[Book review] There Will be Murders. Can You Risk Your Life to Save People? - 'Odd Thomas' by Dean Koontz

Title: Odd Thomas

Written by: Dean Koontz

Note: This is the first of "Odd Thomas" series. There's a movie "Odd Thomas" based on this book.

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When I first saw the title, I thought it was a book about 'weird Thomas', just like the title said. Then I found out that Odd was the hero's name. What an odd name, and how suitable name for the character!

Odd Thomas is a twenty-year-old fry cook. And he sees dead people. Because he actively tries to resolve problems that ghosts might have, his life is filled with unexpected turns, adventures, and sometimes terror. For some unknown reasons, however, ghosts cannot say a word to him. He has to figure out what the ghosts want all by himself.

Sometimes he can sense that there's going to be a murder. There's a supernatural being in this book called 'Bodach'. It's black like a shadow and cannot be seen as a ghost. But it's neither a shadow nor a ghost. It's just an ominous omen that can tell you there going to be murders – yes, plural – and only Odd can see the Bodach.

These Bodachs don't appear if it's just natural deaths or ordinary car accidents. But if it's mass killing, a disaster or a catastrophe, you, or rather Odd, can sure see them all around the place. They don't come to do any harm to people. They just want to enjoy this feast of massacre, terror, and blood.

Then one day a Bodach was spotted in the town where Odd lived in. At first it was one, then two, then soon tens and hundreds of them. The small and peaceful town was swarmed by Bodachs. What's going on? What terrible thing will happen? Odd cannot turn to police since only he can see Bodachs; there's no physical proof about this horrible omen. He knows there will be mass killing but he doesn't know who the killer might be, or where it might happen for that matter. So begins the journey to stop the disaster.

The moment you open this book, you will follow this tragic yet mesmerizing story nonstop. Odd himself is definitely one of the charms of this book. He's odd just like his name in so many ways. Not typical, not ordinary. But he's wonderfully odd, not weirdly odd. Yes, he can see dead people and supernatural beings. But what makes him special is not that gift, but his personality. He's a genuine, honest, and noble man. So rare kind of man in these days. If you read this story, you can't help but love him.

As you can see the poster above, a movie was made based on this book in 2013. This Odd Thomas series has total 7 books (except "Odd Interlude", the special short E-book).

While reading this book, one particular scene captured my eyes. It's where Odd tried to persuade his girlfriend, Stormy, to take a day off from work. Since Odd spotted many, many Bodachs, he's worried something terrible might happen soon. Stormy was working at an ice-cream parlor, which located in a very big mall where many people come and go. That makes the place a possible future crime scene. But Stormy refused to heed that warning.

“I don’t care if he’s worse than a Tyrannosaurus rex. I’ve got a life to live - and no time to waste if I’m going to have my own ice-cream shop within four years.”

“Get real. One day off work isn’t going to destroy your chances of fulfilling the dream.”

“Every day I work toward it is the dream. The process, not the final achievement, is what it’s all about.” (p. 326)

Nowadays many people seem to worry: with all these efforts, time, and energy I spend, what if my dream never come true? - To be a movie star, a doctor, a published writer, or maybe a whale Steemian? They try hard to chase the dream while feeling afraid if they'll ever fail. And when their dreams come true, they often feel emptiness inside. So what is dream for anyway, if it only makes you sad, fearful, and feeling void?

The answer to that question is in this book. Like Stormy said, "Every day I work toward it is the dream. The process, not the final achievement, is what it’s all about."

I also have a dream. I want to write funny, gripping, and interesting stories both in Korean and in English. And this book got me realized; Being such a writer is a dream, but this very moment when I'm writing is the dream, too.

As far as I keep writing, I'm living my dream.

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Book Image Source:

Goodreads

Book Image Cover:

https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388245669l/14995.jpg

Movie Image Source:

IMDB

Movie Image Cover:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI1MDE2NjI1OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzEyMTMxMTE@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,676,1000_AL_.jpg