HumbleInnkeeper's Reviews > Odd Apocalypse

**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".