Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas
By Dean Koontz

Just hearing the name Dean Koontz, you might assume this is a horror book, but Odd Thomas is one of those books that rather defies classification and instead falls into the simple category of  “a really good book.”

In describing himself, Odd Thomas says, “I am such a nonentity by the standards of our culture that People magazine not only will never feature a piece about me but might also reject my attempts to subscribe to their publication on the grounds that the black-hole gravity of my noncelebrity is powerful enough to suck their entire enterprise into oblivion.”

“Oddy” as his girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn calls him, is a humble and simple man.  He works as a short order cook at the Pico Mundo Grill and if he ever left there, he thinks he might go into tires.  Perhaps it’s because of the demands of the dead that he yearns for the simple life.  You see, Odd can’t talk with the dead, because they don’t talk for some reason, but they do communicate with him and he feels the compassionate need to help them, because he can. 

“I’m not the law.  I’m not vigilante justice.  I’m not vengeance personified.  I don’t really know what I am or why.  In moments like these, however, I can’t restrain myself from action.  A kind of madness comes over me, and I can no more turn away from what must be done than I can wish this fallen world back into a state of grace.”

Odd doesn’t take matters into his own hands, he has no intention to hurt anyone, he’s almost like some kind of avenging angel sent to bring the guilty party to justice. 

The writing style is beautifully simple but colorful, humorous and sympathetic.  For example, “Little Ozzie has a cat named Terrible Chester.  He loves that cat.  In fact, if Terrible Chester were to use up his ninth life under the wheels of a Peterbilt, I am afraid that Little Ozzie’s big heart would not survive the loss.” 

Instead of simply saying that if the cat got run over by a truck, it would kill Odd Thomas’s friend, Koontz’s choice of metaphor illustrates it and is slightly funny while also showing Odd’s concern for his friend - beautifully done.

You may wonder about the name Odd, or assume that it’s a nickname, but you would be mistaken.  “According to my mother, this is an uncorrected birth-certificate error.”  Sometimes she claims they meant to name him Todd or sometimes even Dobb, after a Czechoslovakian uncle, but his father points out that he doesn’t have a Czechoslovakian uncle.

Everything Odd is welcome here.  Even the fact that the ghost of Elvis hangs around is not disconcerting because it is offered in such an understated way.  Only three people in the world know of Odd Thomas’s ability to see and interact with the dead – his author friend Little Ozzie, his girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn and his friend, the chief of police Wyatt Porter.  To everyone else, Odd Thomas is just… odd.  Once you know what he’s dealing though, he doesn’t seem so odd.  In fact, he seems downright amazingly sane and even for what he’s dealing with.

This novel introduced the world to Odd Thomas and tells his adventure of thwarting “Fungus Man” from creating a day of devastation in his hometown of Pico Mundo.  Thankfully, there are several more novels featuring Odd Thomas, including Forever Odd, Brother Odd, Odd Hours and Odd Apocalypse plus two more in the works.  There’s also a three part novella titled Odd Interlude and several graphic novels, not to mention an Odd Thomas movie coming out in 2013. 

Oh, and the reading of the book on audio by David Aaron Baker is brilliant in its understated portrayal of Odd Thomas.  I have read each of these books by listening to them on audio because his Odd Thomas is so perfect that it actually adds to the book, as good readers can, instead of distracting you from the story.  Enjoy!