Deeply Odd

That's Really Odd

By Preston Sinclair

"My name is Odd Thomas. I have accepted my oddness."


 The thing I like most about Odd Thomas is that the guy simply cannot stand still. From page one he is in perpetual motion.  He does take a moment to pee, which is a humorously refreshing reminder that he is in fact human.
   This time he's allowed to pause and take a breath, and even eat something. At a pivotal point in the book Tom and Mrs Fischer stop to eat at Ernestine's diner. He adopts the motto, 'We might as well eat'. That's what I love that about him, nobody could deal with the crap he has to on an empty stomach. 
   Oddie's existential angst goes into overdrive in Deeply Odd when he's pitted against the truck driver from hell, a real rhinestone cowboy all right, talk about road rage. The story brings back memories of the 1971 movie Duel with Dennis Weaver, directed by Steven Spielberg.  One can almost smell the diesel exhaust and burning rubber.
    Odd Thomas's pre-apocolyptic visions draw us in and at the same time propel the story forward. He's chasing someone and at the same time being chased by his own fears.  Who here hasn't woken up with night terrors? The feeling that something else dark and blacker than night is sitting beside your bed and watching you sleep.  It pants and mewls in anticipation of your sweat and fear, and then you wake up kicking and screaming.  I think these night terrors are the inspiration for Odd Thomas' bodachs.  Yes, they're a real thing.
    In Deeply Odd, Tom explores the possibility of another dimension he calls Elsewhere. A gateway between this world and a parallel universe that is perhaps deeper and darker than we ever imagined. A mysterious cult has somehow found a key between these two universes which they use to their own evil advantage as they kidnap a group of children to use in an unspeakable ritual. Odd enlists the help of like minded individuals who want to help him save the innocent victims.
     Dean Koontz delivers as always on the theme of good versus evil and yet he leaves many things unexplained and many questions unanswered, which is as it should be.  Odd Thomas, the bewildered honest fry cook, doesn't have all the answers. He just knows what he needs to do.

    

     During the time I was reading Deeply Odd I learned that the original Odd Thomas novel has been made into a movie. I rented it from Redbox. Apparently there was some kind of financing issue and it's release date was postponed for several years.
     Odd Thomas is a good movie. It has solid production values. The cgi script works and doesn't overshadow the characters. It's in the background where it belongs. Anton Yelchin is well cast as the self deprecating average but cute Thomas. He is one of Koontz's most endearing characters. 
     Embrace your oddness. Be odd.