Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel - Softcover

Koontz, Dean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553584499 ISBN 13: 9780553584493

Publisher: Bantam, 2004

Synopsis

“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.

About this title

Review

Odd Thomas is one of Dean Koontz's more heavily moralised horror thrillers, but is nonetheless charming and terrifying. Odd is an adolescent on the brink of adulthood who sees dead people and has a worryingly precise moral sense; the police chief of the small town of Pico Mundo--little world--relies on him heavily. Hardly has the book opened before a dead teenager leads Odd to her killer--and we are given to understand that this is the sort of thing that happens all the time. He does not just see the dead, however; he sees the thrill-seeking dark spirits that hang around unpleasant events, and he notices, on this particular day, that there are a lot more of them about than usual. Odd is haunted by dreams of dead bowling-alley staff and he wonders whether this might just be the day when the bowling-alley massacre takes place.

The tone of voice here is almost saccharine, almost sinister--Odd and his friends and his sweetheart are vivid, cute and self-righteous. This is a bizarrely paced thriller because it follows the vagaries of an eccentric with his own ways of investigating things--it is as odd as its hero's name. --Roz Kaveney

Review

"Once in a very great while, an author does everything right--as Koontz has in this marvelous novel.... the story, like most great stories, runs on character--and here Koontz has created a hero whose honest, humble voice will resonate with many.... This is Koontz working at his pinnacle, providing terrific entertainment that deals seriously with some of the deepest themes of human existence: the nature of evil, the grip of fate and the power of love."--"Publishers Weekly"

"Dean Koontz almost occupies a genre of his own. He is a master at building suspense and holding the reader spellbound."--"Richmond Times-Dispatch"

"Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler."--"The Times" (London)

"Once more Dean Koontz presents readers with a story and cast of characters guaranteed to entertain."--"Tulsa World"
"From the Hardcover edition."

"One of the master storytellers of this or any age."--"The Tampa Tribune"
"A darkly humorous literary pastiche . . . one of Koontz's best novels . . . packed with plenty of original surprises."--"The Denver Post"
"[A] taut-muscled, teeth-chattering story that keeps the reader glued to the pages."--Associated Press
"Suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the many reasons this novel works is Koontz's talent for creating richly drawn characters.""--The Boston Globe"

One of the master storytellers of this or any age. "The Tampa Tribune"
A darkly humorous literary pastiche . . . one of Koontz s best novels . . . packed with plenty of original surprises. "The Denver Post"
[A] taut-muscled, teeth-chattering story that keeps the reader glued to the pages. Associated Press
Suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the many reasons this novel works is Koontz s talent for creating richly drawn characters. " The Boston Globe""

One of the master storytellers of this or any age. The Tampa Tribune
A darkly humorous literary pastiche . . . one of Koontz s best novels . . . packed with plenty of original surprises. The Denver Post
[A] taut-muscled, teeth-chattering story that keeps the reader glued to the pages. Associated Press
Suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the many reasons this novel works is Koontz s talent for creating richly drawn characters. The Boston Globe

"

-One of the master storytellers of this or any age.---The Tampa Tribune
-A darkly humorous literary pastiche . . . one of Koontz's best novels . . . packed with plenty of original surprises.---The Denver Post
-[A] taut-muscled, teeth-chattering story that keeps the reader glued to the pages.---Associated Press
-Suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the many reasons this novel works is Koontz's talent for creating richly drawn characters.---The Boston Globe

"One of the master storytellers of this or any age."--The Tampa Tribune

"A darkly humorous literary pastiche . . . one of Koontz's best novels . . . packed with plenty of original surprises."--The Denver Post

"[A] taut-muscled, teeth-chattering story that keeps the reader glued to the pages."--Associated Press

"Suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the many reasons this novel works is Koontz's talent for creating richly drawn characters."--The Boston Globe

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0553584499
• ISBN 13: 9780553584493
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 496