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Tropical Paradise of Hard Shelled Fruits / Re: What are you reading?
« on: Mar 09, 2015, 12:01:38 AM »
On the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.
A friend noted that this is how the Count of Monte Cristo began, and thus the novel started 200 years ago. Made me decide to pick it up again in the near future.
Odd Hours, 4th book
Apparently Dean Koontz is the Microsoft of novels: every other book he writes kinda sucks, like every other OS M$ comes out with is balls. Be warned Rama, the second novel wasn't that great to me and you'll probably dislike it some too.
One of the biggest issues I had with this, and I'm going to have to spoil this book, at first in general terms, and then explaining the motives of the main villain, but who cares.
*spoilers*
Okay, so the villains are terrorists who are trying to smuggle in nukes in a small fishing town on the California coast. Not islamists, but white terrorists. Okay, fair enough. But why? I would figure they are part of some Waco cult, or anti-government types like McVeigh. THAT would make sense.
But, as one of the idiot thugs the villain has working for him explains (and I just detest how generic/cartoonish some of these goons are depicted), the main baddie is a protestant priest who was in the middle east, trying to save Christians from murder and prosecution. And then he became disillusioned and gave up. Okay, but how the fuck does that equate to someone wanting to blow up major US cities because he was upset he couldn't save every Christian in the Mideast from being killed? How the hell does that save any of them?! "Well I can't save these Egyptian Coptics, let's blow up an America city and kill more Christians."
*end of spoilers*
Which brings me to the crux of why I didn't like this book... the ending was too rushed and forced, without explaining a lot. What did Odd hear in the sewer grate? Why did the coyotes attack him and who was controlling them? I have a feeling these issues will be explained in a later novel, but I'm not holding my breath.
Speaking of the coyotes, I think Koontz has a hate-on for coyotes, because in at least three books he has packs of coyotes try to attack Odd, and the fact is, Coyotes do not travel in packs NOR do they attack humans.
Also, near the end of the book, Odd, despite being afraid of guns, ends up being a hell of a shot as he wastes people left and right despite them being better trained than him.
A friend noted that this is how the Count of Monte Cristo began, and thus the novel started 200 years ago. Made me decide to pick it up again in the near future.
Forever Odd by Dean Koontz. I still don't like this main character and I don't know why I am reading the 2nd book other then I was hard up for a book.What is it you don't like about the main character? What did you think of the first book and its tragic ending?
Odd Hours, 4th book
Apparently Dean Koontz is the Microsoft of novels: every other book he writes kinda sucks, like every other OS M$ comes out with is balls. Be warned Rama, the second novel wasn't that great to me and you'll probably dislike it some too.
One of the biggest issues I had with this, and I'm going to have to spoil this book, at first in general terms, and then explaining the motives of the main villain, but who cares.
*spoilers*
Okay, so the villains are terrorists who are trying to smuggle in nukes in a small fishing town on the California coast. Not islamists, but white terrorists. Okay, fair enough. But why? I would figure they are part of some Waco cult, or anti-government types like McVeigh. THAT would make sense.
But, as one of the idiot thugs the villain has working for him explains (and I just detest how generic/cartoonish some of these goons are depicted), the main baddie is a protestant priest who was in the middle east, trying to save Christians from murder and prosecution. And then he became disillusioned and gave up. Okay, but how the fuck does that equate to someone wanting to blow up major US cities because he was upset he couldn't save every Christian in the Mideast from being killed? How the hell does that save any of them?! "Well I can't save these Egyptian Coptics, let's blow up an America city and kill more Christians."
*end of spoilers*
Which brings me to the crux of why I didn't like this book... the ending was too rushed and forced, without explaining a lot. What did Odd hear in the sewer grate? Why did the coyotes attack him and who was controlling them? I have a feeling these issues will be explained in a later novel, but I'm not holding my breath.
Speaking of the coyotes, I think Koontz has a hate-on for coyotes, because in at least three books he has packs of coyotes try to attack Odd, and the fact is, Coyotes do not travel in packs NOR do they attack humans.
Also, near the end of the book, Odd, despite being afraid of guns, ends up being a hell of a shot as he wastes people left and right despite them being better trained than him.