Oh Brother

Before you say anything... ("I thought you said you were going to be quick in reading these Dean K ones!?") I did not spend the last two weeks doing nothing. I was on holiday and did not finish my book in time before I left. I left it a a perfect point: "... ,and then of course someone screamed."
Apart from 2 pairs of trousers and two new tops I also came back from my holidays 3 books richer. One was a "have to buy" - a new book acquired as I had read all the magazines Mum and I took on our holiday and we had no telly or radio to amuse us after we had finished playing Rummy for ages. The other two were birthday presents from Sis (Dutch dialects, most interesting!). Add to that the fact that I also discovered another book in a birthday birthday present from one of my best friends given to me before I went on holiday (the same friend that tells me I buy to many books mind you!). I don't really need that much help in accumulating books but I do really appreciate the effort made by all to increase my book count!
This does mean I have to add a line in the stats this time round:

Books given: 3
Books bought: 0
Books to be read: 73

Since getting back from my holidays and settling back into my routines I can report that after only a day and a bit of medium furious reading I have now completed the third one in the Odd Thomas series.


### SPOILER ALERT ####



Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
Another simple plot: there is trouble at the monastery and Odd has to find out what is threatening them and eliminate the threat.
This one sees Odd living in a monastery/convent as a guest not as a Brother. What I liked about this one from the start is that Odd has got back his snark and humor! I missed that a bit in the last one as it seemed to turn up late but in this one he is snarky from the start and it seems that he has sort of found a way to be at peace. Even though him being Odd you realise that this peace cannot last it is nice to see him more relaxed and at ease in the routine filled and orderly world of the monks.
It does not take long for strange things to start happening. Not only in the people he meets but also in the things that happen around him. As if a ghost monk ringing church bells is not enough another brother goes missing, Odd thinks he has seen him and his body mysteriously disappears. The monastery is up in the mountains and this means that Odd sees snow for the first time. He is amazed by it but it turns out that the snow hides an evil that will need to be conquered and there is no time to marvel at the beauty of nature for long. There are things that are out to get them and Odd has to try and find out what is going on before people he loves get hurt (sound familiar??!). The powers that he deals with this time come from an unexpected source. For the longest time you have no idea what is manifesting or why it haunts the monastery or its inhabitants. All you know is that whatever haunts them seems to be able to shift shapes and disassemble into nothing or into the snow storm that is raging outside the monastery. You are guessing with him on why these things appear, where they come from and why they want to hurt the innocent. It's fun to be taken on that ride and the reveal is worth the wait.
Odd builds up the story of what is out to get them with the help of his own wits and the people that he talks to in the monastery. Some of them are children that are being cared for there. Some of the kids have severe disabilities and some might be on the way back to a normal life. Most of them have suffered some form of abuse or trauma and their stories are heartbreaking. The way that Odd manages to connect with them is sweet and it is nice to see that side of Odd (the conversations between him and Jacob, and Justine are very well written). He is a young man with a great heart and the last thing he wants to do is hurt the children or put them in danger and he manages to keep them all safe in the end. To be honest, the body count in this book is surprisingly low. One monk dies at the start and two more at the end but apart from that everyone survives.
He gets some of the monks and sisters to help him as well. Some of them know about his gift others do not. The monks are like rocks and beacons of light - they give Odd the security he needs, they seem to have grounded him and in the end they help him keep the innocent safe. The monks are a strange mixture of people from all walks of life who have all found their way to the monastery. The life that is described for them seems full of prayer, peace and routine and perhaps some of this appeals to Odd as well but I think he knows that he is not cut out to be a Brother. The sisters are some plucky ladies. As Odd says they seem to spend their time "rescuing" innocent children from filth, danger and neglect and do this again and again with unwavering faith and humility about their work. Odd sees them as inspirational people. They see him as a guy with a master key to all the buildings on the grounds and they are not sure why but yet they trust him.
I think that one thing that Odd learns while he is there is that the monastery is not a place to hide from God, the world or your place in it and Odd will have to go an find his own path and purpose in life. I have a feeling his time in the monastery helps him realise that more that he did before.
An interesting character in the book is the Russian. Odd distrusts him while there seems to be no reason to. He is convinced the Russian is not who he says he is and that he is somehow involved in what goes on at the monastery - of course he is, but not in the way that Odd originally assumes he is. the conversations between the two of them are some of the best in the book. Odd tries to provoke and needle the Russian and the Russian in turn knows that Odd is doing this and pays him back in kind. The Russian has an unscrutable face and seems to want to find out more about Odd and I think this is what unnerves Odd most of all. They do manage to get past all this and learn to work together.
Another interesting character is Brother John. He is a scientist who has turned to God and now works in his specially created lab underground... nobody is really sure what he does but the abbot has faith in him so he is left to experiment as he wants. Brother John and Odd have a very strange conversation at the start of the book about a possible threat to the monastery and it's inhabitants. Brother John is vague and obtuse and seems to be disconnected from the world above ground. He gets a pass on that one as his money has funded the build of a new part of the monastery/convent and still funds a lot of the work they do. He was a very rich man who has now dedicated his life to the monastery. Still, you do feel something is up with this guy and it will not surprise to anyone that he does end up playing an important part in the story.

Sometimes in the story Odd pulls you back out and makes you realise that he is actually telling you this story - he seems to step out of the story, reflect back on the time that he experienced what you are now reading and comments on the situation Odd has done this before in previous books - he steps away for a moment, comments on something and gives you the idea that worse is to come or more will happen before we get to the conclusion or resolution of whatever he faces now. Most times you feel you are in the middle of the story with Odd and take it as a story written in the "present" but then Odd reminds you that what you read is him looking back on what has happened. He even mentions that the account of his life will not be published until he is dead... so is he already?
In the end all's well that ends well. Evil is destroyed, the monastery goes back to it's peaceful life, all the children are safe again and Elvis finally moves on. Odd is off to roam some more and this time he has a ghost dog Boo and Frank Sinatra to keep him company. I could think of worse travel companions.


Title: Brother Odd
Author: Dean Koontz
Pages 438
Harper Collins
ISBN 978-0-00-722658-0

Books to be read: 72
On to the last one in the series!