ODD THOMAS, Dean Koontz, Bantam Books, 446pp, paperback

Odd Thomas is a fry cook, a gentle soul with a challenging talent, one so challenging it drives him to seek simplicity in his life. That challenge is in the form of the spirits of the dead that he sees. He even has Elvis hanging around him. They all want some kind of help from him but since they can’t talk to him, it’s tough knowing what kind of help he can offer.

He also sees wraith-like black shadow creatures and over time he has discovered their difference.  They are drawn to scenes not merely involving death, but carnage. Normally he sees them only occasionally. But now they are gathering in great numbers in the tiny desert town of Pico Mundo, and not for a Marilyn Manson concert.

I find stories of the supernatural horror the most appealing which is why I am not normally a consistent reader of Dean Koontz, most of whose many books center on human monsters. But currently, there are three Odd Thomas books available which help fulfill my supernatural craving and this first novel is, in my opinion the best. That’s kind of inevitable with the first of the series, because it introduces the characters and the situation, sets the tone, and has a story on top of it. But I’ve read Odd Thomas three times now and must say that I still think it has the best story, though I’m not putting down the two sequels and hope for another.

Odd Thomas is a good ghost story. There aren’t really that many ghost stories in literature. Most of them are monster stories in masquerade.  Ghostbusters isn’t about ghosts. It’s about monsters and demons and Mr. Staypuff the giant Marshmallow Man.  But it’s not a ghost story.

Everyone has a pretty good idea of what a ghost is and, notwithstanding what horror movies tell you, there’s not much useful interaction that can inspire a story, without changing the rules, which is perfectly acceptable in dark fantasy.

Koontz has found a way to make a ghost story work by using the ghosts simply as indicators of something due to happen in the real world. Of course, the shadow creatures are more monster than ghost, emotional scavengers unable to affect what is going on, although Odd has discovered they can kill anyone who becomes aware of their existence.

If you want a nice solid read, sufficiently long to be worth diving into, this is an excellent start. You’ll be rooting for Odd in his mission and will find yourself at his side as he tries to figure out what’s going on so he can stop it.