Thoughts on Odd Thomas

[moonshayde]

Just a few thoughts about the book...



I fully expected to love this book. Ghosts, unknown terror, and a bit of quirkiness to boot. In the end though, I can't say I as overly impressed with it.

I enjoyed the plot. I thought the narrative was tight and Koontz didn't stray with unnecessary scenes that rambled or went off on tangents. The prose veered off into a little too much flowery description at times, but usually stayed straightforward. i did like the bodachs and the cultish stuff. Koontz unravels a decent mystery/suspense. And I give him credit for surprising me at the end because I did fall for the final mislead.

I think my biggest problem were the characters. The characters in the book came off flat too me, and the main character seemed surface level. Since we see everything through his thoughts, I can understand the pop references and the metaphors, but it got to be too much for me after awhile. I didn't find any of the characters relate-able and the "banter" between the main character and the rest of the characters seemed forced. I think the only character I really liked was Elvis.

There were moments where I warmed up to Odd Thomas and Stormy, and I liked the other characters, but it they just didn't pull me in, which is a shame, really, given how strong the plot was.

Not a book I would recommend, but not a bad read.

Comments

[autumn-lilacs.livejournal.com]

I really liked the Odd Thomas books, and I loved Elvis :)

It's actually been a while since I've read them, so I can't comment much more specifically than that. My memory gets foggy with time.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

It seems like a lot of people like them. I've only read the first, but I seem to be in the minority LOL

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

You're not alone. I felt very much the same way, although I feel that way towards pretty much all his books. I think they're best when he just embraces writing fun cheesy B horror stuff. I never realized how much of his stuff I skim through until I happened to try to listen to one of his books on tape.

[shardsofblu.livejournal.com]

I've only read Brother Odd though (yes, I have this habit of just choosing a random book in a series without order whatsoever :p) and I thought it made for quite a good read -- nothing especially memorable, but good enough to pass the time and keep one engaged.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Flat characterisation seems to be a common porbem in most of his books. It's like he doesn't 'feel' his characters - or even relate to them in the slightest way..

*hugs you*