Odd Thomas [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (November 4, 2008)
• ASIN: B0018S7M5Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (564 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,705,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania where I graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University). When I was a senior in college, I won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and have been writing ever since. My first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where I was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. During my first day on the job, I discovered that the previous occupier of my position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and I was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. I wrote nights and weekends, which I continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, my wife, Gerda, made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of my writing career. Gerda and I, along with our dog, Trixie, live in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Koontz is Back, February 11, 2004

By 

Michael Hogan "Constant Reader" (Joliet, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Odd Thomas: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have been a long time Dean Koontz fan. I've read just about every book, including some by his pseudonyms. Almost every book was a great read. I would close the book after the last page feeling both fulfilled and sad. Fulfilled because of a great story, sad because it was over. Lately, however, Koontz's books have been slipping.

I think it began after Seize the Night. His books became harder to read and filled (and I mean filled) with metaphors and similes. And the ultra-sappy happy endings were very unlike the author.

I didn't read The Face because of the bad reviews I heard. So, when Odd Thomas came out, I was reluctant but curious. Am I glad I picked this book up!

The story was fast-paced and exciting. The subject (Odd sees dead people) may have been used before, but Koontz put his own special touch in there. The characters were vivid, especially Odd and Stormy. And the humor...Koontz has a gift when it comes to humor in his books. I literally laughed out loud more than once.

Odd Thomas is classic Koontz. A great story, a quick read, funny, sad, scary, and moving.

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A most odd yet interesting protagonist, December 24, 2003

By 

Eileen Rieback (Coral Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Odd Thomas: A Novel (Hardcover)

Odd Thomas lives up to his first name; he is a 20 year old short-order cook with the ability to see the ghosts of the dead and the shadowy faceless spirits he calls "bodachs," who gravitate toward scenes of horrific violence and evil. Odd is a very likable guy whose ideal future rests with his girlfriend and soul mate Stormy Llewellyn and with a career in tires or footwear. Aware that his sixth sense is a burden that sets him apart and makes him appear otherworldly to others, he knows that he has received this gift for a reason. He feels a responsibility to make sense of the ghosts he encounters and to thwart the violence that the bodachs portend. When he spots a large congregation of bodachs converging on his hometown of Pico Mundo, he has a premonition of great disaster. He hones in on a villainous and twisted "Fungus Man" who he senses will most likely cause the violence. He must now discover the time and place where the bloodshed will occur. He races against the clock to prevent a tragic outcome. Narrated by Odd, this story is at times gory, at times inspirational, at times funny, and at times bittersweet.

Koontz is still a master at interweaving scenes of horror with humorous dialog and action. The ghost of Elvis materializes at incongruous moments. There is an exploding cow to add comic relief. The author portrays many humorous and colorful characters including Odd's oversized six-fingered mentor Little Ozzie and his landlady Rosalia who fears she will become invisible. As the author's writing career has progressed, his books have adopted more and more of an undertone of spirituality and religious optimism. His latest effort expands on this trend as he juxtaposes Satanism and the paranormal with an uplifting message. Stormy talks about the lives that exist beyond this one, and she refers to this life as a mere "boot camp" for the tests and rewards of the life to come. Odd's ghosts are waiting in limbo, held back by unresolved issues before moving on to the next plane of existence. Odd acknowledges that there are universal truths more complex and meaningful than those of the material world.

This is not one of Koontz's best books, but it is still a good one. The ending of the story has a slightly different tone than in his other books. His fans might feel a bit put off by it or perhaps more uplifted by it. Although I was in the former category, I still give the book four stars and recommend it for its eerie scenes and for its protagonist, who is so human and yet so unique.

Eileen Rieback

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing "Odd" about this read, December 10, 2003

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Odd Thomas: A Novel (Hardcover)

For the first time in a long time Dean Koontz has written a book that delivers on any level you can name. Odd Thomas is a suspenseful, powerful, imaginative, and entertaining story. The characters are believable and seem to leap off the page at the reader. Of course, I like all of Koontz's works, the early stuff and his later, more spiritual works.

Odd Thomas is a short order hash slinger in a small out of the way town of Pico Mundo. Besides being a talented writer, Odd sees and communicates with ghosts. Not just any ghosts mind you, but all types of ghosts. One type that is especially bad are the "bodachs" a particularly malevolent spirit that is attracted to and seem to feed off of violence. These spirits are in town and associated with a character Odd names "Fungus Man." As you read you realize that Fungus Man is much, much more than he appears on the surface to be.

This is an unsettling read. Koontz manages to keep the reader slightly off balance. This causes a little disorientation and some readers may be critical on this aspect of the novel. However, when you reach the end of the book you'll be glad that you hung around to the end.

Koontz is a talented writer. His books are meant for intelligent readers. Odd Thomas will not disappoint.