Ratings17
Average rating4.1
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SUSPENSE MAGAZINE • Includes Dean Koontz’s short story “You Are Destined to Be Together Forever” From “one of the master storytellers of this or any age” (The Tampa Tribune) comes the stunning final adventure of “one of the most remarkable and appealing characters in current fiction”(The Virginian-Pilot)—as Dean Koontz brings the unforgettable odyssey of Odd Thomas to its dazzling conclusion. Odd Thomas is back where it all started . . . because the time has come to finish it. Since he left his simple life in the small town of Pico Mundo, California, his journey has taken him to places strange and wonderful, mysterious and terrifying. Across the land, in the company of mortals and spirits alike, he has known kindness and cruelty, felt love and loss, saved lives and taken them—as he’s borne witness to humanity’s greatest good and darkest evil. Again and again, he has gone where he must and done what he had to do—for better or worse—with his courage and devotion sorely tested, and his soul forever changed. Every triumph has been hard won. Each sacrifice has taken its toll. Now, whatever destiny drives him has finally steered his steps home, where those he cares for most surround him, the memory of his tragically lost true love haunts him, and one last challenge—vast and dreadful—awaits him. For Odd Thomas, born to serve a purpose far greater than himself, the wandering is done. Only the reckoning remains. Praise for Saint Odd “Equal parts supernatural thriller, cultural satire, character study, bildungsroman, offbeat love story, road trip, spiritual meditation, and apocalyptic adventure, the Odd Thomas books . . . are more than irresistible page-turners. They are intimate, haunting, often heartrending, exhilarating, and beautifully composed.”—Biography.com “Odd Thomas is such an endearing and likable character and, more than anything else, has been the reason for the success of the series. . . . For readers who have been with Odd all along, Saint Odd will satisfy.”—Bookreporter Acclaim for Dean Koontz and his Odd Thomas novels “Odd’s strange gifts, coupled with his intelligence and self-effacing humor, make him one of the most quietly authoritative characters in recent popular fiction.”—Publishers Weekly “Koontz gives his character wit, good humor, a familiarity with the dark side of humanity—and moral outrage.”—USA Today “The ultimate Everyman . . . an avatar of hope and honor and courage for all of us—the linchpin of a rollicking good tale . . . Odd evokes the homespun wisdom of Forrest Gump amid the mind-spinning adventures of a Jack Bauer.”—BookPage “There’s never anything predictable about an Odd Thomas adventure.”—Booklist “The nice young fry cook with the occult powers is [Koontz’s] most likable creation . . . candid, upright, amusing and sometimes withering.”—The New York Times “An inventive . . . mix of suspense, whimsy and uplift.”—The Washington Post “Heartfelt and provocative . . . a wonderfully rich and entertaining story.”—Chicago Sun-Times
Reviews with the most likes.
Sad to see the series end, but it ended in the best possible way.
4.5 Stars. I'm really sad to see this series end but it was a fitting ending.
May contain minimal spoilers
The good news is, I didn't hate it.
After the dud that was Deeply Odd, I really didn't expect ANYTHING at all from this book. I'm happy to say, that it was a fast and somewhat amusing read.
There were a few problems, though: too much action, endless pursues and shooting. No bodachs. Very few ghostly apperances. Also, the inclusion of characters I had all but forgotten about (Tim, Blossom Rosedale), though they did not have an impact on the story at all. Too little of known characters: only a few pages of Ozzie, a handful of pages of Edie Fischer and Annamaria only in dreams/flashbacks.
Other than that it seemed that Koontz had become less preachy and less political. Those were two of my main gripes with Deeply Odd, but in this it only slips through in very few instances. And thankfully, there is almost no trace of his trademark “humour”. This one is played much more serious and I like it the better for it.
The showdown is not epic in any way and the ending, as others have pointed out, is kinda rushed. I was worried how he would describe the afterlife, but I actually kinda liked his version of it.
Overall, Koontz is not back to his roots, but I must say that I find this the third best installment of the series (After Odd Thomas and Odd Apocalypse). I do understand if someone finds it less than fulfilling, but after finding Deeply Odd and Odd Interlude abysmal beyond hope, I actually enjoyed this.
SPOILERS FOLLOW:
I've been an Odd Thomas fan since I read the first in the series. I can honestly say that I never expected the series to end this way. Based on Odd's narrative, I always had the impression that he was going to have to wait a long time before he would be together again with Stormy, so when I started this book and he immediately began predicting his own death I was very disappointed. That being said, I enjoyed this book, and felt that the ending was fitting.
I do feel, however, that the climax and completion happened all to quickly. The story kept building, and then just sort of ended. Many author's take the build up too far, and the climax too long, but this felt the opposite. But, again, I did really enjoy the book, and would recommend it to others.
Featured Series
7 primary books11 released booksOdd Thomas is a 11-book series with 7 primary works first released in 2003 with contributions by Dean Koontz.