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ODD THOMAS
by Dean Koontz
HarperCollins, August 2004
512 pages
6.99GBP
ISBN: 0007130740


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In Dean Koontz's latest novel, he introduces us to Odd Thomas, a young fry cook in the small Californian town of Pico Mundo. There is something different about the eponymous hero -- he can see the ghosts of dead people.

When Odd sees a man who seems particularly malevolent, his immediate fears are for the love of his life, Stormy Llewellyn. However, he soon realises that this man has much bigger plans -- plans that are going to threaten the whole of Pico Mundo. Can he stop him before tomorrow comes, bringing death and disaster?

Once again, Dean Koontz has written an excellent novel. His switch to first person narration makes an interesting change and Odd's unique narrative voice will grab the reader from the start. Koontz succeeds in giving Odd experience and wisdom far beyond his 20 years, and his gift for seeing dead people, reminiscent of The Sixth Sense is a superb idea. In addition, Koontz is sometimes seen as being much too verbose and repetitive in some of his metaphors and similes. Using Odd as the narrator avoids this.

The novel is well-paced, with the reader given a real sense of Odd's increasing desperation as he seeks to avert the disaster that he knows is coming. When the ending came, it astounded me. I was expecting a completely different resolution to the story and I think that Koontz's ending will shock most readers.

In ODD THOMAS Koontz has succeeded in demonstrating his versatility as a novelist and has undoubtedly cemented his position as one of the best cross-genre writers of the current day. Even though the book is shorter than some of Koontz's other works, there is plenty here to absorb and ODD THOMAS will stay with you for some time after you have read the last page.

Reviewed by Luke Croll, February 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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