Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 31-35 of 173
 Difficult read. August 11, 2008
InsanelyOne (Sint Maarten)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love Dean Koontz. I love Odd Thomas. That said, I struggled through the first 100 pages and quit. It's horrible. The first few chapters were a total waste of paper. I'm disappointed to say the least.
 Odd OK, Not Greatness: August 10, 2008
Carolyn S. Koppel
Odd Hours was as always, a good read. But, and this is a big "But," it was not as convoluted nor as intricate as Odd's prior adventures.
The ghost of Sinatra isn't as over the top as Elvis and the ghost doggie isn't as interesting as he once was. Koontz should have thrown in the entire "Rat Pack," because wherever they are, they are probably all together.
When I finished "Odd Hours," I was more than glad that "Oddie" saved us all, but wondered if Dean's muse, Trixie, left too big a space to fill when she reluctantly left him.
Dean, as much as you lov(ed) Trixie, you will love that much the next time, I promise.
Seems impossible, but it's true. Goodbye for a while "Odd Thomas." I hope we meet up again soon.
 Odd Deserves A Better Book August 10, 2008
D. Mills
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
If I could speak to Dean Koontz, I would tell him, "Don't write more Odd Thomas books just because you can. You have created a wonderful and endearing character, and you are not doing him justice in your sequels, especially this one."
*possible spoilers below*
It would be difficult to give details of the plot in this review, because Koontz gives so few of them in the book. There is a hairbrained scheme, which appears to be cooked up by the village idiots, with some unnamed villain as the real mastermind, but we never get more than hints at what is really going on. You know Koontz has run out of ideas when Odd has to solve every problem by gunning down the bad guys. This is not the Odd we have come to know and love.
Many sections of the book are slow and laborious reading. At one point I actually yelled aloud, "Get off the pier already!" In other places, situations arise that the reader feels will have deep significance, and then the situation just ends, with no apparent purpose, except to fill up the pages.
I did enjoy one thing about this book - Hutch, the retired actor who has hired Odd as his live-in caretaker. His conversations with Odd were the one bright spot for me.
When I read Odd Thomas for the first time, I couldn't wait to read more. But when I closed this one, I was disappointed and felt that maybe Odd had worn out his welcome. I am not looking forward to a 5th book. Now I believe Koontz is just trying to sell books by putting the name "Odd" in the title.
Please, Dean Koontz, don't do it. Your character deserves better than what you are giving him.
Oddly Gripping August 9, 2008
L. Barcome (Denmark, Wisconsin United States)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Again, Dean Koontz give us a great story about our good friend Odd Thomas. Always a page turner, no dull moments. Boo is also a repeat characther guiding Odd out of danger.
 Not as good as the first few August 8, 2008
J. Bob (MA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I will start by saying that this is the first product review I've written for Amazon. The reason I mention this is to show how compelled I felt to write about this book - in fact, I finished it just an hour ago.
Odd Thomas has been an excellent character in three prior novels by Dean Koontz. His first-person narrative draws in the reader, and although it leaves no doubt as to his eventual fate, the mortal danger and moral dilemmas in which Odd finds himself entertain as well as engage the reader.
Having enjoyed the first trio of books, I looked forward to "Odd Hours" for a long while once I heard it was forthcoming. However, I felt sorely disappointed by the ending. Was it a page-turner? Absolutely. But the nature of the novel, which was both suspenseful and morality-driven, caused Koontz to posit a number of questions for the reader - which he never answered. This disappointed me most of all.
I won't take it any further, for fear of spoiling the book. But when a novelist puts forth ideas which remain mysterious even at the completion, I can't help but feel robbed of the sense of denouement that is a trademark of many of Koontz's past works.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it just wasn't as satisfying as many of his others, including the three prior Odd Thomas works. It felt like little more than a set-up for the inevitable fifth installment in the series.
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