Odd Hours

Disappointing. Odd doesn't have his usual reliable sidekick to elicit his quirky personality. The heroine adds little to the story. She is absent during most of Odd's journey and she responds to questions with answers such as, "What will be, will be." I found her more irritating than mysterious. Also, rather than outwitting his nemeses, Odd, though exhibiting remorse, escapes peril by killing them off. This is a departure from the Odd of the Monastery. One can only suppose that the writer resorted to surmounting quests in such fashion to meet a publishing deadline or perhaps to offer a substandard tidbit to satisfy those of us who greedily demanded more Odd, now rather than later. With questions left unanswered, this undoubtedly is a pre-quel to the next Odd iteration.

I've read Koontz for a very long time, and although the narration quality is excellent, the book itself is lacking. I'm wondering if the publisher got greedy and split the book with another one coming soon. Lots of unanswered questions and it leaves you hanging. With under an hour left, it just wraps up so quick it is tough to believe. The first Odd Thomas is the best, the second was okay and this one is lacking.

I enjoy the Odd series but this book was a disappointment. It will leave you with an "unfinished feeling."

I started this series with Odd Thomas and have enjoyed each one that followed, but honestly this last one was not my favorite. Odd is a very endearing character and after the first book you have developed a true affection for him and what he has been through. The mix of seriousness and humor is wonderful, and David Aaron Baker is a great narrator, after 4 books clearly the voice of Odd Thomas.
In each book there is some evil to be faced, and maybe the evil in Odd Hours is just more difficult for me to accept. I'm hoping that Koontz has more adventures for Odd. I'd hate to see such a good character go out on what I feel is the weakest of the 4 novels so far.

I read both of the first two books in this series and felt that this one didn't hold a candle to the others. There are so many better Koontz novels; skip this one.

The first book in the series was mostly stripped of needless description and flowery passages of alliteration. Not so this one. The first hour is spent describing one scene on and underneath a pier. I laughed out loud at some of the endless verbiage(and not in a good way-the "story" never seemed to start) until I gave up counting all the times three adjectives were used when one would have been sufficient. I gave this two stars out of sentimentality toward the character and the excellent narrator. Where was the editor of this book, in Bermuda? Heaven forbid this IS the edited version.

I've been waiting for the next Odd Thomas novel but wasn't very impressed with this one. It isn't awful but it isn't great, either. It isn't equal to its predecessors. You are plopped into the story with little explanation, a few "odd" things happen, then it ends with almost no explanation. And much of what Odd does seems out of character for him.

I'd say it is mildly interesting just because Odd is an interesting person and the narrator does a great job. But it isn't what I was expecting, after the previous Odd Thomas books.

I am a big fan of Dean Koontz and have enjoyed the earlier books featuring Odd Thomas. This one missed the mark. It lacked the constant suspense of earlier books.

Odd's narratives have become flippant boilerplate in this book. Hoping for better from Mr. Koontz next time.

I am a fan of the Odd Thomas books and therefore was excited when the book was released. I was a little disappointed in Brother Odd and was hoping for a return to a more supernatural twist with this book. Unfortunately it never quite got there. It starts out fine and moves very quickly but the book merely teases you postponing the payoff for another book (hopefully). I also found the use of psychic magnetism a little too gratuitous in this book. It almost seemed to be done like a super hero power as opposed to super natural power. In fact Odd himself seems transformed from fry cook/tire salesman to a secret agent. I realize that I am being negative and I do not want to imply that the book is a bad read. It certainly is not. There is a lot of action packed into the 8 hours of audio and some interesting uses of Odds powers that will surprise readers. The problem is that I came into the book with a preconceived notion of who and what Odd is and this book left me wondering whether I had been mistaken over the last three books. While I can appreciate an author wanting to take a character in different directions to keep things fresh, I felt the change was too sudden. The unanswered questions at the end of the book should normally leave people hanging at the end of their seats either scared or worried. I felt neither. The only real emotion I had after the last sentence was confusion. In summary, it is a must read for Odd Thomas fans but not the book you will place as your favorite in the series.

I'm a big fan of the Odd Thomas series but this one missed the mark. None of the characters are developed enough to become very attached to, and the usually sweet and funny Odd has become jaded and tedious. I hope this journey has enlightened him to return to his old, wonderful self on his next adventure.