Koontz, Dean: Forever Odd

[Spoilers]

Having spent more time in the King camp than the Koontz camp, and with only Watchers on audio book for comparison, I approached Forever Odd with an open mind. The book opens with a series of rolling chapters and interesting asides. As a sequel to Odd Thomas, I expected to have to invest some time in assumptions, but Koontz successfully enlightens the uninitiated into the back story very neatly. I cannot compare this to the sequel nor the recently published Brother Odd, but Forever Odd does, to a large extent, stand up as a novel in its own right.

However - and this is a wholesome however - the book does not stand up as a worthwhile investment of time. The first few chapters reminded me of an M. Night Shyamalan conglomeration, with the protagonist having the ability to 'see dead people' and a good friend with a similar bone condition to Unbreakable's Elijah Price. After a brief snort of disdain, I continued unabated expecting a story as strong and gripping as Watchers. As I got past the first few chapters though the story really started to deteriorate, with uninteresting secondary characters, unconvincing villains and a bleak plot.

To describe the plot would take only a couple of sentences, and, although a complex plot is by no means a prerequsite to a good novel, there does have to be some substance to grip onto in its abscence. All there is is an unlikely setting and a series of coincidences, which Koontz reinforces with detail that seems to be present merely to plug flaws rather than to direct the action.

There's an element of adolescent fantasy to the female antagonist, Datura, which, more than anything, is amateurish and unnecessary. Her power seems to be sourced from her sexuality, which is not only cliche but also a little insulting. Those who stand in Odd's way are defeated with remarkable ease, none more so than Datura, whose death by mountain lion is not only random but also a severe cop-out, feeling like Koontz suffered writer's block and was saved by The Writer's Guide to Death Scenes

The book ends with such a bizarre twist that seems to be present simply as a link to the subsequent Brother Odd. Overall, I was disappointed and even considered putting the book down with only ten pages to go. Compared to Watchers, Forever Odd read like a debut. Hopefully, Koontz's reputation will keep him afloat, but this series is not his strongest work.