Odd Thomas, (Conclusion)

This story has, from the nature of the premise and the development of the plot, hinted at an “explosive” ending from the start, though the actual explosives came as a major surprise.  There is a fine balance struck here between overselling and underselling the climax.  More often, an author will spend way too much ink on a great ending and dilute its effectiveness.  Occasionally, an author will bring about a fast, hard-hitting ending and then either drop us cold on the last page, or try to end more gracefully with a drawn out, uninteresting aftermath.  To my mind, “Odd Thomas” ends perfectly, with just the right tension and economy of detail in the violent, bloody climax, and a soul-shattering aftermath to top it off.  Beautiful craftsmanship. 

Odd’s confrontation with his past is weaved into the storyline in an interesting way.  His amateur detective work involves exploring his own twisted psychology as influenced by his childhood traumas more than following up on conventional clues.  The fact that he feels compelled to visit his estranged father and then his psychotic mother, with time running out, creates a special kind of tension that becomes almost unbearable.  The description of his return to Robertson’s corpse is Horror at its finest – lest we forget that this book can be found in the Horror section at the bookstore!  We tend to think of horror story books and movies as being rather one-dimensional, the way most of us normally think of romance novels.  Indeed, Mr. Koontz has gone on record as saying he has never been quite pleased with the results of filming his stories until now. 

During our hero’s visit with his mother, we get a hint at what may contribute to the origin of Odd’s oddity.  Their argument brings out her mental instability with a vengeance and she reminds him that she spent her entire pregnancy carrying him wishing he wouldn’t live:  “I dreamed and dreamed that you would be born dead.” … “Dead inside me,” she repeated.  “Month after unending month I felt your rotting fetus festering in my belly, spreading poison through my body.” … “Do you hear me? … You poisoned me, you filled me with pus and dead baby rot…”  Yes, this writing is over the top; but the point is driven home that we’re dealing with a seriously disturbed woman here.  Could her attitude towards baby Odd in the womb have contributed to or even triggered his ability to see dead people?  Koontz leaves it to us to ponder the point. 

In the climactic sequence, Odd’s “psychic magnetism” – the homing device that leads him to a specific person – practically takes charge of him as he gives it free reign to carry him through the coming crisis.  This Psychic Magnetism Syndrome (or PMS, as Odd and Stormy have jokingly referred to it) helps him make all the right decisions and be in all the right places at the right time to avoid massive loss of life at the site of the incident.  Even when he thinks he has completed his mission, it drives him on to perhaps the most important factor of all.  The reader has been thoroughly prepared for this, so we don’t get the feeling that it was all too easy.  We cheer him on as he goes!

 

Earlier in the story, we noticed the interesting plot twist of his mistaking a dead person that only he can see for a still-living person.  The fact that this device is used again at the end in such a heart-wrenching fashion is superb storytelling.  Will the movie, when it comes out, be altered at the end to prevent such a crushing emotional trauma?  I hope not.  No, I predict a lot of very wet eyes streaming out of the theaters after the show when this hits the circuit in a couple of weeks - including mine.  I can hardly wait!

[After writing the above, I have learned that the release of the movie has been delayed until next September, at the earliest, apparently due to legal wrangling over alleged contractual violations concerning the promotion of the film.  Sigh.]





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!