| Brother Odd | |
 Cover of the first edition of Brother Odd |
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| Author | Dean Koontz |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Odd Thomas series |
| Genre(s) | Suspense novel, Psychological novel |
| Publisher | Bantam Publishing |
| Publication date | 28 November 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-553-80480-4 |
| Preceded by | Forever Odd |
| Followed by | Odd Hours |
Brother Odd is a novel by Dean Koontz, published in 2006. Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9 1945 is an American Author. Best known for his Novels that could broadly be described as Suspense thrillers Koontz The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A psychological novel, also called psychological realism, is a work of Prose Fiction which places more than the usual amount of emphasis on interior Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Bantam Books is a major US publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Forever Odd is a 2005 novel by Dean Koontz, and the sequel to Odd Thomas. Odd Hours is the fourth novel in the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9 1945 is an American Author. Best known for his Novels that could broadly be described as Suspense thrillers Koontz The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books The novel is the third book in Koontz's series focusing on a man named Odd Thomas. Odd Thomas is a fictional character who first appeared in Dean Koontz 's novel of the same name Odd Thomas.
Contents |
Plot Summary
The novel begins seven months after Forever Odd. Forever Odd is a 2005 novel by Dean Koontz, and the sequel to Odd Thomas. During that time, Odd Thomas has been a guest at St. Bartholomew's Abbey, where he hopes to seek peace and understanding. After Odd sees a shade-like bodach - portending great disaster for the abbey - one of the monks goes missing, and Odd is attacked by a mysterious assailant. A Bodach (Irish; plural Bodaich) is a mythical spirit or creature rather like the Bogeyman. As he searches for the missing monk, Odd hears a mysterious noise in a great snowstorm, and later sees an intricate, shifting pattern of bones against a window.
While looking for a body among the disabled children at the school, Odd hears from an autistic man named Jacob about the "Neverwas". Odd, on entering the bell tower to silence a poltergeist who rings bells, sees an apparition that resembles the traditional image of Death. By now the bodachs have multiplied, and Odd plans to bring the monks to the school to protect the children. He is suddenly drawn by a psychic premonition, and discovers the missing monk dead in a cooling tower, acting as a cocoon for another creature made of shifting bones.
Rodion Romanovich, the abbey's other guest, meets Odd in the garage to pick up the monks. Odd, suspicious of Romanovich, intends to leave him in the abbey, although he takes one SUV full of monks before Odd can stop him. On the way there, Romanovich's SUV is turned over by a bone-creature, and Brother Knuckles, Odd's confidant, runs into him with the other plow. Back at the school, Odd and Romanovich are able to determine that Jacob's father, the Neverwas, is John Heineman, a monk at the abbey known as Brother John and a former physicist who experimented with reality.
Odd and Romanovich, actually an NSA agent sent to spy on Brother John, venture back into the storm to find John's research lab. When they find him, Brother John reveals that he has created a computer model of the innermost fabric of reality. He believes that reality is created by thought, and has proved it by tuning the room to his thoughts. If he thinks something, it will be, and in that way, he created the bone-monsters and the Death apparition. Odd and Romanovich attempt to convince Brother John otherwise, but instead, he sets his Death spirit on them. As the monks defend the school from the bone-monsters, Romanovich is able to shoot John, killing him and all his creations.
Later, Odd decides to leave the abbey, but as he rides down the highway back to his hometown, psychic magnetism pulls him out of the car, where the book ends as he walks down the highway toward the unknown. After three adventures, Elvis finally crosses over. Odd and the dog continue along together, only to be united moments later with the ghost of Frank Sinatra.
Characters
Odd Thomas
Odd is the protagonist of the novel who sees dead spirits which have not moved on from the world, then tries to bring them justice. After a childhood with a psychopath mother and distant father, Odd went to work in Pico Mundo as a fry cook. He fell in love with a girl named Stormy Lewellen, only to see her killed during the climax of the first book in the series. He later took a leave of absence, and after that decided to go seek peace at a monastery. His only confidants there are the Abbot, the Mother Superior, and Brother Knuckles. He is also befriended by the lingering spirit of Elvis Presley (who moves on at the end of the book, only to be replaced by Frank Sinatra shortly after) and a ghost dog named Boo, Odd is an often philosophical, but very human, character, who is often reminded that his abilities do not constitute perfection, intelligence, or good judgement. Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor He frequently makes pop-culture references, especially to science fiction movies.
Brother "Knuckles" Salvatore
So nicknamed because of his hands that appear to be all knuckles, Brother Knuckles was once an enforcer for a mob boss named the Eggbeater. He followed this life of crime until he read a book to the boss's young daughter. He was so affected by the morals of two children's books (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The Tale of Despereaux, both by Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo) that he went to the FBI and became an informant in the witness protection program. Soon after growing tired of Vermont, he became a monk at St. Bartholomew's. Knuckles is one of only three people at the abbey who know about Odd's gift, and is also his best friend during his time there. When the school needs defending, he is the first recruited due to his past.
Brother John Heineman
John Heineman was once a world-renowned physicist. From childhood, he despised the concept of disorder and chaos, always believing that the universe had a fundamental order. He eventually gave away his entire fortune, much of it to St. Bartholomew's. He now lives according to monastic rules but still experiments with the fabric of reality, inside a laboratory known to the brothers as a mew or an adytum. Eventually, it is revealed that Heineman is the father of Jacob, who calls him the Neverwas. His experimenting has led him to build a giant machine that will create objects or even soulless beings according to his thoughts.
Sister Angela
Sister Angela is the Mother Superior in charge of all the nuns as well as the convent school. Odd describes her as having the "sweet face of a grandmother but the steely determination of the terminator". She is one of the three at the abbey who know Odd's secret, and assists him in planning the defense of the school. She keeps posters in her office of George Washington, Harper Lee, and Flannery O'Connor, admiring them for a shared quality that she refuses to disclose, even though she hints on it being humility later in the book, preferring people to figure it out themselves. George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American Author known for her Pulitzer Prize -winning 1960 novel To Kill Mary Flannery O'Connor ( March 25 1925 &ndash August 3 1964) was an American Novelist, Short-story
Rodion Romanovich
Rodion is a mysterious Russian librarian, who, like Odd, has come to the abbey in search of peace and solitude. Odd is initially suspicious of him due to his secretive nature. He is from Indianapolis, and Odd interrogates him about this often, hoping he'll slip up and reveal something. Later, he drives one of the SUV snowplows to take the monks to the school, even as Odd tries to leave him behind. Eventually, it turns out that he is not a spiritual pilgrim but an agent for the National Security Agency, who has been sent to spy on and possibly kill Brother John. The National Security Agency/ Central Security Service ( NSA/CSS) is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States government He is Odd's main ally during the assault on John's mew, eventually becoming his good friend. His name comes from the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic novel, Crime and Punishment, the murderer Rodion Romanovich Raskalnikov. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, Crime and Punishment (Преступление и наказание is a Novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky that It is unclear whether this is a fake name he has assumed or real, though he does reference its origin: in response to Odd's suspicions of him, Romanovich tells him that he does not judge Odd by his name, and Odd should not do the same.
Jacob Calvino
Jacob is one of the only adults at the convent school. He suffers from a chromosomal abnormality and communicates only in cryptic phrases. However, he possesses an extraordinary ability to draw, and draws picture after picture of his dead mother. He tells Odd about the "Neverwas", something that said to let him die when he was very ill. It is revealed that his father is Brother John Heineman, who abandoned him and his mother when he was very young. Jacob is the main target of the attack on the school by Heineman's creatures.
Elvis Presley
Elvis is a lingering spirit who haunts Odd wherever he goes, but instead of being a burden is more of a companion. He stays in this world because he is afraid of meeting his mother, who he believes will be angry at his way of life. He switches often between the outfits he wore in different movies. Elvis keeps his entertainer personality in death, and will often resort to physical comedy since he cannot speak or sing.
Boo
Boo is a spirit of a dog, the only lingering animal Odd has ever seen, hovever, at first we are not aware that Boo is a spirit. The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order He is a steadfast companion to Odd, and at one point helps him find Brother Timothy's corpse. He is a white German Shepherd, part lab. The German Shepherd Dog ( GSD) (Deutscher Schäferhund is a breed of large-sized dog that originates from Germany.
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