Monday, March 27, 2017

Book Review: Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, book cover and review
I read Odd Thomas many years ago.  Probably shortly after it was published in 2003.  The re-read was just as enjoyable as the first time.

Odd Thomas is the name of the main character, and it's not a nickname. He lives a quiet life in Pico Mundo, California, a fictional town. Actually, his life isn't always quiet, since he sees dead people.  These "ghosts" don't talk to him, but they have the ability to communicate and draw him to their story.  Usually, it's a story of how they were murdered.

He also sees ghost-like creatures that he calls bodachs.  These creatures hang around people or places where violence is about to happen.  They act as harbingers of death. Good thing that Odd is friends with the chief of police, and the chief knows of Odd's abilities. They work together to, hopefully, stop these acts of violence before they happen.

The best thing about this book is Odd's voice.  He's very entertaining and the turns of phrases and metaphors he uses add much to the reading. His abilities are quite believable because of the way his character is written.  I'm not much of a Koontz fan, but in this book (and the series, I presume), he's masterful.

The other characters just fill in the story.  The police chief, Stormy (Odd's girlfriend), and all of the people that know and love Odd are very well done.

The pace is pretty slow but the writing makes it not seem so.  The ending is fast-paced and thrilling.  And there's a twist -- and I won't say any more about that. (I did remember it from my first reading.) I also remembered the narrator's voice from the movie, so I could just hear Odd talking as I was reading.

My book club picked Odd Thomas for this month.  It's a different type of book for them, so I'm interested to see what they think.  I highly recommend Odd Thomas if you enjoy thrillers with a bit of a paranormal twist. I believe there are seven books in the series.  I think I've only read the first one, but someday I'd like to continue.

Published by Bantam, 2003
Copy obtained from the library
399 pages

Rating: 4.5/5





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2 comments:

  1. Wow, 5 stars! I have never read a Dean Koontz before.

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  2. I saw the movie first then realized I would like the book. I knew the ending because of the movie or else I would have sobbed and cried ugly.

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