Complete Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz: “The lingering dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.”
From one of the most successful novelists comes one of his most popular works—starring a young fry cook who can see the spirits of the “lingering dead.”
“‘The lingering dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.’ So that complicates his efforts to assist them.”
Dean Koontz is one of the world’s most successful novelists. He has published more than 120 novels—selling like 450 million copies worldwide. His fiction includes The House at the End of the World, From the Corner of His Eye, After Death, The Big Dark Sky, By the Light of the Moon, and the Frankenstein series.
But one of his most famous works is his Odd Thomas series, starring a young fry cook who can see the spirits of the “lingering dead.” Koontz told USA Today that the character of Odd Thomas just came into his head completely full-blown.
“I was working on another novel,” he told them, “and into my mind came the words, ‘My name is Odd Thomas. I lead an unusual life.’”
Koontz immediately grabbed a legal tablet to write down the lines. Next thing he knew—even though he’d never before or since written a substantial amount of a story in longhand—he started writing the story of Odd Thomas in longhand.
“The words kept flowing through me,” Koontz says. “The character evolved within that first day, and at the end I had 30 pages in longhand, which with very few changes became the first chapter of the book. It was almost like I was taking dictation."
Koontz points out that “the lingering dead” are those who don’t want to cross over to the other side, for whatever reason—maybe they’re afraid to, or they’re seeking justice because they’ve been murdered. “And as he says, ‘The lingering dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.’ So that complicates his efforts to assist them. He also has this ability his girlfriend called ‘psychic magnetism.’
“When he thinks about somebody, just focuses on their face and their name, he quickly crosses paths with them. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes—as when he’s focusing on the bad guy—not so good.”
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Complete Odd Thomas series
Odd Thomas (2003)
“The dead don’t talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant.
Meet Odd Thomas, the unassuming young hero of Dean Koontz’s dazzling New York Times bestseller, a gallant sentinel at the crossroads of life and death who offers up his heart in these pages and will forever capture yours.
“The dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it’s different.
A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil. His account of these shattering hours, in which past and present, fate and destiny, converge, is a testament by which to live—an unforgettable fable for our time destined to rank among Dean Koontz’s most enduring works.
Review: “The book was a lot of fun, as was the film. It was delightfully offbeat with a truly endearing cast of characters and a suspenseful plot with hero Odd going up against some very supernatural and very human evils.” (Monster Zero NJ’s Movie Madhouse)
Forever Odd (2005)
I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it.
Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death.
But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope.
You’re invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.
Review: “FOREVER ODD is a quick and enjoyable read—just scary enough for winter fireside reading but not scary enough to keep you awake at night. More character-driven than many horror novels, it is a fun and unique approach to ghost stories and creepy tales.” (Book Reporter)
Brother Odd (2006)
Loop me in, odd one.
The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature.
As he steadfastly journeys toward his mysterious destiny, Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time.
Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.
Review: “It’s a fast-paced thrill ride that has you laughing out loud at times and shuttering in fear at others. This is perhaps one of Dean Koontz’s finest novels to date, which is saying a lot, considering how many great novels he’s written.” (Horror Novel Reviews)
Odd Hours (2008)
The legend began in the obscure little town of Pico Mundo. A fry cook named Odd was rumored to have the extraordinary ability to communicate with the dead.
Through tragedy and triumph, exhilaration and heartbreak, word of Odd Thomas’s gifts filtered far beyond Pico Mundo, attracting unforgettable new friends—and enemies of implacable evil. With great gifts comes the responsibility to meet great challenges. But no mere human being was ever meant to face the darkness that now stalks the world–not even one as oddly special as Odd Thomas.
After grappling with the very essence of reality itself, after finding the veil separating him from his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, tantalizingly thin yet impenetrable, Odd longed only to return to a life of quiet anonymity with his two otherworldly sidekicks—his dog Boo and a new companion, one of the few who might rival his old pal Elvis.
But a true hero, however humble, must persevere. Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. Now the forces arrayed against him have both official sanction and an infinitely more sinister authority…and in this dark night of the soul, dawn will come only after the most shattering revelations of all.
Review: “Four books in, I look forward to even more thrilling, amusing, touching, and often thought-provoking hours with Odd.” (MuggleNet)
Odd Apocalypse (2012)
A mission of mercy will lead Odd through realms of darkness he has never before encountered, as he probes the long-held secrets of a sinister estate and those who inhabit it.
Once presided over by a flamboyant Hollywood mogul during the Roaring ’20s, the magnificent West Coast property known as Roseland is now home to a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants. And, at least for the moment, it’s also a port in the storm for Odd Thomas and his traveling companion, the inscrutably charming Annamaria, the Lady of the Bell.
In the wake of Odd’s most recent clash with lethal adversaries, the opulent manor’s comforts should be welcome. But there’s far more to Roseland than meets even the extraordinary eye of Odd, who soon suspects it may be more hell than haven.
A harrowing taste of Roseland’s terrors convinces Odd that it’s time to hit the road again. Still, the prescient Annamaria insists that they’ve been led there for a reason, and he’s promised to do his best for the ghost on horseback.
Just how deep and dreadful are the mysteries Roseland and her masters have kept for nearly a century? And what consequences await whoever is brave, or mad, enough to confront the most profound breed of evil? Odd only knows.
Like his acclaimed creator, the irresistible Odd Thomas is in top-notch form—as he takes on what may well be the most terrifying challenge yet in his curious career.
Review: “Koontz delivers yet another Odd Thomas adventure that is spot-on. The thrills, chills and mystery never let up from page one as Odd evades weaponized mutants from the future while battling an evil that is all-too-human.” (Confessions of a Bibliomaniac)
Odd Interlude (2012)
Odd Interlude, Dean’s New York Times bestselling three-part digital series featuring Odd Thomas, is available for the first time in one digital volume and in print, in a paperback edition.
THERE’S ROOM AT THE INN. BUT YOU MIGHT NOT GET OUT.
Nestled on a lonely stretch along the Pacific coast, quaint roadside outpost Harmony Corner offers everything a weary traveler needs—a cozy diner, a handy service station, a cluster of cottages—and the Harmony family homestead presiding over it all.
But when Odd Thomas and company stop to spend the night, they discover that there’s more to this secluded haven than meets the eye—and that between life and death, there is something more frightening than either.
Review: “As far as I’m concerned, Dean Koontz can do no wrong with the Odd Thomas series. The more the reader learns about Odd, the greater the mystery of what the future holds for him and what will eventually bring him and his dead soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, back together.” (Hellnotes)
Deeply Odd (2013)
The pistol appeared in his hand the way a dove appears in the hand of a good magician, as if it materialized out of thin air. “You think I won’t do it right here in the open. But you’d be surprised—you’ll drop before you get the breath to scream.”
How do you make sure a crime—that hasn’t happened yet—never does? That’s the critical question facing Odd Thomas, the young man with a unique ability to commune with restless spirits and help them find justice and peace. But this time, it’s the living who desperately need Odd on their side. Three helpless innocents will be brutally executed unless Odd can intervene in time.
Who the potential victims are and where they can be found remain a mystery. The only thing Odd knows for sure is who the killer will be: the homicidal stranger who tried to shoot him dead in a small-town parking lot.
With the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock riding shotgun and a network of unlikely allies providing help along the way, Odd embarks on an interstate game of cat and mouse with his sinister quarry. He will soon learn that his adversary possesses abilities that may surpass his own and operates in service to infinitely more formidable foes, with murder a mere prelude to much deeper designs.
Traveling across a landscape haunted by portents of impending catastrophe, Odd will do what he must and go where his path leads him, drawing ever closer to the dark heart of his long journey—and, perhaps, to the bright light beyond.
Review: “Overall, Deeply Odd is a well-written intriguing and exciting story that is jam-packed with suspense, high tension, some excellent plot twists and having Alfred Hitchcock as a sidekick is brilliant. With each addition to the Odd Thomas series the stories are just getting better and better.” (What’s Good to Read)
You Are Destined to Be Together Forever (2014)
The singular journey of Odd Thomas is approaching its unforgettable conclusion. This exclusive eBook short story looks back—way back—to where it all began for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, two souls who are destined to be together forever.
Amid the dizzying rides, tantalizing games of chance, and fanciful attractions of a state fair, two teenage sweethearts on the cusp of life and love’s pleasures find their way to a shadowy carnival tent brimming with curiosities. There, from the bizarre and enthralling Gypsy Mummy, a mechanized merchant of dreams and prognosticator of tomorrows, the young couple learns what fate promises for them.
But fate, for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, is something altogether different: full of dark corners, sharp edges, and things no seer or soothsayer could ever anticipate.
And for Odd Thomas, a gallant fry cook from a sleepy California desert town, the future beckons—to listen to unquiet spirits, pursue unsettling mysteries, and learn shocking truths—for a purpose far greater than himself…
Find You Are Destined to Be Together Forever on Amazon
NOTE: This story is included in the next book.
Review: “Koontz does write a quirky story with unexpected characters who charm their way into your heart. The circumstances Koontz puts them in and the way he has them express themselves…too funny. I really do like this series...” (KD Did It Edits)
Saint Odd (2015)
Includes Dean Koontz’s short story “You Are Destined to Be Together Forever.”
From “one of the master storytellers of this or any age” (The Tampa Tribune) comes the stunning final adventure of “one of the most remarkable and appealing characters in current fiction”(The Virginian-Pilot)—as Dean Koontz brings the unforgettable odyssey of Odd Thomas to its dazzling conclusion.
Odd Thomas is back where it all started—because the time has come to finish it. Since he left his simple life in the small town of Pico Mundo, California, his journey has taken him to places strange and wonderful, mysterious and terrifying.
Across the land, in the company of mortals and spirits alike, he has known kindness and cruelty, felt love and loss, saved lives and taken them—as he’s borne witness to humanity’s greatest good and darkest evil. Again and again, he has gone where he must and done what he had to do—for better or worse—with his courage and devotion sorely tested, and his soul forever changed. Every triumph has been hard won. Each sacrifice has taken its toll.
Now, whatever destiny drives him has finally steered his steps home, where those he cares for most surround him, the memory of his tragically lost true love haunts him, and one last challenge—vast and dreadful—awaits him.
For Odd Thomas, born to serve a purpose far greater than himself, the wandering is done. Only the reckoning remains.
Review: “Mr. Koontz certainly keeps the reader guessing right to the end and then throws in a nice twist that offers somewhat of a resolution for his many Odd Thomas fans. A great read…and highly recommended!” (Horror Novel Reviews)
Odd Thomas comic book prequels
In Odd We Trust (Odd Thomas Graphic Novels Book 1)
Based on Dean’s beloved character, Odd Thomas, In Odd We Trust is a prequel to Dean’s Odd Thomas novels.
Odd Thomas is regular 19-year-old with an unusual gift: the ability to see the lingering spirits of the dead. To Odd, it’s not such a big deal. And most folks in sleepy Pico Mundo, California, are much more interested in the irresistible pancakes Odd whips up at the local diner. Still, communicating with the dead can be useful. Because while some spirits only want a little company—others want justice.
When the sad specter of a very frightened boy finds its way to him, Odd vows to root out the evil suddenly infecting the sunny streets of Pico Mundo. But even with his exceptional ability—plus the local police and his pistol-packing girlfriend, Stormy, backing him—is Odd any match for a faceless stalker who’s always a step ahead—and determined to kill again?
Written by Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz. Illustrated by Queenie Chan.
Odd Is On Our Side (Odd Thomas Graphic Novels Book 2)
When things get scary, it’s nice to know that Odd is on our side.
The one and only Odd Thomas is back—in his second edgy and enthralling graphic-novel adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz.
It’s Halloween in Pico Mundo, California, and there’s a whiff of something wicked in the autumn air. While the town prepares for its annual festivities, young fry cook Odd Thomas can’t shake the feeling that make-believe goblins and ghouls aren’t the only things on the prowl. And he should know, since he can see what others cannot: the spirits of the restless dead. But even his frequent visitor, the specter of Elvis Presley, can’t seem to point Odd in the right direction.
With the help of his gun-toting girlfriend, Stormy, Odd is out to uncover the terrible truth. Is something sinister afoot in the remote barn guarded by devilish masked men? Has All Hallows Eve mischief taken a malevolent turn? Or is the pleading ghost of a trick-or-treater a frightening omen of doom?
Written by Fred Van Lente and Dean Koontz. Illustrations by Queenie Chan.
House of Odd (Odd Thomas Graphic Novels Book 3)
Could there really be such a thing as hell on earth? Odd only knows. House of Odd plunges everyone’s favorite spirit-spotting fry cook into his most frightening encounter yet.
Transforming a ramshackle mansion into a dream house has become a nightmare for onetime Hollywood producer Nedra Nolan, whose newly purchased fixer-upper in Pico Mundo has sent a string of spooked contractors scurrying off the job, claiming the place is haunted. Who’s she gonna call? Her friend recommends Odd Thomas, the mild-mannered young man with a gift for communing with ghosts who won’t rest in peace.
With his soul mate and sidekick, Stormy Llewellyn, in tow, Odd agrees to investigate the eerie incidents. But his spirit-seeking style is cramped by the obnoxious TV ghost hunters Nedra hires to flush out the troublesome phantoms with elaborate gadgets.
As night falls and a raging storm traps them all in the mazelike manse, Odd tries in vain to scare up some lost souls. But instead, something more terrifying than any apparition—something with flesh, blood, and teeth—makes its sinister presence known. And with nowhere to hide, Odd and his fellow hunters suddenly become the prey.
Written by Landry Q. Walker and Dean Koontz. Illustrations by Queenie Chan.
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Related links
Dean Koontz says goodbye to Odd Thomas (USA Today)
Author Dean Koontz on Odd Thomas, rough childhood, California home (CBS News)
Character in 'Odd Thomas' series leads adventure between living, dead (Victoria Advocate)
6 Most Horrifying Dean Koontz Books (The Lineup)
10 Unforgettable Dogs in Horror and Suspense Novels from Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and Robert McCammon (Listverse)
Dean Koontz has sold more than 500 million books and worries about everything (Washington Post)
Dean Koontz: 'I threatened to leave publishers if they wouldn't stop putting the word horror on my books' (The Irish Times)
Dean Koontz on his latest novel, his favourite villains and what’s coming up next (SciFiNow)
An Interview with Dean Koontz (National Review)
Dean Koontz on The Big Dark Sky, incredible coincidences and buying toys for his dogs (SciFiNow)
No, Dean Koontz did not predict the coronavirus in a 1981 novel (CNN)
The Catholic literary vision of Dean Koontz (America Magazine)
Dean Koontz talks about his 79th book (Pioneer Press)
The Rondo Awards honor the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation. This year's winners include the reissue of ROBOT MONSTER, the movie GODZILLA: MINUS ONE, the TV series WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, and more! Find out the details here.