Brother Odd

This was another story of Odd Thomas a young man who can see and communicate with spirits or ghosts. He can also see demon-like beings that are intent on harming others. Odd is staying at a monastery where he seeking quiet reflection time. Of course there is no rest for him. He needs to find a way to help the young students in the school attached to the monastery who are all in some way damaged, either mentally or physically. Odd shows his capacity for love and caring with these children and they love and care for him back.

Love this series. It keeps getting better with each book.

The Odd Thomas world is not quite real, but close. However this book veers away from reality, turning it into a sci-fi universe.

The first book was great, the second book was still pretty good, but this third book didn't work for me. The story itself was ok, the writing was good, but it just felt out of place with what was established for the world in the first two books.

I don't know if I'll bother with the 4th book or the rest of the series.

The first book is the best one, maybe Koontz should have quit while he was ahead.

Odd Thomas is a character hard to dislike. He cares for every person he meets and never fails to help people even at the risk of his own life. This book did become a bit over zealous with scientific explanations. They went right over my head despite how many times I reread paragraphs to grasp what was going on. Unfortunately, it's the reason this book is receiving 3 stars despite my enjoyment of the banter back and forth between Odd and Romanovich, which was sarcastic and entertaining, and the creepiness of the big bad. Odd certainly attracts situations and people to him that reflect his namesake.

I have been consistently underwhelmed by the Odd Thomas series, despite think that Odd is a great character and the premise of the story being interesting. However, the way Koontz writes this character and the inner dialogue that we witness due to this being a first person narrative makes this a difficult read. Often times the situations are outlandish and Koontz chooses to write in a way that is so abstract and forced philosophical that reading becomes tedious. I constantly found myself thinking, “When will he get to the point?” I read this book in ebook and audiobook formats. I must admit the audio was slightly better, the ramblings that Odd engages in seem to fit the audio medium better. Overall, after giving this series a try, I've decided to not continue the rest of the series.