Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel
    Unavailable
    Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel
    Unavailable
    Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel

    Written by Dean Koontz

    Narrated by David Aaron Baker

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Meet Odd Thomas, the unassuming young hero of Dean Koontz's dazzling New York Times bestseller, a gallant sentinel at the crossroads of life and death who offers up his heart in these pages and will forever capture yours.

    "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. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it's different.

    A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil. His account of these shattering hours, in which past and present, fate and destiny, converge, is a testament by which to live-an unforgettable fable for our time destined to rank among Dean Koontz's most enduring works.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateDec 9, 2003
    ISBN9780739301777
    Unavailable
    Odd Thomas: An Odd Thomas Novel
    Author

    Dean Koontz

    Dean Koontz is the author of more than a dozen New York Times No. 1 bestsellers. His books have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, and his work is published in 38 languages. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania and lives with his wife Gerda and their dog Anna in southern California.

    More audiobooks from Dean Koontz

    Related to Odd Thomas

    Related audiobooks

    Horror Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      White-Washed

      Nov 25, 2019

      White-Washed
      4 min read

    • Article

      George R.R. Martin Returns To A Whole New World With 'Nightflyers' On Syfy

      Nov 28, 2018

      LOS ANGELES - Only a few days removed from this year's Emmys, George R.R. Martin was feeling a bit tired. It had been another big night for the "Game of Thrones" writer, whose intricate "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels continued their run of prestige

      5 min read

    • Article

      Garrison Keillor Accused Of 'Inappropriate Behavior,' Minnesota Public Radio Says

      Nov 29, 2017

      The creator and former host of A Prairie Home Companion has been accused of "inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him," MPR says. The radio station is cutting ties with Keillor.

      3 min read

    • Article

      From Cantares Mexicanos

      Dec 1, 2023

      Last night I dreamt that I was employed as a suicide prevention specialist in ancient Mesoamerica. We had no phones then so no hotline to call or anything like that. I held these gatherings going place to place for people to tell me their stories and

      3 min read

    • Article

      Summer Book Reviews

      Dec 6, 2019

      by John le Carré Published by Viking (Penguin Books) ISBN 9780241401217 $32.99 The master storyteller brings his finely developed clandestine world into the age of Brexit, climate change, Putin and Trump, its protagonists weaving their duplicitous cr

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Refusal To Mourn The Deaths, By Gunfire, Of Three Men In Brooklyn

      Jan 1, 2019

      And at times, didn’t the whole countrytry to break his skin?—Tim Seibles You strike your one good match to watch its bloomand jook, a swan song just before a nightwind comes to snuff it. That’s the kind of dayit’s been. Your Black & Mild, now, useles

      7 min read

    • Article

      Sundance 2019: From Actress Mindy Kaling To Sex Guru Dr. Ruth, 35 Must-see Films

      Jan 24, 2019

      They don't mine for ore in Park City, Utah, anymore. The days when the $50-million Ontario strike was considered the greatest silver mine in the world are gone. But people still come to this former mining town hoping to hit it big. It is the Sundance

      5 min read

    • Article

      Reading Resistance in Translation

      Jan 17, 2018

      Last year, I felt a deep sense of powerlessness as I watched the election season unfold. While Donald Trump gained traction, I struggled with my small political actions, which felt ineffective and insufficient. Would the staff member answering phone

      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      May 1, 2023

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      Refugees

      Mar 1, 2019

      Refugees
      12 min read

    • Article

      Would You Believe Jon Snow?

      Aug 17, 2017

      Would You Believe Jon Snow?
      6 min read

    • Article

      April’s BOOK CLUB

      Mar 1, 2024

      Diva by Daisy Goodwin (£20, HB, Bloomsbury) Hailed as one of the greatest opera singers of all time, Maria Callas’ life was as dramatic and fascinating as her vocal range. In this fictionalised historical story, Goodwin delves into the Greek soprano’

      5 min read

    • Article

      Pagan Crazy

      Sep 20, 2019

      Pagan Crazy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Oct 8, 2020

      Thank you for making my life more joyful month after month. I can’t tell you how important to me the Fortean Times is. Kevin Hope By email Regarding Matt Salusbury’s Forum article on sunken bells [FT396:54-55], there is more to the bells of Aberdyfi

      14 min read

    • Article

      Spring Book Reviews

      Sep 5, 2023

      Spring Book Reviews
      4 min read

    • Article

      I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye

      May 7, 2018

      I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye
      17 min read

    • Article

      Big Business, Books And Atom Bombs

      Apr 21, 2023

      Unshackled by Jeff van Rooyen (Bookstorm, R290) The soccer, music, movies and pavement gambling of Van Rooyen’s 1950s childhood in Alexandra and Riverlea, Johannesburg, are quite vividly sketched in this autobiography. The difference for Van Rooyen w

      2 min read

    • Article

      Twin Temple

      Jan 7, 2020

      Twin Temple
      1 min read

    Reviews for Odd Thomas

    4/5

    2,780 ratings115 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I have extremely mixed feelings about this one (apparently like a lot of other reviewers on Goodreads).

      The start was really slow and at times I found it terribly wordy. But once I got caught up in the story I found it technically brilliant in the handling of suspense and manipulation of what the reader knows; profound in terms of the "big questions"; and affecting in a way I seldom do with 'popular' fiction. On the other hand, the author's vision is so dark it was painful.

      So while I'm really glad I read it, I don't know that I'll ever touch another of his books..
    • 5/5
      the same name staring the wonderful-died-too-soon Anton Yelchin. I first watched the film version 4 years ago. I can not remember if it was through Amazon or Netflix, but it quickly became one of my favorite movies.And, after reading the book, I am so happy. The have exact lines from the book in the movie! Odd Thomas follows Odd, a man who can see ghosts and a little more. His gift has led him down an interesting road, never leaving his small hometown of Pico Mundo and giving him his destiny at 15.Witty and humorous, this mystery is written a bit flowery (I must write this after speaking with another book fiend who has given up reading Koontz), but it is beautiful and adventurous.There is enough variety from the movie to make this read worth it. And continues the story that the movie never will.
    • 4/5
      Not one of his best, but a good supernatural thriller. I actually finished it in one sitting because I wanted to know how it ended.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book!
    • 4/5
      I really like this character.
    • 4/5
      A beautifully touching story of a man with a gift/curse. Odd Thomas helps the dead finish up their business here so they can cross over, and unofficially helps the cops catch the bad guy, if there is one. Unfortunately he also sees these dark shadows he calls bodachs, which he's learned sort of alert him to potential large-scale tragedies. All of this while working as a short order cook and wooing Stormy, the love of his life with whom he's supposed to live happily ever after. As the creepy gypsy fortune teller said, they're destined to be together forever.

      That last line right there tells you how this is going to end up, if you're not of a certain literary persuasion. I'll leave it at that. Other than that, Odd notices a huge influx of bodachs in the town when this weird looking new guy shows up, so he knows something is going to go down, and he tries to do what he can to stop it.

      I really like the story, though I'm not sure I'll read the rest of the series. One is good enough for me. The characters are well written, and you really get a feel for their personalities. More so, I think, than in other novels. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone. Just don't get too attached to living characters; you never know who may kick the bucket.

    • 4/5
      Odd Thomas is a young man with a powerful secret known only to a few close friends - he can see dead people. But worse than that he can see spirit demons, which he calls bodachs, that appear to be the portent of evil culminating in murder. He is also a short-order cook who sees a man in his cafe surrounded by a group of bodachs. Suddenly Odd is on a crusade to prevent terror descending on the town. As the fateful day approaches, the tension mounts and Odd becomes increasingly isolated in his pursuit. Odd is a magnetic personality who draws you into his circle, and who well and truly lives up to his name. This is a beautifully told story of a classic horror story, evoking elements of Sandy Hook or Columbine, while throughout maintaining hope that the terror can be avoided or at least downplayed. It is overlayed with an enduring love story in the vein of Ghost.
    • 5/5
      This book was not at all what I expected. While it does turn horrific at times, the majority of the story is concerned with introducing Odd Thomas, a young man burdened by his obligation to do the bidding of the wrongly deceased, but also in love with a wonderfully quirky girl and surrounded by older characters who serve as mentors and supporters. The audiobook narrator, David Aaron Baker, captures Thomas's odd personality perfectly. He is sad but also amusing. He has a sweet quality amidst the pervasive sense of lurking evil in town. The story is well-plotted and the ending is brilliant. It's not surprisingly that this book launched a long-running, well-loved series.
    • 3/5
      Not bad for a Dean Koontz book- this one shows remarkably more imagination that his usual fare, but the writing is typical- functional without a lot of style. The story is fine up until the end, when it becomes a bit cloying and dumb. Eh.
    • 4/5
      A great supernatural story with love lost and murder...it was a easy to listen too book
    • 5/5
      Witty, clever, flows very well. The story is addictive and always exciting, never a dull moment, never a need to skip any chapters out of boredom. The characters are charming and the twists are plentiful, I truly enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      Loved it. Great read! The whole series was excellent!
    • 5/5
      I'm glad that I have lots more Odd Thomas books to experience!!
    • 2/5
      Odd Thomas is one of my favorite series. Great read!
    • 4/5
      I watched this movie on netflix and when I saw that it was a book I was excited to read it. Of course it's way better than the movie. I really got attached to Odd. It end sadly though. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Let me preface my review by saying that I saw the movie a few years ago and enjoyed it very much, so I fully expected to enjoy the book. And I did. However, I couldn't stop picturing Anton Yelchin as Odd and it made me very sad. That being said, the movie was a pretty fair representation of the book. Minus the parts with Odd's insanely bad parents. OMG they were terrible, horrible people!The story is told by the protagonist, Odd Thomas, who can see the dead...and other otherworldly things. He lives a life of simplicity as a fry cook in a small town and wants nothing more than to settle down with his soul mate, Stormy and maybe get a job selling tires...eventually. He does his best to help the dead settle whatever business they still have on this plane so that they can finally cross over to the next.But that all changes the day the Fungus Man comes into the diner where Odd works. This man is the precursor to the tragedy about to hit Odd's town. Odd is then in a race to figure out what horrible thing is about to happen in his town, learn what the Fungus Man has to do with it all, and keep as many people safe as possible.Having enjoyed the movie so much, I kind of expected the book to blow me out of the water. It did not. It was good, very good even, but not great. The story was very sad really. Learning the way Odd and Stormy grew up, the burden of his "gift", the ending. I'm a little hesitant to continue with the series, but really, I need to find out what happens to Odd next.Even though it didn't knock my socks off, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's into the supernatural.
    • 2/5
      My husband is a huge Koontz fan, so every so often I try something. This is interesting and well-done, but still with too high of a 'yuck factor' - too much emphasis on the thrills *for me.*
    • 4/5
      What a ride! I picked this one up on a recommendation from a friend, and knew nothing about it. It proved to be a page-turner with surprises at every corner. I loved all of the characters, the premise, the action and even the surprise ending. I did NOT see that coming! I look forward to the movie they are releasing this year.

      I will read ALL of this series!
    • 3/5
      Odd Thomas came highly recommended to me by many people, and which I found to be an interesting take on the "I see dead people" story. The eponymous protagonist is a 20-year-old short order cook whose unique ability to see and understand ghosts allows him to help the local police force solve crimes. Occasionally, he can even help prevent them before they happen. So when a mysterious visitor arrives in Pico Mundo trailing a pack of bodachs (wraith-like harbingers of death and destruction), Odd decides to investigate, and uncovers evidence that a terrible catastrophe is about to happen in his town.I enjoyed this book, but also wished it gave me reason to like it more. There were many high points, such as the interesting cast of characters and the suspenseful themes which were nothing short of top-notch. And yet, there were also many areas in which I felt the book fell flat. I never managed to get truly engaged with the story, because every time things started heating up, they would slow down again or I felt the plot would suddenly veer off into another direction, thus negating any sort momentum. So often the narrative seemed to be building towards something, but then never quite gets there.But I think the thing that bugged me the most was the ending, which I found very predictable. Still, being predictable alone wouldn't have bothered me so much, if Dean Koontz also didn't go to such great lengths throughout the entire book trying to convince me that "No, no, this isn't going to go the way you think, I promise!" and then essentially going "PSYCH! It WAS exactly what you think!" right at the very end. I found the storytelling very transparent and not very subtle at all. Still, like I said I enjoyed this well enough, and would be open to checking out the rest of the series
    • 3/5
      After having so many people recommend this series, I decided to listen to Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Now what makes the main character, Odd, so unique is that he sees dead people and has an uncanny paranormal ability to detect when something bad is going to happen. The book is fast-paced, exciting and scary. This is not a story you want to listen to alone at night! But Koontz throws in humor and some very lovable characters to make this book a fun listen. Just the endless character possibilities when you include famous dead people (we're talking Elvis here), make this story very entertaining. I'm looking forward to the other books in this series!
    • 3/5
      I like the main character he creates in this story, and the story moves right along. I'll probably read the next one in this series to see if I continue to enjoy it. Just a good, fun story that moves along quickly.
    • 4/5
      I forgot what a great writer Dean Koontz is. I enjoy the diologue almost as much as I do in the Stephanie Plum series.

      I really liked the book a lot. He is like a master with language, and I love that. There was also a lot of surprise, which kept it interesting. It did have some very disturbing and scary parts, though. (Surprise!)
    • 4/5
      I haven't read Dean Koontz in years, and remembered him simply as "That dude whose books I read while I was waiting for something new from Stephen King," a comparison which left Koontz in an unfavorable position.

      What? I like King, sue me. Say what you will about him, the man writes, like, a billion words a day and has more money than you or I ever will. The modern attitude that popular = crap is stupid, get over yourselves, you pretentious hipsters.

      Anyway, Koontz was always that wannabe, that second stringer who occupied my time between new, better novels. He appealed to my teenage girl tastes in fiction, that is to say, overwrought and dramatic and, yes, scary.

      Odd Thomas, though, isn't... well, it's not perfect, Odd gets a bit overwrought and pretentious and dramatic himself at times, but his story is good and Koontz writes him writing himself well. I've seen some reviews complaining that Odd sounds like an old man trying to write like a young man and no 20 year old would talk like that. I say to those reviewers, "Do you actually know many 20 year olds?" Raised on a diet of Joss Whedon and internet memes, actually, 20 year olds do talk a lot like that. Odd's actual dialogue in the book was much less overblown and allusory than his after-the-fact narration. The story was good, and would have been better if I hadn't been inadvertently spoiled by a jerkwad Goodreads reviewer who didn't warn for spoilers and put the identity of the villains in the top of his/her review.

      Regarding the audiobook: Baker did a fantastic job. No ridiculous breathy drag queen voices for the female characters, just a slightly lighter inflection to let us know the character had changed. When he changed character voices, it felt like a new character had begun speaking, not like an embarrassing vaudeville act had taken over the studio. He did a good job of making Odd sound young, and tired, and resigned.

      I'm torn over the stars, which means it should get 3.5 but of course Goodreads doesn't have half-stars, what on EARTH were they thinking?
    • 4/5
      The best thing about Odd Thomas is the title character Odd Thomas. Koontz managed to create a compelling character. Obviously he thought so since he went to write a series of books based on his title character. Odd, just an ordinary fry cook, has extraordinary powers. He can communicate with the dead and see supernatural things that normal people can't. In the first installation in the series, Odd is seeing a slew of bodachs in his town. Bodachs are passively malevolent creatures who gather where a great tragedy is about to occur in. This puts Odd on alert as he and his girlfriend try to figure out what nefarious deeds are going to take place in their small California town.I enjoyed the first person narration style that Koontz used in this novel. The pace is very mellow and the prose is almost soothing at times. This all makes for a pleasant read. The plot in this novel left a little to be desired. There were various logic gaps and plot holes that made it tough sledding at times. By and large I would recommend this novel. Even if it's not overly deep it still was enjoyable.Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
    • 5/5
      Definitely one of the best Dean Koontz books, along with his Frankenstein series.
    • 4/5
      Really surprised me! Not at all what i was expecting, thoroughly enjoyablee. Koontz has a way of misleading you unlike most others. Recommended
    • 5/5
      This book is about a guy with a special gift for communicating with the dead in order to solve crimes. This book will keep you turning pages long into the night. It has love, murder, mystery and heartbreak sprinkled nicely with the paranormal.
    • 5/5
      I'd heard good things about this series, so I decided to try the first one on audio. Fast-paced stories that hold my attention generally work well in that format for me, and Odd Thomas fit the bill. Odd is as much a descriptor as a name. Odd is a short order cook in the small town of Pico Mundo, California. Although only a few people know it, Odd can see the dead and bodachs, small evil creatures that are attracted to carnage. Through these special senses, he gets advanced warning of a possible murder and sets out to try to change fate. Odd is a likeable character, and Koontz surrounds him with some interesting friends. I can see this series working well for a long time.
    • 2/5
      I was very disappointed in this book. I had heard a lot of good things about it from friends and family and the idea of the book sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, things just did not come together in a way that held my interest.

      I liked Odd and Stormy and really the entire cast of characters. I loved that they were all a little (or a lot) quirky and had distinct personalities. I liked the paranormal aspect of the book as well.

      What I did not like was the pacing. This book has some short scenes of action or at least plot progress followed by some very looooong scenes of nothing happening. I was so bored in some parts that I had to really force myself to keep going. If I did not need this book for a challenge I would have abandoned it.
    • 4/5
      Grrrr...typical Dean Koontz book. Be very careful when you read it. It can put you in a dark mood for days and your spouse or partner WILL notice.