Before cracking the spine, of Odd Thomas I had not read anything by Dean R. Koonz since I as about thirteen, back when he was a contemporary with Stephen King and Clive Barker and an icon of horror.  But as we know whether we’ve read anything by Koonz or not, he’s not really looked at like that anymore.  For the last decade or so he’s been doing his level best to write something is just about every genre.  And there has been a lot of books.  But as the name suggests, even amongst a collectic rabble, Odd Thomas, seems to stand alone.  The premise alone is what made me chose this book when deciding to revisit an old favourite of grade school years.

The books titular character, Odd Thomas is pretty ordinary for the most part.  He’s a fry cook living in a small town in the shadows of San Diego.  He isn’t necessarily athletic or good looking, and his goal in life appears to be marriage and working in a tyre shoppe (should he ever have have the strength  to quit his job as at a local diner).  But outward apperances can be deceiving even if his name tends to belay his obvious nature.  Odd, has a singular ability that sets him apart from Anyone else in Pico Mundo, he can see dead people.

And its this ability that sends him hurling into head first into a terrorist plot with his beloved small town in the epicenter.  But does this mystery meets the occult novel fun to read or merely just Odd?   Read On to find out.

Continue reading →

So after a considerable amount of time standing steward on my book shelf (Even the hardback edition is like the size of a small paperback so it’s easy to miss!)—I finally got around to reading Comics writer Warren Ellis’ debut novel “Crooked Little Vein”. Told through the often grime coated lens of a down trodden detective who somehow manages to attract the most obtrusive articles of our society.  And with this very ability as the point of interest, Mike McGill is hired by the US Government to track down a mysterious missing part of the US Constitution.

The novel combines the social pace of Jack Kerouac with the lucid flavor of William S Burroughs.  Brought to the attention of its readers right on the dust jacket as, “bringing the Noir style kicking and screaming into the 21^st Century” it seems to beg for attention.  But is this self- proclaimed update to the Moody Pulp Detective the change we’ve all been looking for, or is it merely drawing from a well of piss and vinegar?  How about following me down this Crooked, Little Rabbit hole?

Continue reading →