Dean Koontz has done much the same thing with this tale of fantasy and fairytales for all ages beginning with a story of magical toys. These toys are made specifically for children that are good and destined to do great things when they get older, the toys will be their guides until they too loose the innocence of youth.
But after the good toymaker dies before passing on his special magic they toys must find the one person that can inherit the good magic and will help them and their kind before the evil toys take over. They have no map, no knowledge of the world outside but they have job to do and they have faith. A bear, Amos, who was tasked with this job and his companions, a Rabbit that wants to be a stand up comedian, a Cat that fancies himself a dashing swashbuckler, a Dog who is so sweet and innocent it will make your heart ache, and an elephant that dreams of one day walking the grasslands of Africa with his much larger cousins.
And last but not least a toy that resembles a prehistoric creature that we can only guess at but is older than the other toys and wiser in many ways. And behind them are evil toys who have awakened and whose only mission is to stop them. Lead by an evil Jack in the box, a Lolita with a cigarette that can burn, a very large and nasty bee with a huge stinger and a robot that can tear things apart with its metallic spinster like arms.
In the mix is an ex con who has just been released from prison and HATES everyone and everything and is also tapped to be the next evil toymaker and the nephew of the now deceased good toymaker who has trouble believing in anything he can not explain.
It is a journey through darkness that will have the toys confronting each other in, of all things, a toy store. Leave your logic behind and enter the world that Dean Koontz has made for us and enjoy the fairytale. I would certainly play it for my grandchildren even as old as they are for magical toys are something everyone can relate to, I know I had a stuffed toy that I told all my secrets to, my hopes and dreams and my heartaches.
She was the best friend I ever had. This brings back good memories of my special friend always with me, knowing I was safe as long as she was there. And I've found a new fairytale for my younger nieces and nephews and some day my great grand kids. Who was your favorite character and why?
Amos because he never gave up no matter how afraid he was. I liked the way he voiced the characters. Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry? It made me smile as I fondly remembered my special friend. Any additional comments?
I think it is a new fairy tale for the next generation. Oddkins: a Fable for All Ages I enjoyed this fable immensely. First, I commend the narrator of the audible book who did a wonderful job with all of the different voices. To read this only as a children's book would be a shame.
One of my favorite parts was where Koontz paraphrases one of my favorite quotes when he says that to avoid evil one can't just be good, one has to do good. All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
And these little "good toys" take the message to heart. They are brave and they are respectful of each other My favorite character was Butterscotch, the dog who managed to talk a real dog into slinking away rather than bother the toys on the journey to find the new toymaker. I liked the transformation of Victor Boddkin from a money-loving brother anxious to get rid of his brother's toyshop and unwilling to believe in the magic of toys into the helper of the good little toys.
If you can, listen to the audible version while reading. This is one story I would let my grandchildren listen to. It is such a cute book. Didn't know Koontz had such a cute side to him. Wonderful book. Michael from California, gets it correct. Sometimes a book which tries to be all things to all people, can end up being nothing to all people. For the life of me, I could not get interested in this. The good stuffed animals were cute, but not to the point like Pinocchio, where I truly cared about them.
The evil toys, talked about being evil, but were not evil enough for an adult. Luke Daniels, does a great job, as he always does. My son and I really got into this story listening to it together. I liked some of the morals that it taught, they were good talking points. I also made sure that my son knew to take a baseball bat to any toy that came alive and was evil. Magical triumph for good over evil. A victim of whatever was trying to kill him managed to write the name Timothy Flyte on a mirror moments before he was killed.
Flyte is a British academic and author of a book, The Ancient Enemy. His book catalogs and describes various mass vanishings of people in different parts of the world over the centuries. It is discovered that the town was built over the hibernating place of one such Enemy, a creature known as an amoeboidshapeshifter. This Ancient Enemy rarely feeds, but when it does, the effects are devastating.
It was theorized that the Enemy either caused or aided in the extinction of the dinosaurs, as well as many of the great mysterious mass vanishings: Mayan civilization, Roanoke, ghost ships, etc. The creature consumes other life forms to increase its mass and is able to perfectly mimic other creatures. It can create small 'probes' or 'phantoms' imitating consumed life forms to go forth and hunt more prey, obeying the orders of its 'hive mind'; in addition the creature absorbs the mental capacity of those it consumes.
Odin Android latest 1. The book is beautifully illustrated and visually stunning; Dean Koontz introduces a dazzling world of toys and terror, exploring the fears we all face in the dark. Watchers 3 is the sequel to the horror film Watchers directed by Jeremy Stanford.
Phil Parks Illustrator. When the death of their creator leaves them without protection, a band of magic living toys must attempt a dangerous journey across the city to another toyshop, while under attack from evil toys serving the Dark One. To the world, the Oddkins are just stuffed animals.
But all of these soft, cuddly, sweet-faced toys share a wonderful, magical secret Created When the death of their creator leaves them without protection, a band of magic living toys must attempt a dangerous journey across the city to another toyshop, while under attack from evil toys serving the Dark One. Created by Mr. Isaac Bodkins, the old toy maker, the Oddkins are made only for very special children, those who must face something difficult in life and need a true friend.
The Oddkins are given to these children to inspire them, help them, and love them as long as the children need them. Only now the toys themselves - Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gently, floppy-eared pup; as well as Burl the elephant; Gibbons; and Patch the cat - are the ones in need of help. Bodkins has passed away before he can give his life-giving powers to Colleen Shannon, the toy maker he had chosen to replace him.
Yet before he dies, the old man takes Amos aside, appoints him leader of the Oddkins, and gives him a dire warning: Watch out for an evil toy maker -- and something much, much worse! That 'something' is happening right now.
Locked up in the dark subbasement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life. These bad toys -- like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger -- were made to hurt children, not help them.
Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are being loosed on the world by a terrible, terrifying force. Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins have only one choice: to go on a journey in search of Colleen Shannon's toy shop. The night is stormy and black; the way is filled with peril. And the Oddkins have to face a danger that threatens not only their existence Get A Copy. Hardcover , pages.
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Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. And for children! What an awesome accomplishment! I was taken by surprise. I particularly have never heard of this work until recently, because someone recommended it. The concept, the imagination, the structure and development of the storyline is superb!
And of course, the writing. This book has all the right ingredients to keep you interested, but to truly, fully enjoy it you must read the Ebook in a coloured device while simultaneously listening to the audiobook.
The ebook has wonderful illustrations and the audiobook is simply terrific, thanks to an amazing narrator who used his heart to portrait all characters. The audiobook is not just someone reading for you. And what a great performance! The idea of creating special toys to support special kids in need of moral support is so touching.
Toys that comes to life just for you. That toy that becomes your best friend and who will never deny you anything. How endearing! There is so much more in this book. The dialogues are quirk and amazing. The characters are adorable and so alive. Just open your heart and believe.
View all 21 comments. Feb 14, Janete Fabricio on semi-hiatus rated it liked it. Toymaker Isaac Bodkins created the Oddkins, a group of living toys, for very special children who face difficulties in life and need true friends. The Oddkins are given to children to inspire, support, and love them, especially during times of adversity. Only now, the toys themselves are the ones who need help.
Before he dies, Mr. Bodkins delivers a dire warning to Amos the bear: Watch out for an evil toymaker and his dangerous creations!
Locked up in the dark sub-basement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life as well. These bad toys—like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger—were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are let loose into the world by a terrifying force.
Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins must go on a journey to find Colleen Shannon, Mr. The stormy night is perilous and the Oddkins face a danger that threatens not only their magic. View 1 comment. Oct 21, Keith rated it liked it. I was totally obsessed with it, thought it needed to be a movie, and went about choosing songs for the soundtrack.
As an adult, I've looked at it again and realized that of course, the thing it has going against it is that it's written by Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz is the sort of embarrassing hack that lends a certain stigma to his I guess you'd call it "work" When I first read this book as a pre-teen I thought it might have perhaps been not just the best book ever, but the best THING ever.
I guess you'd call it "work" The Dean Koontz ouevre? Whatever, ridiculous that's honestly just unavoidable. And he lives up to the hype in sheer bottom-feeding mediocrity -- if you actually bother to try and read one of his book as an adult, you will become stupider.
The books are, on a page-by-page basis, really that horrible. But the concept is freaking awesome, the illustrations are awesomer, and most of the sequences are still really clever. Just get a new writer with some basic understanding of dialogue, throw out all the creepy touchy-feely Christian underpinnings and you've got a really cool book. View all 11 comments. I remember this book with great affection. We moved from England to Northern California, had almost no furniture when we moved in.
I think we got new beds for the kids, and I was sleeping on a new pull-out couch. My husband was away XO school prior to taking his job, and the kids and I were camping out until our furniture arrived. We did not have a tv or anything else, and so after dinner we would play cards and then I would read a chapter of this by the fire in the living room.
The kids were I remember this book with great affection. The kids were enthralled, the idea of evil toys was terrifying
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