Odd Apocalypse

An Odd Thomas Novel, Book 5

De: Dean Koontz

Narrado por: David Aaron Baker

Audie Award Nominee, Best Thriller/Suspense Category, 2013

Once presided over by a flamboyant Hollywood mogul during the Roaring ’20s, the magnificent West Coast property known as Roseland is now home to a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants. And, for the moment, it’s also a port in the storm for Odd Thomas and his traveling companion, the inscrutably charming Annamaria.

In the wake of Odd’s most recent clash with lethal adversaries, the opulent manor’s comforts should be welcome. But there’s far more to Roseland than meets even the extraordinary eye of Odd, who soon suspects it may be more hell than haven.

A harrowing taste of Roseland’s terrors convinces Odd that it’s time to hit the road again. Still, the prescient Annamaria insists that they’ve been led there for a reason. Just how deep and dreadful are the mysteries Roseland and her masters have kept for nearly a century? And what consequences await whoever is brave, or mad, enough to confront the most profound breed of evil? Odd only knows. Like his acclaimed creator, the irresistible Odd Thomas is in top-notch form - as he takes on what may well be the most terrifying challenge yet in his curious career.

©2012 Dean Koontz (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

It's not a snuggie, it's a straightjacket

I've listened to or read the previous books. I bought this the moment I saw it. That's the power of Dean Koontz's sweet, resilient hero.

But now, five books in, the cloying mythology, the 1950s television mores, the Mysterious Character Who Will Not Answer The Damn Question are tiresome. Koontz has not written a snuggie, he's written a straightjacket.

We get to the point dozens of chapters (and in some cases two books) before Odd Thomas does, and this is effective for a while. Koontz makes us a spectral companion with Odd, as if we were Elvis or Sinatra. Like his ghosts, we cringe when Odd makes mistakes, and when he hasn't quite put two things together, and all we can do is wave our arms since he's deaf to us. It's a classic technique, and Koontz does it very well.

And Odd does not curse. His characters may, but he does not. He is unfailingly polite yet ruthless when required. But his Oddness seems more an affectation, and I imagine Koontz performing the "Odd Character Trait Edit" on the novel to spackle in expected adorableness. This helps turn the last act of every Odd novel into The Ransom of Red Chief. And I admit that by not accepting Odd--kumbaya--for what he is I am on the losing side.

But there is a living character who can answer questions, who does answer questions, but she responds in the unique language of the hack writer: koan and gibberish, all while denying her answers are rhetorical questions. Koontz brilliantly turns this around. Her character pushes Odd to ask more questions, but here Odd is scared--the only time Odd is truly fearful. But this, too, is snuggie into straightjacket.

Set in a cross between the Winchester House and San Simeon, the inanimate objects surprise us more than the characters. Until we reach the heart of the novel, and Koontz opens doors into evergreen evil.

This is the fifth of seven Odd Thomas books, and there are two crossing arcs in this novel. The first is towards the seemingly predictable end of the seventh novel; if there were any more foreshadowing I would need a miner's helmet. The second arc is towards film. This book smirks at the film business in Odd's new companion, and by being set in the Xanadu of a long-forgotten Hollywood mogul. Perhaps Koontz builds these bridges so reviewers can remind reader that the Odd Thomas movie arrives in 2013.

I recommend this book, for all its faults and visible clockwork because Odd is a sweet guy, and I wish him happiness. I just wish he could find it in fewer than seven books.

David Aaron Baker, at 49, plays Odd, aged 20 or so, very well. He captures the sweetness, but also the duty and burden forced on this young man. Baker does women well, but his older men are played from the mouth not the heart--there is no depth in their vocal characterization.

Odd should be with ghosts, not time-traveling

WI/NWI--3 WI–kinda worth it. The writer’s attempts to be oh-so-cute & funny make the mixed metaphors like the martini–shaken, not stirred. My mind tended to wander through the crazy world he plops Odd into, and it took 3 hours for me to get into the story.

I think DRK missed on this one, but I get the feeling that he’s had so much approval in his life that he’s forgotten he can make mistakes. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve been a fan for a long time, but I liked him a lot more when he was bald and wore glasses. The surgically-enhanced eyes and new, full head of hair, demonstrate that maybe he’s so completely removed from the common man that he can no longer write for us.

Plot--2 Odd Thomas is interesting and famous because of his ability with ghosts, not high-tech gadgets, and this story ignores the ghosts. I want Odd Thomas in the spiritual realm, not science fiction. I mean really–what are the chances the Odd would end up in a time travel universe, and also be a seer of ghosts? It’s like this was a drawer book he pulled out and forced Odd into like a square peg.

Characterization --2 Odd Thomas–humble fry cook who never cooks? Who has bricks of $100s in his closet? Then I submit that he is not a humble fry cook. Odd Thomas–an uneducated blue collar man? Then I submit he should not know all literature like an English major, history like he lived it, and science better than most electrical engineers. And his character is cutsie to the point where I wanted to barf. Could DRK be using this character as an attempt to break into stand up? Keep your day job, Deaner.

Odd has no emotions, so he’s either retarded or sociopathic. As he goes about his morning in hell, he is not at all affected by being shot, chased by malformed human-pigs, and stumbling upon 34 bodies. He just keeps thinking sweet Odd thoughts and whistling his Odd tune.

And the pregnant teenager in the story? I wanted to smack her after her 3rd enigmatic statement–she was not mysterious as much as irritating beyond belief. She missed all the action back in her room manifesting flowers, and was not at all surprised by the attack of the futuristic cannibals.

Violence--5 Lots of shooting and chasing and candlestick making.

Grossness --4 Very gross. DRK has a thing for multiple female bodies being arranged in basements, and it happens again here. And what about those cannibals? Seems to be the thing in novels today!

Sex--0 No sex. Thank God. It would be so Oddly cutsie, I’m sure!

Supernatural Elements--3 This should be the main part of the story with and Odd book, but science takes the day here. There are ghosts, don’t get me wrong, but the make cameos.

Crossing the Line--0 To me, crossing the line is the brutal murdering animals (especially dogs), or children. Stephen King is the worst offender. DRK always treats dogs with respect, and anyone who listens to his books can relax–nary a dog harmed here.

Setting--4 The setting was the book, really. Though unbelievable, it was a memorable world.

Prose--1 It hurts me to say that a Koontz book is so poorly prosed. It’s so busy being cute, there’s no room for beautiful.

Deeper Message--1 If the story has a deeper message, it is that we can’t fight fate.

The message I mostly got was that Deaner is no longer one of us. Everything he touches turns to gold, and he’s forgotten what it is like to be average. When I listen to a story, I want to think about the character in the story, not WTH the author was thinking.

Performance--5 David Aaron Baker does a great job reading Odd.

See more of my review at: http://www.JazzSocialMedia.com

Who doesn't love Odd?

Would you listen to Odd Apocalypse again? Why?

Odd Thomas is one of my favorive characters and I'm always waiting to find out what he's up to. This was book seemed lighter to me and I enjoyed it. Not that I haven't loved the darker ones too!

Odd Apocalypse

If you could sum up Odd Apocalypse in three words, what would they be?

I love Odd.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Odd Thomas

Which character – as performed by David Aaron Baker – was your favorite?

Always Odd

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Dilemma regarding Stormy

Any additional comments?

Really love the Odd Thomas books. Hopefully there are more to come.

Started a little slow, but ended Strong!

What made the experience of listening to Odd Apocalypse the most enjoyable?

Amazing job by Dave Aaron Baker as narrator; he is the perfect fit for portraying Odd Thomas. .

And, offf course, Odd's continuing adventures are a must read, and with each book, the level of intensity of what Odd has to go through is raised. What Odd had to face in this book, to me, is by far some of the darkest, worst and horrific situations he has ever been in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Odd Apocalypse?

Odd's struggle with coming to terms with his moral decision to be the scourge/executioner, and how he had to deal with the temptation of using the power he gained at the end for his own desires.

Also, I loved how Dean Kootnz describes the horrific scene near the end of the book in regards to the suffering that Odd had to go through, his description of the second death, how wicked men are not satisfied with only killing your body, but your soul as well. His description, through Odd Thomas, of that scene really struck a chord with me.

Have you listened to any of David Aaron Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, all of his performance narrating the Odd Thomas series. He is the perfect person and truly brings the character to life. And he remains incredible in this latest book just like in the other Odd Thomas books.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Odd's witty personality had me laughing throughout the book, how he overcame the most horrific things he had to deal with with his comical outlook .

And I got a little emotion towards the end of the book, which I felt, put Odd in some of the darknest moments in the series thus far, and how he had to endure it and keep going.

Any additional comments?

I love the Odd Thomas series, which in my opinion, are Dean Kootnz's best books.