Odd Thomas, (Chapters 28-47)

I could be wrong, but I don’t think there is a substantial genre of novels written about those who see dead people.  This book may well be the most famous one.  After the movie comes out, maybe there will be a flood of them, like the flood of vampire books and movies we’ve been subjected to since the Twilight series became a hit, or the zombie craze that has spun off from that.  Part of me kind of hopes not… 

With this book, Mr. Koontz has already staked claim on some of the more interesting twists that might arise if the genre were to escalate.  There have been mystery stories, on and off the screen, where someone got a glimpse of a person they had thought was dead, thinking they’re seeing a ghost or a walking corpse, perhaps someone under the protection of the Federal Witness Protection program.  But Odd Thomas, in an intriguing reversal of this concept, sees a dead person whom he mistakenly takes for a living person…nice irony!  Only later in the story does Odd (and the reader) discover that Mr. Robertson has been dead most of the day, and has been stalking Odd in anger as a dead person, blaming Odd’s meddlesomeness for the death.  In an overworked genre, such as the murder mystery, a twist like this would have been seen through by aficionados of the field – but I would bet my left butt cheek (to borrow a phrase from one of the scenes in this book!) that no one, not even the most dedicated Koontz follower predicted this twist on the first read-through. 

The action picks up speed to quite a pace in this section of the book.  The chapters are rather short, but each one seems to contain a complete and important scene in the plot sequence.  The encounter with the coyotes and the ghost of the prostitute at the Church of the Whispering Comet Topless Bar, Adult Bookstore, and Burger Heaven does come perilously close to chargeable with being “filler,” just to make the book a little longer.  It seems like a lot of plot baggage just to show Odd disposing of the corpse planted in his apartment.  And yet…Koontz’ ability to charm us and keep things interesting on the strength of his prose makes it all right.  The viciousness of the hungry coyotes is almost palpable – they become characters in their own right. 

Speaking of secondary characters…  Another of this author’s impressive abilities is that of making the supporting roles come off the page as vividly as the stars.  Even the flirtatious nurse at the hospital manages to become real in her short dialog with Odd.  Through her, we also get a more complete picture of how his peer group sees him in this small town environment.  She strongly implies that “all the girls,” as well as herself, will be very interested to know that he is now engaged to be married to Stormy.  This tells us more about him than he seems to realize himself.

 

Other secondary characters shine as well.  We are treated to Mr. K’s well-honed ability to write dialog for children.  Nicolina and Levanna Peabody, 5 and 6 years old respectively, give us a discourse on what kind of women wear pink or “kiss men for money.”  Also, the various members of the police force that we come into brief contact with all seem to have their own personalities – rare for fictional police officers!  The only secondary character we’re missing here is the dog-in-a-key-role, something that this author is very well known for.  For that, I recommend his “Fear Nothing” featuring the black Lab, Orson.




May's book is "C" is for Corpse, by Sue Grafton.  If you're not familiar with this series, you're in for a treat!  It's okay if you haven't read the first two; these books are very independent of one another.  So join us in May for a fun read!