برادر عجیب: یک رمان از توماس عجیب

From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Koontz's third Odd Thomas novel (after Forever Odd ) offers an irresistibly offbeat mix of supernatural horror and laugh-out-loud humor. A resident of St. Bartholomew's Abbey, a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Thomas has the ability to see the spirits of the dead, a gift he has used to resolve mysteries and prevent future tragedies. As the story opens, the seer is unsettled by visions of bodachs , sinister ghostlike entities whose appearance precedes some dire tragedy. Thomas frantically searches for some sign that will help him head off disaster, even as St. Bart's is thrown into turmoil by the disappearance of one of its members. Thomas must figure out both the identity of the person or being behind the terror and the most effective way to restore peace to his haven. While newcomers may find the villain's underlying motive a bit over the top, the narrator's engaging voice should continue to give this series cross-genre appeal. (Nov. 28) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist The third adventure of Odd Thomas, the boy (well, he's 21, but still . . .) who sees ghosts, has a lighter feel to it than the gruelingly suspenseful Forever Odd (2005) and the funny and moving Odd Thomas (2003). It's reminiscent of a sunny monster-movie sequel--say, Son of Frankenstein-- in which stock characters do their shtick with a wink and a nod: ''Dontcha just love us?'' In this case, yes, we do. Odd has retreated to a monastery in the Sierra Nevadas that permanently hosts a billionaire physicist in an underground lab. The mogul has given his entire fortune to support the monastery and attached convent in their work of housing and educating severely damaged children, the most interesting of which is now a 25-year-old artistic savant. As the story opens, bodachs--animated shadows that gather in anticipation of lethal violence, which only Odd among the living sees--are invading the children's quarters. Can Odd mitigate the coming cataclysm? Of course he can, despite the arrival of murderous bone creatures and grim Death itself, for the monks include quite a contingent of reformed martial sinners, most memorably Brother Knuckles, formerly of the New Jersey Mob, and another guest, a mysterious Russian librarian from Indianapolis, who is more and different than Odd thinks he is. Koontz salts Odd's narration with some wonderful zingers at the expense of cultural degeneracy and political folly. A darned good time should be had by all readers. Ray Olson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker natureThrough two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning--but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself. St. Bartholomew's Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California's high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd's steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey's most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before.From the Hardcover edition.

the Master Of Suspense Returns With The Third Installment In The Critically Acclaimed Saga Of Odd Thomas.odd Thomas Has Left The Perfect Quirky Comfort Of Pico Mundo To Embrace The Solitude And Peace Of An Isolated Monastery High In The Western Mountains. But Odd Finds Himself In Trouble’s Path Once More, For A Killer Is Stalking The Ancient, Holy Halls And Odd Is About To Encounter An Enemy Who Eclipses Any He Has Yet Encountered.

publishers Weekly

rarely Has A Character Been So Instantly Embraced By Readers As Koontz's Unlikely Hero, Odd Thomas, The Wise And Gentle Fry Cook, Who Just Happens To See Dead People. It Is Just As Rare For A Narrator To So Perfectly Capture The Essence Of A Character That It Is Hard To Imagine Anyone Else Giving Him Voice, But Such Is The Case With Baker. In This Third Adventure, Odd Has Left His Hometown And Taken Up Residence In A Monastery High In The Sierras. Surrounded By Loving But Eccentric Brothers And Sisters, Odd Hopes To Rest And Recover From The Horrific Events Of The Last Two Books. But After He Discovers The Body Of One Of The Monastery Brothers, Odd Finds Himself Going Up Against A Supernatural Force That Threatens The Lives Of Everyone Who Lives Within The Monastery Walls. Baker Beautifully Interprets The First-person Narration. Like Odd Himself, Baker's Delivery Is Mellow And Low Key, Perfectly Fitting Odd's Calm, Self-possessed Point Of View. Suspenseful, Funny And Heartbreakingly Sweet, This Is A Fine, Enjoyable Production. simultaneous Release With The Bantam Hardcover (reviews, Oct. 30). (dec.)

copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

No one could have imagined Odd Thomas ever leaving the perfect quirky comfort of Pico Mundo, least of all Odd himself. The little desert town that nurtured Odd all his life is the locus of everything he holds dear - his loyal friends, his ghostly confidants, and the place where he loved and lost his soul mate, the irreplaceable Stormy Llewellyn. Yet leave it he has, to embrace the solitude and peace of an isolated monastery high in the western mountains as he tries to find a way to live fully again. But Odd has a knack for finding himself in the path of trouble no matter where he goes-even among the eccentric monks in their sanctuary and with the King of Rock ̥ń Roll at his side. For a killer is stalking the ancient holy halls, and Odd is about to encounter an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered .. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature. As he steadfastly journeys toward his mysterious destiny, Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.