Odd Hours- Book Review

Dean Koontz recently came out with Odd Hours, the fourth book in his Odd Thomas series, which I have been a great fan of all along. And if you missed them, don’t forget to check out the four-part webisodes he released a couple weeks ago- Odd Passenger.

So what are my thoughts about his latest? Well, it’s his expected style, mixing humor and common people (though perhaps with uncommon skills) being place into extraordinary circumstances. His tension grips as strongly as ever, and the stakes escalate higher than they have ever been.

After the events at the monastery in the last book, Odd, and a ghostly dog named Boo, have taken up residence at Magic Beach, a small, quiet town where Odd hopes to blend in and relax.

But, as always, his unexpected gift for seeing dead people and other strange visions manifests itself. Odd starts having dreams of an apocalyptic nature, as well as a strange, pregnant woman who possesses an unnatural sense of wisdom and knowledge despite her young age. After running into this exact woman and protecting her from deadly forces, Odd is drawn into a horrific plot which, as it is revealed, will have consequences reaching far beyond this little beachside town.

Odd’s ability to see the dead and departed spirits actually doesn’t come into as huge a play here as it has in past books. In fact, he goes out of his way at one point to make sure he doesn’t get near any potential spirits so they won’t distract him. There is one main instance where it gets involved in the plot, but otherwise, the focus here is more on the apocalyptic vision he keeps experiencing and how to defuse it.

This book also takes a more violent turn in Odd’s character, one that he certainly doesn’t welcome, but finds inescapable. Readers who might have enjoyed his more pacifist approach to problems in previous books may be disappointed in this, but I felt it was a natural part of his character’s evolution, plus a necessity in the kind of people and situations he was dealing with. Can’t talk your way out of everything.

We are left with a lot more questions at the end here, and even a few clues that Odd could potentially have a future run-in with a character from another one of Koontz’s series- Chris Snow. I think it’d be fascinating to see those two come together in one book, as their stories have shared similar themes of the nature of humanity, humility, the power of love, and similar ideas Koontz imbues his characters with. Whether Koontz is just teasing us, or if that is his eventual plan, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. This story is definitely a huge setup for a much larger plot arc than I had thought Koontz would pursue with Odd, but I am looking forward to seeing what comes next. And whether Chris and Odd meet up later on, I’d recommend the Chris Snow books as well, Fear Nothing and Seize the Night. That way, you’ve read both a good set of stories, and filled yourself in on that character’s adventures just in case they do collide.

One thing did get a little frustrating. The character Odd pledges himself to protect gets a little annoying as she speaks so enigmatically all the time. I don’t know how Odd puts up with it, but I wanted a few straight answers as to who she was and what she was about, but in the end, we’re left with as much uncertainty as we began with. I know this is a setup for the next story, but man, I did get tired of some of the obvious dodges she makes when asked questions, even if it is explained that she really may not know more than she does at this point.

Overall, a great read from Koontz that I’d recommend to everyone. Let me know if you read it and have any other thoughts.

I see that smile.