SAINT ODD, in stores January 13, 2015
ODD THOMAS to SAINT ODD
I’ve been a fan of Dean Koontz for a long time. He’s one of those authors who actually take up almost three full and wide book shelves in our home. I’ve always enjoyed his way with characters and his books have never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat. To date Koontz has sold over 450 MILLION books world wide. He’s written a larger number of books than some people will read in their life time.
The first Odd Thomas book of the series, named ODD THOMAS came out in 2003. It had a little different vibe to it yet because of his ability to write great characters I felt right at home in this world of Odd Thomas. Frankly I’ve always been a sucker for battles of good vs. evil and I loved the scale on which this was taking place, a small town without many people actually noticing. I remember finishing the book thinking, I’d love to read more of this character. Turns out I was not alone. Including the graphic novels that are set as prequels and SAINT ODD there are twelve books so far. Rumor has it there may be more graphic novels (for a total of six).
The premise of the series is that Odd can see the dead. The dead don’t talk but he manages to find ways to communicate with them. Usually he ends up helping them to pass on to the other side as spirits sometimes get stuck if there is unfinished business. Odd also sees bodachs which show up before something happens, normally something bad. The larger the number, the worse the event. Odd is a wonderful every-man character who is kind of thrust into greatness as it were. He doesn’t want to be considered a hero, he just wants to live his life. However as Odd discovers as the tales continue, his destiny is to keep on this path, even coming back from the dead. His adventures take him many places and along the way he see great challenges that take their toll on him. He’s also had a number of interesting companions including Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Alfred Hitchcock whom all need a hand passing along to what follows. Odd keeps pushing on in the hopes of finally being reunited with Stormy, righting wrongs and preventing larger tragedies.
SAINT ODD brings Odd back to his hometown of Pico Mundo California for what should be his last battle against evil and hopefully bring him the peace he has been looking for. In the place where it all started, on his home turf and with people he cares about around him Odd’s story come to an end, one way or the other.
(I’ve read the book and it blew me away. I think it’s a wonderful way to close out the series.)
There is also a film adaptation of the first book which I quite enjoyed, I thought the casting was terrific and having read the books I enjoyed the pacing and the way the characters were portrayed.
The books in the series are:
ODD THOMAS
FOREVER ODD
BROTHER ODD
ODD HOURS
ODD INTERLUDE
ODD APOCALYPSE
IN ODD WE TRUST
ODD IS ON OUR SIDE
HOUSE OF ODD
DEEPLY ODD
YOU ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER
SAINT ODD
Dean Koontz, photo from his website
The wonderful folks at Bantam Publishing have sent us a full set of the novels to giveaway. To enter into a drawing to win the set send an email to Jon@crimespreemag.com with your address in the email and “I want Odd” in the subject heading.
CONTEST closes on January 20th
