Forever Odd

An Odd Thomas Novel

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Every so often a character so captures the hearts and imaginations of listeners that he seems to take on a life of his own long after the final chapter. For such a character, one book is not enough—listeners must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontz returns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With the emotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are his trademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique young hero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal parts suspense and terror, adventure and mystery—and altogether irresistibly odd.

We’re all a little odd beneath the surface. He’s the most unlikely hero you’ll ever meet—an ordinary guy with a modest job you might never look at twice. But there’s so much more to any of us than meets the eye—and that goes triple for Odd Thomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small desert town of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everyday events. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead—it’s something that just happened. But as the unofficial goodwill ambassador between our world and theirs, he’s got a duty to do the right thing. That’s the way Odd sees it and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death.

A childhood friend of Odd’s has disappeared. 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, encounters an enemy of exceptional cunning, and spirals into a vortex of terror. Once again Odd will stand against our worst fears. Around him will gather new allies and old, some living and some not. For in the battle to come, there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. Whether you’re meeting Odd Thomas for the first time or he’s already an old friend, you’ll be led on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror, wonder and delight—to a revelation that can change your life. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

©2005 Dean Koontz (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Forever Odd is a fast and exciting read.... [the climactic scenes are] fraught with tension."—Rocky Mountain News

"The nice young fry cook with the occult powers is [Dean Koontz's] most likable creation. ... candid, upright, amusing and sometimes withering, especially when thinking about the state of contemporary popular culture."—The New York Times

"Inventive.... It's refreshing to come across a character as good-hearted as Odd.... [Dean Koontz is] an interesting writer with a voice all his own."—Washington Post

The Movie got me intrested in the seris

Saw the movie reallly enjoyed it. The book does not disappoint. Looking forward to the rest of the series

This is another in a series of really enjoyable “Odd Thomas” stories

This story harkens back to other Odd stories I have read. Enough product placement and superfluous detail to add color but not too much as has punctuated several other Dean Koontz books I read lately. It was easy to care about the good guys while nurturing the right level of animus toward the villains.
Also I enjoy revisiting characters from past stories! Stormy, the friends from the grill, Ozzy and Chester and the chief and his wife. I’m sure I forgot someone but they will be back tomorrow.

Dean Koontz, always good!!

I love his Odd books. Actually I love all the D.K. books. Never once dull.

Very enjoyable

I enjoy the writer very much ,he's able to help me enhance my vision of the characters, the setting and humor or slience.

A good book to get lost in.

I enjoyed this book as much as the 1st book in the series. so excited for the next book.

Rainy day read

While I enjoyed this listen just fine, it was a let down after the first book, which I thought was really fun and original. Not sure that I'll continue the series. Out of 10, I'd give it a solid 7.5.

Great book.

I loved this book! I didn't know that there were more books or a series. I have listened to this book rwo times over all my devices. It was a good read!

What happened?

I was warned.
I really enjoyed the first book. There was a decent amount of subplots happening and great world building. And all the sun plots fall together like a set of dominoes, all leading to the conclusion and a gut punch at the end.
This book. Well I was warned that the rest in the series fall flat compared to the first book.
This book feels very straightforward. Barely any development of anyone. It’s set up more as. This happens. Then this happens. Then this happens oh don’t you remember this character? Oh and this happens.
Not to mention how Odd escapes the baddy in this book is soo (excuse the language) Feckin lazy. Cool they dove a little more into his psychic magnetism and it’s down fall. But!!!!! It’s useless when you paint your hero into a corner and then just throw in a mountain lion to take care of what should have been a fairly climactic part of the book. I can not roll my eyes harder at this in fear of looking like Steve Buscemi’s character from Mr. Deeds. The writing over all was ok. The painting of narrative was decent. It just felt like it had no reason to really exist. Yeah it’s all basically for Odd to come to terms with Stormies death and moving on kind of but the story just felt like it didn’t need to happen and I dread the rest of the series. My SO has been holding off on reading the last book since it came out in fear of a dismal attempt of wrapping up the series in a bow tied by a caffeinated crack addict waiting for their dealer to show up. But who knows. The rest of the series may surprise me 🤷

Enjoyed immensely

Dean Koontz is a really good writer. This second book of the Odd series was just as good as the first. The narrator reads very well and I looked forward to listening to the story as often as I could. Looking forward to the next.

Entertaining

It was a good read! I enjoyed myself. It’s unique and I am always waiting to see how he can get out of trouble. On to the next, it entertains me and has my attention at every word!