Forever Odd

Last updated
Forever Odd
Foreverodd.jpeg
Cover of Forever Odd
Author Dean Koontz
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Suspense, Psychological
Publisher Bantam Publishing
Publication date
2005
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages352 pp
ISBN 0-553-80416-2
OCLC 61282157
813/.54 22
LC Class PS3561.O55 F66 2006b
Preceded by Odd Thomas  
Followed by Brother Odd  

Forever Odd is a 2005 novel by Dean Koontz, and the sequel to Odd Thomas . [1] The plot takes place six months after the events of Odd Thomas.

Contents

Plot summary

After Odd Thomas discovers that his childhood friend Danny has been kidnapped and his step-father brutally murdered, he assumes that Danny's birth father, who was recently released from prison, has kidnapped him. Because of this belief, Odd starts to investigate, and is led through a water tunnel and into an abandoned hotel by his "psychic magnetism," an ability of Odd's to track down who, or what he is visualizing.

Inside, Odd finds his friend tied up and strapped to a bomb. Danny informs Odd that his dad did not kidnap him. Instead, Danny recounts that, because of his loneliness from a debilitating bone disease, he called a phone sex line and spoke with a woman named Datura. Danny, having been seduced by this woman, had eventually given up the information of Odd's "gift." Once this registered in her mind, she kidnapped Danny in order to have Odd reveal himself to her.

Odd leaves Danny and finds Datura in her room with two thugs, Cheval Robert and Cheval Andre. She orders Odd to show her ghosts. Reluctantly, Odd takes her to the casino in the hotel where he previously saw many ghosts and one poltergeist. Datura insults a ghost, and the enraged poltergeist flings objects at them. At this point, Odd escapes from Datura, returns to Danny, and disarms the bomb. Odd returns to Datura's room and finds a shotgun, which he uses to kill Cheval Robert. Datura finds him by "reverse psychic magnetism"; as they are talking, a mountain lion attacks her from behind. An angry Cheval Andre chases Odd through the hotel, before Odd kills Cheval Andre in a sewer.

Odd dies in the sewer, and his spirit visits three of his friends. He comes back to life, however, in front of the Blue Moon Café with no idea how he got there. At first he is dismayed at his survival, as his dearest hope is to be reunited with his soul-mate, Bronwen "Stormy" Llewellyn, in the afterlife. Odd accompanies the Chief Porter to the hotel, where they go back to retrieve Danny from that terrible place. Two months later, Odd makes plans to work in a monastery high in the mountains in an attempt to find peace.

Characters

Odd Thomas

Odd Thomas, the protagonist, has the ability to see the lingering dead. He must save his friend, Danny Jessup, from an insane, masochistic occultist calling herself Datura.

Danny Jessup

Danny is Odd's childhood friend, Datura kidnaps him after he reveals to her about Odd's supernatural ability to see the lingering dead, on a phone sex line. His bone disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, makes him susceptible to bone fractures.

Datura

A phone sex operator obsessed with the occult. She, and her crew, kidnap Danny to draw Odd to her and gain control over his supernatural ability. Although not specifically pointed out in the novel, Datura is the name of a genus of poisonous shrubs that includes jimsonweed. These are related to the genus brugmansia (which are trees), and a brugmansia tree is described in the book.

Cheval Andre

Cheval Andre is the larger of Datura's servants and the one who shows the least emotion. He is described by Odd as a "freight train" or a "locomotive." Andre pursues Odd into the flood control system after Odd lets a mountain lion kill Datura. The two fight each other until Odd manages to slash into Andre's stomach with a fishing knife. As Andre dies, he wrestles the knife from Odd's hands and is able to slash him across the chest. Andre then dies, his clothing caught on the floodgate. Robert and Andre may be zombies, animated by Datura's ti bon ange . They appear to have a hunger for flesh. Also, they never speak and they disappear after being "killed".

Cheval Robert

Cheval Robert is the smaller of Datura's servants, but is still quite strong. He shows far more emotion than Andre (which still isn't much). When Odd meets Datura for the first time, Andre stands next to her at the window and observes the storm. Robert instead chooses to watch the candles with a childlike intrigue. When Andre and Robert are given the job of guarding the lanterns for Odd and Datura in the casino, Andre stands firm and silent, while Robert appears to be a bit nervous. Odd encounters Robert in a hotel suite while hiding from Datura. Robert is immediately aware of Odd, but chooses to ignore him, choosing to watch the storm at the window first. Robert then turns to Odd and walks toward him, never bothering to raise his revolver. At this moment, Robert makes the only noise heard from either he or Andre. It is a low pitched groan that sounds exasperated. Robert then begins to raise his revolver hand. Odd shoots Robert four times with a shotgun, causing him to fall off the hotel balcony. His body disappears. Robert and Andre are perhaps zombies, animated by Datura's stolen ti bon ange (Good Little Angel). They appear to have a hunger for flesh and they never speak.

Quotes

Odd Series

Forever Odd is the second of seven novels about Odd Thomas; the first being Odd Thomas , the third Brother Odd , the fourth Odd Hours , the fifth Odd Apocalypse , the sixth Deeply Odd , and the seventh Saint Odd .

Notes

  1. Koontz, Dean (2005). Forever Odd . New York: Bantam Books. ISBN   0-553-80416-2.

Related Research Articles

<i>Odd Thomas</i> (novel) 2003 novel by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas is a thriller novel by American writer Dean Koontz, published in 2003. The novel derives its title from the protagonist, a twenty-year-old short-order cook named Odd Thomas. The book, which was well received and lauded by critics, went on to become a New York Times Bestseller. Following the success of the novel, six sequels, Forever Odd (2005), Brother Odd (2006), Odd Hours (2008), Odd Apocalypse (2012), and Deeply Odd (2013), were also written by Koontz. The final novel in the series Saint Odd (2015) was released on Jan 13, 2015. Three graphic-novel prequels, In Odd We Trust, Odd Is On Our Side and House of Odd have also been released. In the postscript to the graphic novel, Koontz states that "God willing, there will be six Odd Thomas novels." A Special Odd Thomas Adventure, Odd Interlude, was released on December 26, 2012, and another Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to Be Together Forever on December 9, 2014.

Children of the Red King is a series of ten children's fantasy, school and adventure novels written by British author Jenny Nimmo, first published by Egmont 2002 to 2010. It is sometimes called "the Charlie Bone series" after its main character. A series of five books was announced in advance, completed in 2006, and sometimes the books were called the "Red King Quintet" until its continuation.

<i>Intensity</i> (novel) 1995 novel by Dean Koontz

Intensity is a 1995 novel by American author Dean Koontz. According to Koontz, he wrote the novel with the intention of subverting the commonly-held idea that thrillers must have periods of low action to move the pace along, instead opting to keep the tension high throughout the novel and moving from conflict to conflict without periods of released tension.

<i>Brother Odd</i> 2006 novel by Dean Koontz

Brother Odd is a novel by Dean Koontz, published in 2006. The novel is the third book in Koontz's series focusing on a young man named Odd Thomas.

Odd Thomas is a fictional character who first appeared in Dean Koontz's 2003 novel of the same name, Odd Thomas. He is a twenty-year-old man who lives in the fictional desert town of Pico Mundo, California, and is able to see the spirits of the dead. He is able to make himself heard to them but they cannot speak to him, although they may make signs or mouth words. This fact complicates much of the books.

<i>Ticktock</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Dean Koontz

Ticktock (1996) is a novel by Dean Koontz. It is significantly out-of-genre for Koontz: after a typical horror opening, the tone of the plot changes to screwball comedy and the humour increases steadily to the end. The subplot of protagonist Tommy Phan's struggle to reconcile his family's tenacious hold on their Vietnamese roots with his personal desire to be purely American is essential to the plot development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Torrance</span> Fictional character in The Shining and Doctor Sleep

Daniel Anthony Torrance, also known as Doc, Danny and later Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel The Shining by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are father Jack Torrance and mother Wendy Torrance. The character was portrayed in the 1980 film adaptation The Shining by Danny Lloyd and by Courtland Mead in the 1997 television miniseries The Shining.

<i>Odd Hours</i> 2008 novel by Dean Koontz

Odd Hours is the fourth novel in the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. It was released on May 20, 2008.

<i>In Odd We Trust</i> 2008 graphic novel written by Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz

In Odd We Trust is the first graphic novel featuring Dean Koontz's character Odd Thomas. It was released June 24, 2008. It is written by Queenie Chan and Koontz, with illustrations by Chan in a manga style.

<i>Hollywood Wives: The New Generation</i> 2003 American made-for-television film

Hollywood Wives: The New Generation is a 2003 American drama television film directed by Joyce Chopra. The film is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Jackie Collins, which was a spin-off from the 1983 successful novel Hollywood Wives. It aired on CBS on October 19, 2003.

<i>The Little Stranger</i> Book by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is a 2009 gothic novel written by Sarah Waters. It is a ghost story set in a dilapidated mansion in Warwickshire, England in the 1940s. Departing from her earlier themes of lesbian and gay fiction, Waters' fifth novel features a male narrator, a country doctor who makes friends with an old gentry family of declining fortunes who own a very old estate that is crumbling around them. The stress of reconciling the state of their finances with the familial responsibility of keeping the estate coincides with perplexing events which may or may not be of supernatural origin, culminating in tragedy.

<i>Odd Thomas</i> (film) 2013 American mystery thriller film

Odd Thomas is a 2013 American mystery thriller film based on Dean Koontz's 2003 novel of the same name. It is directed, written, and co-produced by Stephen Sommers and stars Anton Yelchin as Odd Thomas, with Willem Dafoe as Wyatt Porter, and Addison Timlin as Stormy Llewellyn.

<i>Odd Is on Our Side</i> 2010 graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Dean Koontz

Odd Is on Our Side is the second graphic novel featuring Dean Koontz's character Odd Thomas. It was released in October 2010. It is written by Fred Van Lente and Koontz, with illustrations by Queenie Chan in a manga style.

<i>Odd Apocalypse</i> 2012 novel by Dean Koontz

Odd Apocalypse (2012) is the fifth thriller novel in the Odd Thomas series by the American writer Dean Koontz.

Shake, Rattle & Roll V is a 1994 Filipino horror anthology film and the fifth installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. It was distributed by Regal Films, and was directed by Manny Castañeda, Don Escudero and Jose Javier Reyes. The film is an entry of the 1994 Metro Manila Film Festival. It is the only film in the series to have a frame narrative.

<i>Deeply Odd</i> Book by Dean Koontz

Deeply Odd (2013) is the sixth thriller novel in the Odd Thomas series by American writer Dean Koontz.

<i>Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to Be Together Forever</i> 2014 novella by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to Be Together Forever (2014) is the second novella and eighth text included in the Odd Thomas series by American writer Dean Koontz.

<i>Saint Odd</i> 2015 thriller novel by Dean Koontz

Saint Odd (2015) is the seventh and final thriller novel in the Odd Thomas series by American writer Dean Koontz. The book was initially released on January 13, 2015 by Bantam Books.