Odd Thomas

There are many things that are odd about Odd Thomas. Aside from the fact that our Whedon-esque hero (Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin, setting phasers to fun) is called, um, Odd Thomas, it’s also a film directed by blockbuster maestro Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, the first G.I. Joe) that’s been denied a cinematic release.

Cue the oddest thing of all: this is a straight-to-disc genre tap that doesn’t deserve a place in the bargain bin. Not by a long shot.

“I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a child of a celebrity… but I do lead an unusual life,” reveals Odd, whose days consist of flipping pancakes in a desert diner, getting in the way of Willem Dafoe’s police chief and, oh yeah, predicting the future.

Able with the ability to see doom-mongering shadow creatures, Odd’s soon saddled with saving his town from the villainous ‘Fungus Man’ and a mysterious catastrophe.

Zipping through its packed plot with style to spare, Odd Thomas often feels like the pilot episode of your new favourite TV show; snappy dialogue and confident world-building echo the likes of Buffy and Dead Like Me.

Though a romantic subplot involving Odd’s bubblegum girlfriend (Addison Timlin) irregularly sidetracks the dedication to all things prankish, Sommers’ adaptation of Dean R. Koontz’s novel is bold, eccentric and ballsy, not least when it comes to the gun-blazing height.

Even better, there are six books left in Koontz’s series, and Mr Thomas is just begging for more adventures. In Odd we trust…