I’ve reached a strange and unexpected stage of my career where people tell me they want to start reading my stuff, or they want to gift my books to a friend or loved one, but they don’t know where to start. It’s one thing to simply read all my stuff in the order in which it was published, but it’s not readily apparent what that order might be. Plus, I’ve spread myself over quite a few genres or genre combinations, and some of my books might be more appealing than others to certain readers. So here’s a breakdown of all the books I’ve written and why you might like them. They’re in order from the most recent to the oldest (stuff co-written with David Wood is after my solo stuff), and in the case of a series, the quote, blurb, and buttons are for the first book in that series. To learn more, click on the cover or select from the buttons directly below each entry.
SERVED COLD (a short story collection)
So what’s it like?
Well, further down this page I described my first collection, Crow Shine, like this: It’s like if Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman, and Clive Barker made short story soup combining dark fantasy, horror, and the weird, with heaps of supernatural strangeness. This book is more of the same, but also entirely new. If anything, it’s a bit darker, leaning more into horror territory.
Random Review Quote:
“In SERVED COLD Alan Baxter shows off his impressive versatility and range with a host of stories that mix old school terrors with very now concerns. At turns creepy and visceral, Baxter delivers the horror goods.” – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World
Back Cover Blurb:
Collected together for the first time ever, these sixteen provocative and intensely chilling tales by multi-award-winning-author Alan Baxter venture into the depths of the darkest and most shadowy places where unspeakable horrors are the predators and we the willing prey.
Prepare for an always terrifying, frequently heartbreaking journey in multiple stages, each piece echoing Baxter’s unique voice that effortlessly blends horror, fantasy and the weird, cementing his place as a modern master of the dark fantastique, and resulting in an unforgettable volume of fiction.
My personal note:
I’m incredibly proud to have a second collected volume of short fiction. This includes 16 stories, 3 of them brand new and original to this book.
DEVOURING DARK (a novel)
So what’s it like?
It’s like Clive Barker wrote LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS.
Random Review Quote:
“Devouring Dark is a thrilling mix of crime and horror, a book that somehow defies either description yet embraces both. It moves like a juggernaut, thundering towards an intense, emotional conclusion. I devoured Alan Baxter’s dark; you should too.” – Gary McMahon, author of Pretty Little Dead Things.
Back Cover Blurb:
Matt McLeod is a man plagued since childhood by a malevolent darkness that threatens to consume him. Following a lifetime spent wrestling for control over this lethal onslaught, he’s learned to wield his mysterious skill to achieve an odious goal: retribution as a supernatural vigilante.
When one such hit goes bad, McLeod finds himself ensnared in a multi-tentacled criminal enterprise caught between a corrupt cop and a brutal mobster. His only promise of salvation may be a bewitching young woman who shares his dark talent but has murderous designs of her own.
Devouring Dark is a genre-smashing supernatural thriller that masterfully blends elements of crime and horror in an adrenaline-fueled, life-or-death rollercoaster ride that’s emblematic of the fiction from award-winning author Alan Baxter.
My personal note:
This is a book that grew from my award-winning short story “Shadows of the Lonely Dead” (which is reprinted in the back of the novel). It’s probably my most personal book, drawing on aspects of grief, death, terminal illness, personal tragedy, justice and redemption.
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MANIFEST RECALL (a novella)
So what’s it like?
It’s like JOHN WICK meets MEMENTO meets THE SOPRANOS, with echoes of Tom Picirilli, plus ghosts.
Random Review Quote:
“If you like crime/noir horror hybrids do check out Alan Baxter’s MANIFEST RECALL. It’s a fast, gritty, mind-f*ck.” – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World.
Back Cover Blurb:
Following a psychotic break, Eli Carver finds himself on the run, behind the wheel of a car that’s not his own, in the company of a terrified woman he doesn’t know. As he slowly rebuilds his memories, layers of ugly truth are peeled back and dark secrets are revealed. Before long, the duo find themselves on the wrong side of Eli’s old criminal syndicate, in a struggle for survival against the most dangerous forces in their lives.
They have to go back into the underbelly of humanity, laid bare and ready for the bullet or the knife. And all the way, Eli is haunted by the ghosts of people he’s killed in the past, haranguing him, a supernatural peanut gallery of mockery and hate. Manifest Recall follows Eli Carver’s downward spiral of psychosis, through the darker aspects of lost memories, human guilt, and the insurmountable quest for personal redemption.
My personal note:
This is my southern gothic supernatural noir novella, where I get to exercise all my love for the hard-boiled noir genre, with added weird.
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HIDDEN CITY (a novel)
So what’s it like?
It’s like Jim Butcher’s DRESDEN FILES meets H P Lovecraft meets Raymond Chandler noir, with added cosmic weirdness.
Random Review Quote:
“Hidden City is a delicious supernatural noir, the song of a city of the lost with both Chandleresque and Lovecraftian undernotes and distant echoes of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden. But it is very much its own thing, razor sharp, dark, compelling, cosmic and strangely touching all at once. Highly recommended.” – William Meikle, author of The Ghost Club.
Back Cover Blurb:
Steven Hines listened to the city and the city spoke. Cleveport told him she was sick. With his unnatural connection to her, that meant Hines was sick too. But when his friend, Detective Abby Jones, comes to him for help investigating a series of deaths with no discernible cause, Hines can’t say no. Then strange fungal growths begin to appear in the streets, affecting anyone who gets too close, turning them into violent lunatics. As the mayhem escalates and officials start to seal Cleveport off from the rest of the world, Hines knows the trouble has only just begun.
My personal note:
This is my novel homage to all the greatest noir I’ve enjoyed, where the city itself is arguably the main character. But of course, I can’t help adding the weird, so this is cosmic horror noir. This book is like a link between my urban fantasy and my horror.
SAMPLE: Read the first three chapters here.
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THE BOOK CLUB (a novella)
So what’s it like?
It’s like GONE GIRL meets TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED meets police procedural, with extra cosmic strangeness.
Random Review Quote:
“The Book Club is one of the best novellas that I’ve read in all of my years as a reader. I can’t remember the last time I was so enthralled by a story, or so emotionally wrecked by the plot twists and conclusion to the story… To put it simply, this book is nightmare fuel (in a good way). Baxter continues to grow and impress as a storyteller, and I can’t wait to see what he releases next. The Book Club is a must read for fans of cosmic horror, horror, and mystery stories. 5 out of 5 stars.” – Smash Dragons.
Back Cover Blurb:
Jason Wilkes’s life takes a turn for the worse when his wife fails to come home from her book club. Jason calls Kate’s ‘book buddy’, Dave, who assures him she left hours ago. Contacting the police, Jason finds them equal parts sympathetic and suspicious. He tells them almost everything, except that he’s been hearing Kate’s voice, calling as if from far away. He certainly doesn’t mention that he’s seeing shadows that reach for him. With the police getting nowhere fast, Jason takes matters into his own hands, even as nightmare images and Kate’s distant cries continue to haunt his waking moments and his dreams, and the strange, grasping shadows persist. Jason begins to unravel the mystery, but he’s at odds with the police, he’s being lied to by Kate’s book club friends, and his chances of finding Kate slip ever further away. It seems that everything is going to go as wrong as it possibly can.
My personal note:
With this novella, I deliberately set out to write a straightforward mystery/police procedural that then takes an utterly weird turn and ventures out into deeply strange territory. I think I pulled it off.
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BOUND, OBSIDIAN, and ABDUCTION – The Alex Caine Series (a trilogy of novels)
So what’s it like?
It’s like Clive Barker’s WEAVEWORLD meets Stephen King meets Lee Child’s Jack Reacher (with a spell book), plus added monsters and martial arts.
Random Review Quote:
“Baxter’s efficient prose never gets in the way of the story, and his dialogue is vivid and dynamic. I had a lot of fun reading this book. It kept me hanging in there, eagerly flipping pages to find out who was going to be the next brutalized victim or what twisted deed would be performed next. This story packs a punch! I recommend Bound for readers who love violence, sex, monsters, and blood-splattering action.” – Grimdark Magazine.
Back Cover Blurb:
Alex Caine is a martial artist fighting in illegal cage matches. His powerful secret weapon is an unnatural vision that allows him to see his opponents’ moves before they know their intentions themselves.
After a fight one night, an enigmatic Englishman, Patrick Welby, claims to know Alex’s secret. Welby shows Alex how to unleash a breathtaking realm of magic and power, drawing him along a mind-bending course beyond his control. And control is something Alex values above all else.
My personal note:
This is my dark urban fantasy trilogy where I got to write a martial artist as the main character and exercise all my martial philosophy through him and his teacher. I combined that with all my best efforts to subvert existing fantasy tropes.
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CROW SHINE (a short story collection)
So what’s it like?
It’s like if Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman, and Clive Barker made short story soup combining dark fantasy, horror, and the weird, with heaps of supernatural strangeness.
Random Review Quote:
“Alan Baxter is an accomplished storyteller who ably evokes magic and menace. Whether it’s stories of ghost-liquor and soul-draining blues, night club magicians, sinister western pastoral landscapes, or as uburban suicide–Crow Shine has a mean bite.” — Laird Barron, author of Blood Standard.
Back Cover Blurb:
The debut story collection by award-winning Australian dark fantasy writer Alan Baxter. 19 stories, 3 original to the collection.
My personal note:
I’ve always loved short stories and I’m extremely proud of this first collected volume. It was nominated for three different awards and won one of them.
Download Free Sample (PDF)
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REALMSHIFT and MAGESIGN – The Balance – a novel duology
So what’s it like?
It’s like THE DRESDEN FILES if they were written by Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock trying to out-do each other with supernatural madness.
Random Review Quote:
“For lovers of dark fantasies, thrillers or just a bloody good read, this book comes highly recommended.” – Book Lover’s Club.
Back Cover Blurb:
Isiah is having a tough time. The Devil is making his job very difficult.
Samuel Harrigan is a murdering lowlife. He used ancient blood magic to escape a deal with the Devil and now he’s on the trail of a crystal skull that he believes will complete his efforts to evade Lucifer. But Lucifer wants Samuel’s soul for eternity and refuses to wait a second longer for it. Isiah needs Samuel to keep looking for the crystal skull, so he has to protect Sam and keep the Devil at bay. Not for Samuel’s sake, but for all of humanity.
RealmShift is an engrossing Dark Fantasy thriller; a fascinating exploration of the nature of people’s beliefs and their effect on the world around them. Magic, action and intrigue, from dank city streets to the depths of Hell and beyond.
My personal note:
RealmShift was my first published novel, so it holds a special place in my heart. This duology was my exploration of the power of belief and set me on the dark and supernatural path I’ve followed ever since.
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Books co-written with David Wood
PRIMORDIAL and OVERLORD – The Sam Aston Investigations (ongoing novel series)
So what’s it like?
It’s like if INDIANA JONES was an Australian marine biologist and he went after monsters instead of treasure.
Random Review Quote:
“PRIMORDIAL has everything you’d want from a monster story—great characters, a remote location and a creature with bite! Mixing history and lore with science and action, David Wood and Alan Baxter have penned a thriller that is hard to put down.” – Jeremy Robinson, international bestselling author of Apocalypse Machine and Project Nemesis.
Back Cover Blurb:
Sometimes, the legends are true. When eccentric billionaire Ellis Holloway hires renegade marine biologist Sam Aston to investigate the legend of a monster in a remote Finnish lake, Aston envisions an easy paycheck and a chance to clear his gambling debts. But he gets much more. Something terrible lives beneath the dark waters of Lake Kaarme, and it’s hungry. As the death toll mounts, Aston faces superstitious locals, a power-hungry police chief, and a benefactor’s descent into madness as he races to find the legendary beast of the lake.
My personal note:
These books I write with David Wood are unashamedly fun monster thrillers – creature features in novel form, with more depth and character than movies.
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BLOOD CODEX, ANUBIS KEY and REVENANT – The Jake Crowley Adventures (ongoing novel series)
So what’s it like?
It’s like if JAMES BOND meets INDIANA JONES and THE DA VINCI CODE, except it’s good.
Random Review Quote:
“Blood Codex is a genuine up all night got to see what happens next thriller that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the last.” – Steven Savile, bestselling author of SILVER.
Back Cover Blurb:
An ancient order. A deadly conspiracy. A race against time. When Jake Crowley rescues Rose Black from assailants on the streets of London, the two find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could cost them their lives. People are dying, and all the victims have one thing in common with Rose: a birthmark in the shape of an eagle. From beneath the streets of London, to castle dungeons, to the heart of Christendom and beyond, Jake and Rose must race to stay alive as they seek to unlock the secrets of the Blood Codex.
My personal note:
These books I write with David Wood are huge fun where we get to play with all the classic adventure tropes like secret societies, hidden rooms, mystical secrets and kick-ass action.
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DARK RITE (a short novel)
So what’s it like?
It’s like HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR meets DELIVERANCE.
Random Review Quote:
“Wood and Baxter have delivered a stunning tale that reminds of an early Stephen King’s talent for the macabre with a pinch of Graham Masterton’s flair for witchcraft and terror. A sinister tale of black magic and horror – not for the faint hearted.” – Greig Beck, bestselling author of Beneath the Dark Ice and Black Mountain.
Back Cover Blurb:
A small mountain town hides a dark secret…
When the death of his father brings Grant Shipman to the tiny Appalachian town of Wallen’s Gap, he believes his biggest problem will be dealing with the slow pace and odd townsfolk. But something sinister is at work. A dark power rises, an echo of the town’s bloody past. A book of blood magic offers an unspeakable horror a gateway into the world of the living, and only Grant stands in the way of their Dark Rite.
My personal note:
This short novel David Wood and I wrote is a deliberate homage to all the great B-movie horror films like Hammer made in the 70s, only it’s deeper and less cheesy.
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Bonus sci-fi!
GHOST of the BLACK (a novella)
So what’s it like?
It’s like Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer meets Blade Runner in interstellar space.
Random Review Quote:
“I really liked how the futuristic setting took a back seat to the almost crime-noir story and character… I could actually go back and read some old hard-boiled detective fiction after this, but I’d have a feeling that this would still be more fun!” – E. Patrick Dorris.
Back Cover Blurb:
Ghost is possibly the best bounty hunter in the universe and he always gets the job done. At least, that’s the reputation he rides on. When the DAP employ him to track down and capture a rogue Magicker who’s running across the galaxy killing anyone who gets in his way, Ghost realises this is a job that could cost him his reputation. It’s also a job that could cost him his sanity.
My personal note:
I wrote this back in 2008 and serialised it on my website in 34 weekly episodes, mainly to play around with the idea of serial fiction. Once it was finished, I self-published it as an ebook and paperback. (You can still read it all for free on my site.) I had heaps of fun with it and one day I want to write more stories in this universe. And it ties in with several of the (admittedly few) sci-fi short stories I’ve written. I have plans to eventually put all these things together into a kind of SF mosaic novel. One of many projects sitting on the whiteboard…
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And a little non-fiction.
WRITE THE FIGHT RIGHT
So what’s it like?
Well, it’s not really like anything in terms of story because this one is an ebook-only writers’ guide to crafting good fight scenes in your fiction. It’s more like a really long essay than a full-length book and doesn’t go into super-deep detail, but gives loads of quality pointers about the real aspects of fighting to give your fight scenes that authentic, bone-cracking pizazz.
Random Review Quote:
“The best way for a writer to learn what’s really involved in brawling, short of going down the pub and starting something.” – Pete, WA.
Back Cover Blurb:
A short ebook designed to look at the things that make a fight scene in a story read as realistically as possible, while maintaining excitement and pace. By looking at the various factors that go into a real fight, paying attention to the things that we train for when we learn to fight, we can write fight scenes that stay exciting without breaking the rules of realism that shatter believability.
My personal note:
I started running workshops on writing good fight scenes and people kept asking if there was something they could read, as a follow-up. So I wrote this, which is more like a long essay than a full-length book, to cover all the stuff we go through in the workshops.
Free podcast on writing fight scenes
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