DJ Butler Books in Order
Browse the books MA Rothman wrote with D.J. Butler, with reading order, quick summaries, and background on their Time Trials adventures.
Last updated: July 15, 2026
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DJ Butler books in publication order
19 books
Hellhound on My Trail
by DJ Butler
2011
Troubled bassist Mike Archuleta expects one last gig before ending his life. Then a hellhound attacks the club, and Mike is pulled into a battered rock band's ongoing war against the forces of Hell.
Crow Jane
by DJ Butler
2012
Jane is an immortal member of a demon-fighting rock band who longs for death. Her only way out is to steal Azazel's Hoof and return it to Hell, a mission that makes every ally suspect.
Devil Sent the Rain
by DJ Butler
2012
A failed escape spell leaves the demon-fighting band trapped inside the wounded soul of its own sorcerer. To get out, they must survive a nightmare landscape shaped by magic, pain, and bad decisions.
Earth Angel
by DJ Butler
2012
The battered musicians of Rock Band Fights Evil face another round of supernatural danger after their journey through Hell. Old wounds, unstable alliances, and the cost of fighting evil keep the band under pressure.
Snake Handlin' Man
by DJ Butler
2012
When flying snakes poison the band's sorcerer at a roadside diner, Eddie leads a desperate search for a cure. Their trail leads to a snake-worshipping cult and a god that may arrive before time runs out.
Space Eldritch
by DJ Butler
2012
This anthology collects pulp space opera stories touched by cosmic horror. Explorers and adventurers venture into a universe full of alien gods, haunted worlds, and dangers too vast to understand.
The Good Son
by DJ Butler
2012
Jim, the band's silent frontman and Lucifer's son, returns to Hell with his companions during the opening of the Liminal Year. Reaching the Council Chamber means surviving Hell's armies and revealing what Jim truly wants.
This World Is Not My Home
by DJ Butler
2012
The band keeps chasing the fragment of Azazel's hoof that may be their only bargaining chip. Their road now points toward Hell, where old loyalties and dangerous supernatural deals are waiting to be settled.
City of the Saints
by DJ Butler
2013
In an alternate 1859, rival powers descend on the independent Kingdom of Deseret for its airships and experimental weapons. Sam Clemens, Richard Burton, Edgar Allan Poe, and others collide in a steampunk race for power.
Crecheling
by DJ Butler
2013
Dyan has been raised by the harsh Buza System to become a full adult member of its desert community. Before she can belong, brutal rituals force her to question the System and the family it took from her.
Urbane
by DJ Butler
2016
After surviving Buza System's brutal rites, Dyan and Jak return to rescue Dyan's imprisoned mother. Their mission exposes the secrets behind the desert society that trained them to accept death and obedience.
Witchy Eye
by DJ Butler
2017
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Calhoun has a talent for hexing and wants to be left alone. After a wizard-priest tries to kidnap her, she learns of a hidden heritage and flees through a magic-haunted America.
Witchy Winter
by DJ Butler
2018
Sarah rides north to Cahokia, where winning the Serpent Throne means defeating rival candidates and learning a hidden goddess's will. Elsewhere, priests, pirates, and hunters face threats that could reshape the continent.
The Cunning Man
by DJ Butler
2019
In Depression-era Utah, beet farmer and folk magician Hiram Woolley investigates a monster haunting a shut-down mine. Curses, old wrongs, and human greed make the job far more dangerous than it first appears.
Witchy Kingdom
by DJ Butler
2019
Sarah must find the power of Cahokia's Serpent Throne while imperial forces and the Heron King's armies threaten her city. Across the continent, her allies race to stop a spreading war.
In the Palace of Shadow and Joy
by DJ Butler
2020
Epic poet Indrajit Twang and mercenary Fix are hired to protect an opera star in the ancient city of Kish. An attempt on her life leaves them hunted by rival mercenaries and powerful figures.
Serpent Daughter
by DJ Butler
2020
Sarah Calhoun holds Cahokia's Serpent Throne, but illness and war leave her vulnerable. As enemies close in, she must unite divided kings and confront a rebellion before her kingdom is destroyed.
The Jupiter Knife
by DJ Butler
2021
During the Depression, folk magician Hiram Woolley and his adopted son Michael confront an ancient evil in Utah. To save their community, they must face a darkness that reaches far beyond ordinary hardship.
Abbott in Darkness
by DJ Butler
2022
Deep in debt, John Abbott moves his family forty light-years from Earth for a corporate job at remote Arrowhawk Station. His investigation into corruption threatens both his family and a fragile peace with the station's alien Weavers.
Where to start with DJ Butler
For alternate-history fantasy: Witchy Eye → Witchy Winter → Witchy Kingdom → Serpent Daughter
For Depression-era folk magic: The Cunning Man → The Jupiter Knife
For far-future adventure: In the Palace of Shadow and Joy
For pulpy urban fantasy: Hellhound on My Trail → Snake Handlin' Man → Crow Jane
For archaeology and time travel: Time Trials
DJ Butler sub-series and character series
City of the Saints books in order
Explore this seriesRock Band Fights Evil books in order
Explore this series
Hellhound on My Trail
by DJ Butler
2011Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 1
Crow Jane
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 4
Devil Sent the Rain
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 5
Earth Angel
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 7
Snake Handlin' Man
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 3
The Good Son
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 6
This World Is Not My Home
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 2
Rock Band Fights Evil books in chronological order

Hellhound on My Trail
by DJ Butler
2011Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 1
This World Is Not My Home
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 2
Snake Handlin' Man
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 3
Crow Jane
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 4
Devil Sent the Rain
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 5
The Good Son
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 6
Earth Angel
by DJ Butler
2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 7
Space Eldritch books in order
Explore this seriesThe Buza System books in order
Explore this seriesWitchy Eye books in order
Explore this seriesStandalone DJ Butler books
Author bio
D.J. Butler, who also goes by Dave, was born in Salt Lake City and grew up in a mix of swamps, deserts, and mountains. That wide-open, varied backdrop fits the kind of fiction he later came to write, stories full of strange landscapes, old magic, hard choices, and people trying to keep going when the world gets weird.
Before fiction became his main job, Butler trained in law. He earned a law degree from New York University and spent years working as a lawyer, including work with large technology companies. It was useful work, but storytelling had been a longtime interest.
In 2010, he began seriously pursuing writing.
That change led to a busy career across fantasy, science fiction, horror, and adventure. Butler's books often move quickly, but they also make room for history, religion, folklore, language, and the odd little details that make an invented world feel lived in. He likes capable people who are tired, outnumbered, or in over their heads, and then gives them a problem that won't wait.
His early novel City of the Saints shows that approach clearly. It imagines an alternate 1859 in which the Kingdom of Deseret has become a major power, complete with airships, strange weapons, spies, and familiar historical figures pulled into a race for influence. It is part Western, part steampunk adventure, and part political scramble, with Salt Lake City at the center of the storm.
Butler reached a larger fantasy audience with Witchy Eye, the first book in the Witchy War sequence. The series follows Sarah Calhoun through an alternate North America shaped by flintlock weapons, Appalachian folk magic, empires, monsters, and competing spiritual powers. Witchy Winter, Witchy Kingdom, and Serpent Daughter widen the story beyond Sarah's first journey, giving the conflict a bigger cast and a broader map. Witchy Kingdom won the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel.
He also enjoys smaller, stranger setups. In The Cunning Man, written with Aaron Michael Ritchey, Depression-era Utah becomes a place where folk remedies, curses, labor trouble, and a monster in a mine all belong to the same case. In the Palace of Shadow and Joy heads in another direction, following an epic poet and a mercenary in a far-future city where protecting an opera singer turns into a dangerous job. With M.A. Rothman, Butler co-wrote Time Trials, an adventure that combines Egyptology, time travel, survival, and game-like progression.
Then there is Rock Band Fights Evil, which does exactly what its title promises. A battered group of musicians faces demons, cults, monsters, and trips far beyond an ordinary gig. Butler has also written darker science fiction in the Buza System books, beginning with Crecheling, and contributed to the cosmic-horror space opera collection Space Eldritch.
He still plays guitar, writes adventure stories for different ages, and makes time for family life. The music is not just a side note. It helps explain why rhythm, performance, old songs, and a little rough-edged humor turn up so often in his work.
The through line is simple: put ordinary human needs beside extraordinary trouble, then see who finds the nerve to act.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.



















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