Book Review: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Book cover from amazon.com

“I see dead people,” states Odd Thomas. This line, also famous in the movie, The Sixth Sense, produced prior the Odd Thomas novel, seemed a bit overplayed. Odd Thomas though is very unique and an interesting character.

At the beginning of the book, I found Dean Koontz’ flourishing descriptions of characters and locales gripping and entertaining. The horror scenes will repulse you appropriately. I found though that I began to bore of the excessive metaphors and similes. I listened to it as an audio book, had to take breaks, and even became unsure if I was going to finish it or not.

What I liked was the book’s originality. The bodachs, dark creatures who would follow people where tragedy would occur, were great suspense tools. I also enjoyed Odd’s love relationship with Stormy; it created warmth and realism in this surreal tale.

Teenagers will love Odd Thomas, probably why the book became a New York Times Best Seller. It is also currently being adapted into a movie to be released in 2013, a perfect premise for the big screen and will entertain many. There are some scenes and subject matter that may not be suitable for young teens in the novel, but it seems that they are exposed to so much more than we were in our youth that maybe I am overprotective.

I still feel poorly that I did not enjoy this novel as much as I was hoping to. I almost did not write this review as how could I not like a best seller in a genre I relish. Odd Thomas became a series of popular novels. Was I odd? an outcast? too judgemental? too, dare I say it, old? — when I think of myself as young of mind and heart. Let me know.

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