Michael Marshall Smith Reading Order
13 series · 219 books
Michael Marshall Smith is a versatile English author known for his work in speculative fiction, blending elements of horror, science fiction, and thriller. Over his prolific career from 1990 to 2026, he has published 219 books across 13 series, including the acclaimed Straw Men and the Ememess Collections, alongside numerous standalone novels and short story collections. Smith’s imaginative storytelling and distinctive style have solidified his reputation, making him a notable figure in contemporary literature.
Anomaly Files Series
Complete2 books (2018–2019)
Start with The Anomaly and read in order.
Anthologies Series
Ongoing92 books (1991–2026)
Start with Best New Horror 2, the first of 92 books in the Anthologies series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Best New Horror 2 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Darklands No 1 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Best New Horror 3 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  The Mammoth Book of Vampires 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Giant Book of Best New Horror 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | The Giant Book of Zombies 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  The Mammoth Book of Zombies 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Best New Horror 5 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Dark Voices 6 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Seventh Annual Collection 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  The Anthology of Fantasy and the Supernatural 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  The Giant Book of Terror 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men / The Mammoth Book of Werewolves 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Best New Horror 6 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Dark Terrors 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Dark Terrors 2 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  Lethal Kisses 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 7 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: Tenth Annual Collection 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 | 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  Dark Terrors 3 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 |  Dark of the Night 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  Secret City 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 8 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  The Mammoth Book of Dracula 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  Binary 2 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  Dark Terrors 4 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 9 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 | Dark Terrors 5 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 |  Foursight 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 |  October Dreams 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 33 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #11 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 34 | Tails of Wonder and Imagination 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 35 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #12 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 36 |  Dark Terrors 6 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 37 |  Keep Out The Night 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 38 |  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 39 |  The Mammoth Book of New Terror 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 40 | Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 41 |  Best New Horror 16 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 42 | Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 43 |  Shrouded by Darkness: Tales of Terror 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 44 |  The British Fantasy Society: A Celebration 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 45 |  Summer Chills 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 46 |  The Mammoth Book of Monsters 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 47 |  Best New Horror 19 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 48 |  Shroud 3 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 49 |  The Best of Cemetery Dance II 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 50 |  Hungry for Your Love 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 51 |  The Dead That Walk 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 52 |  Best New Horror 21 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 53 | Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 54 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 55 |  The End of the Line 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 56 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 57 |  Visitants 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 58 |  Zombie Apocalypse! 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 59 |  Zombies: The Recent Dead 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 60 |  A Book of Horrors 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 61 |  Best New Horror 22 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 62 |  Haunts: Reliquaries of the Dead 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 63 | New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 64 |  Swallowed by the Cracks 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 65 |  The Recent Weird 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 66 |  Best New Horror 23 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 67 | Mammoth Books Presents The Unexpected 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 68 | Mammoth Books presents Monsters in Our Midst 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 69 |  The Mammoth Book of Body Horror 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 70 | Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 71 |  Fearie Tales 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 72 |  Flotsam Fantastique: The Souvenir Book of World Fantasy Convention 2013 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 73 |  Hauntings 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 74 |  Mister October, Volume I: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 75 | Psychomania: Killer Stories 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 76 |  Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 77 | Best New Horror 25 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 78 |  Horrorology 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 79 | Darker Terrors 7 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 80 |  Detours 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 81 |  In the Shadow of Frankenstein 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 82 | Ten Tall Tales: And Twisted Limericks 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 83 |  In the Footsteps of Dracula 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 84 |  Best New Horror 28 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 85 |  Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 86 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 87 | The Mammoth Book of Nightmare Stories 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 88 |  Best New Horror #30 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 89 |  Best New Horror #31 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 90 | The Mammoth Book of Folk Horror 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 91 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 92 |  All Hallows Eve 2026Buy 🇺🇸 |
Best Horror of the Year Series
Ongoing18 books (2009–2025)
Start with The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One, the first of 18 books in the Best Horror of the Year series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Three 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eight 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Nine 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Ten 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen 2025Buy 🇺🇸 |
Cemetery Dance Select Series
Complete20 books (2015–2020)
Start with Cemetery Dance Select: Bev Vincent(By: Bev Vincent), the first of 20 books in the Cemetery Dance Select series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cemetery Dance Select: Bev Vincent(By: Bev Vincent) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Cemetery Dance Select: Jeff Strand(By: Jeff Strand) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Cemetery Dance Select: John R. Little(By: John R. Little) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Cemetery Dance Select: Kaaron Warren(By: Kaaron Warren) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Cemetery Dance Select: Kealan Patrick Burke(By: Kealan Patrick Burke) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Cemetery Dance Select: Lee Thomas(By: Lee Thomas) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Cemetery Dance Select: Lisa Morton(By: Lisa Morton) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Cemetery Dance Select: Lisa Tuttle(By: Lisa Tuttle) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Cemetery Dance Select: Michael Marshall Smith 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Cemetery Dance Select: Peter Atkins(By: Peter Atkins) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Cemetery Dance Select: Terry Dowling(By: Terry Dowling) 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | Cemetery Dance Select: Ed Gorman(By: Ed Gorman) 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | Cemetery Dance Select: Michael McBride(By: Michael McBride) 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Cemetery Dance Select: Simon Clark(By: Simon Clark) 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | Cemetery Dance Select: Christopher Conlon(By: Christopher Conlon) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 | Cemetery Dance Select: Gene O'Neill(By: Gene O'Neill) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Cemetery Dance Select: Keith Minnion(By: Keith Minnion) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | Cemetery Dance Select: Poppy Z. Brite(By: Poppy Brite) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 | Cemetery Dance Select: Tim Waggoner(By: Tim Waggoner) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 | Cemetery Dance Select: Rick Hautala(By: Rick Hautala) 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
Ememess Collections Series
Complete9 books (2012–2012)
Start with Ememess, Issue 1, the first of 9 books in the Ememess Collections series.
Kim Newman Short Story Collections Series
Complete8 books (1994–2010)
Start with The Original Dr. Shade and Other Stories(By: Kim Newman), the first of 8 books in the Kim Newman Short Story Collections series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Original Dr. Shade and Other Stories(By: Kim Newman) 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Famous Monsters(By: Kim Newman) 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Binary 2 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Unforgivable Stories(By: Kim Newman) 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Where The Bodies Are Buried(By: Kim Newman) 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Dead Travel Fast(By: Kim Newman) 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club(By: Kim Newman) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Mysteries of the Diogenes Club(By: Kim Newman) 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
Shadows Over Innsmouth Series
Complete3 books (1994–2013)
Start with Shadows Over Innsmouth(By: Stephen Jones) and read in order.
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete30 books (1990–2013)
Start with The Man Who Drew Cats, the first of 30 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Man Who Drew Cats 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | The Dark Land 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | To Receive Is Better 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  More Tomorrow 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Foreign Bodies 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Hell Hath Enlarged Herself 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  The Vaccinator 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | The Handover 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Sad, Dark Thing 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | A Convenient Arrangement 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | A Long Walk, For The Last Time 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | Autumn 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Being Right 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | Diet Hell 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 | Enough Pizza 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Everybody Goes 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | Getting Over 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 | Later 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 | Mammoth Books Presents Substitutions 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 | Maybe Next Time 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | Missed Connection 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 | More Bitter Than Death 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | Open Doors 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 | Save As... 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 | The Fracture 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 | The Seventeenth Kind 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | Two Shot 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 | When God Lived In Kentish Town 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 |  The Gist 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
Short Story Collections Series
Complete5 books (1999–2020)
Start with What You Make It, the first of 5 books in the Short Story Collections series.
Standalone Novels Series
Ongoing10 books (1994–2024)
Start with Only Forward(As: Michael Marshall), the first of 10 books in the Standalone Novels series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Only Forward(As: Michael Marshall) 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Spares 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  One of Us 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  The Intruders(As: Michael Marshall) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | The Servants 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Bad Things(As: Michael Marshall) 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Killer Move(As: Michael Marshall) 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | We Are Here(As: Michael Marshall, With: Benjamin Kuntzer) 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Hannah Green and Her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Time Out 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
Straw Men Series
Complete3 books (2002–2005)
Start with The Straw Men and read in order.
The Lovecraft Squad Series
Complete4 books (2017–2020)
Start with All Hallows Horror(By: Stephen Jones,John Llewellyn Probert), the first of 4 books in the The Lovecraft Squad series.
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror Series
Ongoing15 books (2010–2024)
Start with The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition, the first of 15 books in the The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Edition 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2015 Edition 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2016 Edition 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2017 Edition 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2018 Edition 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2019 Edition 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 1 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 2 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, Volume 3 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 4 2023Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 5 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has Michael Marshall Smith written?
- Michael Marshall Smith has written 219 books across 13 series. Their published works span from 1990 to 2026.
- What is the first book in each Michael Marshall Smith series?
- Here are the first books in Michael Marshall Smith's series: Anomaly Files: The Anomaly; Anthologies: Best New Horror 2; Best Horror of the Year: The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One; Cemetery Dance Select: Cemetery Dance Select: Bev Vincent(By: Bev Vincent); Ememess Collections: Ememess, Issue 1.
- What order should I read Michael Marshall Smith's books?
- We recommend reading Michael Marshall Smith's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is Michael Marshall Smith still writing new books?
- Yes, Michael Marshall Smith has 4 ongoing series: Anthologies, Best Horror of the Year, Standalone Novels, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror.