Odd Thomas
Author: Dean Koontz
ISBN: 0553384287
Manufacturer: Bantam
Customer Rating:
, based on 479 reviews
Lowest Price: $6.32
By Supplier: any_book
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Description/Reviews
|
Feedback
|
View All Offers (39)
Editorial Review:
“The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.
A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.
Today is August 14.
In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.
From the Hardcover edition.
This is the first book I've read by Koontz, and I must say that I rather enjoyed it. I'm not a diehard suspense fan, but the book appealed to me because it was genuinely funny as well as suspenseful. Even more than that, I liked the book because Koontz populates Pico Mundo with genuinely likable characters. Odd isn't the oddest person in this book, but he and all his quirky friends make the reader care about them.
The book is well written, and Koontz maintains a relatively brisk pace. The action sometimes slows as Odd makes personal observations about his peculiar circumstances, but these pauses are still fun to read. Koontz keeps his chapters very short in this book, which makes the book seem to race by and is convenient for folks with kids, since we have to stop more frequently.
Some people who don't like mixing humor with suspense might not like this book. Also, the villains of the book are a little cliche, but I think Koontz made them that way purposefully. Odd himself seems to think his nemeses are cliche. These cliche villians sort of detract from the narrative, but I think Koontz is trying to use cliche to imply something else. What that something else is, I'll leave up to you to decide.
I think this is a good book but it has a lot of faults, too. It's unbelievable to me that Odd's mother could still be walking around free. The excuse is that she isolates herself to keep from feeling suicidal/homicidal, but I still don't buy it.
As others have mentioned, the action sometimes gets bogged down. I found the coyote scene boring and just too much on top of all the other stuff Odd is dealing with at that moment.
I appreciated the twist as to the killer's identity but at the same time did not find it interesting or shocking.
But, I go back to the DK hole and get more, because Koontz keeps coming up with interesting tales. In this case the now literary machine that is Odd Thomas is introduced. It has been five years since this book was published, but I speculate thousands more will come crawling back to Amazon and pluck or download it just shy of a major motion picture release.
How would I speculate on such a thing when none of Koontz's other novels have provided enough mustard to interest the MAJOR Hollywood hotdogs? This story is that good.
Minus the miles of skimming past useless description - I get it, the sky is orange - the characters, setting, and story are all winners. Cheers to you, Mr. Koontz.
“The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.
A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.
Today is August 14.
In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Fun Read
Odd Thomas is a 20 year-old short-order cook who can see dead people. I won't summarize much of the plot because I don't want to be a spoiler, but I will tell you that the book's conceit is that it's written by Odd himself. He explains how his supernatural powers helped him save his small town of Pico Mundo over the course of two days.
This is the first book I've read by Koontz, and I must say that I rather enjoyed it. I'm not a diehard suspense fan, but the book appealed to me because it was genuinely funny as well as suspenseful. Even more than that, I liked the book because Koontz populates Pico Mundo with genuinely likable characters. Odd isn't the oddest person in this book, but he and all his quirky friends make the reader care about them.
The book is well written, and Koontz maintains a relatively brisk pace. The action sometimes slows as Odd makes personal observations about his peculiar circumstances, but these pauses are still fun to read. Koontz keeps his chapters very short in this book, which makes the book seem to race by and is convenient for folks with kids, since we have to stop more frequently.
Some people who don't like mixing humor with suspense might not like this book. Also, the villains of the book are a little cliche, but I think Koontz made them that way purposefully. Odd himself seems to think his nemeses are cliche. These cliche villians sort of detract from the narrative, but I think Koontz is trying to use cliche to imply something else. What that something else is, I'll leave up to you to decide.
2008-12-03
Good but could have been better
I read "Brother Odd" (which I think is better) first, so going into this one I already knew what the result of the bodach-attracting event would be. Even so, it still emotionally affected me.
I think this is a good book but it has a lot of faults, too. It's unbelievable to me that Odd's mother could still be walking around free. The excuse is that she isolates herself to keep from feeling suicidal/homicidal, but I still don't buy it.
As others have mentioned, the action sometimes gets bogged down. I found the coyote scene boring and just too much on top of all the other stuff Odd is dealing with at that moment.
I appreciated the twist as to the killer's identity but at the same time did not find it interesting or shocking.
2008-11-30
The book that brought me back to Mr. Koontz...
A wonderful new young character with quirks, a witty r'epertoire and of course...special powers. The banter alone is a reason to buy these books. (or audio, my favorite) A conscientious and humble hero that appeals to my own sense of justice, love and honor. I could say more but you really need to get to the Amazon site and get UPS rolling with this puppy! Time's a wastin'! 2008-11-24
When he gets - the gettin's good
Reading Koontz has become much like swatting through the sticky dense web of mongering relics of words ready to be plucked through the darkness into some form of sense. In short, just like that ridiculous sentence. Now I see why he does it. That was fun.
But, I go back to the DK hole and get more, because Koontz keeps coming up with interesting tales. In this case the now literary machine that is Odd Thomas is introduced. It has been five years since this book was published, but I speculate thousands more will come crawling back to Amazon and pluck or download it just shy of a major motion picture release.
How would I speculate on such a thing when none of Koontz's other novels have provided enough mustard to interest the MAJOR Hollywood hotdogs? This story is that good.
Minus the miles of skimming past useless description - I get it, the sky is orange - the characters, setting, and story are all winners. Cheers to you, Mr. Koontz.
2008-10-20
Hate Hate Hate This Book
Man do I hate Odd Thomas...This is a winding ride of a read that takes you through highs and lows ins and outs only to drop you to a depressingly dead thud in the end. All that work and expectation to be left deadly dissapointed in the end is not worth the read or your precious time on this earth. I know for certain I would have dropped this book as quickly as a rattle snake if I could have for saw it's downer of an ending. This book definitely falls in the DO NOT BOTHER AND DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME category of books I have read. 2008-10-10
| Copyright 1995-2008 © The Infotique, LLC. All rights reserved. In association with Amazon.com |
| Visit CatsPlay.com Cat Furniture for an incredible selection of unique kitty condos, cat towers and trees, climbing gyms, beds and hammocks. Learn more about cat scratching posts, and kitty and cat condos, cat trees and kitty gyms. |