[This post originally appeared in Dullicious, where I blogged as Barbie-dull for several years.]
Dean Koontz is one of my favourite authors for fiction. I just finished “Odd Thomas” and enjoyed it very much.
It is the story of Odd Thomas, a twenty year old boy who is blessed with two special gifts. He sees the dead and has a sixth sense that gives him some psychic magnetism. He is also blessed to love and by the love of Stormy, his soul mate.
Throughout the book, we learn about the very unfortunate childhood and teenagehood of Odd. We learn of his encounters, past and present, with ghosts that want justice or tip him to help prevent crimes.
He tells us that Stormy’s destiny is to be with him forever. They have a card from a fortune-telling machine as proof; Gypsy Mummy had given it to them for a single quarter. They also have matching birthmarks. They are to be married in less than a week.
The last chapters were particularly gripping as I realised at the same time that Odd did, that Stormy had become one of the lingering ghosts. Odd must let her go.
“The dead cannot speak, but Stormy spoke three words silently, allowing me to read her lips. I love you.
I kissed her, my dead love, so tenderly, so chastely. I held her in my arms, my face buried in her hair, her throat.
After a while, she put a hand under my chin. I raised my head.
Three more words. Be happy. Persevere.
“I’ll see you in service,” I promised, which is what she calls the life that comes after boot camp.
Her eyes. Her smile. Now mine only in memory.
I let her go. She turned away and took three steps, fading. She looked over her shoulder, and I reached out to her, and she was gone.”
— Dean Koontz, “Odd Thomas”