Product Description

The latest Odd Thomas thriller from the international bestselling author Dean Koontz. A mystery in Magic Beach, California has lured Odd to the small town by the ocean -- but is it the call of the deep or the cry of the desperate? Odd Thomas knows more about the mysteries of the universe than the rest of us. He can see the lingering dead. He has learned that there are no coincidences. Even in chaos, there is order, purpose, and strange meaning. Intuition has brought Odd Thomas to the quaint town of Magic Beach on the California coast. In his desert home, Odd once found an ocean filled with love, and lost it. Now, scarred and alone, the only magic he finds by the vast, indifferent Pacific is in the name of the town where he has come to rest. As he waits to learn why he has been drawn to Magic Beach, he has found work as cook and assistant to a once-famous film actor who, at eighty, has become an eccentric with as long a list of fears as he has stories about Hollywood's golden days. Odd is having dreams of a red tide, vague but worrisome. But nothing prepares him for the hard truth of what he will discover.For in Magic Beach, he will come face to face with a form of evil that will test him as never before. Odd Hours is a brilliantly observed chronicle of good and evil in our time, of illusion and everlasting truth. Pick up a Dean Koontz thriller and you can't put it down: try one

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1475 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
There are many reasons why Dean Koontz has managed to remain at the top of the authorial tree for so long (and his sales are the envy of many of his contemporaries). Firstly, of his course, there's his totally assured storytelling skill (something that seemed to arrive fully formed even in his earliest books); his command of a variety of popular genres, from horror to the blockbuster crime novel; and his skill at creating distinctive characters. But -- most of all – it's Koontz's direct contact with his readership - a talent he has few rivals at -- that has assured his popularity.

The Odd Thomas sequence has been one of Dean Koontz's most successful series, with its supernaturally gifted protagonist a strong creation. In Odd Hours, Odd finds himself in Magic Beach, California, an oceanside town. His ability to communicate with the dead is both a blessing and a curse -- and his life is currently in a state of crisis, as he tries to find spiritual peace. He is working as domestic assistant to an elderly film actor -- and part of his job is to listen to lengthy stories of the star's golden past. But Odd is experiencing worrying dreams of a red tide -- and his instincts tell him that something evil is on his horizon. He is not prepared, however, for the magnitude of what he will have to confront.

Koontz admirers will know what to expect here: unsettling, atmospheric prose that exerts a steadily growing grip. Some may be uncomfortable with Koontz taking on the threat of terrorism (is this really his territory?), but aficionados know that he won't let them down. And Odd Hours -- discursive though it is -- is still one for Koontz admirers. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for Dean Koontz: 'Odd Thomas is certainly a page-turner -- this is a read-at-a-sitting novel -- with a terrific final twist' Observer 'A terrific pursuit story ! clever, up-to-the-minute, and riveting' Guardian 'There's surprise after surprise, including a killer finale ! a read-in-one-go novel' Independent on Sunday 'Velocity hits its pace from the first page and races through to a suitably climactic ending' Sydney Sunday Telegraph 'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler' The Times 'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying ' The New York Times 'One of the great masters of suspense, Koontz has an undeniable gift for playing on the reader's innermost fears ... What we have come to expect from Koontz are exciting, fast-paced thrillers that make your flesh creep. Once again, he doesn't disappoint' Northern Echo 'A modern Swift ! a master satirist.' Entertainment Weekly 'If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.' Playboy 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.' Washington Post Book World 'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. Serious writers might do well to study his technique.' New York Times Book Review 'Fast-paced and dark ! Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself ! Classic literature that deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.' California Literary Review 'Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He's got the gift.' Australian 'Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.' USA Today 'Inspires both chills and serious thought ! has the power to scare the daylights out of us.' People 'The poet laureate of paranoid pop fiction.' Denver Post 'Koontz achieves a literary miracle ! stunning physical description, unique turns of phrase.' Boston Globe 'Near Dickensian powers of description.' Los Angeles Times

About the Author
Dean Koontz is an international household name whose hugely entertaining parables for our times have been bestsellers in many countries, selling seventeen million copies each year. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he lives with his wife Gerda, their dog Anna, and the enduring spirit of their dog Trixie in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Lacklustre
The fourth entry in the Odd Thomas series is frustrating from two angles. First, and most surprising, is that although the narrative is clearly Koontz, the plot is not. It lacks punch and for the most part, is actually rather uninspiring. The second point, is that the story is nonsensical, wrapped in teasing mysteries for no reason whatsoever. Koontz, in my opinion, has been faultless up until this novel, in which Odd rambles incessantly, is put through rather an unbelievable plot, and surrounded by paper thin characters. There is one scene of note, halfway through, which raised my hopes, but they were soon dashed. There is character building for further entries, but Odd Hours, is disappointing on all levels. Not supernatural enough, not enough action and just not interesting enough.

Not the Best of the Series - But not the worst Either!
This is the fourth in the Odd Thomas series - following on from Odd Thomas, Forever Odd and Brother Odd and follows the titular character through another adventure.
The basic plot of this book is that Odd has moved from the monastery to Magic Beach and is employed by a faded b-movie hollywood star as a cook. But as is always the case with Odd, he has been drawn there for a more mysterious reason. His talent of being able to see the dead has always guided him to another mystery.......
The book starts well enough. Much of the humour and pathos from the previous books is here in abundance. I really liked the characters he meets - his new boss is a really funny guy, Annamaria the girl he promises to protect, Blossom who is another new friend, and of course a mysterious dog.
The problem i have with this book is the plot. It just doesn't sit right with the way the book starts and ends. It's as though Dean Koontz knew what he wanted to happen, but didn't quite know HOW to get there. And that is a real shame, because it makes the book feel really disjointed. A lot of people here have really slated this book, but it isn't really that bad. It is more that the Brother Odd book was so much better,and this is a real step backwards in this series.
What i find utterly frustrating though, is that Dean Koontz has a character in another series that he hasn't followed up in a long while. That character is Christopher Snow and stars in Fear Nothing and then Sieze the Night. I read those books immediately after reading this book and the difference in quality hits you straight away - they have more humour, better plotlines and a better basic premise, more characters you care about and the net result is that those two books grip you from the outset and take you on a great journey through the mind of Dean Koontz. Sadly, Odd Thomas is not as great a character as Christopher Snow. Odd Thomas has the potential to be a great character, but just doesn't seem to grip me in the way he should.
It isn't all doom and gloom though in this book. Yes it isn't a perfect book, but it certainly isn't as bad as Forever Odd which i really didn't like, but it isn't as good as Odd Thomas or Brother Odd. So who would i recommend this to? Anyone who liked the other Odd titles will definitely want to read this and see where their character is heading. But if you didn't get on with the rest of the series, then this book will not persuade to persist with him.
The solution to the problem with the Odd Thomas series is quite simple. The plot needs to be thought out better, and the characters need to have more time given over to them. I feel that Odd Thomas needs to be either finished as a series, or to be driven on to it's conclusion.
I hope this helps you decide whether you should read this book or not!
If you are unsure, then read Fear Nothing and then Sieze the Night!

Very poor
I've read and enjoyed many Dean Koontz books; in particular I've enjoyed the Odd Thomas series and was looking forward to reading this book.

I was very disappointed with what I read.

The main issue is that the storyline is just very one-dimensional. None of the characters are well developed: you find out nothing new about Odd, while you're introduced to several new characters but find out very little about any of them. During the book several questions are raised that feel key to the story but none of them are ever answered.

Overall the book just plods along with the main storyline, creating secondary storylines that are instantly forgotten about, until the main story reaches it's predictable conclusion and the book ends leaving the reader wondering whatever happened to all the loose ends.

My advice: don't waste your money.