Brother Odd

October 30, 2006
Bestseller Koontz's third Odd Thomas novel (after Forever Odd
) offers an irresistibly offbeat mix of supernatural horror and laugh-out-loud humor. A resident of St. Bartholomew's Abbey, a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Thomas has the ability to see the spirits of the dead, a gift he has used to resolve mysteries and prevent future tragedies. As the story opens, the seer is unsettled by visions of bodachs
, sinister ghostlike entities whose appearance precedes some dire tragedy. Thomas frantically searches for some sign that will help him head off disaster, even as St. Bart's is thrown into turmoil by the disappearance of one of its members. Thomas must figure out both the identity of the person or being behind the terror and the most effective way to restore peace to his haven. While newcomers may find the villain's underlying motive a bit over the top, the narrator's engaging voice should continue to give this series cross-genre appeal.

November 15, 2006
As promised at the end of Forever Oddthe second installment of Koontz's Odd Thomas sagathe paranormally prescient main character has now taken himself to a monastery in the hopes of coming to terms with his gifts and finding guidance in how best to use them. Among the memorable new characters Odd meets at St. Bartholomew's is Brother Knuckles, a former gangster who found his way to the spiritual life by reading a children's book that sounds remarkably similar to Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. As series followers might expect, Odd soon discovers that along with Elvis's ever-present spirit, the dreaded bodachs (harbingers of violence and death that only Odd can see) have accompanied him to these cloistered surroundings, quickly ending hopes for even a temporary respite. In this volume, Koontz takes Odd's battle against the world's evils to a nearly mythic level, pitting him against Death itself, yet he manages to maintain the lighthearted narrative persona that has most endeared Odd to fans. A significant addition to the series: bravo! [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/06.]Nancy McNicol, Ora Mason Branch Lib., West Haven, CT

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2006
The third adventure of Odd Thomas, the boy (well, he's 21, but still . . .) who sees ghosts, has a lighter feel to it than the gruelingly suspenseful " Forever Odd" (2005) and the funny and moving " Odd Thomas" (2003). It's reminiscent of a sunny monster-movie sequel--say, " Son of Frankenstein--" in which stock characters do their shtick with a wink and a nod: "Dontcha just love us?" In this case, yes, we do. Odd has retreated to a monastery in the Sierra Nevadas that permanently hosts a billionaire physicist in an underground lab. The mogul has given his entire fortune to support the monastery and attached convent in their work of housing and educating severely damaged children, the most interesting of which is now a 25-year-old artistic savant. As the story opens, bodachs--animated shadows that gather in anticipation of lethal violence, which only Odd among the living sees--are invading the children's quarters. Can Odd mitigate the coming cataclysm? Of course he can, despite the arrival of murderous bone creatures and grim Death itself, for the monks include quite a contingent of reformed martial sinners, most memorably Brother Knuckles, formerly of the New Jersey Mob, and another guest, a mysterious Russian librarian from Indianapolis, who is more and different than Odd thinks he is. Koontz salts Odd's narration with some wonderful zingers at the expense of cultural degeneracy and political folly. A darned good time should be had by all readers. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

January 29, 2007
Rarely has a character been so instantly embraced by readers as Koontz's unlikely hero, Odd Thomas, the wise and gentle fry cook, who just happens to see dead people. It is just as rare for a narrator to so perfectly capture the essence of a character that it is hard to imagine anyone else giving him voice, but such is the case with Baker. In this third adventure, Odd has left his hometown and taken up residence in a monastery high in the Sierras. Surrounded by loving but eccentric brothers and sisters, Odd hopes to rest and recover from the horrific events of the last two books. But after he discovers the body of one of the monastery brothers, Odd finds himself going up against a supernatural force that threatens the lives of everyone who lives within the monastery walls. Baker beautifully interprets the first-person narration. Like Odd himself, Baker's delivery is mellow and low key, perfectly fitting Odd's calm, self-possessed point of view. Suspenseful, funny and heartbreakingly sweet, this is a fine, enjoyable production. Simultaneous release with the Bantam hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 30).