Abducted by Forever Odd

I first listened to the audio version of Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz almost three years ago! And I loved it!

The town of Pico Mundo is so special, the plot is exciting, the pace is hart pounding, the characters are unique, and Odd Thomas, the title character, I think, is one of the greatest characters ever written. He would be in the top 100 at least! To read the review I wrote for Odd Thomas back in February click HERE.

However, an event takes place at the end of the story that changes things forever and, more specifically, changes Odd. Because of this, I put off continuing with the series until now.

I finally read the second book in the series, Forever Odd, and I've got to say, I was not impressed.

Odd has changed. After everything he went through in the first book there was no way he was going to stay the same. And I truly respect Dean Koontz for the way he incorporated those changes into this new Odd. The changes are very subtle. On the surface he is still the same Odd Thomas, but it is almost like you can tell the luster and shine is gone.

Also, this novel takes place in one day while Odd is searching the desert for his missing friend, Danny. Because of this, all the delightful and entertaining characters that make up the the town are not featured in this one quite as much as they were in the first novel. Some times I talk a little about how I love books that are character driven. I need for a story to have fantastic characters even if the plot sucks. And, unfortunately, I would say that Forever Odd is the perfect example of this.


Let me simplify the plot for you...

A crazy phone sex operator, who is obsessed with the supernatural, becomes intrigued when she learns that one of her clients, Danny, is best friends with a guy who possesses "special" abilities, Odd Thomas. Due to her desire to get as close as possible to the other side, she kidnaps her client in order persuade Odd to give her a demonstration of his powers.That is literally all that happens in this book. The beginning is Odd finding out his friend is missing and then the search begins. And that's it! Seriously!

So, no, the plot is not that great. Some of the scenes could be pretty action packed and my heart would just start to begin to race, but ultimately I was underwhelmed.

However, because it is Odd Thomas, the book was still worth the read and the ending still made me cry. When it comes to Odd Thomas I could literally read an entire book of him telling me about flood drainage or something.

Oh, wait, I just did!

Okay, okay, that joke was a little harsh (however, it was also true).

If you haven't read Odd Thomas yet, please please PLEASE do so! The first novel is amazing. Read it! I promise you'll love it! Then you can make up your own mind about the rest of the series. I'm still looking forward to reading Brother Odd, the third book. I bought it at Borders during their going out of business sale. I'm not sure when I'll have time to get to it, but I determined not to let my...what's the word...hold on let me check a thesaurus... "discontentment" stop me from enjoying what is still to come.



I've recently become obsessed with Anton Yelchin! Mainly because I saw a trailer for his new movie Like Crazy and nearly died! So, now I'm really excited about him playing Odd in the feature adaptation, whenever that happens...

Actually, I just checked imdb.com and it says they are now filming!

EXCITING!!!