Title: Odd Hours
Series: Odd Thomas, book 4
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Brilliance Audio Books
Narrator: David Aaron Baker
Duration: 8 hours, 33 minutes
Copyright: 2008
Genres: paranormal, mystery, suspense
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
THE GIST: It all begins with a dream. A dream of fire and destruction and death by the millions. Most people, upon waking from such a dream, would splash some cold water on their face and begin their day, but Odd Thomas is not most people. For someone like Odd Thomas, a dream like this can only be prophecy, and Odd knows he must do whatever he can do to keep the terrible visions from becoming reality.
In addition to having the occasional prophetic dream, Odd Thomas has a sixth sense that allows him to see dead people, just like that boy in the movie. He also has what he calls "psychic magnetism”, a unique ability that allows him to find a person just by concentrating on them. Oh, and he also has an unerring propensity for landing himself right in the middle of trouble.
After his dream of fire and death, Odd begins poking around the sleepy little coastal town of Magic Beach, California. With his special talents, it doesn’t take Odd long to realize that something very big is going on. A group of terrorists is planning to use Magic Beach’s small pier to import four nuclear warheads onto American soil, where they will then be detonated in four American cities. This is only a small part of what turns out to be a comprehensive plot to overthrow the government.
With the local law enforcement on the terrorists' payroll, it is up to Odd to make sure those warheads don't make it to land. To succeed, Odd Thomas must unleash a part of himself that he has fought very hard to suppress, but if he fails, it could be the end of the world as we know it.
MY THOUGHTS: “Odd Hours” is the fourth audio book in Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series and is my favorite since book one. Odd Thomas is a little bit Captain America and a little bit James Bond in this audio book. Odd’s ability to get himself into and out of tight spots rivals that of either of the aforementioned characters. I have to admit, however, that I was a little disappointed to see Odd turn to the gun. I wish Dean Koontz could have found a better way.
I’m really getting into the character of Odd Thomas. He's starting to remind me a little of Bill Bixby in the old Incredible Hulk show. Arriving in a new town just in time to stop some terrible thing from happening, only to have his secret revealed and have to move on again. Always the tragic, unknown hero. Dean Koontz could make quite a series out of this. Maybe even a TV show.
As much as I enjoyed “Odd Hours”, a couple of things bothered me. I am completely mystefied by the character of Annamarie. Koontz introduced her early in the book and set her up to be a major player. She was in on Odd’s dream somehow, and also knew a lot about Odd himself. Odd ends up leaving her with a trusted friend and she played no further role in the story until the very end when she and Odd leave town together. No explanations, no nothing. Ditto the coyotes. There were coyotes roaming Magic Beach but Koontz never explained why. If you read “Odd Hours" and figure that out, let me know.
NARRATOR: David Aaron Baker continues to impress me. It seemed like “Odd Hours” had more characters involved than the first three audio books in the series, and Baker provided a nice variety of voices for them.
FINAL WORD: “Odd Hours” is the best Odd Thomas audio book since the first one. Personally, I would recommend reading “Odd Thomas”, and then skipping right to “Odd Hours.” Koontz said there may be as many as seven books in the series before he is finished. I’ll be looking forward to the next one.
TRY THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
“Odd Thomas” by Dean Koontz
“Forever Odd” by Dean Koontz
“Brother Odd” by Dean Koontz
“Odd Hours” by Dean Koontz
If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "Odd Hours" from Amazon.com.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audio book.
Audio book review by Steven Brandt
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Aha...you're liking Odd, I knew you would. He just has that comic book hero kind of flavor.
ReplyDeleteAnnamarie...I think she was Stormy manifest in someone else. I was hoping he was going to go somewhere with it, but it ended on a, how shall I say, an ODD note?
Love Odd, the book, Koontz, the series! And this awesome review.