odd apocalypse

odd apocalypse
odd thomas series #5
dean koontz
fiction/thriller/scifi/horror
bantam books
published 2012

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, at least for the moment, it’s also a port in the storm for Odd Thomas and his traveling companion, the inscrutably charming Annamaria, the Lady of the Bell. 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, and he’s promised to do his best for the ghost on horseback. 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. 

There was much about this book that went well over my head.  Similar to Brother Odd in the sense that there is quite a bit of science fiction & fact intertwined in the story.  While I did love Brother Odd, Odd Apocalypse was slightly less amazing.

Odd is still the same person, although the events in Odd Hours have changed not only himself, but the way he travels.  He is now directly on a path that has some meaning, though none of us, save for maybe Annamaria know what this path leads to.

The book was both quick and slow.  Slow in parts I didn't think necessary, quick in parts where I would have rather seen more character development.  I didn't feel like the bad guys were really evil because there was hardly any interaction with them.  We heard about their exploits and got small glimpses into their true natures, but they never seemed any worse than ordinary bad guys.  There were too many forces to contend with, too many things to explain and just not enough pages.

I hate to say it, but Odd Thomas has let me down.  Save for Darkness Under the Sun, Dean Koontz has been striking out with me quite a bit lately.