Odd Thomas

Patrick Book

3.5 at least, but a lot of promise! I haven’t read a Dean Koontz since I was a teenager probably, but this is a great concept with a ton of potential.

A Novel

Colton Ray

I struggled through this book. I made it halfway a couple years ago, then quit. I picked it up again a couple months ago, made it 1/4 of the way, then returned it to my library. It kept staring at me from the shelves, unread, so I checked it out again and resolved to finish the thing once and for all. Why was it so hard for me to finish this book?

Well, for one, the writing. Koontz has a great imagination, but his writing is pretentious and dull at the same time. He tries to spice things up with all kinds of similes and metaphors that sound okay but don't really make a lot of sense and get very tiresome to read after awhile. Plus, there's just way too many. Not everything has to be compared to something else for me to understand how it looks/feels/sounds. 

The dialogue was just oh-so-unrealistic. Koontz's idea of witty banter comes off as smarmy. So many of the characters' default speech is just so tit-for-tat, back-and-forth -- no real people speak this way, and thank God, because life would be very annoying. And when the main character, Odd, goes off on tangents about his girlfriend, Stormy, the writing goes from cheesy to nausea-inducing. "I am the boatman she trusts to row her into restful dreams." That's just...ugh. I'm a hopeless romantic myself, but I never wrote anything that bad even at my most emo-teenager-in-love moments. I get it's supposed to show how "in love" these kids are with each other, but there's other ways of showing that besides hackneyed proclamations of love.

The events of the story happen over only a couple of days, but Odd constantly goes off on tangents, introducing us to characters that don't really have much impact on the story at hand. Now, I don't mind reading characters' internal dialogues; it can be fascinating when done right, but when done wrong, it's cataclysmically boring. Odd is a boring protagonist. And an unbelievable one at that.

I'm supposed to believe this twentysomething guy listens to Elvis Presley, namedrops lots of pop culture from the 60s-70s, has never traveled anywhere outside of the county he lives in, doesn't drive a car, has very few friends outside of work, and is perfectly content to work at a diner for the rest of his foreseeable future? Do you know any guys this age that act this way? 

"Oh, but he's supposed to be odd, don't you get it?" 

I'm just not buying him as a real person. Maybe one or two of these traits might make this character just a bit eccentric or eclectic or (dare I say) odd, but all of them together make him sound like a particularly unadventurous senior citizen trapped in a young guy's body. And of course he has a beautiful girlfriend that is the envy of everybody and he can't stop waxing lyrical about. Odd Thomas is not a character, just an assemblage of mismatching traits with a fifty-year-old white man's voice narrating for him.

The other characters in the story ranged from decent to eye-roll-worthy. Stormy, despite having a ridiculous name like everyone else in this book, was at least a little believable. Sure, she's a bit of a caricature like the other characters, and she still speaks like Dean Koontz and not like a twenty-year-old woman, but at least she balanced well against the unappealing main character. She injected a little bit of fun into the novel whenever she appeared. It's a bit of a mystery why this interesting girl is so in love with our dull protagonist, other than some cheesy fortune-cookie bullcrap. Oh, yeah, she's his "soul mate", which I'm apparently supposed to totally take seriously like this doesn't sound stripped from those love books with shirtless Fabios on the covers. Who literally refers to their significant other as a soul mate in anyway other than a sly joking manner? Maybe I'm too cynical.

Ozzie was another completely unbelievable character, constantly quoting old poets and using words like "bereft" and "philistine", you know, words people regularly throw into casual conversation. Is anyone this eccentric? Who mounts a cow statue in their front yard? I had to skip through most of his dialogue because it was just so over-the-top and pretentious. And did you know he's - gasp - fat? I swear, Ozzie's weight is mentioned over and over again, in increasingly obnoxious and insulting metaphors, to the point where it's intrusive. Was Koontz previously a large man? Is this a sore subject for him? Questions that I don't really care to know the answer to. 

The other characters I couldn't be bothered to care much about, but they did show a few sparks of characterization. His Elvis-obsessed boss, who keeps track of every important date associated with the dead rock star was stupid and served only as a way to inject some unneeded facts about Mr. Presley into the story. If I wanted to read about him, I'd check out a book titled Elvis Presley, not Odd Thomas. The ghost of Elvis himself hangs around Pico Mundo despite having no logical reason to beyond "Dean Koontz likes Elvis and wants to shoehorn him into a story." It's overly indulgent and really adds nothing. His Mexican neighbor who has to have someone remind her that she's not invisible (?) was too strange. The way the African-American radio jockey talked seemed very dated and cliche and slightly racist. About the only normal person in the entire story was the police chief, who was relatively free of annoying traits.

Now, let's discuss the parts that I liked about the story. It starts out strong, with Odd encountering a ghost that leads him to a killer/rapist, who he chases through the neighborhood. This is a great scene, which is then followed by Odd talking about his life, grilling food at the diner where he works, and visiting his fat poet friend, who is fat, in case you forgot that fact. At this point, the story loses all the tension and steam it opened up with. 

I loved the idea of "bodachs" coursing in and out of the ether and feeding on depravity. This was a very interesting concept. The few chapters where Odd sneaks into the villain's house and steps into some kind of worm-hole were intense and interesting, even though they never really amount to anything or tie into the plot. I loved the idea of the time-warping and Odd encountering himself. The scenes where Odd and Stormy are barricaded in a church by Bob Robertson was set up well. The scenes where Odd has to dispose of a dead body in an abandoned building surrounded by coyotes were suspenseful and nail-biting.

I wouldn't have picked the book up had the premise not intrigued me. There's no reason why a book about a guy who can see dead people and who is on a quest to stop a murderer should be anything less than fun. This book is the opposite of fun. The writing was mostly a chore to slog through, and I skipped my way through a lot of the dialogue and the glib similes. Maybe if Koontz had trimmed down some of Odd's description, left out a couple of the more insane characters, cut out the outdated references, and made the characters a little more believable and a little less smug, I think this would have hit home for me. I don't mean to come off bashing the author, as Mr. Koontz seems like a nice enough guy, like your best friend's Dad who barbecues on the weekends and wears Reeboks because he thinks they're cool. I know he's not reading this review, though, which is why I'm taking the book as it is and evaluating the enjoyment I got out of it versus the frustration. As it is right now, the book's not unreadable. Koontz has great ideas for stories, but unfortunately a subpar writer. Odd Thomas is a sometimes-interesting, often frustrating book by an author whose writing style I just can't seem to stomach.

A paranormal mystery with an interesting concept but too much detail and not enough character development

 several times. It's a really underappreciated movie. So I've been meaning to read the book ever since first watching the movie. And now I finally got around to it. It didn’t entirely live up to my expectations though.

The narration in this story was odd. No pun intended. It's told in this faux memoir style told by the main character, but it was much more stream of consciousness with long meanderings and many, many rabbit trails into random side information. And there is something annoying about books that spoil the endings of other books. Right off the bat, 

. Yes, I'd already read it, and it isn't as if it's a recent release. But I still find it annoying and tacky.

I had a lot of trouble connecting with this story. It was so bloated with irrelevant information. I suspect that if I didn't have a base knowledge from the movie, I would have been completely lost. Koontz doesn't seem to be an author who resonates with me. His works have been recommended to me by a variety of people, but I've yet to be wowed by any of them. They aren’t bad, but I just don’t connect with them. They also feel dated, like Koontz is stuck in the past. For example, there was a mention in this book having to get blood tests for a marriage license, but California (where the story is set) got rid of that law in 1995 - almost a decade before this was published.

Anyway, the story is about a fry cook named Odd Thomas who sees ghosts and sometimes uses his ability to help solve crimes. When signs point that something seriously dark and dangerous is happening in his small town, Odd may be the only person who can stop it.

The plot was alright, but I expected to be more invested in the characters. I certainly wasn't invested in Odds and Stormy's relationship. It felt too codependent without any believable emotion behind it. Towards the end, the characters' dark backstories started to be filled in. But rather than adding to their development, it just felt like gratuitous violence and trauma added in for effect. I’m sure things will be explored more in later books, but for this one, it felt like some big things were just plunked into the story last minute. Like Koontz led a rather large elephant into the room then sat there sipping his tea and pointedly ignoring it.

I’m on the fence regarding whether to see if the sequel improves. For now, I’m not going to put it on my TBR but I may revisit it at some point.

Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars

Colleen

A paranormal mystery with an interesting concept but too much detail and not enough character development


I’ve seen the movie version of Odd Thomas several times. It's a really underappreciated movie. So I've been meaning to read the book ever since first watching the movie. And now I finally got around to it. It didn’t entirely live up to my expectations though.

The narration in this story was odd. No pun intended. It's told in this faux memoir style told by the main character, but it was much more stream of consciousness with long meanderings and many, many rabbit trails into random side information. And there is something annoying about books that spoil the endings of other books. Right off the bat, Odd Thomas spoiled the ending of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Yes, I'd already read it, and it isn't as if it's a recent release. But I still find it annoying and tacky.


From time to time, I do consider that I might be mad. Like any self-respecting lunatic, however, I am always quick to dismiss any doubts about my sanity.


I had a lot of trouble connecting with this story. It was so bloated with irrelevant information. I suspect that if I didn't have a base knowledge from the movie, I would have been completely lost. Koontz doesn't seem to be an author who resonates with me. His works have been recommended to me by a variety of people, but I've yet to be wowed by any of them. They aren’t bad, but I just don’t connect with them. They also feel dated, like Koontz is stuck in the past. For example, there was a mention in this book having to get blood tests for a marriage license, but California (where the story is set) got rid of that law in 1995 - almost a decade before this was published.

Anyway, the story is about a fry cook named Odd Thomas who sees ghosts and sometimes uses his ability to help solve crimes. When signs point that something seriously dark and dangerous is happening in his small town, Odd may be the only person who can stop it.

The plot was alright, but I expected to be more invested in the characters. I certainly wasn't invested in Odds and Stormy's relationship. It felt too codependent without any believable emotion behind it. Towards the end, the characters' dark backstories started to be filled in. But rather than adding to their development, it just felt like gratuitous violence and trauma added in for effect. I’m sure things will be explored more in later books, but for this one, it felt like some big things were just plunked into the story last minute. Like Koontz led a rather large elephant into the room then sat there sipping his tea and pointedly ignoring it.

I’m on the fence regarding whether to see if the sequel improves. For now, I’m not going to put it on my TBR but I may revisit it at some point.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Kirsten Simkiss

Odd Thomas was odd in it’s own way. I appreciated the world building, actually. I also very much appreciated the innocence of the main character, Odd. His ability, though sometimes a burden, was in safe hands and used well. I loved that he despised guns. I loved that he had the love of his life from the jump. I loved that he was sweet and a little bit dopey. I loved him. I did have foreknowledge of the plot somewhat from watching the movie some years ago on Netflix, but I had either forgotten most of the plot or the movie was quite different. What I remember were Stormy and Odd, and as memory serves me they did a great job with the casting. (RIP Anton Yelchin.)

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. It was about the start of the second half, about when he finds the body in his bathroom, that I started to question Odd’s reaction to situations and I had more trouble connecting from that point on. But I came back to him at the end of the book, to understand him in his grief.

All in all, it was a fun read. It’s probably not something I’ll read again, but I did enjoy it. I may read on in the world, or I may stop here. If you’re thinking of reading it, it’s like the kid from Sixth Sense but an adult using his ghost seeing powers to fight violent crime.

Caroline Lewicki

I love the movie "Odd Thomas" so I wanted to give the book a try. I really, desperately wanted to love the book as much as I love the movie but I didn't.

First, the book really doesn't pick up until about Chapter 19. It's a lot of explanation and sidetrack stories in the beginning that I just couldn't get into. It took me a long time to push past all of that and get to the good stuff. It might not help that I've seen the movie, so I was waiting for the action, but I feel like I wouldn't have enjoyed the beginning regardless.

A major issue I had with it is the amount of similes and metaphors Koontz uses. For example, this is one sentence..." Self-effacing, somewhat shy, Harlo had not labored on the car with the hope either that it would be a babe magnet or that those who had thought of him as tepid would suddenly think he was cool enough to freeze the mercury in a thermometer." WE GET IT. But it doesn't end there. Extended similes and metaphors happen every other paragraph, like when you're in high school and you need to make a word count so you BS your way there. I found myself continually thinking "Okay, we get it, move on."

Finally, Koontz elaborates on some things unnecessarily while not elaborating enough on others. At one point, he details what Purell is...ya know, hand sanitizer? He spends a paragraph on it. Meanwhile, about a page later, Odd finds a "pyx." What is a pyx? I didn't know until three paragraphs later when Koontz  kind of  explains that it's a little box a priest puts the Eucharist in. I couldn't for the life of me understand why a pretty common household cleaner was explained but I almost had to throw in the towel and Google a pyx.

All in all, I'm glad I read the book as it solidified for me what a great movie it was. Anton Yelchin, in my opinion, is the perfect Odd and Addison Timlin is exactly who I would have chosen for Stormy. But I don't plan to continue the series.

Sylvie Hébert

Really not bad but for the fact that the writer talks to the reader while writing the story... Which I hate!

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Odd Thomas follows Odd, a man who can see ghosts and a little more. His gift has led him down an interesting road, never leaving his small hometown of Pico Mundo and giving him his destiny at 15.

Witty and humorous, this mystery is written a bit flowery (I must write this after speaking with another book fiend who has given up reading Koontz), but it is beautiful and adventurous.

There is enough variety from the movie to make this read worth it. And continues the story that the movie never will.

https://southerntodaygonetomorrow.wor...

Odd Thomas

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