Craig Schaefer Books In Order

Publication Order of Castaways Books

Publication Order of Charlie McCabe Books

Publication Order of Daniel Faust Books

Publication Order of Ghosts Of Gotham Saga Books

Publication Order of Harmony Black Books

Publication Order of Midnight Scoop Books

Publication Order of Neon Meridian Books

Publication Order of Revanche Cycle Books

Publication Order of The Midnight Jury Books

Publication Order of The Wisdom's Grave Trilogy Books

Craig Schaefer is an American author from Illinois best known for writing a series of crime horror and fantasy series of novels such as the Daniel Faust, the Revanche Cycle, and the Harmony Black series. He was an early bloomer knowing that he was made for a career as a writer from the time he was about four years old. Nonetheless, nobody ever noticed his talent given that at that age he also wanted to be a firefighter, a private investigator, and an astronaut. He was into a lot of other things too as he grew up, but all these would fade away with age leaving only his love for writing. Growing up he was very much drawn to crime thrillers from the likes of Richard Stark and Elmore Leonard, before he discovered the weird fiction and horror of H.P Lovecraft and Clive Barker. As such, his novels are a combination of the black magic, guns, and gangsters that populated the novels he loved reading as a child and young adult. Even as an adult, he has never let go of his fascination with books on demonology and criminology, which even today populate his bookshelf. Craig Schaefer currently lives in Joliet Illinois, in an old house that was allegedly a turn of the century convent, where the pipes rattle in the night. Nonetheless, given that he considers Las Vegas the setting of most of his novels his second home, he visits very so often. When he is not at his desk writing his next blockbuster, he may be found dabbling in sleight of hand, gaming, or haunting Chicago’s museum for some much-needed inspiration.

The Revanche Cycle series of novels is a delicate balance of power between an expansionist empire dreaming of a grand crusade, the keepers of unified church, and the masters of commerce and banking. At the beginning of the series, things are falling apart as the empire overspends to bankruptcy, a beloved pope is on the throes of death, and the banks are on the verge of collapse. For the power-hungry, it could not be a better and more opportune time, while for many others it is a time of great peril. Strange alliances and conspiracies have been put in motion to grab the opportunities that the inevitable chaos will bring. For one man, this is his moment to exact his plan of revenge he has been brewing for over two decades. Magic looms through the shadows and only the naïve and reckless go looking for it. These stumble upon the Sisterhood of the Noose swampy abodes, or the Pallid Masque that are full of reveling witches. For anyone stumbling upon these shadowy forces, there is only one outcome – blood and pain. Unlike other Schaefer novels, the Revanche Cycle is an epic fantasy told from multiple author perspectives set in an Italian Renaissance like setting. Focusing on several things all at once – the novels tackles issues of political intrigue, conspiracies, the role of religion and the relationship between church and state in shaping policy. Hinting at revenge and how the acts of one man can have far-reaching ramifications, the novels are some of the most titillating ever written by Craig Schaefer.

The Daniel Faust novels are another beast altogether focusing more on one man –Daniel Faust. Daniel is a plain dealing villain, a magician and sorcerer who makes use of sleight of hand, magic, and bullets to survive the tough streets of Las Vegas. He has a need for all three, given that over the course of the novels he has to face up to puppets, mercenaries, plants, mobsters, mages, and demons among many other forces. Despite all his paranormal powers and seemingly negative traits, Faust is not a bad guy instead being moral when it counts, he does not kill innocents, and is fiercely loyal to a fault. However, Las Vegas is full of people who would like to take advantage of him and the coming apocalypse to get what they want. Even as you can read each novel in the series as a standalone given their self-contained problems that need fixing by Faust, every novel has a narrative thread running through it, coupled with recurring lead characters. The novels in the series are urban fantasy heist series that have a strong resemblance to The Living End detective narratives by Jim Butcher or the police procedurals by Ben Aaronovitch. Nonetheless, the novels are more about committing crimes rather than about investigating them. It is an innovative approach in that you always know who the antagonists are, leaving the question of how the protagonist is going to defeat them.

“The Instruments of Control” opens to Pope Benignus on his deathbed. The man who will take after him will have the keys to a massive empire. Conspiracies abound regarding the pope’s daughter Livia, who has refused to take any side in the struggle for succession. She is reportedly vowing to save the church from disaster by exposing the truth. Nonetheless, Livia is not as clean as she would like everyone to believe, and one wrong move and she could lose her soul and her life. Meanwhile, one of the scions of a dying merchant house named Felix sees Winter’s Reach as his only hope of ever saving the woman he loves and his family from the clutches of a brutal tyrant. Felix and Livia have never met each other, but now they are caught in an intricate web far more complex than they could ever have imagined. Together with a sadistic coven of witches, an exiled politician, and two veteran bounty hunters, they are unwitting cogs in a cunning man’s plan to bring apocalyptic vengeance. If the plan is successful, the entire nation will go up in flames.

“Winter’s Reach”, the first novel in the Revancha Cycle series opens to Livia Serafini facing a death sentence after the church tries and sentences her to burn in absentia. To Carlo her brother, she is a symbol of resistance and a threat to his despotic and corrupt regime. Unknown to her, the new allies she has made in the East see her as a sacrifice and pawn that they can use as they see fit. They ignore the whispers of hope and invocations of the name of a revered saint that follow Serafini as she walks the streets. If she decides to fight, she will not be alone. Across the sea, Felix is involved in the struggle of his life as he battles the ruthless and wealthy crime lord Basilio Grimaldi. All he has going for him is courage and wits, which he knows will not be enough unless he can face up to the dark powers that had accompanied him on the journey home from Winter’s Reach. With the Owl unleashing his terrific vengeance, Serafini’s coven is on the brink of civil war with the dominoes lined up ready to tumble and take the world with them when one man gives the word.