Rating: 
Summary: A good read in light of recent Koontz books
Review: Dean Koontz's new book "Odd Thomas" show that Koontz can still write an engaging tale after all of these years. Gone is the lightning-in-a-bottle that he had earlier in his career (I don't need to mention the books that built his following) but, to me, "Odd Thomas" brought Koontz back from the brink of irrelevance. Compared to recent clunkers like "By the Light of the Moon" and "Corner of His Eye", this book is a huge leap in the right direction, a movement that he started last year with "The Face". At least its nice to see that he has gone beyond his fascination with writing about cleaning up crap after your dog.The book contains a tale written by the title Character, Odd Thomas, after disturbing events have occurred in his home town. Odd Thomas is a loner who, unbeknownst to all but a close group of acquaintances, has the ability to see and communicate with the dead and other malevolent spirits. Sounds familiar, I know, but Koontz is able to put a very original spin on this tale. The character Odd Thomas was developed with a great deal more depth than most those of Koontz's recent books. Not since China in "Intensity" have we seen a character developed so well by the author. Odd Thomas has had this ability for most of his life, and while he is not full comfortable with the situation, he has come to terms with it. Through his skills, Odd becomes aware of a very bad situation that is developing in his town, which he feels he has the ability to avert if he takes immediate action. This storyline represents bulk of the novel, but more fascinating is the character Odd Thomas himself and how he deal with the situation that he is thrust into. One particularly interesting subplot involves his interactions with his family, which is even more unusual than Odd himself. The story is above average, but read this book for the characters themselves. Hopefully this upward trend in Dean Koontz's books will continue for at least a little longer.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic . . . and odd
Review: In my opinion, Koontz hasn't written a bad book. Of all of his, THE TAKING is my favorite, with ODD THOMAS coming in second. The others are up for grabs, and as I said, none of them are bad. But this is one truly "odd" book. Odd but great in that it's so different. Odd Thomas is a guy who does not live off his materialistic, narcissistic father's wealth. He is satisfied with a simple life as a fry cook (best in the county), aided by the complete acceptance and unconditional love of the prettiest girl in the county, who, like Odd, believes that copulation for people truly in love takes place only after marriage. Even when she gives in to her feelings, fearing he will die before they can consumate their love, he still holds out for marriage and promises to be there. Well, as you can see, Odd Thomas, even neglecting his unusual gift, indeed lives up to his name in view of present day morals. (Forgot to mention, he talks to dead people and saves folks). Hurrah for Odd Koontz! More writers should use their talents to present heros with good basic morals - maybe that is not such an Odd idea. A great read - pay attention and hang in there for the first 2/3 of the book, then hang onto your hat! I'm usually one for a bestseller like "Da Vinci Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood" but decided to try this one instead, and I'm glad I did!
Rating:
Summary: First Koontz! Worth It!
Review: This was the first time I had ever read a book by Dean Koontz. I had always heard about him, but never knew what type of books he wrote and never read one for myself. Until now. I was not disappointed. This was a great book. I had a hard time getting started, but once I did, it moved right along. There were some slow spots (hence the 4 stars) and some useless subplots to the story as well. But, overall, the book moved right along and had some good surprising twists to it. The ending was a surprise to me as I had never read a Koontz book before, or I just wasn't looking for it. 4 stars! Well worth the read and a good one to read again someday once you've had time to forget about it.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book, Made Better By the Ending
Review: I really liked this book. It wasn't my favorite Dean Koontz book, but it was extremely entertaining and Koontz seem filled with great ideas. I was only going to give it 4 stars, but the ending has such a great & sad twist it made me increase the rating to 5 stars. It really was good. Odd Thomas is a 21 year old short order cook in the fictional town of Pico Mundo, California. He has a great job, his girlfriend, Stormy Llewellyn,
is not only in his oppinion the most beautiful girl in the world.
But they are also destined to be together, due to a card they recieved from a fortune telling machine and they (supposedly) have matching birthmarks. (How Lovely) Anyway, not only can Odd see ghosts, but bodachs as well. Bodachs are black creatures which hang around people and places which tragedy will befall or the people who will cause it to befall. They seem simalar to those things in "Ghost". Anyway, one day in the grille he works in, Odd spots a man, who has a 20-bodach entourage. Naturally, he's suspicious of this and investigates. There is an appearance by Elvis, which I thought was quite funny. Koontz has given us a terrific character, who seems easily likable. The narrative flows well and it doesn't feel that Koontz struggled while writing this. It's a relatively quick read, about 399 pages. So,
enjoy. A-
Rating: 
Summary: I Don't Get All The "4" and "5" Reviews
Review: Maybe I am not used to Koontz's writings, since this is the first one I have read. Therefore, I approached this book with no positive or negative feelings of Koontz's writings. I was deeply disappointed when I finnished it. I struggled many times against closing the book and putting it down for good, but I kept reading hoping the good parts lay just ahead. But the good parts never came. (This reminds me when my chilren were small and I took them to see "Peewee's Big Adventure", because our local movie critic had said that it was "extremely funny". Well, we watched that movie waiting for the funny parts and suddenly the end credits began to roll.) Apparently most people who read "Odd Thomas" thought as I did because the resale value is less than $1.00. I believe that this book is comparable to Tom Clancy's last two bombs.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: I haven't read anything from Mr. Koontz in a while, and the wait was worth it. I couldn't put it down after the first chapter, and the ending took a crazy twist. Granted the "I talk to to dead people" has been done, but this was still a great book. This is great, classic Koontz material, and I would recommend it to any of his fans.
Rating:
Summary: Unique - Definitely Koontz
Review: Odd Thomas - a book, as I usually do on airplanes, that I picked up to read during a cross country flight. After a few out there kind of weird books from Dean Koontz, he comes back to his roots with Odd Thomas. Thomas is sort of like a psychic superhero who can see evil, and events that might happen. And, oh yah, he can see the dead Elvis. Any book with dead Elvis ghosting around in it is worth checking out. This book has it's villains, has a hero, has a tragedy, and has a great conclusion. Kind of a sixth sense type feel to this book, worth reading.
Joseph Dworak
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Koontz at his best!
Review: When I first heard about this book I was skeptical. I mean, come on, the guy sees dead people. It's been done, only the first time it was called The Sixth Sense. But I read the first chapter before passing judgment, and I was hooked. The similarities dwindled away almost immediately, as Odd Thomas, a humble fry cook, starts to immediately grow on you.
Here's what I look for in a book: great characters that I can care about, suspense, drama, possibly love, and if I'm really lucky well written prose and dialogue. Unfortunately, finding books that posses any of these qualities is becoming more and more rare with each passing day. Rarer still is finding a book that possess ALL of those qualities. Odd Thomas is one of those rare finds.
Whether you're a long-time Koontz fan, or considering reading him for the first time, this is definitely a Must Have book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Dean Koonzt is a brilliant writer. I was skeptical that "Odd Thomas" could generate the same level of neck prickling entertainment as Terri Bailey's "Cries of the Orchids," and yet I found myself pleasantly surprised. "Odd Thomas" is definitely a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: The Return of Dean Koontz
Review: Mr. Koontz has returned! Following several luck lustre novels, Dean Koontz reminds his readers that patience can be a virtue with his newest story of good versus evil . This unrelenting thriller will continue to haunt you long after you close its' pages. Odd Thomas is his most charismatic hero whose honest, humble approach to life will refresh even the most cynical reader. Fans of this novel will also enjoy "The Reflection" by Joe Bright.
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