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Critic's Corner
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Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels) Dean Koontz, master of the metaphor and characterization, is back with his third novel starring that most memorable character, Odd Thomas. This time out the young man from Pico Mundo has taken refuge at St. Bartholomew's Abbey amid the wild peaks of California's High Sierra. Here Odd hopes to find solitude and rest. Perhaps, here, he can also ease the grief of losing his lost love, Stormy Liewellyn, who is dead, gone forever from this world. Odd reminds readers that he sees dead people, spirits of the departed
who, each for his own reason, will not move on from this world. Some are
drawn to him for justice, if they were murdered, or for comfort, or for
companionship; others seek him out for motives that he cannot always
understand. In addition to the lingering spirits of the dead, he also
sees one other kind of supernatural entity. Odd calls them, bodachs. You can imagine Odd's surprise to see such a creature slinking across the grounds toward the silent Abbey. An Abbey which is a haven for children otherwise abandoned and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd has come here to St. Bartholomew's not as a monk, but as a guest, and has made friends with the reclusive Brother John. Brother John had once been known as John Heineman, the most brilliant physicist of this half-century, but was an increasingly tortured soul, also a billionaire many times over. Now, he lives as a monk, free to do his research in peace. John's money enabled the Church to remake the former abbey as a school and a home for those who were both physically and mentally disabled and who had been abandoned by their families. A particular favorite of Odd's is Brother Timothy. Timothy is responsible for the mechanical systems of both the abbey and the school. He loves Kit Kat bars and is always hiding the candy wrappers in the drawers of his file cabinets. The other brothers know Timothy's secret and refer to his work room as the Kit Kat Katacombs. Then, there is Brother Salvatore, Odd, calls him Brother Knuckles as he is a monk of action — swift and sure. Formerly Salvatore Giancomo had been a well-paid muscle for the mob, but that was before God turned his life around. Sister Angela is the Mother Superior of the convent. Her nuns care for the children in the Abbey school and hospital. She knows of Odds talents and accepts him for who and what he is. A kind, gentle soul, who brings harm to no one. Of all those at the abbey, only the dour Russian visitor who lives on the second floor of the guest house, just above Odd's quarters, is a suspicious character. Oh yes, one new Brother, Leopold, who just recently completed his postulancy raises doubts as to his true intentions. But Odd's not quite sure he distrusts this young Brother. After seeing one bodach on the grounds, Odd is watchful for others. Within a day or so as he is walking through the children's play room, he spots three bodachs hovering about the children. Frightened, Odd watches them trying to ascertain the reason for their presence. While the children play and laugh, other bodachs gather, crawl around the school room. The three Odd had previously seen now become seven. Odd knows that, though close, the impending peril was not yet upon them. When he could see 30 or 40, then he'd know, they were coming to the edge of chaos. There's still time to save the children and the abbey, but the clock is ticking. The abbey was built high in the Sierra mountains and was constructed on bedrock. Strong enough to withstand extended temblors . . . The mechanical devices, heating and air, were in good order. So — not subject to fire and earthquake what doom could befall either the abbey or the school? Yet, the bodachs' numbers grew, and Odd must find out what was drawing them. A blinding blizzard covers the abbey with snow drifts, Brother Timothy is missing, Odd knocked unconscious . . . And "beyond the white grave cloth of churning snow, the dead-gray face of the day awaited imminent burial." Wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Koontz presents his most endearing character, Odd Thomas, as he is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered as he embarks on a journey of wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before. Copyright 2007, Patricia Ann Jones Purchase Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels) Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
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