Odd Thomas is the main character in a series of books by Dean Koontz. He’s young, he’s a fry cook, and he’s got powers.

Odd is a young man that’s been gifted with prophetic dreams, the ability to see ghosts, and the heart of a paladin. This fourth book sees him taking real ownership of what his actions mean. He ponders if he’s crossing a line as he steps into situations of violence and death.

In this latest book in the series, Odd Hours, we find Odd in a small sea side town, playing cook and attendant to Hutch, an aging actor. Odd has come to the town because of a vivid dream of catastrophe. Unfortunately he’s gotten no clues so far in his month long stay save one, the mysterious girl on the boardwalk.

The book moves a bit slow at first but quickly becomes a page turner. Honestly I finished this is one afternoon. Pacing is good considering the story takes place over basically two days. It helps that there are chases, gunfights, and plenty of unique characters for us to enjoy.

An interesting aspect of this book is the unusual people Odd encounters. The woman with the twinge, the young pregnant lady with the zen type conversations, and the Happy Monster. I read into this story that being such a potential catastrophe that a convergence happened of others with gifts and insights.

Odd Hours is the best of he sequels to date. Action, mystery, wisdom, gun play, sadness, and sainthood, this book has it all.

Bonus in this book, and really in the series, is a lack of swearing, death isn’t overly gory, and people worry about doing the right thing.

Anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

(oh yeah, Mystery Train)

** spoiler alert **

Seize the Night is the sequel to Fear Nothing. The characters you loved from the first one are here but in even more detail and narrative. And that’s a problem.

The story in this book takes place over an even shorter span than the first one. in this follow up it’s months later and things are still strange in Christopher Snow’s little sea-side town. People are still becoming. Intelligent and malevolent monkeys roam the town at night, and to make it worse, even hordes of birds are killing themselves.

What’s happening in this story is two-fold. Firstly the inevitable dark downside of the retrovirus. The gift of intelligence is a curse more than a blessing for most of the animals affected by the experiments at Wyvern. Chris runs across swarming birds, packs of wolves, and more marching to their doom. Not being chased by cursed by spiraling depression.

The other plot is the kidnapping of children. Of course the police aren’t going to do much, and honestly, Chris doesn’t even wait to see if they will. He immediately suspects it’s related to the base in some way. So off into the night he goes, glock and flashlight and faithful dog.

Koontz gives us rich detail, a fantastic first person viewpoint, and lovable characters. The only problem is that he compresses a week worth of story into basically two evenings. Amazing amounts of dialogue, internal monologue and animal communication takes place during that time. This is my biggest complaint. The book seems to take forever to get through those couple of days.

On another note, this becoming issue really could have been left out of this entirely. There is a whole other mystery going on here worthy of a book all by its self. Another strike against a book that still has some really enjoyable writing in it.

All in all, it’s not a bad read if you’re a Koontz addict and enjoyed the Chris Snow character. Sadly it left me wanting a follow up book with this rather interesting family of characters. Apparently Koontz didn’t enjoy these folks enough to follow up. Likely due to lackluster response to this long winded second in the series.

This will appeal to those that like a bit of psychology mixed with their sci-fi.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read more of my reviews on Amazon.

Chris Snow may have a genetic disorder and a deadly one at that, but nothing keeps him from being the master of Moonlight Bay at night. Fear Nothing is the story of Chris Snow, his dog, Orson, and their friends as two dramatic days pass in Moonlight Bay.

The story begins with the death of Chris’s father at the local hospital. Chris soon discovers bodies going unexpected places ad well as an unexpected extra body. Of course he takes off on adventure into the night to uncover this mystery.

In spite of being a story that takes place over two days, it doesn’t move very fast. Oh, there is action, including chases, gun fights, and a few deaths, there is a much more in the way of inner conversation. The narrative takes place mainly inside Chris’s head. We see all other characters’ actions through his eyes.

The actions taken by Chris in this story are definitely unbelievable. He may have a genetic issue, but he’s managed to become a successful author, an accomplished surfer, and find a hot lady for a girlfriend. We find he also has an affinity for animals. All of those take him from one act in this novel to the next with him surviving relatively unscathed.

It turns out Chris is not just a bystander either. He’s central in several ways to the plot of the story, not just as the random guy caught up, though until later in the book he doesn’t get that. It seems his friends don’t get it either until the end.

In my opinion, not one of Dean Koontz’s best novels, but still not a bad read. The narrative is slow, and some of the characterization, though wordy, is shallow. The characters leave possibilities open but the way the book ends you’d think things wouldn’t end up well for Chris or his friends.

If you’re a die hard Koontz fan, pick this up. If not, skip this one.

Velocity is another Koontz novel in which we watch the protagonist taken through more twists and turns than a person has a right to survive, yet amazingly the guy does.

This story is more a story about transformation than other books by Koontz. The lead character is taken on a breakneck ride over a few days. He is taken from mild mannered bar tender to … well you’ll have to read.

What I liked most about the book was watching this man become something he fears. The journey is more than it seems as the battle of wits with the antagonist progresses. What starts with a simple note with no explanation turns into a running effort to uncover who the killer is and what the motive is.

Koontz does a good job of making everything relevant. There might seem to be a lot of words flowing, but so many small things become important to the overall story.

As an aside, this one gave me more the spooky feeling than other books by Koontz. Even more so as it became clearer where things were headed.

Not my favorite book by Koontz, but an enjoyable fairly well paced novel. I polished it off in one day.

Ticktock by Dean Koontz

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dean Koontz created a real page turner in TICK TOCK. Heck, even the cover art works well with the book on this one. It’s an all around winner. I’ll tell you up front one complaint that keeps it from being a 5 star – it’s only one book.

The book chronicles the night from hell for Tommy Phan. Starting with the purchase of his first corvette the ride just keeps going from there.

This book is not what it seems at first. When I picked this up I expected a horror story, with focus on Tommy and a demonic pursuer. I was set up for one scare after the next as Tommy is chased and tormented.

It was so much more than that. This is drama, horror, and love story rolled into one. It’s a story about social moors, tradition, and family as well.

Tommy is forced to confront his past and traditions. Along the way he hooks up with Del, a woman with a unique family and history. The demon thing gives chase at first to just Tommy but soon it’s chasing them both across the city and beyond.

Make no mistake, there are chilling demon tormenting moments, scary monster eating innocent scenes, and relentless pursuit. But just the same, there is a bit of magic, a few wild car rides, and a trip to Las Vegas.

All that’s missing from this story is Elvis.

The title implies something to do with a ticking clock or computer countdown. Oh, there’s a countdown the computer and clock having nothing to do with the story. That’s my other gripe. Though the story takes place all in about 18 hours, the count down isn’t shown on clock, computer, or really even a watch.

If you like Koontz, you’ll enjoy this. It’s quirky, scary and fun.

View all my reviews.

Koontz got your eye was a success. We have a winner! Andrea’s recommendation, Lightning, was the selected book.

Andrea has been sent an $8 gift Amazon gift certificate for her troubles. She was not only first, but suggested several good titles. To narrow the choice I read reviews of each book on Amazon. This gave me some insight on themes.

Lightning was chosen specifically at Andrea’s recommendation and that it involves a sci-fi theme. Koontz takes his spin on time travel.

Andrea, Tony Mast, Tracy Lee, Phil Baumann, and akaMonty, your support and suggestions were helpful. It took me some time to check out each one. The next in line will likely be Fear Nothing, a title recommended a couple of times.

The book is due to be shipped out on Monday. I’ll look forward to its arrival by Friday. Look for a review to follow.

Amazon is my favorite place to shop. Yes I live in St. Charles county, but Wal-mart really isn’t where I spend all the big bucks. As you might have guessed that’s where I purchase all my books.

Purchasing leads to recommendations, and recommendations pointed to Dean Koontz. So I picked up the first Odd Thomas novel. I was immediately hooked. So far I’ve read the first three.

Koontz purchases on Amazon of course led to more of his works turning up for me to buy. Oh, the titles are interesting, but they don’t really say much about the books. Let’s list a few…

	Seize the Night
	The Watchers
	Life Expectancy
	Intensity
	Phantoms

You get the drift. Short titles and cool covers. That’s what it’s all about I guess. What I’d really like though is my friends and contacts to make some recommendations about his books. Or heck, just suggest some good alternates.

Ones I’ve read already:

Odd Thomas 1st-3rd books
Frankenstein books – Prodigal Son and City of Night

That’s it. Just those. I’ve been wary of running out and spending $10 on something I might hate. Are the Odd Thomas novels a good indication of the rest of his writing? Are they exceptions?

So I’m asking you, my readers, and the rest of you out there on the net; what’s your favorite Koontz tale or alternate work of fiction.

I’ll post the results here on the blog, so keep the suggestions coming in. As an added incentive, I’ll buy you a book too if I take your suggestion. So be the first to suggest your favorite.

Yours,
Todd