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Odd Thomas is a peculiar young man. First of all, Odd is his given name. He works as a fry cook at the Pico Mundo Grill in Southern California where he lives a comfortable existence. His life¹s ambitions are to marry his soul mate Stormy Llewelyn and landing his dream job becoming a tire salesman. He is happy and is willing to help anyone in need. There is just one small thing that makes Odd different from everyone else. He sees dead people. The title character serves as a narrator in this story describing what will become an act of horror. Several days ago he witnessed the ultimate evil and he is saving it for posterity. He does not know why, nor does he cares if you do. He is writing the story as a favor to a friend in order to reach some form of catharsis. This gives the novel a sense of foreboding, not knowing what to expect. Odd warns readers not to trust him in what he says. Odd is partially psychic and he is seeing signs of a looming catastrophe, but he is not sure where. He only knows when. In one day he will witness the heart of darkness and he wants to tell the story but he will do it at his own pace, in his own time, in his own way. At times exasperating, this device works because the narrator is not omniscient. He tells it, as he believes he saw it and does not provide answers to things beyond his control. What happened happened. Dean Koontz continues to impress with this unusual story due to its semi-unique character. Odd may see dead people, but he knows how to deal with it. Odd may appear to have a devil-may-care attitude, but he also has a big character. His vulnerability is laid out in the open for everyone to see, but he knows he needs to share the ordeal that he has gone through. His cheesy sense of humor is interspersed in his narration in order to alleviate the suspense on the upcoming tragedy. David Aaron Baker, the performer in this unabridged audio recording of the novel, does Koontz¹s work justice. This is a story told by one person to whomever may want to learn of the fateful events of one August day. It is a good read and a good listening. If you want to be surprised, this is the book to try.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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