Odd Thomas
by Dean Koontz
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Book Reviews of Odd Thomas
Book Review: Charm, surprise and excitement
Summary: 4 Stars
Dean Koontz is at his best in writing this novel. His chief talent lies in spinning a tale and in this book the narrative stands out as being admirably executed. Time and again Koontz entertains us with surprise chapter endings, ingenious twists of plot and intriguing details. The reader can't resist turning the pages and time is unaccounted for as we disappear into the novels strange world. The book is not complete fantasy, indeed much of it is our recognizable world, but Koontz has created an environment in which the supernatural creeps in unexpectedly, yet seamlessly. The main character has the unusual first name of Odd and the plot also is odd, not quite normal.
Odd is under instructions from his author friend, Little Ozzie, to keep the tone of this first person narrative light, and that is exactly as the book reads. It is filled with charm and wit. We read joking conversation and come upon humorous circumstances. This book is about dire evil, but Koontz has gone out of his way to soften the wicked blows. At times Koontz's descriptive phrase goes past charming and becomes almost poetic, making the book truly a pleasure to read.
In line with the tone of the book the characters are truly likable. Odd is a talented short order cook, great baseball player and all round nice guy. He is certainly not financially successful, but he is definitely the type of guy we would be proud to call a friend. Like most of us, Odd is no hero, not full of bravado. He has special talents but he fears death, just anyone. His history contains handicaps, which must be overcome, but most of all we want Odd to win because he is good. Stormy (Bronwen) Llewellyn is Odd's girlfriend and a fitting companion. She is charming and in some ways braver than Odd. She capable and certainly knows her mind. She is no wilting female, fainting at the sign of disaster. Like Odd, we would be glad to know Stormy. There is a small host of lesser characters and together they make up a picture of a friendly, likable small town. This is not place that should be visited by evil, but as in `real life' it inevitably comes. Bob Robertson (Fungus Man), with his ever-present, forced smile, is a squelchy villain with an aura of decay. Koontz has written him in such a way that suggests perfectly imminent disaster.
This novel is a great read and truly compelling. It is creative and entertaining, and of course will give you the odd tingle of excitement.
Book Review: An Oddly Good Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Odd Thomas is a 20-year old with no real idea of what he wants to do when he grows up -- work as a fry cook, sell tires, or write the great American novel? But Odd has a talent that he was born with that makes him more identifiable with John Edward & James van Praagh than with his peer-group slackers: he sees dead people. Not only does he have this sixth sense, but he does something about it, pursuing the killers of murdered children and following sinister "bodachs" around his sleepy, desert town of Pico Mundo, CA in search of evil that must be stopped.
Koontz excels at these kinds of characters, and this kind of narrative terrain, bringing to mind M. Night's movie "The Sixth Sense" and imagining Haley Joel Osment's character ten years later. The chills are here, and the first hundred and fifty pages or so really set a nice mood and introduce the reader to a lot of quirky yet believable townspeople. At the midway point, 200 pages in, I started to get restless -- the entire novel takes place over an eventful day and a half, but the author seemed to run out of steam and was just slogging through until he reached his third act. And what a climax it is, with the promised cataclysm coming fast and furious and my heart racing with every step Odd took. The ending I won't spoil for anyone, but I will say that the last 50 or so pages made up for all the weak parts of the book for me.
Not a perfect Koontz tale (my favorite is "From the Corner of His Eye," which treads into similar psychic-world terrain) but highly serviceable and with some terrific moments. My biggest complaint, however, about the book -- and most of Koontz's novels for that matter, is that he has a tendency to overwrite. His books are what they are -- airplane-reading thrillers, dime-store creep-fests. Where the author gets into trouble is when he tries to "class-up" his prose with insufferable metaphors and uninteresting, much-too-specific descriptions. He's not a literary writer, yet he seems to truly believe he is. And in the case of Odd Thomas, the first-person narrator of the book, the prose simply doesn't fit the education level or intellect of the character we're introduced to, making the grad-student-esque narrative feel out of touch with the "voice" of the character. But, these problems notwithstanding, worth my time and maybe worth yours, too.
Book Review: "This hero thing bothered me"
Summary: 3 Stars
The title of this book certainly fits its main characteristic, since if I had to describe it in one word, I would use odd! Odd Thomas sits down to write his story at the urging of Little Ozzie, his humongous friend. One of the requests is to keep the tone of the story light, and not fill it with sadness and sorrow. In his effort to comply with this, Odd delivers a narration that is bittersweet and mixes portions filled with despair with some filled with joy.
Odd is a cook at a dinner in Pico Mundo and has dreams of going into the tires or shoes business, he has a peculiar girlfriend, Stormy, who is very serious about delayed gratification. His father is a little weird too, and is trying to parcel and sell the moon, not to mention his mother, who is totally cuckoo. But the strangest of all, has to do with the fact that Odd has a sixth sense. I think I have seen this idea before, as probably you have too, Odd can see dead people.
Odd uses his gift to help others, and there is a select group of people, including the police chief, who are aware of his special ability. He can also see a type of spirit, called bodachs, who appear around people who are going to die violently. This is of course a useful tool in his journey of public service.
One day Odd starts seeing a vast number of bodachs appear all over town, and sets out to discover who is behind these future tragedies. Up to this point, the story even though not all that original, was interesting, but at this point, we enter an area of boredom in which the author tries to blend different pieces together without much success. The motivation behind some of the things that happen are not clear or come out of left field and we are left with the sensation that we are wasting our time. The end of the story tries to be a surprise, but you can see it coming from a mile away. The book is not terrible, but I find it hard to recommend it when there are so many other efforts within the same gender that are way better, including some by Koontz himself, like the Frankenstein series.
Book Review: A haunting and uplifting book from one of the best
Summary: 5 Stars
What do you do when you've enjoyed reading an author's books in the past but you aren't 100% sure about the genre he writes in. In the case of Dean Koontz and Odd Thomas, you put off reading the book until several years after its been released. That's what I've done, and unfortunately I missed out on an opportunity to read an amazing book filled with wonderful characters. Fortunately, there are several sequels out so I won't have to wait long to read the next installment.
Odd Thomas, a 20-year old fry cook, sees dead people. They don't talk to him, but the do communicate with him. Thomas strives for simplicity in everything in his life to avoid going insane because of his "gift". Odd is the narrator of the story and begins by saying that he is about to write about something incredibly tragic and dark. Yet Thomas is a fun a delightful narrator and the book breezes along full of humor and accurate observations of the human condtion. Odd Thomas is able to see bodachs, harmless spirits whose presence usually indicate a coming tragedy. Through dreams, spirits and an encounter with Bob Robertson, a hideous looking man that lives on the outskirts of town, Odd Thomas believes something horrific is going to happen the next day in his town.
The book follows Thomas for just two days as the responsibility of preventing a massacre weighs him down. No need to go into the plot anymore. If you've read Koontz before, you know he'll delivers. The book is full of unique and quirky characters, including Stormy Lewellen, Thomas's girlfriend. As you read, you'll learn more about the town of Pico Mundo and more about Thomas's troubled past.
I'm glad I finally read this book. It's conclusion is haunting yet uplifting and I can't wait to read more. For fan's of Koontz's more mainstream works such as The Husband or The Good Guy, I heartily recommend this book. Sure, it has shades of horror and the supernatural, but in its heart it is really a story about good and evil.
Book Review: A bit of pornography of death, and a bit of good writing.
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is disturbing, in a way that is not fun and not particularly good to read. Yet the book is also very well written, and very interesting.
First, the disturbing parts. The descriptions of evil are lascivious, and extended, and a bit creepy. There are analysts of American culture who describe our fascination with evil and death as a form of pornography, and this book fits the description. From the strangeness of Odd Thomas's parents, to the evil of the various killers he confronts, the author spares no effort in dwelling on the evil, the sick, the perverted. I often object to the movies about Hannibal Lecter for the same reason, the championing of the sick as a form of entertainment.
Yet the character Odd Thomas, his life, his innocence, and the characters he meets, are well constructed and mesmerizing.
I come down against the book because the story itself is a bit mundane. Odd Thomas spends too much of his time in houses, searching, while doors swing and odd noises creak. This is jejune writing, a set of plot contrivances that make the reader feel manipulated.
So, we are manipulated by poorly constructed dangerous situations, and by a sick dwelling on evil that is enjoying the descriptions a bit too much, and this is poorly balanced by good character selection... as a result, I enjoy the book but it leaves me dispirited, listless, unhappy with the book and the ickiness that I had to wade through to finish it.
Maybe I was too sensitive and I should just enjoy the thrill ride through the disgust, but in the end, I could not do it... I have all of the Odd Thomas series sitting by my bedside, free from a family member, but I think that I will not pick up another.