Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Have you ever read a book that was not what you expected? That was actually a little disappointing until the last three chapters? That would be Odd Thomas.

I had high expectations of this book, being a big fan of Koontz. I had not been disappointed in his work for quite a while. The latest one I read was Life Expectancy, which I would consider a keeper if I kept many books for re-reading. My sister loved this one though and after several false starts, I decided to give it a try.

Odd Thomas is a 20 year old that has the peculiarity of being able to see the dead. They roam the world until they either feel ready to move on or they have put to rest any lingering issues that keep them on this realm.

The bulk of the book takes place within two days where Odd discovers that some horrible fate is to befall the people of Pico Mundo, the small town where he lives and works as a fry cook. There is a mysterious man that appears to be surrounded by bodocks (some other worldly shades that premeditate tragedy) and Odd is determined to stop this terrible destiny from happening. Thus begins the strange happenings and the false trails that leads Odd to the event that he had sensed.

The book is strange but that is to be expected from Dean Koontz but it also tended to ramble a bit. If it would have been a book, I would have skimmed through most of it. There are also a lot of lose ends in the book that are obviously picked up in the sequel to this tale, Forever Odd.

I had originally given this book a lower grade but, as I mentioned in the opening, the ending of this book had me in tears. Yes, in tears. This is not something easily achieved and because of the fact that it will be a long time before I forget Odd, I had to increase the grade it received.

Grade: B-
Format: Audiobook