My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I bought a couple of Dean Koontz hard covers a hundred years ago when they were on sale cheap. That was back when he still had the “R” in his name.
I never read them.
I can’t say why, exactly. He had been compared to Stephen King back then (the 80s and early 90s) and as prolific as King is, he couldn’t write more than I could read, so Koontz seemed like a natural alternative. It was even easy to find his stuff in the bookstore–it was right next to King’s. But for some reason I waited and waited until someone suggested I watch the movie version of Odd Thomas, as it combined a light tone with dark happenings, something I’ve done with much of my own writing. The movie doesn’t seem to have gone over well so I dove into the original 2003 novel instead.
I liked it. It’s told from the first person perspective, which can be tricky at times, especially at novel-length, but Koontz does a fine job in keeping Odd’s tone, outlook and actions consistent. He comes off as fragile, yet practical, sentimental but resolute–a likeable schmuck with the unenviable gift of seeing dead people.
Odd Thomas is a quick read and at times the dry, even droll delivery of Thomas is at odds (ho ho) with the grim events of the story. Koontz also leans heavily on the ol’ unreliable narrator shtick at the end, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and it all hangs together somehow. While the novel is ultimately a downer and I have no idea if the rest of the series keeps the same tone, I am now a little curious to find out, which I hadn’t expected going in.
