Deeply Odd was deeply enjoyable

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Deeply Odd was deeply enjoyable.

It's been a while since I read an Odd Thomas book. I skipped "Odd Apocalypse" because, frankly, I wasn't in the mood for an apocalyptic read. So when I saw this one at my local library, I decided it was time for a return to the world of a uniquely sweet young man who "sees the spirits of the lingering dead."

Honestly--unlike some of the reviews I've read on here--I think "Deeply Odd" is one of my favorites in the series.

Although there was the requisite evil and the horrific tragedy Odd needs to avert, it was also infused with a spirit of hope and goodness.

The book leaves the enigmatic Annamaria in the background. (She's the pregnant young woman that he befriended a couple of books ago. Enigmatic almost to the point of being annoying, I might add.)

It also introduces a wonderful new character that I hope sticks around...the elderly, but feisty and sparkling, Edie Fischer. Edie is also enigmatic and mysterious, but also down-to-earth and very likable.

For example, after the story's suspenseful and nerve-wracking climax, this exchange:

Edie: "How do you feel, Oddie?"
Odd: "Starved. I need a big pile of breakfast."
Edie: "First you need a shower, dear, so the rest of us will have the stomach to take breakfast at the same table with you."

A new ghost is also introduced (in the past, Odd has helped ghosts like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra pass over to the other side), and there's a new, awesome twist with this one. Plus, he seems to be even more helpful to Odd than some of the spirits in past books.

One of the criticisms I've read has been that Odd didn't ever seem to be in very much danger. Umm, did you read the same book I did? I would think being relentlessly pursued by a bloodthirsty demon would qualify as "dangerous."

I actually appreciated that the story seemed to be a tad less chaotic than some of the "Odd" books. For me, the main attraction of an Odd Thomas book is Odd himself. His thoughts, his ponderings, his humor, his unique outlook on the world. All that I got in spades.

Another criticism was that "not enough questions were answered." The better to keep us buying the next books, maybe?

As for the element of hope? Previous Odd Thomas books have held the gloomy undertone that the world as we know it is being overtaken my evil. "Deeply Odd" revealed that the good is out there too, and working just as hard.






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Booking Through Thursday: Dog Days?

Participating today in Booking Through Thursday--and the question is:

...what animal-related books have you read? Which do you love? Do you have a favorite literary dog? (Snoopy, anyone?)

You know, I probably haven't read a book specifically about an animal since I was a child.

However, I love the way Dean Koontz incorporates dogs into almost all of this books.

This from Wikipedia:

Koontz is an avid dog lover, and canines (typically an unusually smart Golden or Labrador Retriever) often feature prominently in his works: Fear Nothing, Seize the Night, The Taking, Watchers, Dark Rivers of the Heart, Dragon Tears, One Door Away from Heaven, Ticktock, Twilight Eyes (towards the end of the book) and The Darkest Evening of the Year are prime examples.

I can't fully recommend all Dean Koontz books, especially his earliest ones. The earlier ones can get a little crazy.

But many of them are terrific, suspenseful, and even thoughtful and insightful reads, and his portrayals of dogs are nothing short of loving.

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Saturday Review of Books: Lightning, by Dean Koontz

Although I'm a huge fan of Dean Koontz, I always have to tag that statement with a little disclaimer.

I've actually had to stop reading some of Koontz' earlier books, thanks to gratuitous sex, profanity, and plots so bizarre as to be either too disturbing for me or on the other end of the scale, almost laughable (and not in a good way.)

However, I have to say that some of his later writings are among the best books I've ever read, combining suspense and sci-fi in highly entertaining fashion, and all from a world view with which I identify.


Lightning is one of those terrrific Dean Koontz books.

Knowing I need a real page-turner when I fly, I picked this up at my local library, and it didn't disappoint.

It all begins on the night of Laura Shane's birth, when a mysterious stranger ties up and detains the drunken doctor that was supposed to deliver her.

This handsome, blonde, blue-eyed stranger continues to make cameo appearances throughout Laura's life--always showing up just in time to prevent catastrophe.

The little girl comes to think of him as her Guardian...and she really needs one when she becomes orphaned and has to live in a home where the authorities turn a blind eye to the fact that the janitor is a pedophile obsessed with Laura.

Laura's childhood difficulties just end up making her a stronger person, though, and she's one of those classic Koontz heroines--beautiful but tough, likable and even admirable.

We're dying to discover who Laura's Guardian is just as much as she is...and when we do find out, it adds an even more intriguing and fascinating element to the story.

Lightning kept me involved, absorbed and entertained from beginning to end.

Although admittedly a fantastical tale, Koontz reins in his sometimes unbelievably crazy imagination just enough to make us believe in it and care about Laura and her Guardian through the very last page.

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