Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5647 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Synopsis
This is the follow-up novel to "Odd Thomas", from worldwide bestselling author, Dean Koontz. Odd Thomas, that unlikely hero, once more stands between us and our worst fears. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead - they sought him out. As the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he has a duty to do the right thing. That's the way Odd sees it, and that's why he has already won over hearts on both sides of the great divide. For, though Odd lives in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, he stands between two worlds, and for him the heroic and the harrowing are everyday occurrences. A childhood friend of Odd's has disappeared and the worst is feared. But as Odd applies his unique talents to the task of finding the missing person, he discovers something worse than a dead body. New allies and new enemies gather around Odd, some living and some not. But the enemy he encounters is unspeakably cunning, and every sacrifice is needed to tip the balance between despair and hope as a life-changing revelation rushes towards us. In the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders...

Customer Reviews

Forever Odd

Koontz's novel "Odd Thomas" was clearly a bigger hit than anticipated, because his publishers have urged him to continue the story of the twenty-something fry cook who sees dead people. The result is "Forever Odd", which sees Odd left deflated and dispirited (not literally - he still communicates with ghosts) after the soul-shattering conclusion to his previous misadventure. Now that his desert town of Pico Mundo has returned to its state of relative calm, Odd wonders if he'll have time to rest and repair himself. Unfortunately, fate has something else in store for him. A young and very twisted lady has taken interest in the man with the unwanted gift, and has abducted a young and vulnerable friend of Odd's in order to get his attention.

Through his character, Koontz made it clear in the first novel that he intended to keep the tone light and the story swift-paced. He kept his promise for "Odd Thomas", and has done the same for the sequel. Every page in this novel feels relevant and un-belaboured, making this every bit the page-turner that the cover says.

The light tone occasionally feels forced, however, with Odd spinning out weak jokes and sometimes excruciatingly unfunny extended similes. Odd's young friend Danny, who Odd claims has a rapier wit and unparalleled sense of self-deprecating humour, is even worse, making the reader wish that Koontz just hadn't bothered.

Aside from that, the story is solid and still often amusing, and very occasionally emotional and chilling when intended. The conclusion and its admittedly minor revelation about the villains of the piece manages to shed a whole new layer to the narrative the reader has just finished, making up for minor niggles with a suitably uneasy conclusion.

The third and fourth books are already out as I write this, and I'll definitely be getting the next in the series at least; it looks like the overall story is strengthening significantly with each instalment.

6/10

Great sequel
Personally I loved this one as much as the other two in this series. Maybe some people might think it suffers from the loss of a main character in book 1, but I think it dealt with that very well. The humour is there and the excitement. I've just finished Brother Odd, and would recommend the series to anyone.

Not as good as the first one
I love the character Odd Thomas and the first book totally absored me,his love for his stormy was so beautiful (if not so unrealistic) this is a good read but it doesn't really take you to any new depths, its a little bit nuts infact in terms of plot line, It wont put me off getting the third installment though