An ok book. I'm not a big fan of "occult" crap, so I doubt I'll read Koontz again. I have no idea why Koontz is so popular. He's readable, but rather stuck on himself (lots of faux philosophy thrown in), and as I said, occult crap. Weird, I don't mind, I'm a huge fan of Murakami, but this stuff left me feeling "meh". ( )

This is the second book in the series and I did wonder if perhaps the first book was originally intended as a one-off, and then the publishers discerned the potential for a series. Why else would the author present us in book 2 with Danny, a lifelong friend of Odd's with brittle bone disease, whose kidnapping drives the plot? Book 1 supposedly introduced everyone who knew about Odd's ability to see the dead and his ability to be drawn to people he focuses upon. Danny knows all about this because he has ill-advisedly told a woman on a sex chatline all about it. Unfortunately, she is a psychopath with a fixation on the supernatural and wants to add Odd to her collection of zombies and make him show her spirits - which is impossible, as only someone with his psychic abilties can see them.

The book was better than the first in that it had a driving plot line of Odd discovering the murder of Danny's father, and alerting the police to his kidnapping, but then deciding through his pyschic intution that he must find him singlehandedly, or the kidnappers would murder Danny as soon as the police arrived. So he tracks them first through a series of huge storm drains under the town - which Koontz gives an explanation for as they were meant to double up in the event of nuclear war as a means of moving missiles around underground from the nearby military base (which wasn't mentioned in book 1 of course, another clue that this sequel was not intended originally). This leads him to the abandoned casino/hotel out in the desert which had been destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fire, worsened by the contractors' skimping on building materials and regs, so there are still lingering spirits of the many dead killed there.

The story was very much a 'Die Hard' tale except that Odd is reluctant to use a gun. However he does have to overcome his scruples this time. The trouble is that things are very conveniently resolved for him at a couple of key moments - not quite 'with one bound he was free' but a mountain lion having wandered into the building to handily eliminate the chief villain is a bit hard to believe.

I also found that although quite a lot of the action, and also the build up as Odd moves around the various parts of the derelict building, was quite suspenseful, there was a tendency to rush through the most dramatic parts. And some things are left as loose ends, such as where does the plastic explosive disappear to - that appeared to be a setup for further peril, but is just forgotten about. Koontz also has a tendency to overwrite with a lot of convoluted description at moments of action which have the effect of bogging things down.

The villain is very cardboard cutout, like a character in an OTT Batman film, unfortunately. If there had been some light and shade I think she would have been more effective. The constant wisecracking in the Odd point of view is also not convincing given the peril both he and Danny are in for most of the book, although it is occasionally amusing and has some good one liners. I think the next book in the series must be 'Brother Odd', given the development at the end, but won't bother to obtain that one. (Update: I found I had that one as well so I did try it and found it better apart from the ending so I have also reviewed that one.) I have another, from later in the series, so will probably read that and pass all three (now four) back to a charity shop. For me, because this is a bit better than the first book, it merits 3 stars. ( )

Now I am hooked on the Odd Thomas series... ( )

There is something endearing and interesting about the main character, though, and I do mean beyond his “special” paranormal abilities. A fry cook with occult skills is a unique character. Very noticeably Koontz makes Odd Thomas much wiser than he ought to be. Odd Thomas is likeable. You root for him because he is unlucky yet he seems to still be humble and honest and a generally good person.

The storyline in this one is a doozy, I am not sure it has believeable setup motives. It hinges on the bizarre – and I mean the really bizarre. So bizarre that its truly difficult to be horrified correctly. This novel is not for all readers. The dark twisted stuff is dark and twisted, no matter how Koontz balances it with wit. Still, Odd Thomas is an interesting character and worth reading a few novels for. ( )

https://www.astridterese.no/2015/01/29/odd-thomas/ ( )