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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

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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 EyeWitchy WinterWitchy KingdomSerpent Daughter
For Depression-era folk magic: The Cunning ManThe Jupiter Knife
For far-future adventure: In the Palace of Shadow and Joy
For pulpy urban fantasy: Hellhound on My TrailSnake Handlin' ManCrow Jane
For archaeology and time travel: Time Trials

City of the Saints books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "City of the Saints"

    City of the Saints

    by DJ Butler

    2013City of the Saints, Book 1

City of the Saints books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "City of the Saints"

    City of the Saints

    by DJ Butler

    2013City of the Saints, Book 1

Rock Band Fights Evil books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Hellhound on My Trail"

    Hellhound on My Trail

    by DJ Butler

    2011Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Crow Jane"

    Crow Jane

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 4
  3. Book cover for "Devil Sent the Rain"

    Devil Sent the Rain

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 5
  4. Book cover for "Earth Angel"

    Earth Angel

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 7
  5. Book cover for "Snake Handlin' Man"

    Snake Handlin' Man

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 3
  6. Book cover for "The Good Son"

    The Good Son

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "This World Is Not My Home"

    This World Is Not My Home

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 2

Rock Band Fights Evil books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Hellhound on My Trail"

    Hellhound on My Trail

    by DJ Butler

    2011Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "This World Is Not My Home"

    This World Is Not My Home

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Snake Handlin' Man"

    Snake Handlin' Man

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Crow Jane"

    Crow Jane

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Devil Sent the Rain"

    Devil Sent the Rain

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "The Good Son"

    The Good Son

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Earth Angel"

    Earth Angel

    by DJ Butler

    2012Rock Band Fights Evil, Book 7

Space Eldritch books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Space Eldritch"

    Space Eldritch

    by DJ Butler

    2012Space Eldritch, Book 1

Space Eldritch books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Space Eldritch"

    Space Eldritch

    by DJ Butler

    2012Space Eldritch, Book 1

The Buza System books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Crecheling"

    Crecheling

    by DJ Butler

    2013The Buza System, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Urbane"

    Urbane

    by DJ Butler

    2016The Buza System, Book 2

The Buza System books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Crecheling"

    Crecheling

    by DJ Butler

    2013The Buza System, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Urbane"

    Urbane

    by DJ Butler

    2016The Buza System, Book 2

Witchy Eye books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Witchy Eye"

    Witchy Eye

    by DJ Butler

    2017Witchy Eye, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Witchy Winter"

    Witchy Winter

    by DJ Butler

    2018Witchy Eye, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Witchy Kingdom"

    Witchy Kingdom

    by DJ Butler

    2019Witchy Eye, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Serpent Daughter"

    Serpent Daughter

    by DJ Butler

    2020Witchy Eye, Book 4

Witchy Eye books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Witchy Eye"

    Witchy Eye

    by DJ Butler

    2017Witchy Eye, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Witchy Winter"

    Witchy Winter

    by DJ Butler

    2018Witchy Eye, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Witchy Kingdom"

    Witchy Kingdom

    by DJ Butler

    2019Witchy Eye, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Serpent Daughter"

    Serpent Daughter

    by DJ Butler

    2020Witchy Eye, Book 4

Standalone DJ Butler books

  1. Book cover for "The Cunning Man"

    The Cunning Man

    by DJ Butler

    2019
  2. Book cover for "In the Palace of Shadow and Joy"

    In the Palace of Shadow and Joy

    by DJ Butler

    2020
  3. Book cover for "The Jupiter Knife"

    The Jupiter Knife

    by DJ Butler

    2021
  4. Book cover for "Abbott in Darkness"

    Abbott in Darkness

    by DJ Butler

    2022

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

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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