If you are an Odd Thomas fanatic, like me, then you were both excited and saddened by the release of Dean Koontz’s final installment in the Odd Thomas series, “Saint Odd.” The novel promises a conclusion to the 12-year-long series that I have been reading, religiously, as each book has been released.

“Saint Odd” picks up where the story left off in the previous novel, “Deeply Odd,” with Thomas returning to his hometown, Pico Mundo. Thomas feels, once again, he is being pulled toward a disastrous event in which it is his duty to prevent. Thomas also feels that his time on earth is limited, and that the event he must stop will ultimately result in his own death.

Thomas has a reoccurring prophetic dream in which he sees Pico Mundo underwater, with the bodies of its residents floating by. As he tries to decipher this dream, he must also thwart evil cultists, who have followed him back to Pico Mundo from Nevada. Thomas knows these cultists are behind whatever catastrophe will fall on Pico Mundo, and he must find a way to gain information from them, while also staying alive long enough to save the day, once again.

Luckily, Thomas does not have to fight the battle completely on his own and receives help from a secret society of people whose life’s work is to prevent evil from happening in the world. These people, like Thomas, also have an affinity for the supernatural, which gives them an upper hand on the cultists. As time rushes toward the hour of destruction, Thomas must continuously fight off the cultists, at his every turn, as they make it their mission to kill him and carry out their plan.

Like all of his other novels, Dean Koontz writes “Saint Odd” beautifully. I specifically liked how he incorporated a lot of the same elements as the first novel, “Odd Thomas,” into “Saint Odd,” such as Thomas’ prophetic dreams, receiving help from his hometown friends and Pico Mundo being the setting for a horrific event.

Koontz manages to weave a complex storyline within a series of eight novels without ever causing confusion or boring the reader. “Saint Odd” is a masterful conclusion to Odd Thomas’ story and finally answers the question that has plagued Odd Thomas fans since the first installment: “Will Odd ever be reunited with the love of his life, Stormy Llewellyn?”

If “Saint Odd” appeals to you, I would highly suggest reading the seven installments, beforehand, which include “Odd Thomas,” “Forever Odd,” “Brother Odd,” “Odd Hours,” “Odd Apocalypse,” “Odd Interlude,” “Deeply Odd” and finally, “Saint Odd.”

Share