Odd Thomas by Dean 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. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it’s different.

A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil.

I originally watched the movie based on this book years ago and loved it - finally got around to reading the book and am left kind of disappointed. The chapters where Odd visits his parents felt wholly unnecessary (unless I'm just not comprehending something??) and threw me off of what was happening.

I doubt I will continue with this series.

Initially, someone gave me a copy of [b:Odd Hours 2029927 Odd Hours (Odd Thomas, #4) Dean Koontz https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388204532l/2029927.SY75.jpg 2313023] by [a:Dean Koontz 9355 Dean Koontz https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1581963714p2/9355.jpg]. It's about fourth or fifth in his “Odd” series. I only got 25 pages into it, but it felt as though I was missing information. I went to a 2nd-hand store and purchase a discount copy of [b:Odd Thomas 14995 Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1) Dean Koontz https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388245669l/14995.SY75.jpg 4574034], so I could start the series from the beginning.I'm a Dean Koontz virgin, a little embarrassing to admit since he's a well-known author, I consider myself well-read, and I've never even cracked one of his books.So, Odd Thomas was my first foray into the mind/world of Koontz. It wasn't at all what I expected. I liked some of his asides that show his philosophy of life. Like, when speaking of God, he says:“He'll also cut you some slack if you're astonishingly stupid in an amusing fashion. Granny claimed that this explains why uncountable millions of breathtakingly stupid people get along just fine in life.”I struggled to understand his character, Odd Thomas. The author hinted at his “weird childhood” but waited until 3/4th of the way through the book before exposing what the weirdness was. At that point, Odd Thomas went from being a semi-reliable narrator (well, as reliable as one can be who sees dead people) to a semi-unreliable narrator. I didn't know if what he was searching for throughout the book was even something that would come to fruition. It does.However, in the end, there was a heartbreak I didn't expect. I will have to check out the next book to see if I want to continue.I attended a talk given by Koontz, who explained his authoring style. He simply starts at the beginning of the story, and rewrites as he goes. By the time he reaches the end of the story, it's ready to go to an editor. He doesn't write 1st, 2nd, or 3rd drafts. Just one draft that he modifies along the way. This was interesting to know before reading the book, and somewhat believable.Overall, I think it's worth a read, but I couldn't get emotionally connected to the characters. People were often introduced just to be killed off, a la GAME OF THRONES.

This was a great vacation read! It didn't take too much to get into, moved pretty quickly, and I didn't have to think too hard. I've never read Dean Koontz but plan to read the next in this series.

I'm not sure how I am just now coming to read these novels, but I'm glad I finally got here. What a wonderful character, and a great story. I'm much more impressed with Koontz' writing that I expected. I'm not sure I can forgive him for Stormy, though - the relationship between Stormy and Odd is one of the best I've ever read. Highly recommended!