Daniel Kraus Books in Order

How to Start Reading Daniel Kraus

Daniel Kraus is a master of the macabre, known for his ability to find beauty in the grotesque and deep humanity in the terrifying. Because the majority of his books are standalone novels, you have a lot of flexibility in how you approach his bibliography. However, the best place to start depends heavily on what kind of story you are looking for:

• For the Ultimate Thriller Experience: Start with Whalefall (2023). This science-fiction survival thriller follows a diver swallowed by a sperm whale who has only one hour of oxygen to escape. It is highly intense, emotionally raw, and represents Kraus at the height of his solo storytelling powers.
• For Modern Literary Acclaim: Start with Angel Down (2025). This WWI-era cinematic novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making it an essential read for those looking to see how Kraus applies his dark, atmospheric prose to historical literature.
• For Classic Macabre Horror: Start with Rotters (2011). This Odyssey Award-winning novel dives deep into the underground world of grave-robbing, serving as a perfect introduction to Kraus’s early signature blend of coming-of-age drama and visceral horror.
• For Cinematic Dark Fantasy: Start with The Shape of Water (2018), co-authored with Guillermo del Toro. If you loved the Academy Award-winning film, the novel offers an expanded, deeply poetic exploration of the characters and their amphibious love story.

Daniel Kraus’s Major Series in Order

While his standalones are highly popular, Kraus has penned several memorable series, ranging from sprawling historical epics to middle-grade horror.

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch

This duology is a massive, ambitious dark historical fantasy that follows a resurrected teenage gangster from 1896 Chicago who wanders through a century of American history. You should read this series in strict publication order:

1. The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire (2015)
2. The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume Two: Empire Decayed (2016)

Note: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: The Complete Confession (2016) is a compilation volume containing both books, which is a great option if you want to read the entire epic in one go.

The Teddies Saga

Described as a dark blend of Toy Story and Lord of the Flies, this middle-grade fantasy horror trilogy features illustrations by Rovina Cai. It follows a group of discarded teddy bears seeking their purpose. Read them in order:

1. They Threw Us Away (2020)
2. They Stole Our Hearts (2022)
3. They Set the Fire (2023)

Graveyard Girls (Co-authored with Lisi Harrison)

This middle-grade spooky mystery series follows five friends in the town of Misery Falls, Oregon, as they solve local supernatural mysteries. Written for fans of Goosebumps, the series should be read in chronological order:

1. 1-2-3-4, I Declare a Thumb War (2022)
2. Scream for the Camera (2023)
3. Season's Eatings (2023)
4. The Joker's on You (2023)
5. Where There's Smoke, There's a Liar (2024)

Trollhunters (Co-authored with Guillermo del Toro)

This young adult dark fantasy was adapted into an Emmy-winning Netflix animated series. It consists of the primary novel and a companion guide:

• Trollhunters (2015) — The core novel.
• Tales of Arcadia: The Trollhunters Guide (2020) — An in-universe companion book detailing the lore, characters, and creatures.

The George A. Romero Collaborations

Kraus has played a critical role in preserving the legacy of zombie pioneer George A. Romero. By working closely with Romero's estate and archives, Kraus completed two major unfinished manuscripts left behind by the legendary director:

• The Living Dead (2020) — A massive, multi-perspective epic that scales from the first zombie outbreak to decades into the future. Kraus completed this based on Romero's unfinished manuscript, creating a definitive statement on the zombie genre.
• Pay the Piper (2024) — A supernatural Southern Gothic horror set in the cursed bayou town of Alligator Point, Louisiana. Kraus discovered the unfinished manuscript in the University of Pittsburgh archives and completed it, delivering a swamp-bound tale of ancient sins and vengeful folklore.

Daniel Kraus’s Standalone Novels (Publication Order)

If you prefer to read his standalone works chronologically by when they were released, follow this order:

1. The Monster Variations (2009) — Kraus's debut novel focusing on a small town's reaction to a series of tragic hit-and-runs.
2. Rotters (2011) — The award-winning horror coming-of-age story centered around grave-robbing.
3. Scowler (2013) — A brutal, lyrical psychological horror novel set on a dying farm.
4. The Shape of Water (2018) — The romantic fantasy co-authored with Guillermo del Toro.
5. Blood Sugar (2019/2020) — A gritty, tense thriller involving a group of kids on Halloween night.
6. Bent Heavens (2020) — A dark, unsettling science-fiction thriller about alien abduction and human cruelty.
7. The Ghost That Ate Us (2022) — A true-crime style mockumentary novel investigating a bizarre haunting at a highway diner.
8. Wrath (2022) — A collaborative techno-thriller detailing a catastrophic artificial intelligence outbreak.
9. Whalefall (2023) — The acclaimed survival thriller set entirely inside the belly of a whale.
10. Angel Down (2025) — The Pulitzer Prize-winning WWI historical drama.

What to Know Before You Start: Catalog Confusion

When searching for Daniel Kraus’s bibliography online (such as on Goodreads, Amazon, or local library networks), you may find a book titled Blockchains, Smart Contracts, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations and the Law (2019) listed under his name. This is a common metadata indexing error. That legal text was edited by a different Daniel Kraus, who is a Swiss professor of law. Our horror-writing Daniel Kraus did not write about blockchain legislation!

Additionally, Kraus has contributed scripts to comic anthology series like Image/Skybound's Creepshow. He wrote "The Cemeterians" for Creepshow #1 (2022) and "The Christmas Man" for the Creepshow Holiday Special 2023 #1. You do not need to read the entire run of the Creepshow comic series to understand his novels, but they are great quick bites of horror for completionist fans.