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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
A prequel to the Odd Thomas horror-lite series and revolving around a young fry cook and his girlfriend who live in Pico Mundo, California. It's late May in this tale.
I am torn between giving this a "3" or a "4". The "3" is my annoyance over how short this story is — 39 pages!. And while it feels repetitive, it actually does include a well-written shortie. It is Dean Koontz after all — still, if money is an issue in your house, I wouldn't bother even spending the 99¢ on it.
That whine over, Koontz does write a quirky story with unexpected characters who charm their way into your heart. The circumstances Koontz puts them in and the way he has them express themselves…too funny. I really do like this series, and I'd encourage you to spend your money on the first in the series, Odd Thomas, 1, instead of this one.
It's Odd, of course, helping someone who's died horribly only there's a nasty twist at the almost-end followed by that bitter bit of foretelling at the end. Made me want to cry.
Koontz is light on the details; the way he wrote about Roberta made me wonder if she was the real(ly) guilty party in this.
Read about Odd, and you'll see why I think of it as horror-lite, *grin*.
Just a short side trip to help a crazed dead man running through Odd's car before Odd and Stormy head off to the carnival and those momentous words from the Gypsy Mummy.
Odd Thomas is a very independent young man; he's had to be with the mother he has. Father is definitely not in the picture.
Stormy Llewellyn is Odd's girl. And he still can't believe it. An orphan, she has a strong goal in mind for ice cream parlors, and she's learning all she can at Burke & Bailey's at the mall.
P. Oswald Boone is Odd's friend and mentor, a famous mystery writer. Terri Stambaugh owns the Pico Mundo Grille where Odd works as a fry cook. Wyatt Porter is the chief of police, and he and his wife are friends with Odd.
Elvis Presley likes to haunt, er, visit with Odd. Odd has his own ideas about why Elvis hasn't passed to the Other Side.
Kurt is the man with a meat cleaver in his neck. Roberta owns the picturesque house. Kristen is the girl in the handcuffs. Hannah was the broken one. Johnny and his fiancée aren't too happy.
The cover is grim with that dust bowl flavor in an apocalyptic setting: a leaning ferris wheel rises up out of a sand dune alongside a lonely road. Bare brown mountains lurk in the background as dark, gray, stormy clouds hover over it all, completing that fuzzy frame of black encircling it all.
The title is more of that foretelling, a prick in the heart as Koontz reminds us that their idea of "You Are Destined To Be Together Forever" has a different connotation than Odd and Stormy are planning.
My Take
I am torn between giving this a "3" or a "4". The "3" is my annoyance over how short this story is — 39 pages!. And while it feels repetitive, it actually does include a well-written shortie. It is Dean Koontz after all — still, if money is an issue in your house, I wouldn't bother even spending the 99¢ on it.
That whine over, Koontz does write a quirky story with unexpected characters who charm their way into your heart. The circumstances Koontz puts them in and the way he has them express themselves…too funny. I really do like this series, and I'd encourage you to spend your money on the first in the series, Odd Thomas, 1, instead of this one.
It's Odd, of course, helping someone who's died horribly only there's a nasty twist at the almost-end followed by that bitter bit of foretelling at the end. Made me want to cry.
Koontz is light on the details; the way he wrote about Roberta made me wonder if she was the real(ly) guilty party in this.
Read about Odd, and you'll see why I think of it as horror-lite, *grin*.
The Story
Just a short side trip to help a crazed dead man running through Odd's car before Odd and Stormy head off to the carnival and those momentous words from the Gypsy Mummy.
The Characters
Odd Thomas is a very independent young man; he's had to be with the mother he has. Father is definitely not in the picture.
Stormy Llewellyn is Odd's girl. And he still can't believe it. An orphan, she has a strong goal in mind for ice cream parlors, and she's learning all she can at Burke & Bailey's at the mall.
P. Oswald Boone is Odd's friend and mentor, a famous mystery writer. Terri Stambaugh owns the Pico Mundo Grille where Odd works as a fry cook. Wyatt Porter is the chief of police, and he and his wife are friends with Odd.
Elvis Presley likes to haunt, er, visit with Odd. Odd has his own ideas about why Elvis hasn't passed to the Other Side.
Kurt is the man with a meat cleaver in his neck. Roberta owns the picturesque house. Kristen is the girl in the handcuffs. Hannah was the broken one. Johnny and his fiancée aren't too happy.
The Cover and Title
The cover is grim with that dust bowl flavor in an apocalyptic setting: a leaning ferris wheel rises up out of a sand dune alongside a lonely road. Bare brown mountains lurk in the background as dark, gray, stormy clouds hover over it all, completing that fuzzy frame of black encircling it all.
The title is more of that foretelling, a prick in the heart as Koontz reminds us that their idea of "You Are Destined To Be Together Forever" has a different connotation than Odd and Stormy are planning.
dj68's review against another edition
1.0
I have promised myself to finish the Odd Thomas series, though it has really gone downhill since the first.
I am sad that Koontz - who wrote books like Whispers, Watchers, Midnight, Intensity and Sole Survivor - is lost in flat prose and even flatter characters.
I have read him continously since I was 18 (46 now) and the first two thirds of that relationship were great but now it has turned stale.
I did not expect anything from this short piece and it still managed to disappoint me. I have no hope for Saint Odd, but will still read it and then be done with Koontz forver.
No humour, no excitement, this e-short story isn't even worth the $ 0.99 it costs.
The end is near, alright.
I am sad that Koontz - who wrote books like Whispers, Watchers, Midnight, Intensity and Sole Survivor - is lost in flat prose and even flatter characters.
I have read him continously since I was 18 (46 now) and the first two thirds of that relationship were great but now it has turned stale.
I did not expect anything from this short piece and it still managed to disappoint me. I have no hope for Saint Odd, but will still read it and then be done with Koontz forver.
No humour, no excitement, this e-short story isn't even worth the $ 0.99 it costs.
The end is near, alright.
mandreads213's review against another edition
3.0
it was just a quick and short read. I wanted more because it was supposed to be about stormy and odd but it was just ghost hunting. i just wish it was all about them and that’s all
zianeu's review against another edition
3.0
Rather less worthwhile on the face of it than the previous Odd Thomas novellas that preceded thw last two books, bur maybe finishing "Saint Odd" will prove me wrong. The first novel went well enough through the story of the fortune. This just embellishes it a bit.
I am always glad to see Stormy, though, and she was just as I remembered her: plucky and ready. It's something of a miracle Odd got through 7 more books without her. Good thing he keeps finding mentors.
I hope we get all the mysteries solved, and I don't wind up in another "Lost" situation. I'm still not over that, Abrams.
I am always glad to see Stormy, though, and she was just as I remembered her: plucky and ready. It's something of a miracle Odd got through 7 more books without her. Good thing he keeps finding mentors.
I hope we get all the mysteries solved, and I don't wind up in another "Lost" situation. I'm still not over that, Abrams.
davidkeithley81's review against another edition
4.0
A decent read. Interesting to see the optimism in Odd before his adventures began.
heathersbike's review against another edition
That was sweet. But I am glad I got it from the library. Took me less than a bus ride to read it.