Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5191 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

The Times
The master of our darkest dreams

Synopsis
The third Odd Thomas novel from Dean Koontz, following 'Odd Thomas' and 'Forever Odd'. Odd Thomas is looking for peace. But in the silence and snow of the mountains, danger and desperation haunt him still ! Odd, a charismatic young man with a sense for the otherworldly and the downright strange, is in self-imposed exile. The tragic events that took the love of his life have led Odd from his sun-bleached desert home of Pico Mundo to a monastery in the High Sierra. It's December and the remote abbey is besieged by icy winds and snow. As ever where Odd Thomas goes strangeness goes too. A white dog named Boo befriends him -- as does the ghost of Elvis. And a world-famous physicist is conducting experiments in the catacombs of the abbey. Could this be why Odd can once again see bodachs, shadowy harbingers of violence? They prowl the halls, suggesting terror to come. But what form will it take? And how will Odd defeat an enemy that eclipses any he has met before?

From the Back Cover
Odd Thomas is looking for peace. But in the silence and snow of
the mountains, danger and desperation haunt him still ...

Odd, a charismatic young man with a sense for the otherworldly, is in
self-imposed exile. The tragic events that took the love of his life have
led Odd from his sun-bleached desert home to a remote monastery in the icy
High Sierra.

As ever, where Odd Thomas goes strangeness goes too. A white dog named Boo
befriends him - as does the ghost of Elvis. And a world-famous physicist is
conducting experiments in the catacombs of the abbey. Could this be why Odd
can once again see bodachs, shadowy harbingers of violence? They prowl the
halls, suggesting terror to come.

But what form will it take? And how will Odd defeat an enemy that eclipses
any he has met before?

Customer Reviews

Boring Odd
The 3rd in the series of Odd Thomas books. This one definately lacked the sparkle of the previous two.

It seemed to take nearly two thirds of the book before it actually got going with a plot that really wasn't up to Koontz's usual high standard.

A nice change I suppose that the bodachs didn't actually see a huge death toll - maybe this is why I found it disappointing.

The plot, in my opinion, didn't follow very well and all of a sudden Odd and the Russian had worked out who the Neverwas and the ending was coming to a close.

I found Odd rather dull and at times irritating in this book and didn't really care what happened to him or the other characters. Sadly, I feel it was a bit of a chore to read but felt I had to read it in order to read the 4th in the series which I sincerely hope improves on this disaster.

A Modern Version of "The Name of the Rose"
This third sequel of the Odd-stories is the best of them in my opinion. OK, there are tiny flaws. For example the ending is strangely undramatic - a showdown that is not really typical of Koontz. But everything else is excellently written. The novel has a fine plot, which is straightforward - almost simple. The setting reminds the reader of Eco's famous novel, a monastery in winter, in which mysterious deaths and murders occur. The character of Odd has become more mature. He enjoys witty and intelligent dialogues even with characters he sees involved in crime. The character of Romanovich is just another example of the author's expertise when it comes to inventing and creating bizarre characters. That is also true for the handicapped children, especially Jacob. But Dr Heineman, or Brother John, is too flat a character to be able to play a major role, which strongly affects the weak ending. And the nuns and monks are really a treat. The ever-present humour does not belong to the Shakespearian kind of relaxation, but the fine balance between humour and impending catastrophe actually creates tension here. A well written novel - intelligent and full of suspense.

Superb
Another excellent Odd series addition, enjoyed this one, as it took the ever adventurous Odd to a new locale, with a rather interesting enemy. A good read indeed. :)