🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Kevin O'Brien
The story of Kevin O’Brien’s writing career is almost as whimsical as a character you could expect to find in a great book. Before his writing career took off, Kevin O’Brien toiled as a railroad inspector by day (or “all the live long day,” according to his official website), and worked on his stories by night. O’Brien moved to Seattle in 1980, and his railroad job saw him moving all across the Pacific Northwest, where he would write his debut novel in various hotels. The culmination of this hotel-hopping night-writing was Actors, which was released in 1987 and translated into three different languages. Ten years later, O’Brien unveiled his sophomore effort, Only Son, which saw commercial success, and was even optioned for film rights due to an interest from none other than Tom Hanks.
All Book Series by Kevin O'Brien
Lovecraftiana: Vol 5, Issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2020
Series opener · book 1 of 21 · published 2020 Anthology · Mike Lee
Lovecraftiana: Vol 5, Issue 2, Lammas Eve 2020
Book 2 of 21 · published 2020 Anthology · R.C. Mulhare,Tim Stevens,Lee Clarke Zumpe,Mike Adamson,Harris Coverley,TimKane,Josh Maybrook,Davy Kenney,Dean Wirth,Kieran Dacey Boylan,G. Large,Avery Kit Malone,Jason Radak
Lovecraftiana: Vol 5, Issue 3, Halloween 2020
Book 3 of 21 · published 2020 Co-authored · David A. Riley,Sergio Palumbo,Carlton Herzog,Kieran Judge,Ngo Binh Anh Khoa,Daniel Purcell,Ed Nobody,Dean Wirth,James Toeken
Lovecraftiana: Vol 5, Issue 4, Candlemas 2021
Book 4 of 21 · published 2021 Anthology · David A. Riley,Glynn Owen Barrass,Oliver Smith,G. Large,James Toeken,Bryn Forty,Dean Wirth Alvarez,Josef Desade,Francis Edrman,Matthew Stern
Lovecraftiana: Vol 6, issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2021
Book 5 of 21 · published 2021 Anthology · John B. Rosenman,Gavin Chappell,Lee Clark Zumpe,Sergio Palumbo,Scott J. Couturier,Mike Adamson,Charles Wilkinson,Alexander Nachaj,Lamont A. Turner,Josh Maybrook,Benjamin DeHaan,Dean Wirth,James Toeken,Petter Martinson,Ryan Klopp,Debasish Mishra
Lovecraftiana: Vol 6, Issue 2, Lammas Eve 2021
Book 6 of 21 · published 2021 Anthology · David A. Riley,Bobby Cranestone,Carlton Herzog,ChristopherHawkins,C.M. Fields,Kyle J. Durrant,Mike T. Lyddon,Peter Emmett Naughton,Connor Orrico,John M. McCormick,Dawson Alexander Wohler
Lovecraftiana: Vol 6, Issue 3, Halloween 2021
Book 7 of 21 · published 2021 Anthology · Gavin Chappell,Gary Budgen,Carlton Herzog,Harris Coverley,Mike T. Lyddon,Benjamin DeHaan,Steven J. Alvarez,Will Shadbolt,Scott Arbuckle,Brittany Groves
Lovecraftiana: Vol 6, Issue 4, Candlemas 2022
Book 8 of 21 · published 2022 Anthology · Matthew Wilson,David A. Riley,Rick Hudson,Chris McAuley,Mike T. Lyddon,Benjamin DeHaan,Davy Kenney,Dean Wirth,Aaron Pfau,Gabriel Rodin Lozada,Rose Banks,James Toeken,Ryan Patrick Ervin
Lovecraftiana: Vol 7, Issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2022
Book 9 of 21 · published 2022 Anthology · Vincent H. O'Neil
Lovecraftiana: Vol 7, Issue 2, Lammas Eve 2022
Book 10 of 21 · published 2022 Anthology · Claire Fitzpatrick
Lovecraftiana: Vol 7, Issue 3, Halloween 2022
Book 11 of 21 · published 2022 Anthology · Matthew Wilson,David A. Riley,D.J. Tyrer,Lamont Turner,Carlton Herzog,Erik McHatton,Maxwell Gold,Jason Hudson,TS Fulk,Antony Daly
Lovecraftiana: Vol 7, Issue 4, Candlemas 2023
Book 12 of 21 · published 2023 Anthology · Jim Pitts,Lee Clark Zumpe,Tyree Campbell,John Delaughter,Simon Bleaken,Guy Riessen,Maxwell Gold,Scott J Couturier,Mohammed Rizwan,Miranda Yearwood,MS Swift
Lovecraftiana: Vol 8, Issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2023
Book 13 of 21 · published 2023 Multi-author collection
Lovecraftiana: Vol 8, Issue 2, Lammas Eve 2023
Book 14 of 21 · published 2023 Anthology · Matthew Wilson,Jim Pitts,Lee Clark Zumpe,Lamont Turner,M. Stern,Carlton Herzog,Brian Barnett,Benjamin DeHaan,Tony Daly,Christopher Pate,Dean Wirth
Lovecraftiana: Volume 8, Issue 3, Halloween 2023
Book 15 of 21 · published 2023 Anthology · Jim Pitts,E.W. Farnsworth,Harold Hoss,Chris McAuley,Christopher Sartin,Toe Keen,Christopher Pate,Eli Wennstrom,Simon MacCulloch,Cam Marsollier,Bartek Kucharski
Lovecraftiana: Volume 8, Issue 4, Candlemas 2024
Book 16 of 21 · published 2024 Anthology · Don Webb,Tim Mendees,Glynn Barrass,Adam Newnham,Steve Passey,Katherine Kerestman,Mike Scofield,Vincent Metzo,Ian Bavian,Lee Zumpre
Lovecraftiana: Volume 9, Issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2024
Book 17 of 21 · published 2024 Anthology · Lee Clark Zumpe,Scotty Milder,Emma Buckley,EW Farnsworth,Ken Foxe,CD Kester,Liam A Spinage,Naomi Simone Borwein,Zary Fekete,TS S Fulk
Lovecraftiana: Volume 9, Issue 2, Lammas Eve 2024
Book 18 of 21 · published 2024 Anthology · S.T. Joshi,Lee Clark Zumpe,Michaele Jordan,Carlton Herzog,Benjamin DeHaan,Paul Lonardo,Katherine Kerestman,Zachary Grant,Max Bindi,Renee Mulhare
Lovecraftiana: Volume 9, Issue 3, Halloween 2024
Book 19 of 21 · published 2024 Anthology · Matthew Wilson,Norbert Góra,Lee Clark Zumpe,Sergio Palumbo,Harris Coverley,Gary Battershell,Christopher Pate,Chris McGuinness,Renee Mulhare,Hala Dika
Lovecraftiana: Volume 9, Issue 4, Candlemas Eve 2025
Book 20 of 21 · published 2025 Anthology · Matthew Wilson,Alex S. Johnson,Frank Coffman,Tyree Campbell,BretNelson,Laura J. Campbell,Trevor O. Childers,Dean Wirth,Kyle Cajka,Vincent deDiego Metzo
Lovecraftiana: Volume 10 Issue 3 Halloween 2025
Latest in the series · book 21 of 21 · published 2025 Anthology · Mike Adamson,William Clunie,Sara Bickley,Katherine Kerestman,Braden Benzinger,EW Farnsworth,Thomas George Reeves III,James B Pepe,RH Walker,CW Stevenson
Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2020
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kevin O'Brien?
The story of Kevin O’Brien’s writing career is almost as whimsical as a character you could expect to find in a great book. Before his writing career took off, Kevin O’Brien toiled as a railroad inspector by day (or “all the live long day,” according to his official website), and worked on his stories by night. O’Brien moved to Seattle in 1980, and his railroad job saw him moving all across the Pacific Northwest, where he would write his debut novel in various hotels.
Which Kevin O'Brien series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Lovecraftiana series, the earliest of Kevin O'Brien's multi-book series: it opens with Lovecraftiana: Vol 5, Issue 1, Walpurgisnacht 2020 (2020) and runs to 21 books across 2020–2025, ending with Lovecraftiana: Volume 10 Issue 3 Halloween 2025 (2025).
How many books has Kevin O'Brien written?
Kevin O'Brien has 46 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1997 and 2025. 23 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being the Lovecraftiana series with 21 books — and 23 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Kevin O'Brien's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Kevin O'Brien's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Lovecraftiana (2020–2025, 21 books).
How are Kevin O'Brien's books organised into series?
This guide splits Kevin O'Brien's 46 books into 2 named series and 23 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Lovecraftiana (21 books, 2020–2025); Family Secrets (2 books, 2019–2020).