Book Review: Forever Odd

Okay, so I finished the second in the Odd Thomas series. This one is called Forever Odd by Dean Koontz.

The story again is written in the first person. The thing about this book is that it is a bit easier to get into the view point (as long as you've first read Odd Thomas). This makes it a bit easier to get into the book, which I liked immediately. I'm the kind of person that gives a book about 50 pages to get rolling. If it can't, it joins the graveyard of books I have in a box out in the garage.

Forever Odd takes place about 6 or 7 months after the events of the first book. Odd has taken a leave of absence from the Pico Mundo Grill still toiling with issues from the massacre that occurred a half a year earlier.

The book gets rolling when Odd wakes up in the middle of the night to find the local radiologist (who is also the father of Odd's best friend) standing in his room. Of course this is a ghost that escorts Odd to his home where our hero finds the mutilated body of said doctor. He also finds that his best friend, Danny, is missing, supposedly kidnapped by his psychopathic biological father. Odd registers immediate concern because Danny has a rare bone disease that makes him susceptible to fractures.

If there is one point that bothers me about the book it is the existence of Danny. I know that Koontz could never have anticipated the success of the first book in the series and may very well have never considered writing another Odd Thomas book until her heard the feedback from the first. That said, it was still uncomfortable reading about how close a friend Danny was to Odd when Danny's name never showed up in the first in the series. Now, after a few pages I was over this, but still, it rubbed me the wrong way.

The book is a bit surprising. As the story progresses the setting changes and I can't help but feel that given everything that has happened in the small town of Pico Mundo, that would be the last place on earth I would ever want to visit. Of course this could also be said about Las Vegas if you failed to accept the fact that the television drama CSI is just a work of fiction. Anyway, the story progresses to the site of a tragic casino fire. As Odd tries to rescue Danny he meets a completely different kind of villian with a bizarre purpose for abducting Danny.

For the sake of not spoiling the story I will just stop right here with the plot summary.

The book, like the first, was very good. There was a nice mix of humor and horror. It carried the same stanza as the first book and you can't help but love the main character. I've already purchased the third book in the series so as to continue the voyage with Odd.

The story itself was also very good. It left you guessing throughout the entirety. There was a bit of randomness to some of it (like the existence of Danny that I mentioned earlier) as well as an appearance by a mountain lion (I won't give any more away). I wouldn't say it was as good as the first book, but it was pretty close. The first book gave you a better character build which I really enjoyed. This one got right to the story and used the plot to fill the pages.

To close, I will give a bit of a spoiler for those who have read the first: At the end of this book we find out why Elvis came to Pico Mundo and why he is always crying. :)

Questions and comments are always welcome by clicking on the little comment link or emailing directly to my blog mail at lonnbristolblog@gmail.com.