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ODDKINS
By DEAN R. KOONTZ,
PHIL PARKS
(Warner; 1988)
A Dean Koontz book aimed at children? Seems appropriate, as (the sex and violence aside) most of Koontz’s novels are essentially kid books--they tend to follow proscribed formulas, contain extremely rigid demarcations between good and evil (moral ambiguity has no place in the Koontz lexicon), are quite preachy, and always end happily.
ODDKINS, a large format
hardcover “for all ages” with large text and colorful illustrations by Phil
Parks, is in many ways a standard Koontz product. It contains many of his
strengths, including an unerringly suspenseful chase narrative and easily
digestible, unselfconscious prose. It also bears more than a few of Koontz’s
weaknesses, notably an overall tendency toward overwrought melodrama and a
conclusion that’s even sappier than his endings usually are (not to give
anything away, but the final line is “Isn’t it a wonderful life?”). One
good thing, however, about this being a kids’ book is that it’s free of the
pukey romances that take up Koontz’s grown-up novels.
The Oddkins are a bunch of stuffed animals brought to
life by a magician toymaker. As the book opens the toymaker croaks, leaving the
Oddkins to track down their creator’s choice for a replacement toymaker, a woman
who lives across town, on their own.
Arrayed against them are a gaggle of bad toys living in
the basement of the toymakers’ shop. Given life by none other than the Prince
of Darkness himself, the bad toys break free of their confinement to pursue the
Oddkins, with a questionable ex-con to help their cause.
There are some intense sequences, including a climactic
battle situated, appropriately enough, in the toy section of a department store,
but nothing overly scary or disturbing. What we’re left with is a fast moving
page-turner that goes down easily and leaves little impression. In short, it’s
very much like...well, a Dean Koontz novel.