Odd Interlude

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

There's room at the inn. But you might not get out.

Nestled on a lonely stretch along the Pacific coast, quaint roadside outpost Harmony Corner offers everything a weary traveler needs - a cozy diner, a handy service station, a cluster of motel rooms...and the Harmony family homestead presiding over it all. But when Odd Thomas and company stop to spend the night, they discover that there’s more to this secluded haven than meets the eye - and that between life and death, there is something more frightening than either.

©2012 Dean Koontz (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Supernatural thrills with a side of laughs." ( The Denver Post)

"Koontz gives [Odd Thomas] wit, good humor, a familiarity with the dark side of humanity - and moral outrage." ( USA Today)

"[Odd Thomas is] one of the most remarkable and appealing characters in current fiction." ( The Virginian-Pilot)

Wow - Koontz Cranks out another Hit

Odd Interlude was released after Odd Apocalypse by six months. However, Odd Interlude takes place one day after Odd Hours ends and before Odd Apocalypse begins. For listening fans, this may be a little confusing at first if you’ve already listened to Odd Apocalypse because the timing is inconsistent with the character story arc. I went back and verified that the release dates were indeed out of sequence. No matter, Odd Interlude is a great story. One of the pleasant parts of this novel is the addition of a two kindred spirits: JoLeigh and Ed. I won’t spill the beans on who they are and the roles they play in the story; but, I will comment that Koontz does a nice job in allowing them to fold effortlessly into this tale.

I really like the narration of David Aaron Baker. He has been the voice of Odd since the very beginning and his performance is excellent. He does a great job differentiating characters and imbuing them the emotion of the story.

If you are a fan of the series, you will like the story. Although this story does not rely on the supernatural as much as the others, it is a fun listen and I believe is much more filled with humor than the darker Odd Apocalypse. If you are not a series reader, you can read this novel first. It will leave a lot of open questions and spoil the first Odd Thomas novel and Odd Hours, but that will be the extent of the spoiling.

I continue to be a fan of the series. I hope to continue to see Oddy pick up some friends. I give a big thumbs up recommendation.

31 of 36 people found this review helpful

Oddy Returns

Mr. Koontz, thank you for bringing back the childlike flavor of a favorite character, Odd Thomas. Your last few books have sadly been a bit of a disappointment, but this one rings true to character once again. Odd's side kicks, JoLeigh and Ed are delightful and interesting.
Unfortunately the enigmatic pregnant woman is here and remains an annoying mystery.
But overall the story held my interest; I enjoyed the book.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

A HERO WHO SAYS HE IS NOT A HERO

MELANCHOLY CAN BE SEDUCTIVE
Koontz writes in at least three different styles. GRIDDLE WORK IS ZEN. If you have been following The Odd Series, than this should be no disappointment. Odd is, his usual lovable self and still questions himself and life for the deep answers. His side kick Jo Leigh "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SMILE TOO MUCH." being supportive. Odd "DID YOU EVER SEE THE JOKER IN BATMAN?", still sees more than others. If you are new to the Odd series, I see no reason why you could not start here. The Odd series is a very melancholy piece of work, with some paranormal, sci-fi, horrish stuff thrown in. This is listed as a horror and it has horror aspects to it, but I would not list it as horror. This might be horror made palatable for those who don't like horror.

IN SPITE OF ALL YOUR BRAVE WISE BUTT TALK
Two new characters are introduced in this book and are probably only in this book. There is a twelve year old girl, whose name I forget, who was very refreshing. We also meet an AI character, who is scary and funny. SILENCE IS HIS FREQUENT REFUGE.

I PREFER A CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
For those like me, who prefer something more exciting, check out the Frankenstein series by Koontz. The first book is okay, but it gets much better after that. Each book gets better and better. Phantoms, Lightning and Life Expectancy are also exciting Koontz writings. Avoid most of his earlier writings some of them are painful to read.

I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO STAY UPBEAT
I really like the narrator, he is the voice of Odd.

I HAVE NEVER ACCIDENTLY SHOT OFF A CHUNK OF MY BUTT.

23 of 30 people found this review helpful

Short and Sweet

Tantalizingly this new entry in the Odd Thomas series touches on some of the same locations and story elements of the Moonlight Bay series (Fear Nothing & Seize the Night). It makes one wonder if the Odd and Chris stories will collide and have Chris Snow and Odd Thomas meet in the long promised and long awaited final volume of the Moonlight Bay series. Odd Interlude was previously published as a three part novella and is set between Odd Hours and Odd Apocalypse, so if you haven’t read Odd Apocalypse, read Interlude first (but it doesn't matter much). Odd Interlude is indeed an interlude, short and sweet. The characters are nice, the narration is superb, and the story is limited, but enjoyable. In such a short novel there is not enough time for the development of relationships important to any good Koontz book. Annamaria appears here but is not a major character – leaving her unexplained does not bother me at all (it seems to bother some). This story does not have time for any twists or turns so the story is a rather linear progression. Odd Interlude is a quick and pleasant, but not one of Kootz’s best. It is still good Odd.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Koontz has done it again

Where does Odd Interlude rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I like all the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz. It is just crazy enough to be enjoyable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Love Odd. He is a guy who is "just a fry cook" who continues to get involved in the most crazy situations.

Have you listened to any of David Aaron Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to David before but will be on the look out for him. He made the book come to life.

If you could rename Odd Interlude, what would you call it?

I think the name is perfect.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A few more hours with the Odd one

Would you consider the audio edition of Odd Interlude to be better than the print version?

I liked it because it was a quick read. I prefer audio editions because I use them when I take a driving trip.

What other book might you compare Odd Interlude to and why?

Nothing comes to mind

What about David Aaron Baker’s performance did you like?

I have always like DAB's voice it is perfect for the Odd character, however this time I had a great deal of trouble hearing Anna Marie because he did the voice so softly.

Who was the most memorable character of Odd Interlude and why?

The little girl. I think Dean Koontz nailed the 12 year old attitude to a "T"

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Gets the "Odd" tradition going again

I'll admit being disappointed with the last book in this series (Odd Apocalypse), but this one hit a more familiar note. It doesn't have the wonderful humor of the previous additions, but it does introduce us to a new character that you couldn't help but love. What can I say - - I'm a sucker for a plucky kid.

Trying not to give too much away in a review (I just hate when people do that!), returning to a less eerie and more towards a science fiction-y premise serves the series well.

Last bit - - can we just get on with the mystery permanently-pregnant-teen-age-earth-mother character already?

6 of 9 people found this review helpful

Great!

As always Dean Koontz keeps me sitting at the edge of my seat. I'm never disappointed. I love me some Odd Thomas. 😀

Another great Odd Thomas story

These stories are Koontz at his best - a mix of action, humor, mystery and insight.

Meh

The narrator does a fantastic job with male voices but his female voices need work. AnnaMaria sounds like she's constantly whispering and it drive me crazy. I didn't care for the inclusion of Jolee's narrative until I realized why it was included at the end. And this Odd novel took on a far more sci-fi approach than I prefer. But Odd Thomas is still an endearing character who occasionally makes me laugh.

Should Have Been A Short Story

This is a special Odd Thomas story set between books 4 and 5 in the series. I loved the first Odd Thomas book and have enjoyed the successive books in the series. However, Odd Interlude was a bit of a drag. At over 6 hours it could have been trimmed down quite a bit. The dialogue and descriptions seemed to go on forever and by about two-thirds of the way through I was just wanting the story to end. Koontz's quirky humour can be a bit wearing - at times (such as when Odd meets the truck driver) it can be spot on at other times it can be a bit grating. There's also the usual (if somewhat predictable) elements to a Koontz story - outcast/damaged lead characters, dogs, quirky humour along with some issues he's visited in the past such as Artificial Intelligence, aliens, mad scientists, secret government projects, too much government monitoring etc. If you are a big fan of the Odd Thomas series then give it a go. If you're just a casual Koontz fan then I'd say give it a miss.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Really enjoyable listen

Wish I'd have started with number one, however nothing lost. Great story and quite amusing character. Made me smile a few times. Well worth a listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Short but exciting

Good work mr koontz. Good combination of wit and action as usuall. Cant wait for more odd adventures......wonder when the film will get released?

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Odd interlude

I love all the Odd Thomas books, well written and well read. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful