Odd Thomas is one of those rare books where I was able to enjoy it even though it's genre isn't usually my thing when it comes to reading fiction. But the reason I enjoyed it so much is because, not only is the protagonist a likeable person, but the book is schlock. It's not campy by any means. Instead it's goofy, it's ridiculous, yet at the same time there's depth to the characters and there's consequences to their actions. It's also a book where I couldn't predict what was going to happen next, because while it follows a formula it was not a straightforward one. It's almost like it was taking from different literary formulas and making a brand new one out of the component parts.
Odd Thomas is an interesting character, and is also probably in my top ten favourite fictional characters. He's funny, dedicated, charming, and holds himself to a moral standard that, while stemming from childhood trauma and tragedy, isn't something you see too often. It isn't too rigid but it's solid and Odd never wavers from it. Which is something I admire in a person, whether they're fictional or not.
The thing I like the most about this character is that Odd lives simply in order to avoid the circus that would ensue if his abilities became public knowledge. He lives in a small town, he doesn't own a house or a car, and he works as a short-order cook at the local breakfast diner. That sounds like the perfect life to me, aside from having abilities that allow him to see the dead, which he uses to help the police solve murders and other heinous crimes in town. Not that many people know about Odd's special abilities, and he likes it that way.
Odd's supporting cast are some of the quirkiest, but awesome supporting characters I have ever read in all the years I've been reading novels. I think the only ones who even come close is the supporting cast in The Hardy Boys series. Yes, I know, that's a crazy standard, but I have read so many books where the supporting cast were not used to their full effectiveness or were saved for later books if they were in a book that started a series, and so got very little screen time. Here though not only are there not too many characters to think about, but all of them are used very well in this story. Their roles are clearly defined as well. And none of them overstate their welcome in any way.
My two favourite members of Odd's supporting cast are Stormy Llewellyn, whose birth name is Bronwen and she prefers to be called Stormy because Bronwen makes her sound like an Elf from The Lord of the Rings, and Little Ozzie. Stormy is Odd's girlfriend. However, unlike so many comic book romantic relationships where the hero hides their secret identity from their partner, Stormy knows everything about Odd and his special abilities. Stormy reminds me of some of my female friends, because like her, they're strong, witty, tolerating, and have overcome every obstacle that life has thrown at them. I love their relationship too. It's probably the best romantic relationship I have ever witnessed in any entertainment medium.
Little Ozzie is not only Odd's best friend, but he's also his mentor in the ways of writing novels. That is if Odd wrote novels. Little Ozzie also knows Odd's secret, though he doesn't know quite as much as Stormy does. Which is kind of refreshing since usually it's the best friend/mentor character that knows everything about a character's special abilities, and the love interest doesn't, if they know anything about them at all that is. There's one scene, which is pretty much Little Ozzie's only actual scene in the book where he's talking to Odd one on one, where Odd is visiting Little Ozzie before his dinner date with Stormy and the whole time Ozzie is saying some sort of literary quote and Odd gets it wrong because he only ever guesses Shakespeare. So then in this particular scene, Ozzie actually says a Shakespeare quote and Odd gets it wrong, even though Ozzie set it up as an easy one for him. I thought that was hilarious because I'm pretty sure I've had a conversation like that with Brad or Garrett at some point in the time I've known them.
I also like Wyatt Porter, the chief of police for Pico Mundo, the small town that Odd lives in. Porter is to Odd what Captain Lance ended up being for Oliver Queen on Arrow, and what Chief Collig is to Frank and Joe in the Hardy Boys series. He knows Odd's secret and he runs interference for him during their cases together, which often are ones that Odd brings to the chief's attention, much to the chief's chagrin. Which was cool to see, since that can be a source of drama as we know from the comic book shows and movies that have come out over the years.
I was a bit confused and had to go back and reread a page, because I couldn't remember if Odd's boss, Terri, knows about Odd's abilities or not. It turns out that she does, though maybe not to the extent that Chief Porter, Stormy and Little Ozzie do. Just enough so that she doesn't question it when Odd asks to borrow her car. But I'm glad that the book outright states who knows Odd's secret, and what the extent of their knowledge is. The author, Dean Koontz, doesn't play coy when it comes to that sort of thing, which I appreciate since I come from the world of reading comic books, where it's sometimes left ambiguous as to who knows the hero's secret identity and who doesn't, which can get frustrating at times.
The only thing I thought was kind of dumb in this book was when the bad guys tried to frame Odd for the death of one of their own. I mean it can serve as a really good distraction for the protagonist if they're framed for murder at some point in a story. If it's done well. Which it really wasn't here. Mainly because the bad guys set up the frame, but then they didn't do anything further with it. Plus the frame was a bit sloppy since they planted a gun at the scene of the crime, and Odd hates the use of guns and so he won't use one. Even in self-defense. At least, not unless it's absolutely necessary, like it ended up being during the climax of the book. It doesn't break the book for me, I just thought it was dumb on the part of the bad guys.
Final Thoughts and Rating: Overall Odd Thomas is an excellent book. I basically read it in less than a week, so it's a fairly fast read, though because of how many chapters there are, it isn't a book that you can read in one sitting. It has a light tone and while there's some disturbing imagery in the book, it being a supernatural mystery book, it isn't overly depressing or freaky like a lot of Stephen King's books can be. As I said in the beginning, it's schlock in the best way possible, which I appreciate with books like this. The whole framing Odd for murder thing wasn't well thought out and nothing was done with it once Odd disposed of the body. I'm giving Odd Thomas 10/10 stars.
Wikipedia Article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odd_Thomas_(novel)
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