Rating: 
Summary: Odd Thomas....
Review: I've got to admit, I love Dean Koontz' books. My all-time favorites are "Servants of Twilight" and "Tick Tock". My favorite short story is "The Black Pumpkin" which I love to read to everyone around Halloween. Over the last few years, we hadn't heard alot out of Dean. Although, what we have has been pretty good.
Odd Thomas, is odd but definitely a keeper and one story I recommend all Koontz' fans to check out. It tells the story of Odd Thomas. A fry cook in a small California town who sees and talks with ghosts. One day, he sees a stranger whom he dubs "The Fungus Man" who alerts Odd that trouble is brewing. Upon his investigating this Fungus Man, he soon realizes that the fungus man plans to wreak havoc on this small town and it's up to him to stop that from happening.
Before you dismiss this as an uninteresting story...believe that this is true Dean Koontz style and a definite good read. I agree, I hope we see a continuation to this story or the character, at least. Odd Thomas may be odd but he's definitely an endearing character we'd like to see more of.
Rating:
Summary: Burn the Midnight Oil
Review: One of Koontzs better (if not best) books! From page one he plunges you right into the story. Once you start reading it you'll be up most of the night turning page after page.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down..
Review: I've read most of Dean Koontz, and some are better than others. Odd Thomas was fast pace and full of suspence. I don't alwats go through books quickly but I finished this in a matter of hours. Odd Thomas is a memorable character, much like Cole in the "Sixth Sense" but older and more in tune with his abilities. I would recommend this to any Dean Koontz fan and just hope there will be a Part 2...
Rating: 
Summary: Unsatisfying
Review: Since we are told that the book we are reading was written by Odd, perhaps he should get the blame for what to me was an unsatisfying read, especially since I have enjoyed many of Koontz's other works. The writing seems flat and lacking any real emotion. There are interesting characters, but there just isn't enough plot to stretch over so many pages. I found myself rapidly reading the second half of the book just to get to see what happens at the end, not out of any excitement or horror at what was being revealed.
Rating: 
Summary: hack job
Review: I have read every Dean Koontz book available and have loved every one. That is until this one. The writing was okay and being able to see dead people is a little spooky, but at least try and challenge the reader. The surprise ending, if you can call it that, was terrible. The author has you spend well over half the book following around one guy and then throws a conspiracy theory and a develish cult that just so happens to have occured under his nose, even though he has supernatural gifts to spot these thigns. I did think that the intro of the evil spirits called Bodachs was nice and Elvis was a great addition, but thses two plot lines went nowhere, especially the Elvis thing. His only purpose in the novle was to cry his eyes out evey two pages adn then dissapear for the rest of the book. With about 60 pages left Koontz introduces Odd's parents to us and expects some type of attachment to these scenes because of repetative and rather boring flashbacks. It seemed to me as if the author was just trying to fill up space. If you are going to reveal the main characters parents by showing flashbacks of Odds troubled past then at least have some type of resolution, which the book does not. It seems as a rather tired diversion from the shaky plot. I understand that Odd is supposed to be odd, but he never reacts to his environment or the situations, he merely tells the reader. Descriptions of events are pasted out of a book of overdone cliches and as a reader you never get a sense that something really terrible and scary is going to happen, becasue Odd acts so casualy. You could read this book by skipping 5 pages at a time and not miss a thing. If this novel did not have Koontz name attached to it, it would never haver been published.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A GOOD ONE
Review: This story about a short order cook who sees things that others do not is a smooth, suspenseful story. It has a likable main character, some very likable secondary characters, and a villain it is almost fun to fear and despise. Koontz handles the supernatural/horror angle of the story with a light hand. The story is driven by the characters, not weird stuff or strange beings, although the weird stuff and strange beings are definitely around. Placing this story in a small, rather isolated town in southern California was a masterstroke. It gives the story that old fashioned feel of a few lonely people facing tremendous mystery and danger, sort of like the book/movie "The Body Snatchers". If you have become wary of Koontz's books lately, relax and give this one a try. He doesn't preach at the reader in this one. He tells the story tightly and quickly. In short, it's the kind of book you know you should put down for the night and go to bed, but you don't. It's just too interesting, and besides, a quiet house in which everyone but you is asleep is the perfect setting for reading this story.
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Summary: Nothing "Odd" about this read
Review: For the first time in a long time Dean Koontz has written a book that delivers on any level you can name. Odd Thomas is a suspenseful, powerful, imaginative, and entertaining story. The characters are believable and seem to leap off the page at the reader. Of course, I like all of Koontz's works, the early stuff and his later, more spiritual works.Odd Thomas is a short order hash slinger in a small out of the way town of Pico Mundo. Besides being a talented writer, Odd sees and communicates with ghosts. Not just any ghosts mind you, but all types of ghosts. One type that is especially bad are the "bodachs" a particularly malevolent spirit that is attracted to and seem to feed off of violence. These spirits are in town and associated with a character Odd names "Fungus Man." As you read you realize that Fungus Man is much, much more than he appears on the surface to be. This is an unsettling read. Koontz manages to keep the reader slightly off balance. This causes a little disorientation and some readers may be critical on this aspect of the novel. However, when you reach the end of the book you'll be glad that you hung around to the end. Koontz is a talented writer. His books are meant for intelligent readers. Odd Thomas will not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of satire
Review: Okay, I'll admit it. I read this book because the ghost of Elvis was supposed to be a character. Elvis doesn't get to do much. He doesn't even talk, so that's a big let down.
Odd Thomas, the protagonist, not only communes with Elvis but also sees many different dead people, including a potential mass murderer who has targeted Pico Mundo for a wholesale slaughter. When Odd first notices the man, he is alive but is being followed by strange creatures called bodachs, who portend violent atrocities. Later, he finds the man's body in his bathroom and this leads Odd on a wild chase to find the man's accomplices.
Most interesting for me was how Dean Koontz deals with suspension of disbelief. Although he is a short order cook and has no greater ambition than to work in a tire store, everyone in Pico Mundo respects Odd Thomas, including chief of police Wyatt Porter, who has learned from experience not to doubt Odd. So, if everyone in the story accepts what's happening as the status quo, why not the reader?
Being the cynic that I am, I was less than enthusiastic until Odd's parents are introduced towards the end of the book. Both of them are sociopathic. Odd's mother is especially menacing, threatening Odd with a gun when he asks her for help. I began to think that this might be a psychological mystery, until things reverted to form with a rather typical team of killers being revealed. They're introduced earlier in the book, but you'll never be able to pick them out. Believe me.
Another interesting and original element of the book was when Odd speculates that the bodachs might be creatures from the future whose "bodies" could not make the trip. A bit of satire, since they're enthralled by violence, just like we are.
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 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.
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