To me, the most important things in literature are the characters. This is one of the reasons I love Koontz, because the man can write a character who is so easy to relate to, you feel as though you know them. As though the characters are part of your real world and are your friend or enemy. He didn't disappoint with Odd Thomas or in Saint Odd. Like many others, I've followed Odd's adventures and rooted for him when the situations were impossible. What makes him so stunning is his ability to hope no matter how dark things appear. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Odd in this book.Sometimes it's heartbreaking to see a series come to an end and this was definitely one of those times. Odd and Stormy are destined to be together forever as per a gypsy mummy's fortunetelling card. That can only lead to one thing--Odd has returned to Pico Mundo to die, but not in vain. He's as dedicated as always to stopping evil, or at least preventing it where he can. With a cast of characters who help him or hinder him at every turn, Odd--as usual--must use his gift to determine where the danger lies and how he can stop it with as few casualties as possible. He must also come to grips with his rising new dark side--the man capable of killing when need be. One of the most touching scenes in the book is a conversation with Edie Fischer and how his grief for Stormy is actually strength that carried him through the worst times. Koontz hits the heartstrings with the realities of what grief is and how it can shape you.We rejoin favorite secondary characters and new ones we could easily fall in love with if given time. The world Koontz has created of men and women who are devoted to protecting and saving the innocent is as appealing as ever. I found some of the parallels between the Odd Thomas series and his book Innocence interesting.Like with Rowling's Harry Potter, I have a hole in my heart because a beautifully shaped character willing to give up everything has gone from the literary world. Quick, someone write another series with a compelling world and characters just shy of being flesh-and-blood humans. After waiting so long to finally get my hands on the finale to this series, I ended up being surprisingly underwhelmed. It was very promising most of the way through, but seemed to wind down some time before getting to what should have been the climax of the series. It was a satisfying conclusion, but not one that lived up to the direction the previous books had taken. It could probably almost be read as a stand alone book, as Koontz describes all the important things that had happened up til this point - something I was glad for as my memory of the last book was slightly hazy by now and that was able to jump start it back up. And if I had read just this one I probably would have thoroughly enjoyed it. But for the end of such a complex series, it just didn't pack the punch that I was expecting.
What do You think about Saint Odd (2014)?
will be auto - delivered via Amazon Kindle on December 9, 2014
—Maria
What a great end to this series! Enjoyed all of them.
—meero
