Three (short) reviews

Momo by Michael Ende
I read this years ago and for some reason it had been tickling my subconscious, so I read it again, and given that it had been many, many years, I could enjoy it as though I had never read it, if that makes sense.

Momo is an orphan who lives in the ruins of a large amphitheatre in an unnamed European city. She has many friends and enjoys her life there; and Momo has a special skill: she listens. Somehow, when Momo listens to you, things improve.

Then, the men in grey come, wanting to steal time and it’s up to Momo and her friends to stop them.

I remember enjoying Momo the first time I read it, however many years ago it was, and I enjoyed it again. Momo’s an endearing character and her friends are well-written. My favourite character is the tortoise Cassopeia, who can see an hour (or half an hour?) into the future and communicates by showing messages on her shell.

Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman
A very short prequel to the His Dark Materials trilogy, this novella details the meeting between Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison.

There’s trouble a-brewing, as always, and Lee manages to get right into the middle of it, without even trying.

Althoug it’s a very short book, it’s also very detailed. I did get a little bored towards the end as one fight sequence seemed to drag on and on, but otherwise it’s a good read.

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz
The fourth in Koontz’s Odd Thomas series. I’ve mentioned this before, I’m sure, but it bears repeating. Odd Thomas is one of my favourite characters. He’s quirky and kind and eccentric and although he seems to be afraid a lot, he doesn’t let that stop him doing the right thing.

Having said all that, Odd Hours feels like a somewhat slight entry into the series. It doesn’t hold up as well as the first three, and so suffers somewhat. Odd’s doing his usual thing _ saving the world from the bad guys, but … there’s something missing somehow.

Odd’s been gone from his home town of Pico Mundo for a while and I keep hoping that the next Odd adventure will bring him home, because the first two books set there were definitely the strongest of the series.

I still love Odd Thomas though. Really and truly.