Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1) - Jan 2016

[Lynn, Moderator]

Odd Thomas is the first book in the Odd Thomas Series. The group is reading the series in preparation for reading the Horror Category Winner Saint Odd later in the year.



Book Summary:
"The dead don't talk. I don't know why." But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn.

Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.

A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.

Today is August 14.

In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares, and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

[Lynn, Moderator]

I've read the first chapter so far, which seemed a bit all over the place but I'm cautiously hopeful.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

Lynn wrote: "I've read the first chapter so far, which seemed a bit all over the place but I'm cautiously hopeful."

I agree. After reading your thoughts on the first chapter, I went and read the first chapter. (view spoiler)[ I was confused because after Odd professes his love for Stormy, he's holding Penny's hand. Listening to weird seashells.... Ooooooh, Penny is dead. I see. (hide spoiler)]
I'm cautiously hopeful as well.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I have not started this one yet, but I'm hoping to read it. My reading plans have all bombed the last few months. I think I need to take a more relaxed approach.

[Lynn, Moderator]

ally ¯\(ツ)/¯ wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I've read the first chapter so far, which seemed a bit all over the place but I'm cautiously hopeful."

I agree. After reading your thoughts on the first chapter, I went and read the f..."

I think author was trying to go for mysterious maybe? I just found it messy.

[Savanes]

I'm almost half way through. I agree it's messy but mysterious and funny.

However since I watched the movie (I wish I hadn't), I'm not that intrigued. Looking forward to book #2.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

@ Ch 6

I must say I was confused and kind of scared after the first chapter that this might not be for me. But, the last few chapters have breezed by.
I'm really looking forward to learning more about(view spoiler)[ these bodach creatures (hide spoiler)]

[Lynn, Moderator]

I'm at the same place, just finished Chapter 6.

I'm still not totally convinced because it still seems a bit all over the place but I am still interested and wondering what's going to happen with (view spoiler)[mushroom man (hide spoiler)]

[April]

I listened to the audiobook version up to chapter 5 or so and have no idea what happened. Lol! I will probably have to actually read this one. I'm nervous about this one though.

[Lynn, Moderator]

April wrote: "I listened to the audiobook version up to chapter 5 or so and have no idea what happened. Lol! I will probably have to actually read this one. I'm nervous about this one though."

LOL, I can see how audiobook would be confusing!

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

I listened to the audible sample. The narrator sounds terrible. I'm reading this one the old fashioned way too!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Oh no...I just picked up the audio from the library. I won't have time to read it the old fashioned way this month. :( I guess I'll try it out and see what I think before deciding.

[April]

Kristie, I hope you have better luck than me!! Fingers crossed!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks, April!

[Vicki Willis]

Ok, well I read the first 2 chapters as well to see what you meant. Yes, a bit scattered but moves along fast. Seems like Odd is one of those people whose stories have about 10 tangent stories. Wondering if this will be an exhausting book to read.

[Kirsten]

I really enjoyed this first one. I don't remember it going "all over the place" but it's been a few months since I read it. I do remember crying at the end.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

1/4 of the way through. Things make sense to me now. So far I'm liking it. It's... Odd... how he refers to his girlfriend most times by first and last name.
(view spoiler)[ Very curious about fungus man and his serial killer obsession. Definitely picking this book back up after work! (hide spoiler)]

[Savanes]

I'm at 56%. The beginning is confusing but after that everything settles more I think.
I can't remember exactly what happened in the movie at this point of the book so I'm enjoying it more! (view spoiler)[Who killed fungus man (hide spoiler)]

[Alissa]

I'm reading this series for the very first time. I've heard really good things about it so I'm so happy we're doing it as a group. I'm on Chapter six and so far I really like it!! Odd is an interesting character so far.

[Valerie]

Last year, I finally read this first book of the series and was so glad that I did. I am thrilled to read the rest of the books along with everyone. It will give me an excuse to finally get back to them.

This was an odd little story about an odd little man, named
Odd Thomas. I loved that he is just a simple guy, despite his oddness. He was such a richly defined character that he felt real to me, despite the supernatural nature of the story.

This was also a very solid mystery novel. Koontz paces it well, drawing the reader in.

Can't wait for the next book.

[Taylor]

Finished this book last week and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking it.

I have never read any Dean Koonz novels before and was warned about the repetitive nature of his writing. And oh my god, yes, did he repeat things waaaay too much! I tried to just make it a quirk of the narrator (I imagined that this is how Odd had casual conversation with someone, stating several times through a story about his day at the movies that the car was a 1967 Black convertible Mustang). Once I did that, I was able to let it go more easily.

Odd proved to be a bit of an unreliable narrator (he says as much at the beginning of the book), but I was engrossed in the story enough that I kept forgetting to take his advice and question what he was telling me. Even though I knew - don't click on the spoiler until you've finished the book - (view spoiler)[ Stormy died in this book because I made the mistake of reading the synopsis of later books in the series, I wanted her to be alive so badly (just like Odd) that I skimmed over the fact that in the last part of the book, she doesn't have any lines with quotation marks around them. When she came to his bedside at the ICU, I just kept saying to myself, "See, she's not dead. She spoke!" "She can't be dead, they are talking to each other!" When it was finally said by Odd that she had died, I realized I had been fooling myself as well. Let's just say I had a bit of a melancholy evening when I finished the book. (hide spoiler)]

I think I may be reading too much YA fiction these days because it was super refreshing to read a book where the boy already has the girl. The first time he spoke of Stormy, I thought to myself, "Oh, well that must be the girl he likes but can't have cause he's too weird." I loved stepping into a relationship on the cusp of taking the next step instead of starting from the beginning.

[Lynn, Moderator]

I'm currently at Chapter 33 (57% in), just where he finds (view spoiler)[mushroom man's body (hide spoiler)]

I'm really enjoying it and intrigued to find out what's going to happen!
I'm loving Odd, I think he's such a lovely character. The interaction he has with other characters are making me smile and laugh quite a lot, especially during the tense scenes.

I'm not usually a fan of books with a horror tag but this one has successfully managed to evoke tense and creepy feelings from me.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

I like that Its not straight up horror, theres enough humor to lighten the mood. This book has made me smile numerous times as well!

[Savanes]

So far I haven't been scared once (80% or so), have you?

[Lynn, Moderator]

Savanes wrote: "So far I haven't been scared once (80% or so), have you?"

Scared? No
But I've definitely felt that it was creepy.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

Savanes wrote: "So far I haven't been scared once (80% or so), have you?"

No. Stephen King has desensitized me to books.
Movies on the other hand, it doesn't take much to make me jump!

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

I think the last time I was scared while reading a book, it was The Shining.
My pet rabbit has the laundry room as his bedroom, it has a gate. At a particularly disturbing part of the book, Neko scratched viciously at the gate.
Scared the hell out of me.

[Kristie, Moderator]

lol, ally! Great story. :)

[Savanes]

I can totally picture that Ally. You made me laugh!

@Lynn: I had a few "ewww" moments especially when Odd (this spoiler should be at about 72%)(view spoiler)[ he found the body parts in the freezer. Gross! (hide spoiler)].

[Matthew]

ally ¯\(ツ)/¯ wrote: "I listened to the audible sample. The narrator sounds terrible. I'm reading this one the old fashioned way too!"

I was thinking about listening to this one too - I checked and it is read by David Aaron Baker - and, even if you don't get it from Audible, that is who reads it.

Even more bad news - it appears that the entire Odd series is read by him!

I may still give it a go, but if it is not great, I might switch to the old fashioned way, too!

[Janina]

I gave this a try, but it's not for me. I liked the humor in it, but found the story itself (I only read to 20%) not compelling at all and the main character far too annoying (in a Luke Skywalker kind of way ... I can't stand Luke .. team Vader all the way ;) ). So, I won't torture myself by reading yet another series I dislike. I might just read the winner in case it works on its own.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Sorry it wasn't for you, Janina. I wouldn't waste time reading the whole series either, if the first book didn't interest me enough.

Matthew - I noticed the whole series was narrated by the same guy and was a bit disappointed. I'm going to try it too though.

[Valerie]

Janina wrote: "I gave this a try, but it's not for me. I liked the humor in it, but found the story itself (I only read to 20%) not compelling at all and the main character far too annoying (in a Luke Skywalker k..."

LOL. I was just telling someone the other day the Luke Skywalker was a whiny @ss b*tch. This girl is also Team Vader.

[Savanes]

Agreed, too whiny but I'm more of a Team Han Solo girl! ;)

[Kirsten]

I was always preferred Luke, but I do agree he was really whiny in that first movie.

[Janina]

It's not so much the being whiny that bothered me (after all Draco is extremely whiny and I love him dearly) .. it's just the being so darn good .. always morally right and without flaws and oh so considerate of others. It's exhausting ;) ...
but I'll refrain from further digression. I'm kind of glad the series isn't for me as it frees up much needed reading time that I'd much rather spend with other genres. Might be part of the reason why it's not my thing.

[Savanes]

87% (view spoiler)["I went into the pink room, once a den of profitable fornication, now a slow-cook crematorium" (hide spoiler)] LOL

[Savanes]

I'm done! As I said I already knew the ending because of the movie so nothing was really surprising. Now I'm curious about the rest of the series.
I'm still undecided whether Odd Thomas is a 3.5* or 4*. If I want to be fair I think it was a 4 but the movie spoilt the whole experience it felt more like a 3-3.5.

[Kirsten]

I gave it a 4 as it made me cry.

[Lynn, Moderator]

I've finished too but without a landline again and no internet at home, so only on the poxy mobile app.

Will come back with my thoughts once I'm back on the proper website

[Kristie, Moderator]

Starting today, but will only have a few minutes to listen. Hoping I'm not confused from the start.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

50 pages left, I will finish it tomorrow evening.
The last two chapters I read (view spoiler)[ I hope all this parental information has some value at some point. His dad is basically a pedophile and his mom is nuts... but how is this relevant? A whole chapter about going to his mom for what? Nothing? I don't need the scenic tour, just get to the point! (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Barely got started yesterday, but I feel like he wanders a bit with his thoughts. I'm not sure if it will keep up, but it's like following different branches of thought.

I only got to the part where he was (view spoiler)[chasing the guy that killed the girl and they were in the woman's house. (hide spoiler)] So, not far at all, but far enough to get the gist of what's going on. Looking forward to listening again. Unfortunately, this is on CD and is in my car, so it will probably take me all month to finish.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

He definitely wanders... I mean, not like Diana Gabaldon wanders.... but its noticeable.

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

Finished tonight. I'd say three stars.

MASSIVE SPOILERS, DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE DONE.
(view spoiler)[Overall I liked it, but I hope the next book is stronger. I also hope that every book isn't a rehash of the same idea.
When Kirsten said it made her cry, I figured from there on Stormy was going to die. I wasn't really affected by that. I wasn't convinced of their love, it felt forced.
I found the book to be a fun read, but overall, too many coincidences even for someone with an incredible gift (hide spoiler)]

[Janet]

I've been a part of this Goodreads choice award group for a couple years now im sure but i just look to it for recommendations.. but since it's a new year i'm going to try and use goodreads to it's full potential! I have picked up this book first of the 4 this month and here are my thoughts...

I am at around 40% before I looked at the comments on this thread and I frequently found myself just skimming the page to get to the result faster. The flow of the book is somewhat random which im sure is supposed to represent the complexity of the narrators mind.. but it's making me enjoy it a little less...

After skimming through the comments here, 1 i am excited to see it is a movie, (will definitely be checking that out soon) 2 i feel the same as many of you, this book isn't haunting, it's just sometimes creepy.. 3 I am determined to finish it to see if it indeed gets better as it gets to the end. I just want to read the other books already! <3 yay first post

[Kristie, Moderator]

So glad you decided to join in the discussion, Janet! I look forward to seeing more of your thoughts on books.

I'm only about 10% on this one. I may have to drive around to nowhere in particular just to get in some listening time!

[Savanes]

Good way to start the year Janet! :)
I agree with you, sometimes it was so random that at the end of the page I realized that I couldn't remember a single word. It's so annoying when my mind wanders like that. :@

[ally ¯\(ツ)/¯]

Kristie wrote: "So glad you decided to join in the discussion, Janet! I look forward to seeing more of your thoughts on books.

I'm only about 10% on this one. I may have to drive around to nowhere in particular ..."

Good thing gas is the cheapest its been in years!

[Lynn, Moderator]

ally ¯\(ツ)/¯ wrote: "He definitely wanders... I mean, not like Diana Gabaldon wanders.... but its noticeable."

LOL
Yes it wanders but actually once I got used to the narrators voice it didn't bother me as much. In the end I really enjoyed it with a few irks to knock down my rating to 4 stars.

(view spoiler)[His decision to deal with mushroom mans body on his own really bothered me. I'd like his decisions up until then, but after I kept calling him an idiot in my head. Of course it became moot when we found out the sheriff had been shot, but that's not the point! ;)

Pretty much from the start I had a feeling he was going to lose Stormy, so wasn't surprised but saddened by it. I liked that they complimented each other and would have preferred to see her in further books. (hide spoiler)]

Aaaarrggghh, I'm sure there was more I wanted to discuss but I've read about 4 or 5 books since then!