To Start With, I'm Not Recommending The Book

I have to learn to trust my instincts. Standing there in the library, a little voice inside said not to waste my time checking out Dean Koontz' Odd Hours. Did I listen? Of course not. I told myself even if it was a terrible book, I'd probably finish it in a few hours, and I've wasted more time than that on more meaningless prospects before. Not a ringing endorsement, I know. Well, it's not gonna get any better. By the time I finished, I felt so bored, nonplussed, something, I wasn't even going to bother reviewing it on the blog. But with my comics still M.I.A., I have to post about something.

Part of it was I felt Koontz was editorializing too much. Odd Thomas tends to comment on aspects of modern culture he finds distasteful in each of his stories I've read, but it seemed more noticeable here, like rants were being used to fill page space. None of it was germane to the story, and after awhile, I grew tired of it. In the story itself, he's trying to stop some corrupt local law enforcement from doing something that could destroy the country. He's also trying to protect an unusual lady named Annamaria, who is the sort uselessly cryptic character I hate. You know the type, where they're asked a question and respond with meaningless crap.

'Why do I trust you? You know why.'

'Why are they trying to kill you? For the wrong reasons.'

Those are typical back-and-forths between them. If I'm trying to save a person's life, I'd expect some straight answers, and the fact Odd just accepts those non-answers is irritating. Plus, for all the danger she's supposedly in, Odd manages to successfully hide her at a friend's home (a friend we're introduced to only when the plot requires her to be there), and she's never threatened again. From that point, Odd's the one being shot at, beaten, interrogated, and taking all the risks. If she's so vitally important these guys are after her, I'd think they'd do a more extensive search.

I have to question Odd's marksmanship as well. For someone who hates guns, and uses them no more often than he does, I'm not sure he misses with a single shot he takes in this book. Granted, we're not talking about sniping a person from 200 yards or anything, but probably 20 feet or more at times, on a boat in the ocean. I'm confident I have a lot more experience with firearms than Odd, and I really doubt I could shoot that well, even at inanimate targets, let alone living people. Odd does show an impressive ability to simply kill people if he thinks he has to, without any dithering, so maybe that helps.

Or maybe it will turn out Odd was receiving help from mysterious forces, many of which seem to be roaming around the town in this book, most of which are new to Odd's experiences. I have a feeling Koontz may follow up on those in the next book, but he seems to be playing as coy with the answers as Annamaria. Well, I probably wouldn't like his answer, anyway, so maybe it's for the best I plan to leave the series be from here on.