Synopsis:
Odd Thomas has a way with the dead. They never talk to him, but they do try to communicate. Short-order cook is his day job. Other times he is trying to do right by the dead souls who come to him. Sometimes they seek justice. Sometimes they want to help prevent a disaster.
When a mysterious man comes to town, Odd finds a pack of hyena-like shades following him. Further investigation shows the man has an interest in mass killings. There is also an ominous date added to the mix, leaving Odd 24 hours before evil strikes. With Stormy Llewellyn, his beloved, the ghost of Elvis, and a host of other friends, Odd must stand between evil and his home of Pico Mundo.
Review:
Odd Thomas is set in a desert community of Pico Mundo and centers on a psychic named Odd Thomas. When a large man enters the Pico Mundo Grill where Odd works, Odd immediately notices shadow creatures around him: harbingers of a looming cataclysm. The story is told in the first person. The elements of the story should make it interesting. However, the first person nature of the story causes Mr. Koontz to delve into long expositions. These are explanations the reader will likely find confusing. The result is a book that is hard to follow.

First published back in 2004, Volume One of the Odd Thomas series has deservedly earned the title of Supernatural Classic. Describing the book's plot to a friend who is not overly familiar with either Dean Koontz or the horror genre, she quickly surmised the book to be a mystery. And it is, sort of. But not really.

It all boils down to the fact that Odd Thomas can see dead people. But as Mr Koontz says, "... he [Odd] actually DOES something about it...". It is a good thing, therefore, as an incredibly bold (or is that naive?) twenty one year old, that he has strong connections with the town Sheriff. And that in the context of this story, his girlfriend - Stormy Lleweyn - is the niece of the village Catholic Priest. As i approach the halfway mark, I am yet to meet the entire cast of characters, but those that have been introduced to the reader are full of depth, humour, intelligence and to summarise, are all beautifully and immaculately presented. My favourite is the amateur mystery novelist Ozzie, who is so overweight that the term "obese" does not even fit his literary persona. But what an amazingly intellectual mind he has! And with such friendship and plutonic love he holds for Odd, he is almost like the Father Odd never knew. There is a plethora of supporting characters, too, which are a joy to meet, but I won't ruin the surprise for any of those that have not completed this supernatural fantasy by mentioning them gere. But brace yourself. *grins*

And speaking of the bad guys - which I wasn't - but I am now - they too are as delightful and fun to read about as they were for Mr Koontz to write about. The main antagonist for Odd is a "gentleman" called the Fungus Man - who not only turns out to be a devoted follower of some of the most evil men in history but also possesses the rare (and unwanted) talent of attracting sentient voids of the universe (aka "bodachs") just about anywhere he goes. And of course the Fungus Man has an almost supernatural ability to "be" just about anywhere he "needs" to be virtually at will.

For readers who are interested, there are a couple of phrases inserted into the body of the book that could almost be described as Mr Koontz being autobiographical. For example, taken from location 1504 of the kindle version: "Ozzie's success doesn't in the least surprise me. He likes people and he listens to them, and that love of humanity shines out of his pages." The quintessential Koontzanism? I think so.

So what is the book really about? Is it a standalone novel? Or merely the prologue to arguably the first and greatest supernatural fantasy series of all time? Well in my opinion, it is both. Clearly the Fungus Man must be stopped. He is bad. Odd Thomas (and his small army of friends) represent the forces of good in the tiny town of Pico Mundo and they will (of course) do their darnedest to protect its integrity. So our role as readers, of course, is to sit on the sidelines, cheer on the good guys, and hope for the outcome we all want. Because if Mr Odd fails to overcome the invading evil and achieve his destiny, how on earth is Mr Koontz going to write eight more fantastic books to read?

I hereby award this book a very solid four stars, despite its status as the opening stanza to a legendary series. I cant wait to see how this story finishes, and of course i can't wait to get my bands on the rest of the books and start devouring them like a vampire devouring virginal blood. But just don't let Odd Thomas see me!

BFN Greggorio!

Some people have a hidden darkness inside, and others are just evil in a human suit!
Quirky. That is the best word to describe this story.
Being a huge fan of Dean Koontz, I find his books comforting in a familiar way, he always has interesting characters, and most of the time it's easy to visualise a movie created in your minds eye straight from his easy narration. While 'Odd Thomas' did not feel like anything new - elements of previous stories evident in it's composition left me feeling like I'd read it before. But it is darkly comedic and filled with witty banter to keep you grinning from start to end.
Keep an eye out for Ghost Elvis - he's the bomb!
Thomas and Stormy , the two main cast for this novel have a repertoire which drives the storyline - given some of the subject matter can be down right depressing, their upbeat take on circumstances keep you balanced on the edge of despair and humour.
I'd have to say the novel delves into the underlying evil and its insatiable thirst to pollute everything around it. A great start to the 'Odd' franchise!

I have read it in one weekend! It is a good suspense novel about a person that sees ghosts. This book has everything the lover of suspense novels needs: a mystery, growing tension with every page turned and a twist at the end.
Between S King and D Koontz I would always chose D Koontz: simply because he uses better language. So for me his novels are more enjoyable.