Robbins was raised in Pennsylvania. Until he was eight he lived in an outlying area of Philadelphia. Then his father was shot, and Robbins spent much of his remaining childhood and teen years on a farm owned by an Old Mennonite great aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania Dutch country. They had no indoor plumbing. Water was brought in from an outdoor pump, and they used an outhouse. The farm had forty cows, horses, hogs and chickens. When his uncle was nearly blinded by an owl that got into the milkhouse, Robbins did much of the plowing, planting and harvesting.

An avid backwoodsman, he hunted and fished extensively. Later in life he took part in search and rescue, and taught wilderness survival.

At seventeen Robbins enlisted in the United States Air Force and became a sergeant. After his honorable discharge he attended college and went into broadcasting. He worked as an announcer and engineer and later as a program director at various radio stations. Later still he entered law enforcement and then took to writing full-time.

At one time or another Robbins has lived in Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Montana, Colorado, Nebraska and the Pacific Northwest. He spent a year and a half in Europe, traveling through France, Italy, Greece and Germany. He lived for more than a year in Turkey.

His writing has been critically praised by the Pulp Rack, among others. He is perhaps best known for two current long-running series.

1. Wilderness is the generational saga of a mountain man and his Shoshone wife. Started in 1990 and written under his David Thompson pen name, the series has over sixty books to date and is being published four times a year.
2. Endworld is a science fiction series under his own name started in 1986. There are forty-one books and is still being published.

His work has been published in nine languages.

Wilderness

Written as David Thompson

1. KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
2. LURE OF THE WILD
3. SAVAGE RENDEZVOUS
4. BLOOD FURY
5. TOMAHAWK REVENGE
6. BLACK POWDER TRAIL
7. VENGENANCE TRAIL
8. DEATH HUNT
9. MOUNTAIN DEVIL
10. BLACKFOOT MASSACRE
11. NORTHWEST PASSAGE
12. APACHE BLOOD
13. MOUNTAIN MANHUNT
14. TENDERFOOT
15. WINTERKILL
16. BLOOD TRUCE
17. TRAPPER'S BLOOD
18. MOUNTAIN CAT
19. IRON WARRIOR
20. WOLF PACK
21. BLACK POWDER
22. TRAIL'S END
23. THE LOST VALLEY
24. MOUNTAIN MADNESS
25. FRONTIER MAYHEM
26. BLOOD FEUD
27. GOLD RAGE
28. THE QUEST
29. MOUNTAIN NIGHTMARE
30. SAVAGES
31. BLOOD KIN
32. THE WESTWARD TIDE
33. FANG AND CLAW
34. TRACKDOWN
35. FRONTIER FURY
36. THE TEMPEST
37. PERILS IN THE WIND
38. MOUNTAIN MAN
39. FIREWATER
40. SCAR
41. BY DUTY BOUND
42. FLAMES OF JUSTICE
43. VENGEANCE
44. SHADOW REALMS
45. IN CRUEL CLUTCHES
46. UNTAMED COUNTRY
47. REAP THE WHIRLWIND
48. LORD GRIZZLY
49. WOLVERINE
50. PEOPLE OF THE FOREST
51. COMANCHE MOON
52. GLACIER TERROR
53. THE RISING STORM
54. PURE OF HEART
55. INTO THE UNKNOWN
56. IN DARKEST DEPTHS
57. FEAR WEAVER
58. CRY FREEDOM
59. ONLY THE STRONG
60. THE OUTCAST (JUNE 2009)
61. THE SCALP HUNTERS (SEPTEMBER 2009)

Giant Wilderness

• HAWKEN FURY
• SEASON OF THE WARRIOR
• PRAIRIE BLOOD
• ORDEAL
• THE TRAIL WEST
• FRONTIER STRIKE
• SPANISH SLAUGHTER

Endworld

Endworld is a Scifi series launched in 1986 under the name David Robbins. The novels take place in a post-apocalyptic USA.

Blade

Blade is a 13 novel sequel to Endworld written as David Robbins.

1. First Strike
2. Outland Strike
3. Vampire Strike
4. Pipeline Strike
5. Pirate Strike
6. Crusher Strike
7. Terror Strike
8. Devil Strike
9. L.A. Strike
10. Dead Zone Strike
11. Quest Strike
12. Death Master Strike
13. Venegance Strike

White Apache

Written as: Jake McMasters

• HANGMAN'S KNOT
• WARPATH
• WARRIOR BORN
• QUICK KILLER
• BLOOD BATH
• BLOOD TREACHERY
• BLOOD BOUNTY
• THE TRACKERS
• DESERT FURY
• HANGED

Davy Crockett

Written as: David Thompson

• HOMECOMING
• SIOUX SLAUGHTER
• BLOOD HUNT
• MISSISSIPPI MAYHEM
• BLOOD RAGE
• COMANCHE COUNTRY
• TEXICAN TERROR
• CANNIBAL COUNTRY

Compton Novels

Written as: Ralph Compton

• DO OR DIE
• NOWHERE, TX
• BUCKED OUT IN DODGE
• WEST OF PECOS
• FOR THE BRAND
• BY THE HORNS
• RIO LARGO
• A WOLF IN THE FOLD
• BLUFF CITY
• BLOOD DUEL

The Executioner

Written as: Don Pendleton

• #169: White Heat
• #178: Black Hand
• #191: Extreme Force
• #199: Rogue Agent
• #230: Deep Attack
• #267: Invisible Invader
• #294: Scorpion Rising
• #313: Lockdown
• #322: Time Bomb

SuperBolans

Written as: Don Pendleton

• #44: Shock Tactic
• #46: Precision Kill
• #51: Thermal Strike
• #61: Blood Feud
• #68: Code of Conflict
• #75: Evil Alliance
• #82: War Load
• #90: Age of War

The Trailsman

• #118: ARIZONA SLAUGHTER
• #120: WYOMING MANHUNT
• #122: GOLD FEVER
• #123: DESERT DEATH
• #125: BLOOD PRAIRIE
• #127: NEVADA WARPATH
• #128: SNAKE RIVER BUTCHER
• #131: BEAR TOWN BLOODSHED
• #135: MOUNTAIN MAYHEM
• #138: SILVER FURY
• #141: TOMAHAWK JUSTICE
• #144: ABILENE AMBUSH
• #146: NEBRASKA NIGHTMARE
• #149: SPRINGFIELF SHARPSHOOTERS
• #152: PRAIRIE FIRE
• #155: OKLAHOMA ORDEAL
• #158: TEXAS TERROR
• #161: ROGUE RIVER FEUD
• #164: NEZ PERCE NIGHTMARE
• #166: COLORADO CARNAGE
• #169: SOCCORO SLAUGHTER
• #170: UTAH TRACKDOWN
• #173: WASHINGTON WARPATH
• #174: DEATH VALLEY BLOODBATH
• #177: COLORADO WOLFPACK
• #178: APACHE ARROWS
• #183: BAYOU BLOODBATH
• #184: ROCKY MOUNTAIN NIGHTMARE
• #187: SIOUX WAR CRY
• #190: PECOS DEATH
• #192: DURANGO DUEL
• #197: UTAH UPRISING
• #199: WYOMING WILDCATS
• #201: SALMON RIVER RAGE
• #205: MOUNTAIN MANKILLERS
• #208: ARIZONA RENEGADES
• #211: BADLANDS BLOODBATH
• #214: TEXAS HELLION
• #216: HIGH SIERRA HORROR
• #217: DAKOTA DECEPTION
• #220: MONTANA GUNSHARPS
• #222: COLORADO DIAMOND DUPE
• #226: NEBRASKA SLAYING GROUND
• #228: WYOMING WARCRY
• #232: PACIFIC PHANTOMS
• #235: FLATHEAD FURY
• #237: DAKOTA DAMNATION
• #244: PACIFIC POLECATS
• #247: SEVEN DEVILS SLAUGHTER
• #251: UTAH UPROAR
• #257: COLORADO CUTTHROATS
• #261: DESERT DEATH TRAP
• #264: SNAKE RIVER RUINS
• #272: NEVADA NEMESIS
• #275: OZARKS ONSLAUGHT
• #278: MOUNTAIN MANHUNT
• #284: DAKOTA PRAIRIE PIRATES
• #295: OASIS OF BLOOD
• #300: BACKWOODS BLOODBATH
• #303: TERROR TRACKDOWN
• #306: NEBRASKA NIGHT RIDERS
• #310: ALASKAN VENGEANCE
• #312: SHANGHIED SIX-GUNS
• #313: MISSOURI MANHUNT
• #317: MOUNTAIN MYSTERY

Giant Trailsman

• WOODLAND WARRIORS
• NEW MEXICO NIGHTMARE
• MENAGERIE OF MALICE
• ISLAND DEVILS
• IDAHO BLOOD SPUR
• DESERT DUEL (Feb. 07)

Mountain Majesty

• #7: FIRE ON THE PRAIRIE
• #8: THE SAVAGE LAND

Preacher's Law

• #5: SLAUGHTER AT TEN SLEEP

Omega Sub

• #2: COMMAND DECISION
• #4: BLOOD TIDE
• #5: DEATH DIVE
• #6: RAVEN RISING

Suspense

• BLOOD CULT

Horror novels

• THE WERELING
• THE WRATH
• SPECTRE
• HELL-O-WEEN
• PRANK NIGHT
• SPOOK NIGHT

Movie adaptations

• MEN OF HONOR
• PROOF OF LIFE
• TWISTED

Non-fiction

• Heavy Traffic

Single novels

• THE RETURN OF THE VIRGINIAN
• DIABLO

The Hardy Boys

Written as: Franklin W. Dixon

• 57: Terror on Track