gave me high hopes that the series would finish strong. I hate to say that this follow up did not instill confidence.
I wish I could coherently explain why I feel this way. But, that would require that the material I read was coherent. Instead, it was disjointed and boring - leaning way to much on weirdness instead of content. And, it felt like most of the first half was Odd interjecting stories from past books into this plot (I could almost hear the announcer say "Last time on Odd Thomas . . .")
I guess this series has jumped the Shark for me. I believe I only have one more to go, but I am not too excited about it. I recommend Koontz's Frankenstein or Jane Hawk series over this one.
That is a bad thing! I had very little interest in getting back to this one every time I was away from it.
The book before this (Odd Interlude) was my favorite in the series so far and gave me high hopes that the series would finish strong. I hate to say that this follow up did not instill confidence.
I wish I could coherently explain why I feel this way. But, that would require that the material I read was coherent. Instead, it was disjointed and boring - leaning way to much on weirdness instead of content. And, it felt like most of the first half was Odd interjecting stories from past books into this plot (I could almost hear the announcer say "Last time on Odd Thomas . . .")
I guess this series has jumped the Shark for me. I believe I only have one more to go, but I am not too excited about it. I recommend Koontz's Frankenstein or Jane Hawk series over this one.
September 3, 2012
The original Odd Thomas book is one of my absolute favorites. However, the sequels have all been a bit too "odd" and hard to follow. This last one was no exception, in fact, I found it even harder to follow than the last two. I think part of the reason I enjoyed book 1 so much was because of the relationship btwn Odd and Stormy and without that relationship the more recent books have been missing something. This most recent one was entirely too technical and just confusing all around.
July 4, 2019
I have such mixed feelings about this.
I love spending time with the odd one and I'm loving the newly introduced characters, I love all the classic book titles thrown into the text but the more I read of Dean Koontz the more awkward I find his style of writing. I seem to spend far longer on his 500 page books than any other author, it's like each word is a brick and theres a layer of cement between them, they dont quite join or flow, they are immovable, inflexible, individual.
However I'm committed to the odd one so I will finish off the last two books of the series.
Bang splat in the middle with three stars for me.
I love spending time with the odd one and I'm loving the newly introduced characters, I love all the classic book titles thrown into the text but the more I read of Dean Koontz the more awkward I find his style of writing. I seem to spend far longer on his 500 page books than any other author, it's like each word is a brick and theres a layer of cement between them, they dont quite join or flow, they are immovable, inflexible, individual.
However I'm committed to the odd one so I will finish off the last two books of the series.
Bang splat in the middle with three stars for me.
August 21, 2012
I love the Odd Thomas books overall. However, what this book showed me above all is that I love the first trilogy of the Odd Thomas books. (Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, Brother Odd). Each of those were written as complete stories showing sweet, gentle but capable Odd Thomas fighting the supernatural for the good of the innocent who were threatened. They have beginnings, middles, and ends ... or at least resolutions of an evil situation with Odd sometimes on the road to find somewhere that a simple fry cook can earn a living.
The second trilogy, as I've come to think of them since seeing another book, Deeply Odd, is on the way, are told in a completely different fashion which I find ultimately unsatisfying. Beginning in Odd Hours Koontz just drops us in the middle of the action, a la a thriller where we learn the back story later after having begun with a pulse pounding chase. I actually could forgive that if there ever seemed to be resolution to the story. There is a resolution to Odd's current predicament, however, nebulous hints about the "big meaning of things" are all we get, despite all the action. Ho hum ... and they drive off into the sunset ...
Odd Apocalypse picks up about a week after Odd Hours ended, we are finally told after a thoroughly confusing intro where we've been dropped into a series of very odd events (ha!). Poor Odd is put through a series of gyrations and problem solving tasks because no one can give him a single straight answer. Now, I expect this from the bad guys. But for Annamaria, his mysterious companion picked up in Odd Hours, to do the same is just annoying. She may have a mystical hold on everyone she encounters, but I am mysteriously untouched by it. Odd Thomas tells us this is a haunted house book but for my money it gets a toehold in the Lovecraftian universe before settling down solidly into H.G. Wells country. I won't say which book so as to avoid spoilers but it becomes very obvious toward the end.
Koontz seems to have just thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this book without remembering to give us what was so satisfying about the first three books. An actual story.
I will read the next one simply to see if this ongoing murk ever clears up, but at this point feel it will be more from a sense of duty than anything else. And to give Koontz a chance to pull it all together in a way that makes me like all three of the second trilogy in a "really one book" sort of way.
The second trilogy, as I've come to think of them since seeing another book, Deeply Odd, is on the way, are told in a completely different fashion which I find ultimately unsatisfying. Beginning in Odd Hours Koontz just drops us in the middle of the action, a la a thriller where we learn the back story later after having begun with a pulse pounding chase. I actually could forgive that if there ever seemed to be resolution to the story. There is a resolution to Odd's current predicament, however, nebulous hints about the "big meaning of things" are all we get, despite all the action. Ho hum ... and they drive off into the sunset ...
Odd Apocalypse picks up about a week after Odd Hours ended, we are finally told after a thoroughly confusing intro where we've been dropped into a series of very odd events (ha!). Poor Odd is put through a series of gyrations and problem solving tasks because no one can give him a single straight answer. Now, I expect this from the bad guys. But for Annamaria, his mysterious companion picked up in Odd Hours, to do the same is just annoying. She may have a mystical hold on everyone she encounters, but I am mysteriously untouched by it. Odd Thomas tells us this is a haunted house book but for my money it gets a toehold in the Lovecraftian universe before settling down solidly into H.G. Wells country. I won't say which book so as to avoid spoilers but it becomes very obvious toward the end.
Koontz seems to have just thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this book without remembering to give us what was so satisfying about the first three books. An actual story.
I will read the next one simply to see if this ongoing murk ever clears up, but at this point feel it will be more from a sense of duty than anything else. And to give Koontz a chance to pull it all together in a way that makes me like all three of the second trilogy in a "really one book" sort of way.
August 27, 2012
Finally! We've all been waiting since 2009 for another Odd! I'll try an hold it together until its release in July.
Update: It shipped it shipped it finally shipped yay yay! Thank you amazon.
Last update - no spoilers: It was so great. I forget how much I like Odd and the fact that he will forever be in love with Stormy. Odd's deep perspective on life and human nature is still alive in this book, which is one reason I love this series so much. Fun note: I don't know how in the world you came up with those two, but props on the randomness of the new character choices, Mr. Koontz. Electrical engineers all over will be pleased, but one question: what the crap can the other guy possibly need from Odd to cross over? So weird. I love it. Anyway - now the slow wait for Deeply Odd. Hurry please and thank you.
Update: It shipped it shipped it finally shipped yay yay! Thank you amazon.
Last update - no spoilers: It was so great. I forget how much I like Odd and the fact that he will forever be in love with Stormy. Odd's deep perspective on life and human nature is still alive in this book, which is one reason I love this series so much. Fun note: I don't know how in the world you came up with those two, but props on the randomness of the new character choices, Mr. Koontz. Electrical engineers all over will be pleased, but one question: what the crap can the other guy possibly need from Odd to cross over? So weird. I love it. Anyway - now the slow wait for Deeply Odd. Hurry please and thank you.
October 11, 2012
Why do I keep coming back to Odd, despite my general aversion to all but the tamest of the horror genre?* One word: humor.
I cannot help but love a book in which the main character spouts off about wanting to strangle mimes, "like all mentally stable citizens," assures himself that the frightful cry keeping him awake cannot belong to a loon, because loons "do not change their voices to fit the landscape. They're birds, not politicians," or categorizes believing in the solvency of Social Security in the same list as "Aliens, Seances, and Tesla's more fantastic inventions." On top of that, there is both the mystery of the scenario (frankly, increasingly wild as the books progress - this one ends up in the category of science gone wrong, a la "Brother Odd") and the other characters such as Annabelle, plus the always-compelling contest of good vs. evil and how one can fight the later without also becoming it.
Recommended for all Koontz fans, and Odd ones especially. Don't start here, of course: read this series in order!
* The only things by Stephen King I've ever been able to stomach are "11/22/63" and "The Stand." I do better with Koontz, but am finding most of his third-person writing too ugly / scary. Vampires? Forget 'em!
I cannot help but love a book in which the main character spouts off about wanting to strangle mimes, "like all mentally stable citizens," assures himself that the frightful cry keeping him awake cannot belong to a loon, because loons "do not change their voices to fit the landscape. They're birds, not politicians," or categorizes believing in the solvency of Social Security in the same list as "Aliens, Seances, and Tesla's more fantastic inventions." On top of that, there is both the mystery of the scenario (frankly, increasingly wild as the books progress - this one ends up in the category of science gone wrong, a la "Brother Odd") and the other characters such as Annabelle, plus the always-compelling contest of good vs. evil and how one can fight the later without also becoming it.
Recommended for all Koontz fans, and Odd ones especially. Don't start here, of course: read this series in order!
* The only things by Stephen King I've ever been able to stomach are "11/22/63" and "The Stand." I do better with Koontz, but am finding most of his third-person writing too ugly / scary. Vampires? Forget 'em!
March 31, 2019
Odd Thomas is back in a brand new adventure. When he and his friend Annamaria come upon the mysterious Roseland Estate, things tend to go grim and dark when they discover that something dark and dangerous is afoot. Will they be able to survive Roseland's darkness and all that lies in it? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good book for book 5 of the Odd Thomas series. If you like action adventure supernatural thrillers than be sure to check this series out. I look forward to finishing this series in the future but you can find this series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
This was a pretty good book for book 5 of the Odd Thomas series. If you like action adventure supernatural thrillers than be sure to check this series out. I look forward to finishing this series in the future but you can find this series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
December 14, 2020
This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang but a whimper.
-T. S. Eliot
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were - I have not seen
As others saw.
- Edgar Allan Poe, "Alone"
A fitting end to the year that just keeps on giving, ODD APOCALYPSE features surprise Guest Stars Since it's release in 2012, I've read Odd Apocalypse every presidential election year 2012, 2016 and 2020.
For several years I've said Odd Apocalypse was one of my favorite installments in the Odd Thomas series. After re-reading in 2020, I've changed my mind. I still need to re-read Deeply Odd and Saint Odd, but I'm confident in declaring my favorites in the series:
1. Odd Interlude
2. Brother Odd
3. Odd Thomas
2016 Thoughts:
I had been looking forward to revisiting Roseland - I did enjoy the trip. This is one of my favorites in the Odd Thomas Series. The story is mysterious and interesting. In reading about "The Freaks", scenes from the 1970's futuristic cartoon, Wizards, flash through my mind. I like the inclusions of Tesla and Hitchcock. However, I still think Dean presents a better time travel novel in Lightning.
2012 Initial Reading:
I finally read Odd Apocalypse as part of the Autumn 2012 Reading Challenge for the Dare to Dream Group. This title meets the task of reading a book with an orange/yellow cover as well as the task of reading a book with where at least of the characters is a ghost :-)
I really wasn't sure I was gonna like this installment of the Odd adventures because it started out with too much repetition, but about the half-way point in the novel, the intriguing story had me.
I love time travel so this brought back the good old days of Lightning and also From the Corner of His Eye, while also similar to a more recent work, 77 Shadow Street. On the subject of time travel, I highly recommend a recent film release called LOOPER, and at the same time highly recommend the 1980's classic BACK TO THE FUTURE :-)
Odd Apocalypse touched on some ideas from the earlier Odd books. I like how the dark room from the first book was mentioned. I also like the scientific element which was reminiscent of Brother Odd. Enjoyed the information on Tesla and I thought the ending was beautiful.
Favorite Passages:
Bareback on the Friesian, the barefoot beauty wore white silk and white lace and wild red ribbons of blood both on her gown and in her long blond hair, thought I could see no wound.
______
I looked into a sky where the sun had not quite yet gone down, as if some celestial timekeeper had wound the cosmic clock backward a few minutes.
That impossibility was exceeded by another. Yellow from horizon to horizon, without the grace of a single cloud, the heavens were ribboned with what appeared to be high-altitude rivers of smoke or soot. Gray currents streaked through with black.
______
When the air shimmered and the yellow light was replaced by red, I stumbled, fell, and rolled onto my back. Raising my hands to ward off the ravenous horde, I found the sky familiar and nothing winging through it except a par of shore birds in the distance.
______
After the woman, the horse, and the yellow sky, I didn't think I would sleep that night. Lying awake in low lamplight, I found my thoughts following morbid paths.
______
"Please don't let anyone kill me by shoving an angry lizard down my throat."
_______
Duty doesn't need to call; it only needs to whisper. And if you heed the call, no matter what happens, you have no need for regret.
_______
In the wild fields around the periphery of the estate, through which I had rambled on other days, snowy woodrush and ribbon grass and feathertop thrived among the majestic California live oaks that seemed to have been planted in cryptic but harmonious patterns.
_______
Like any mentally healthy citizen, I am overcome by the urge to strangle a mime when I happen upon one in full performance, but a mime who's already dead is unmoved by that threat.
Turning in a full circle, in seeming solitude, I nevertheless said, "Hello?"
The lone voice that answered was a cricket that had escaped the predatory frogs.
_______
Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries.
_______
"'Nice weather for February,' What's that supposed to mean?" Before I could reply, he said, "What the" - imagine an ugly word for copulation - "is that supposed to mean, butthead?"
_______
"You think I'm dumb enough to eat crap on toast?"
"No, sir. Not on toast."
_______
"Hurts like a sonofabitch."
"What're you doing for it?"
"Nothing you can do for a sonofabitch canker. Sonofabitch has to heal itself."
"That's not a canker. It's a cold sore."
"Everybody says it's a canker."
"Cankers are inside the mouth. They look different. How long have you had it?"
"Been six days. Sonofabitch makes me want to scream sometimes."
_______
Full of crooked dark-yellow teeth, his cold-sore grin was as appealing as a possum run down by an eighteen-wheeler.
_______
"Ass," he declared, managing to hiss and growl the word at the same time, while thundering it out loud enough to rattle the stable windows. "Keister means ass."
_______
We make so many of our own troubles, from mere mishaps to disasters, by dwelling on the possibility of them until the possible becomes inevitable.
. . . .
Quick now, here, now, always, if we are in a condition of complete simplicity (as the poet said), hope and trust will more reliably keep a man afloat, while fear is more likely to sink him.
_______
I sensed that not only the land sloped form east to west; within the grounds of this walled estate, reality also was tilted from the norm and was being steadily levered to an ever more severe angle, until Roseland would abruptly slide to ruin, reason would slither down to madness, and everyone here would cascade to death.
The sun was hardly risen, but already time was running out.
_______
Stocky, barrel-chested, thick-necked, antisocial, Sempiterno would have been a classic strong-and-silent type if he could have shut up for a minute.
_______
No one knows better than I that reality is more complex that the five senses can discern. Our world with all its mysteries is a moon to another bigger and more mysterious world unseen, orbiting so close to the larger sphere that perhaps sometimes the curve of one passes through the curve of the other with no damage to either, but with strange effects.
Not daring to take the time to look back again, I ran toward the horse and rider.
_______
The vaulted ceiling of the cathedral of oaks was reminiscent of church windows, although there was more leading than stained glass, more darkness than light, in the sun-gold and leaf-green patterns that might have been an abstract depiction of Eden.
_______
The golden morning sunshine twinkling in the gaps between the leaves became yellow-orange as its angle of origin shifted east to west.
_______
All in white and immense, like an array of taut mainsails and topsails and staysails, Chef Shilshom seemed about to glide away wherever the wind might carry him. But the kitchen, of course, was windless, and the chef was intent upon adding to a pile of eyes on the cutting board beside the sink, where he was blinding several pounds of potatoes before peeling them.
_______
"Their faces melt off their skulls. And their skulls turn black when the air touches them, and all their bones black. And then the black blows away like soot, there isn't anything left of them."
_______
I walked among the crowded oaks, where the shade was so deep that no underbrush or grass could grow. Gold coins of sunshine were scattered on the dark woodland floor, and on that bare and stoneless soil my footsteps were as nearly silent as those of a sneak thief.
_______
From the crest of the hill, the land in general descended. But the ground fell and rose and fell again in a series of waves, like a golden sea frozen in one moment but the swells remained formidable and the troughs were still deep.
_______
"I have seen you - "
I turned, but found no one.
" - where you have not yet been," he whispered.
When I turned again, I saw a man with a mustache standing at the farther end of this service aisle that led between spheres and flywheels. Tall and gaunt, he wore a dark suit that hung loosely on his bony frame. By his appearance and solemn attitude, he reminded me of an undertaker.
Louder than before, he said, "I depend on you," and he crossed the end of the room from this aisle to the next, disappearing behind the spheres.
_______
Sometimes it seems that I am dreaming when I am in fact awake, my reality as unreal as the lands I walk in sleep.
_______
Instead of grasping the hand that I reflexively held out toward him, the man passed through me, as if he were a ghost. For the brief moment that we occupied the same space, an electrical current seemed to surge form the core of my body to every extremity, neither painful nor thrilling, but making me acutely aware of the neural pathways by which I felt pain and pleasure, hot and cold, smooth and rough, sound and sight and smell and taste. The routes taken by every nerve in my flesh were as clear in my mind's eye as were the highways on any map I'd ever read. No ghost could ever have such an effect.
_______
"I'm not afraid of you."
"Maybe not," I said, "but I'm afraid of me."
That was too true. With the excuse that I am a defender of the innocent, I have done things that curl in my memory like worms in an infected apple. When I sleep, they squirm and wriggle forth to crawl the dreams from which I wake in a sweat.
_______
For most people, reality is as simple as a painting, hanging before them in their frame of reference, understood and unquestioned. I live with the awareness that under the apparent painting are countless layers, previous scenes that have been painted over. Any physicist well-schooled in quantum mechanics or chaos theory knows that reality is a beast of mysterious dimensions and potentials and that the more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know.
_______
An apocalypse is a revelation, and this was an apocalyptic sky, in the sense that it revealed what humankind, by its arrogance and reckless certitude, would bring down upon itself.
_______
These acres were an island of the irrational in the sea of everyday reality.
_______
"I saw you and said, 'That crazy little sonofabitch is going to run into a bunch of sonofabitch porkers,' and you sure enough did."
"I thought they were called freaks."
"Maybe here they're freaks, but there we call 'em porkers, though I call 'em porkers here, there, it doesn't matter to me."
"Consistency is a good quality in a man."
________
"I didn't go to any sonofabitch college, you know. An I don't hang out with a bunch of candy-ass techno geeks. Whatever the nano swarms were, the sonofbitches ate themselves in the end."
_______
_______
I thought "let us go to the chromosphere" sounded like it should have been an old David Bowie song. Even in moments of peril, my mind takes curious detours.
_______
Every corner was a danger, every doorway a threat, the silence pregnant with peril.
_______
"Haunted by the future."
_______
_______
"Give me baby," the thing said.
. . . .
"Give me baby," it repeated.
. . . .
"We kill," it said. "We eat baby."
_______
The best part of a Mr. Goodbar is not the wrapper, is it? No, and the best part of a Coke is not the can. On those nights when you lie awake, either man or boy, wondering about yourself, peeling away one layer of oddness after another, you should remember and always be grateful that the woefully imperfect person that you are, will all your contradictions and unworthy desires, is not the best of you, any more than the wrapper is the best part of a Mr. Goodbar.
Not with a bang but a whimper.
-T. S. Eliot
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were - I have not seen
As others saw.
- Edgar Allan Poe, "Alone"
A fitting end to the year that just keeps on giving, ODD APOCALYPSE features surprise Guest Stars Since it's release in 2012, I've read Odd Apocalypse every presidential election year 2012, 2016 and 2020.
For several years I've said Odd Apocalypse was one of my favorite installments in the Odd Thomas series. After re-reading in 2020, I've changed my mind. I still need to re-read Deeply Odd and Saint Odd, but I'm confident in declaring my favorites in the series:
1. Odd Interlude
2. Brother Odd
3. Odd Thomas
2016 Thoughts:
I had been looking forward to revisiting Roseland - I did enjoy the trip. This is one of my favorites in the Odd Thomas Series. The story is mysterious and interesting. In reading about "The Freaks", scenes from the 1970's futuristic cartoon, Wizards, flash through my mind. I like the inclusions of Tesla and Hitchcock. However, I still think Dean presents a better time travel novel in Lightning.
2012 Initial Reading:
I finally read Odd Apocalypse as part of the Autumn 2012 Reading Challenge for the Dare to Dream Group. This title meets the task of reading a book with an orange/yellow cover as well as the task of reading a book with where at least of the characters is a ghost :-)
I really wasn't sure I was gonna like this installment of the Odd adventures because it started out with too much repetition, but about the half-way point in the novel, the intriguing story had me.
I love time travel so this brought back the good old days of Lightning and also From the Corner of His Eye, while also similar to a more recent work, 77 Shadow Street. On the subject of time travel, I highly recommend a recent film release called LOOPER, and at the same time highly recommend the 1980's classic BACK TO THE FUTURE :-)
Odd Apocalypse touched on some ideas from the earlier Odd books. I like how the dark room from the first book was mentioned. I also like the scientific element which was reminiscent of Brother Odd. Enjoyed the information on Tesla and I thought the ending was beautiful.
Favorite Passages:
Bareback on the Friesian, the barefoot beauty wore white silk and white lace and wild red ribbons of blood both on her gown and in her long blond hair, thought I could see no wound.
______
I looked into a sky where the sun had not quite yet gone down, as if some celestial timekeeper had wound the cosmic clock backward a few minutes.
That impossibility was exceeded by another. Yellow from horizon to horizon, without the grace of a single cloud, the heavens were ribboned with what appeared to be high-altitude rivers of smoke or soot. Gray currents streaked through with black.
______
When the air shimmered and the yellow light was replaced by red, I stumbled, fell, and rolled onto my back. Raising my hands to ward off the ravenous horde, I found the sky familiar and nothing winging through it except a par of shore birds in the distance.
______
After the woman, the horse, and the yellow sky, I didn't think I would sleep that night. Lying awake in low lamplight, I found my thoughts following morbid paths.
______
"Please don't let anyone kill me by shoving an angry lizard down my throat."
_______
Duty doesn't need to call; it only needs to whisper. And if you heed the call, no matter what happens, you have no need for regret.
_______
In the wild fields around the periphery of the estate, through which I had rambled on other days, snowy woodrush and ribbon grass and feathertop thrived among the majestic California live oaks that seemed to have been planted in cryptic but harmonious patterns.
_______
Like any mentally healthy citizen, I am overcome by the urge to strangle a mime when I happen upon one in full performance, but a mime who's already dead is unmoved by that threat.
Turning in a full circle, in seeming solitude, I nevertheless said, "Hello?"
The lone voice that answered was a cricket that had escaped the predatory frogs.
_______
Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries.
_______
"'Nice weather for February,' What's that supposed to mean?" Before I could reply, he said, "What the" - imagine an ugly word for copulation - "is that supposed to mean, butthead?"
_______
"You think I'm dumb enough to eat crap on toast?"
"No, sir. Not on toast."
_______
"Hurts like a sonofabitch."
"What're you doing for it?"
"Nothing you can do for a sonofabitch canker. Sonofabitch has to heal itself."
"That's not a canker. It's a cold sore."
"Everybody says it's a canker."
"Cankers are inside the mouth. They look different. How long have you had it?"
"Been six days. Sonofabitch makes me want to scream sometimes."
_______
Full of crooked dark-yellow teeth, his cold-sore grin was as appealing as a possum run down by an eighteen-wheeler.
_______
"Ass," he declared, managing to hiss and growl the word at the same time, while thundering it out loud enough to rattle the stable windows. "Keister means ass."
_______
We make so many of our own troubles, from mere mishaps to disasters, by dwelling on the possibility of them until the possible becomes inevitable.
. . . .
Quick now, here, now, always, if we are in a condition of complete simplicity (as the poet said), hope and trust will more reliably keep a man afloat, while fear is more likely to sink him.
_______
I sensed that not only the land sloped form east to west; within the grounds of this walled estate, reality also was tilted from the norm and was being steadily levered to an ever more severe angle, until Roseland would abruptly slide to ruin, reason would slither down to madness, and everyone here would cascade to death.
The sun was hardly risen, but already time was running out.
_______
Stocky, barrel-chested, thick-necked, antisocial, Sempiterno would have been a classic strong-and-silent type if he could have shut up for a minute.
_______
No one knows better than I that reality is more complex that the five senses can discern. Our world with all its mysteries is a moon to another bigger and more mysterious world unseen, orbiting so close to the larger sphere that perhaps sometimes the curve of one passes through the curve of the other with no damage to either, but with strange effects.
Not daring to take the time to look back again, I ran toward the horse and rider.
_______
The vaulted ceiling of the cathedral of oaks was reminiscent of church windows, although there was more leading than stained glass, more darkness than light, in the sun-gold and leaf-green patterns that might have been an abstract depiction of Eden.
_______
The golden morning sunshine twinkling in the gaps between the leaves became yellow-orange as its angle of origin shifted east to west.
_______
All in white and immense, like an array of taut mainsails and topsails and staysails, Chef Shilshom seemed about to glide away wherever the wind might carry him. But the kitchen, of course, was windless, and the chef was intent upon adding to a pile of eyes on the cutting board beside the sink, where he was blinding several pounds of potatoes before peeling them.
_______
"Their faces melt off their skulls. And their skulls turn black when the air touches them, and all their bones black. And then the black blows away like soot, there isn't anything left of them."
_______
I walked among the crowded oaks, where the shade was so deep that no underbrush or grass could grow. Gold coins of sunshine were scattered on the dark woodland floor, and on that bare and stoneless soil my footsteps were as nearly silent as those of a sneak thief.
_______
From the crest of the hill, the land in general descended. But the ground fell and rose and fell again in a series of waves, like a golden sea frozen in one moment but the swells remained formidable and the troughs were still deep.
_______
"I have seen you - "
I turned, but found no one.
" - where you have not yet been," he whispered.
When I turned again, I saw a man with a mustache standing at the farther end of this service aisle that led between spheres and flywheels. Tall and gaunt, he wore a dark suit that hung loosely on his bony frame. By his appearance and solemn attitude, he reminded me of an undertaker.
Louder than before, he said, "I depend on you," and he crossed the end of the room from this aisle to the next, disappearing behind the spheres.
_______
Sometimes it seems that I am dreaming when I am in fact awake, my reality as unreal as the lands I walk in sleep.
_______
Instead of grasping the hand that I reflexively held out toward him, the man passed through me, as if he were a ghost. For the brief moment that we occupied the same space, an electrical current seemed to surge form the core of my body to every extremity, neither painful nor thrilling, but making me acutely aware of the neural pathways by which I felt pain and pleasure, hot and cold, smooth and rough, sound and sight and smell and taste. The routes taken by every nerve in my flesh were as clear in my mind's eye as were the highways on any map I'd ever read. No ghost could ever have such an effect.
_______
"I'm not afraid of you."
"Maybe not," I said, "but I'm afraid of me."
That was too true. With the excuse that I am a defender of the innocent, I have done things that curl in my memory like worms in an infected apple. When I sleep, they squirm and wriggle forth to crawl the dreams from which I wake in a sweat.
_______
For most people, reality is as simple as a painting, hanging before them in their frame of reference, understood and unquestioned. I live with the awareness that under the apparent painting are countless layers, previous scenes that have been painted over. Any physicist well-schooled in quantum mechanics or chaos theory knows that reality is a beast of mysterious dimensions and potentials and that the more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know.
_______
An apocalypse is a revelation, and this was an apocalyptic sky, in the sense that it revealed what humankind, by its arrogance and reckless certitude, would bring down upon itself.
_______
These acres were an island of the irrational in the sea of everyday reality.
_______
"I saw you and said, 'That crazy little sonofabitch is going to run into a bunch of sonofabitch porkers,' and you sure enough did."
"I thought they were called freaks."
"Maybe here they're freaks, but there we call 'em porkers, though I call 'em porkers here, there, it doesn't matter to me."
"Consistency is a good quality in a man."
________
"I didn't go to any sonofabitch college, you know. An I don't hang out with a bunch of candy-ass techno geeks. Whatever the nano swarms were, the sonofbitches ate themselves in the end."
_______
_______
I thought "let us go to the chromosphere" sounded like it should have been an old David Bowie song. Even in moments of peril, my mind takes curious detours.
_______
Every corner was a danger, every doorway a threat, the silence pregnant with peril.
_______
"Haunted by the future."
_______
_______
"Give me baby," the thing said.
. . . .
"Give me baby," it repeated.
. . . .
"We kill," it said. "We eat baby."
_______
The best part of a Mr. Goodbar is not the wrapper, is it? No, and the best part of a Coke is not the can. On those nights when you lie awake, either man or boy, wondering about yourself, peeling away one layer of oddness after another, you should remember and always be grateful that the woefully imperfect person that you are, will all your contradictions and unworthy desires, is not the best of you, any more than the wrapper is the best part of a Mr. Goodbar.
May 10, 2023
I remember reading this fifth Odd Thomas novel when it was new and posting some comments about it here, but I just noticed that it's no longer on my list. I wonder what happened? Malign or divine Goodreads intervention? I'll never know. It was among my favorites of the series, with some interesting new characters, both living and dead, and a wonderful setting, a kind-of-haunted rich California estate from the golden age of film. Fine writing, excellent story, even if it felt just a little like a side-trip to the overall arc. I particularly liked the aspect of having a little humor with the religious faith. It's a feel-good story; Odd and Stormy deserve to be together forever, right?
January 17, 2021
My least favourite Odd Thomas so far, but I have high hopes for the next two books being better...
November 16, 2015
The plotting isn't so strong in this one but if you like random yet sometimes interesting characters as well as lots of musings from the main character then you may like this one.
I listened to the audio and stopped after the second disc because it was barely holding my interest and I have a few other hundred items waiting to be experienced.
MY GRADE: C to C plus.
I listened to the audio and stopped after the second disc because it was barely holding my interest and I have a few other hundred items waiting to be experienced.
MY GRADE: C to C plus.
August 15, 2012
Sixth in the Odd Thomas Series...
I have no idea why so many people are expressing their disappointment in this book; it's VERY "Odd-like"!
The humor is still there... One of the sweet things about the Odd books... (no spoilers, though these are direct quotes from the book) On pg 102: "the chef was intent upon adding to a pile of eyes on the cutting board beside the sink, where he was blinding several pounds of potatoes before peeling them." Hilarious! On pg 104: "Day turning to night. Like a few thousand years ago people thought God was turning off the sun as punishment, so they went mad with fear and tore their hair out and sacrificed babies and lashed themselves with brambles and promised never to fornicate again, because they were ignorant, though that wasn't really their fault, considering that there wasn't either the History Channel or NatGeo back then, and maybe some of them tried to Google 'sun goes out' to learn what was happening, but they were way too far ahead of their time." There's SO much more of this.
The books are very funny in spots, but don't get me wrong: these are NOT humor books. There IS violence. Odd, though, would always try other paths. He always has and will... But sometimes, people just won't stop the horrid things they do. (Odd takes many paragraphs to NOT describe the horrors. It's hard not to respect a horror writer who can convey a horrible, horrible blood bath type scene without swearing or getting as graphic as the Splatter Porn crowd would prefer and still have you understand exactly what the character is seeing.
On pg 328, Koontz gives instructions on How To Read A Book... "By reading what's on the page, and not." The difference between anger and wrath is on pg 166. The romance of oil as a light source is on pg 326. There are Steampunk references beginning on pg 156, for those aficionados. And for some reason, Odd doesn't like mimes, pg 23.
I don't give plots away. Not because it's spoileriffic, but because most reviewers have already given synopses. Instead, I like to give my take on the book, generally. If I enjoyed, how I may have enjoyed it, what in it I found special.
The Odd books are special.
And he's already announced the title of the next one to come: "Deeply Odd". I'll be waiting patiently for it.
July 22, 2020
I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.
So this book went way off the rails. It was a crazy mix of multiple issues. I love Odd Thomas but this book does not do the series justice at all. Took me forever to get into and even then, just barely. It was also missing one of the best parts, the dialogue. The banter that Odd throws back and forth with others is one of my favorite parts but this book has very little of it. I just feel that the series is not going in the right direction so I'm not looking forward to the next book but maybe it will get better with the next book. I guess I'll find out.
So this book went way off the rails. It was a crazy mix of multiple issues. I love Odd Thomas but this book does not do the series justice at all. Took me forever to get into and even then, just barely. It was also missing one of the best parts, the dialogue. The banter that Odd throws back and forth with others is one of my favorite parts but this book has very little of it. I just feel that the series is not going in the right direction so I'm not looking forward to the next book but maybe it will get better with the next book. I guess I'll find out.
September 16, 2012
If you pick up Odd Thomas #5, you'll get a creepy story, insight into Odd's odd brain, and funny ghosties. So if you're a big fan of the series rest assured you'll enjoy this one.
However, if you are more like me and need a bit more literary flair, you're out of luck with this one.
I think Koontz had quite an interesting idea for this story, however rather than fully fleshing it out, he just had Odd pontificate about Koontz's beliefs for large chunks of the book book.
So forget character development, setting the stage, or sub-plots. For the first 25% of the book you'll here Odd's (Koontz's) opinions on: Evil, psychiatry, cellphones, perfection, lady Gaga and Youtube.
It's something I complain about with almost all of Koontz's books I've read, but I thought originally O.T. was somewhat free of attempts to bash me over the head with the author's point of view. I'm getting dangerously close to giving up on the Odd Thomas series because of it.
Aside from this the writing is generally pretty sloppy. Odd philosophizes, even when about to be eaten, shot, or about to receive a verbal lashing from some other characters. OK I guess Odd is a dreamy sort, but I think the error is in poorly organised prose not an intentional action on Odd's behalf. If exposition and fluffy sentiments were cut out of this books you'd be left with another 'Odd Interlude' short story rather than a full novel.
Padded out prose aside there are some pretty tragic issues of clunkiness too. One page I think must have used the word scourge about 20 times. It was just like when you say 'butter' over and over again until the word ceases to mean anything. I'm not even sure I remember what the purpose was looking back 5 minutes after finishing the book.
A final sin of Koontz is to oh-so-cutely remove the swears from his writing. Aside from instantly pulling me out of the story every time it happened I got the uncomfortable feeling I was being read the story by a primary school teacher who was editing heavily.
Overall Odd Apocalypse was just so close to being something both epic and memorable. Sadly though I think what we have here is 'just another episode' of a gradually crumbling series.
However, if you are more like me and need a bit more literary flair, you're out of luck with this one.
I think Koontz had quite an interesting idea for this story, however rather than fully fleshing it out, he just had Odd pontificate about Koontz's beliefs for large chunks of the book book.
So forget character development, setting the stage, or sub-plots. For the first 25% of the book you'll here Odd's (Koontz's) opinions on: Evil, psychiatry, cellphones, perfection, lady Gaga and Youtube.
It's something I complain about with almost all of Koontz's books I've read, but I thought originally O.T. was somewhat free of attempts to bash me over the head with the author's point of view. I'm getting dangerously close to giving up on the Odd Thomas series because of it.
Aside from this the writing is generally pretty sloppy. Odd philosophizes, even when about to be eaten, shot, or about to receive a verbal lashing from some other characters. OK I guess Odd is a dreamy sort, but I think the error is in poorly organised prose not an intentional action on Odd's behalf. If exposition and fluffy sentiments were cut out of this books you'd be left with another 'Odd Interlude' short story rather than a full novel.
Padded out prose aside there are some pretty tragic issues of clunkiness too. One page I think must have used the word scourge about 20 times. It was just like when you say 'butter' over and over again until the word ceases to mean anything. I'm not even sure I remember what the purpose was looking back 5 minutes after finishing the book.
A final sin of Koontz is to oh-so-cutely remove the swears from his writing. Aside from instantly pulling me out of the story every time it happened I got the uncomfortable feeling I was being read the story by a primary school teacher who was editing heavily.
Overall Odd Apocalypse was just so close to being something both epic and memorable. Sadly though I think what we have here is 'just another episode' of a gradually crumbling series.
August 5, 2012
Odd Thomas has never really lived up to his original adventure. Where his perennial good humour and dogged optimism were winning character virtues in Pico Mundo, in "Odd Apocalypse" he seems almost apathetic and dull, disconnected from the events occurring around him.
When the fiction is a complicated mixed metaphor of supernatural horror, science-fiction, and high fantasy, without a solid character arc to tie it all together, it's just a lot of fluff that makes suspension of disbelief difficult to maintain.
Odd Thomas is a fantastic character who unfortunately continues to be wrapped in more and more complicated metaphysical scenarios that smother the appeal of his personality.
Koontz should return to the simple (plausible) supernatural character drama which he does so well. All of this high concept stuff is, quite frankly, pompous and preachy and ultimately utterly shallow because our vehicle through the mess of bizarre imagery - Odd Thomas - starts and ends in more or less exactly the same place.
This is an okay book. I didn't hate it. But as with other recent Odd Thomas adventures (and Koontz's recent novels in general) I'm left feeling like I just read a poor mimicry of classic Koontz.
When the fiction is a complicated mixed metaphor of supernatural horror, science-fiction, and high fantasy, without a solid character arc to tie it all together, it's just a lot of fluff that makes suspension of disbelief difficult to maintain.
Odd Thomas is a fantastic character who unfortunately continues to be wrapped in more and more complicated metaphysical scenarios that smother the appeal of his personality.
Koontz should return to the simple (plausible) supernatural character drama which he does so well. All of this high concept stuff is, quite frankly, pompous and preachy and ultimately utterly shallow because our vehicle through the mess of bizarre imagery - Odd Thomas - starts and ends in more or less exactly the same place.
This is an okay book. I didn't hate it. But as with other recent Odd Thomas adventures (and Koontz's recent novels in general) I'm left feeling like I just read a poor mimicry of classic Koontz.
March 24, 2015
Another excellent Odd book. They just keep getting better and better.
February 17, 2016
I am a fan of Dean Koontz and his Odd Thomas series. Koontz is that rare contemporary author willing to confuse in order to enlighten. Many of his works include mysteries which perplex, but generally receive explanation or the tease of explanation in a future work. I for one enjoy not having all the answers.
Odd Thomas is the quintessential imperfect hero thrown into the fray. His character development has been interesting to watch. In later books, he has come to accept his gift, or curse, and willingly places himself in danger in order to protect the innocent. Not that there are many innocents remaining in Koontz's world for Odd to safeguard.
In this installment, Koontz relies more heavily on science fiction than the paranormal. He does it in such a way that the two genres merge well. Ghosts, monsters, soothsayers, time travelers, and Nicoli Tesla pop in and out as if pledging the same fraternity. Annamaria is back from the previous book in the series. She will most likely be around for the next book as her prescient talent seems to include knowledge of and participation in Odd's destiny.
Fore those familiar with Koontz's writing style, the detailed descriptions and narrative continue. For those not familiar, Koontz relies more on story telling than dialogue. Some find this cumbersome. I like it.
So, without telling the story, I hope I've provided some insight.
On the more detailed scale, Odd Apocalypse earns a 4.6.
Odd Thomas is the quintessential imperfect hero thrown into the fray. His character development has been interesting to watch. In later books, he has come to accept his gift, or curse, and willingly places himself in danger in order to protect the innocent. Not that there are many innocents remaining in Koontz's world for Odd to safeguard.
In this installment, Koontz relies more heavily on science fiction than the paranormal. He does it in such a way that the two genres merge well. Ghosts, monsters, soothsayers, time travelers, and Nicoli Tesla pop in and out as if pledging the same fraternity. Annamaria is back from the previous book in the series. She will most likely be around for the next book as her prescient talent seems to include knowledge of and participation in Odd's destiny.
Fore those familiar with Koontz's writing style, the detailed descriptions and narrative continue. For those not familiar, Koontz relies more on story telling than dialogue. Some find this cumbersome. I like it.
So, without telling the story, I hope I've provided some insight.
On the more detailed scale, Odd Apocalypse earns a 4.6.
September 20, 2012
It's hard not to expect the moon and sky from a Dean Koontz novel - he did a great job over the years in raising my expectations.
Unfortunatley, Odd #5 didn't come close to meeting them. Koontz's writing style is, as always, excellent and there's lots of the humor you expect with Odd.
And I guess it's hard to write a series about a character and not reflect back on certain points for the benefit of those who may not have read previous books, but if you have read them and you have a decent memory, it's almost as bad as a commercial break during a well-paced film.
The book wasn't terrible, but nothing drove me to stay up all night reading it (which is what happened with most of Koontz's books). It was just....OK.
I don't know if I'd have given a better rating to a less established author, and maybe it's not fair to hold Koontz to a high standard, but if this were the first Koontz book I'd read, I'd probably not bother with his other works (which would be a major crime!).
Sorry, Mr. Koontz!
Unfortunatley, Odd #5 didn't come close to meeting them. Koontz's writing style is, as always, excellent and there's lots of the humor you expect with Odd.
And I guess it's hard to write a series about a character and not reflect back on certain points for the benefit of those who may not have read previous books, but if you have read them and you have a decent memory, it's almost as bad as a commercial break during a well-paced film.
The book wasn't terrible, but nothing drove me to stay up all night reading it (which is what happened with most of Koontz's books). It was just....OK.
I don't know if I'd have given a better rating to a less established author, and maybe it's not fair to hold Koontz to a high standard, but if this were the first Koontz book I'd read, I'd probably not bother with his other works (which would be a major crime!).
Sorry, Mr. Koontz!
September 17, 2015
For me this was a very dark read which i didn't like the story was good it was just the dark side that affected me will read series am not put off just by one book of Dean Koontz Odd Thomas Series
November 2, 2021
Here's my full spoiler review, interspersed with my favorite quotes:
“The night took an intriguing turn. I do not say an unexpected turn, because I’ve learned to expect just about anything.”
Dean Koontz has returned to the old magic of Odd Thomas! Not counting the Interludes (which are not a mainstream novel), we last saw Odd as he left Magic Beach for a new destination, together with Annamaria. (I must admit, it’s been a while since I read “Odd Hours” so I’m not sure how it all ended again exactly ...) The ongoing story of Odd Thomas brings us a new adventure, which is a great standalone story but it doesn't provide any answers to the questions we have listed in the four previous books: the origin of the bodachs, the "black" room in Fungus Man's apartment (though Odd does have a similar experience in Roseland), the significance of the fortune teller’s card (though it is referenced again in this book), the identity of his new companion Annamaria, and of course the question where it will all lead to. Of course there are still two books left, and Dean has once said the final book will bring Odd back to the beginning of it all. But since “Odd Apocalypse" has now already shown us the mechanics of time travel in the Odd Thomas universe, and Odd forgoing the chance to save Stormy this way, I doubt we should take that statement too literally.
“Alarmed, I got to my feet, as I always do when a building begins to glow inexplicably.”
Guided by Annamaria, Odd finds himself the guest at a movie mogul’s huge estate, Roseland. The story takes place entirely in this setting, the way “Brother Odd” took place entirely at the monastery. Odd introduces us to a series of interesting characters, and we get to know them through some great and funny dialogue. The interactions Odd has with chef Shilshom, for one, reminded me of Odd’s conversations with Rodion Romanovich in “Brother Odd”. Soon it turns out that all these people aren’t exactly what they seem to be. Part of a huge time travel experiment in an attempt to gain eternal life, the mechanics of it conceived by Nicola Tesla himself, they are trapped in their small community and help sustain the serial killing obsession of their leader.
“Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries. If you don’t think life is mysterious, if you believe you have it all mapped out, you aren’t paying attention or you’ve anesthetized yourself with booze or drugs, or with a comforting ideology. And if you don’t think life’s a comedy - well, friend, you might as well hurry along to that burial. The rest of us need people with whom we can laugh.”
This wouldn’t be an Odd Thomas story, of course, without the inclusion of a ghost or two. Odd is visited by a dead woman on a dead horse, once murdered inside Roseland’s walls, making him aware that something is amiss. Connecting it with Annamaria’s prophecy that they are there to help someone, Odd goes looking for the woman’s son whom he believes is in need of protection. In the end, the boy turns out to have a Jake Chambers type of experience, being both dead and alive in this world due to some great time travel paradox.
“I seem to be less likely to die at the hands of some villain than to fall dead when the walls of my heart collapse into the emptiness that they enclose.”
While in the first three Odd books our hero was accompanied by the lingering spirit of Elvis Presley, and in the fourth book the spirit of Frank Sinatra goes poltergeist on a corrupt police force, “Odd Apocalypse” introduces us to a new icon of the ages in the form of Alfred Hitchcock. This great director only serves as a cameo at this point, but will no doubt return for a bigger part in the next novel “Deeply Odd”.
“I think I might even have kissed her hand. I never in my life kissed a woman’s hand. Why would I kiss a woman’s hand?”
While there are no bodachs in this story, we are treated to some other monsters who seem to hail from some faraway future, seeping into the present day as a side-effect of the time travel experiment, in a similar style as how the normal world is suddenly invaded by the nightmarish alternate dimension in the “Silent Hill” games and movies. These monsters are both humanoid and porcine in nature, have some level of intelligence give the whole story an extra level of menace and suspense, the way the bone-creatures in “Brother Odd” preyed on the orphanage children. At the same time they also reminded me of the nanobot-altered humans in “77 Shadow Street”.
“Anger is a violent emotion, vindictive, and as dangerous to he who is driven by it as to anyone on whom it is turned. If anger is personal and selfish - and it usually is - it clouds your thinking and therefore puts you at risk.”
“Odd Apocalypse” is a far better novel than “Odd Hours” in my opinion, because it focuses more on the supernatural (albeit still rooted in science gone wrong) and has Odd play the role of gentle small town hero instead of slowly turning him into the next action hero. I’ve always felt his gun use in “Odd Hours” was somewhat out of character for him. The book refers several times to the events in the original “Odd Thomas” novel as if to remind us of Odd’s origins. While he has changed on some levels, and is now capable of acts we wouldn’t have seen him perform as a simple king of the griddle, he is still the same guy longing for a peaceful life with the woman who owns his heart.
“You torture and kill women, you imprison your own son, you and your staff are armed for Armageddon, your house - maybe your entire estate - seems to be a machine of some kind, you have a pack of swine things chasing around the property, and you sit down of an evening with a good Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of nice cheese to - what? - listen to Broadway show tunes?”
Odd’s tale is almost completed. With two books left, “Deeply Odd” coming in January (UK)/March(US) 2013 and “Saint Odd” scheduled to conclude the series, we’ll have one more seven book series I’m sure many of us will gladly read over and over again, as I personally do with the Harry Potter books and the Dark Tower series.
“When you consider how difficult it often can be for two people of the same nationality, the same community, the same race, and the same religion to understand each other’s point of view and to live in harmony, you can see why I had doubts that this encounter would end with hugs and professions of eternal friendship.”
“An idea can be the most dangerous of all things, especially if it is an idea that promises you the most particular and exquisite happiness for which you’ve long yearned.”
“The night took an intriguing turn. I do not say an unexpected turn, because I’ve learned to expect just about anything.”
Dean Koontz has returned to the old magic of Odd Thomas! Not counting the Interludes (which are not a mainstream novel), we last saw Odd as he left Magic Beach for a new destination, together with Annamaria. (I must admit, it’s been a while since I read “Odd Hours” so I’m not sure how it all ended again exactly ...) The ongoing story of Odd Thomas brings us a new adventure, which is a great standalone story but it doesn't provide any answers to the questions we have listed in the four previous books: the origin of the bodachs, the "black" room in Fungus Man's apartment (though Odd does have a similar experience in Roseland), the significance of the fortune teller’s card (though it is referenced again in this book), the identity of his new companion Annamaria, and of course the question where it will all lead to. Of course there are still two books left, and Dean has once said the final book will bring Odd back to the beginning of it all. But since “Odd Apocalypse" has now already shown us the mechanics of time travel in the Odd Thomas universe, and Odd forgoing the chance to save Stormy this way, I doubt we should take that statement too literally.
“Alarmed, I got to my feet, as I always do when a building begins to glow inexplicably.”
Guided by Annamaria, Odd finds himself the guest at a movie mogul’s huge estate, Roseland. The story takes place entirely in this setting, the way “Brother Odd” took place entirely at the monastery. Odd introduces us to a series of interesting characters, and we get to know them through some great and funny dialogue. The interactions Odd has with chef Shilshom, for one, reminded me of Odd’s conversations with Rodion Romanovich in “Brother Odd”. Soon it turns out that all these people aren’t exactly what they seem to be. Part of a huge time travel experiment in an attempt to gain eternal life, the mechanics of it conceived by Nicola Tesla himself, they are trapped in their small community and help sustain the serial killing obsession of their leader.
“Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries. If you don’t think life is mysterious, if you believe you have it all mapped out, you aren’t paying attention or you’ve anesthetized yourself with booze or drugs, or with a comforting ideology. And if you don’t think life’s a comedy - well, friend, you might as well hurry along to that burial. The rest of us need people with whom we can laugh.”
This wouldn’t be an Odd Thomas story, of course, without the inclusion of a ghost or two. Odd is visited by a dead woman on a dead horse, once murdered inside Roseland’s walls, making him aware that something is amiss. Connecting it with Annamaria’s prophecy that they are there to help someone, Odd goes looking for the woman’s son whom he believes is in need of protection. In the end, the boy turns out to have a Jake Chambers type of experience, being both dead and alive in this world due to some great time travel paradox.
“I seem to be less likely to die at the hands of some villain than to fall dead when the walls of my heart collapse into the emptiness that they enclose.”
While in the first three Odd books our hero was accompanied by the lingering spirit of Elvis Presley, and in the fourth book the spirit of Frank Sinatra goes poltergeist on a corrupt police force, “Odd Apocalypse” introduces us to a new icon of the ages in the form of Alfred Hitchcock. This great director only serves as a cameo at this point, but will no doubt return for a bigger part in the next novel “Deeply Odd”.
“I think I might even have kissed her hand. I never in my life kissed a woman’s hand. Why would I kiss a woman’s hand?”
While there are no bodachs in this story, we are treated to some other monsters who seem to hail from some faraway future, seeping into the present day as a side-effect of the time travel experiment, in a similar style as how the normal world is suddenly invaded by the nightmarish alternate dimension in the “Silent Hill” games and movies. These monsters are both humanoid and porcine in nature, have some level of intelligence give the whole story an extra level of menace and suspense, the way the bone-creatures in “Brother Odd” preyed on the orphanage children. At the same time they also reminded me of the nanobot-altered humans in “77 Shadow Street”.
“Anger is a violent emotion, vindictive, and as dangerous to he who is driven by it as to anyone on whom it is turned. If anger is personal and selfish - and it usually is - it clouds your thinking and therefore puts you at risk.”
“Odd Apocalypse” is a far better novel than “Odd Hours” in my opinion, because it focuses more on the supernatural (albeit still rooted in science gone wrong) and has Odd play the role of gentle small town hero instead of slowly turning him into the next action hero. I’ve always felt his gun use in “Odd Hours” was somewhat out of character for him. The book refers several times to the events in the original “Odd Thomas” novel as if to remind us of Odd’s origins. While he has changed on some levels, and is now capable of acts we wouldn’t have seen him perform as a simple king of the griddle, he is still the same guy longing for a peaceful life with the woman who owns his heart.
“You torture and kill women, you imprison your own son, you and your staff are armed for Armageddon, your house - maybe your entire estate - seems to be a machine of some kind, you have a pack of swine things chasing around the property, and you sit down of an evening with a good Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of nice cheese to - what? - listen to Broadway show tunes?”
Odd’s tale is almost completed. With two books left, “Deeply Odd” coming in January (UK)/March(US) 2013 and “Saint Odd” scheduled to conclude the series, we’ll have one more seven book series I’m sure many of us will gladly read over and over again, as I personally do with the Harry Potter books and the Dark Tower series.
“When you consider how difficult it often can be for two people of the same nationality, the same community, the same race, and the same religion to understand each other’s point of view and to live in harmony, you can see why I had doubts that this encounter would end with hugs and professions of eternal friendship.”
“An idea can be the most dangerous of all things, especially if it is an idea that promises you the most particular and exquisite happiness for which you’ve long yearned.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2015
This installment in the Odd Thomas series probably has to be my least favorite in the series, it was still good however. The book seemed to be a little darker than the previous books in the series. For a while a lot of things didn't quite add up but they come together in the end.
Now I only have two books left in the series, but I'm just taking a break because I'm afraid if I read them all at once I'll get burn-out, LOL! Like I said, Odd Apocalypse could have been better, but it was still worth reading.
Now I only have two books left in the series, but I'm just taking a break because I'm afraid if I read them all at once I'll get burn-out, LOL! Like I said, Odd Apocalypse could have been better, but it was still worth reading.
November 11, 2016
3.5✭ Not my favorite in the series, but still good.
November 7, 2012
It feels like I've waited forever for the Odd Thomas story to continue! I'm only about 20% into the book right now, and while I am enjoying the story, I really don't feel like I'm reading Odd Thomas. Maybe it's just that the first books were soooo long ago, but it seems the voice of Odd Thomas has completely changed. I don't remember his descriptions being so "wordy". Dean Koontz tend to be "wordy", but I never felt he was with Odd. I'm finding myself skipping over paragraphs. That is disappointing.
June 24, 2017
Most disappointing Koontz book so far.
March 8, 2022
Forse il mio Odd preferito finora!
January 13, 2019
I enjoyed a Koontz memoir about his dog, and that sent me to this novel, which features the fictionalization of this special dog.
Enjoyed the dog.
I didn’t manage to sync up that well with aspects of the book.
I actually admired what Koontz was doing with the story and world creation, and enjoyed the idea of some aspects of the character, (surprisingly enough) supernatural elements, and mystery.
Unfortunately, creative appreciation isn’t the same as the honest pleasure of being able to give yourself up to the whole story. It’s the non-euphemistic meaning of just-not-for-me.
Enjoyed the dog.
I didn’t manage to sync up that well with aspects of the book.
I actually admired what Koontz was doing with the story and world creation, and enjoyed the idea of some aspects of the character, (surprisingly enough) supernatural elements, and mystery.
Unfortunately, creative appreciation isn’t the same as the honest pleasure of being able to give yourself up to the whole story. It’s the non-euphemistic meaning of just-not-for-me.
June 18, 2012
**SPOILER FREE**
This is the fifth book in the series starring Odd Thomas, the self-proclaimed fry cook with his ability to see the recently departed. The series continues along the same path it did with the prior novel "Odd Hours" with Odd Thomas and his companion Annamaria as they stay at the Roseland estate. The events of the novel take place over the course of a single day and Koontz manages to pack a significant amount of action, suspense, and even a little bit of horror into this nearly 400 page novel. As a result of this, the novel moves at a breakneck speed and can quickly leave you behind with scene after scene of Odd's hazard filled day.
While newcomers to the series could easily enjoy the novel, greater appreciation definitely comes to those who have read the previous novels. Interestingly, this is the first novel where Odd is almost completely on his own for the entire novel. While Boo, his ghost dog, is present he stays with Annamaria "off-stage" for the majority of the novel. Additionally, Elvis is long gone and Frank Sinatra from the previous novel has also passed on. We do meet Odd's next dearly departed companion, but he plays no role in the course of the novel.
The overwhelming mysterious background that Koontz has instilled into his Odd Thomas novels is present in abundance. Even the most patient reader will undoubtedly get annoyed at some point with Odd's willingness to continue along his path literally knowing and understanding nothing about the circumstances in which he finds himself. The vast majority of the novel we have no idea what is happening at the Roseland estate, we know very little about Annamaria, and the conclusion to the novel while satisfying leaves one yearning for the next novel in the series to further the over-arcing storyline. Readers should be aware, that this novel sends Odd down into darker roads (similar to Odd Hours) and the situations in which he finds himself contain more horror than humor. However, there are still a few slices of humor interspersed if only to add a small amount of brevity to the overall story.
In the end, the novel is a fitting member of the rest of the series. However, little is explained regarding the over-arcing storyline introduced in the previous novel. Fans of the previous novels will most likely enjoy this book as well, while newcomers would be better served reading the initial novel in the series: "Odd Thomas".
This is the fifth book in the series starring Odd Thomas, the self-proclaimed fry cook with his ability to see the recently departed. The series continues along the same path it did with the prior novel "Odd Hours" with Odd Thomas and his companion Annamaria as they stay at the Roseland estate. The events of the novel take place over the course of a single day and Koontz manages to pack a significant amount of action, suspense, and even a little bit of horror into this nearly 400 page novel. As a result of this, the novel moves at a breakneck speed and can quickly leave you behind with scene after scene of Odd's hazard filled day.
While newcomers to the series could easily enjoy the novel, greater appreciation definitely comes to those who have read the previous novels. Interestingly, this is the first novel where Odd is almost completely on his own for the entire novel. While Boo, his ghost dog, is present he stays with Annamaria "off-stage" for the majority of the novel. Additionally, Elvis is long gone and Frank Sinatra from the previous novel has also passed on. We do meet Odd's next dearly departed companion, but he plays no role in the course of the novel.
The overwhelming mysterious background that Koontz has instilled into his Odd Thomas novels is present in abundance. Even the most patient reader will undoubtedly get annoyed at some point with Odd's willingness to continue along his path literally knowing and understanding nothing about the circumstances in which he finds himself. The vast majority of the novel we have no idea what is happening at the Roseland estate, we know very little about Annamaria, and the conclusion to the novel while satisfying leaves one yearning for the next novel in the series to further the over-arcing storyline. Readers should be aware, that this novel sends Odd down into darker roads (similar to Odd Hours) and the situations in which he finds himself contain more horror than humor. However, there are still a few slices of humor interspersed if only to add a small amount of brevity to the overall story.
In the end, the novel is a fitting member of the rest of the series. However, little is explained regarding the over-arcing storyline introduced in the previous novel. Fans of the previous novels will most likely enjoy this book as well, while newcomers would be better served reading the initial novel in the series: "Odd Thomas".
February 7, 2013
How can you not love Odd?! I read the first Odd Thomas book on a whim. I was walking through a discount book store and the hard cover was on sale for something like $2.00, who could pass up a $2.00 book by an author who usually writes best sellers. Actually I didn't know I liked Koontz then...I just knew that I read & enjoyed Whispers and figured I'd give this one a try. I had no idea it was to be more than one book, but I am oh so happy it is. I love Odd. He is by far one of my favorite book characters. He's funny. There is no getting around the goofy internal banter Odd does in every book. He's not a super hero. He says things that he probably shouldn't in situations where silence is probably the better tact. Alas, he is a normal guy who has a "gift" and he's funny, I mean who wouldn't love that in a character. As in the other books Odd finds himself in a beyond belief type situation. This one is actually more mind boggling than his normal I can see ghosts thing. Although at times Koontz can be a bit long winded with his descriptions it doesn't take away from the story and its hilarious in most cases. Honestly you really cannot go wrong reading any story where Odd is involved. So if you are a fan of the previous books you cannot pass this up. If you've never read and Odd story, you should! They are well worth it.
February 23, 2021
This 5th book in the Odd Thomas series is good but, unfortunately, features too many political comments from Odd himself. Mr. Thomas has long been established as a guy who pays zero attention to politics for the simple reason that he has MUCH more important concerns. The worst example of one of these quick political asides is a joke he makes about believing in something "when I believe Social Security is solvent." A couple problems with this, character-wise…1. Social Security is such a complicated bureaucracy that why Odd Thomas would have any beliefs about it AT ALL is something I find a stretch and 2. Odd has mentioned multiple times throughout these books that he doesn't think he'll live long. So, again, a comment on Social Security…really, now? Sorry for the rant, but this inconsistency in character (one of 10 or more, I'd say) REALLY jumped out at me. Perhaps because this is my second read-through? Anyway, the story/plot is terrific and Odd HAS kept his sense of humor even if the targets of that humor don't seem right for him. Odd Apocalypse features not just one but TWO figures from pop culture that appear to Oddie but I wouldn't dream of saying who. All in all this book is entertaining but may have been written or edited a tiny bit too quickly.
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