A. Bertram Chandler Books in Order
53 books are credited to A. Bertram Chandler, published between 1945 and 2015; 13 of them appeared after A. Bertram Chandler's death in 1984. The first book is Giant Killer (1945) and the newest is Up to the Sky in Ships (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.
A. Bertram Chandler also publishes as George Whitely.
- Books
- 53
- Published
- 1945–2015
- Pages on record
- 5,146 in 9 of 53 books
A. Bertram Chandler, who lived from 1912 to 1984, was an Anglo-Australian merchant marine officer who took up pulp science fiction as a second career. Chandler sailed everything from tramp steamers to troop ships, emigrated to Australia in 1956, and by 1958 was an officer on the Sydney to Hobart route; that sea experience shapes much of his fiction. John Grimes, a spacefaring officer whose career spans the Federation Survey Service and the Rim Worlds, is his main creation. The catalogue holds 53 titles from Giant Killer in 1945, and Chandler also published as George Whitley, Andrew Dunstan and S.H.M.
Source: Wikidata
How many A. Bertram Chandler books are there?
A. Bertram Chandler has 53 books, released between 1945 and 2015. 13 of them were published after A. Bertram Chandler's death in 1984. They include 6 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.
A. Bertram Chandler Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 53 A. Bertram Chandler books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of November 2026.
- 1Giant Killer1945 · confirmed 2/41945–2/4
- 2Wet Paint1959 · confirmed 2/41959–2/4
- 3Bring Back Yesterday1961 · confirmed 2/41961–2/4
- 41961–2/4
- 51961–2/4
- 6The Hamelin Plague1963 · confirmed 2/41963–2/4
- 71963–2/4
- 819641242/4
- 9The Coils of Time1964 · confirmed 2/41964–2/4
- 10Glory Planet1964 · confirmed 2/41964–2/4
- 111965–2/4
- 121965–2/4
- 13The Alternate Martians1965 · confirmed 2/41965–2/4
- 141967–2/4
- 151967–2/4
- 161967–2/4
- 171968–2/4
- 181968–2/4
- 191969–2/4
- 201969–2/4
- 211971–2/4
- 221971–2/4
- 23The Sea Beasts1971 · confirmed 2/41971–2/4
- 24The Hard Way Up1972 · confirmed 2/41972–2/4
- 251972–2/4
- 261972–2/4
- 271975–2/4
- 281975–2/4
- 291977–2/4
- 301977–2/4
- 311978–2/4
- 321978–2/4
- 331979–2/4
- 341980–2/4
- 351981–2/4
- 36When the Dream Dies1981 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/419811282/4
- 371981–2/4
- 38Frontier of the Dark1984 · confirmed 2/41984–2/4
- 391984–2/4
- 401984–2/4
- 41Kelly Country1985 · confirmed 2/41985–2/4
- 4219906992/4
- 4320006082/4
- 442002–2/4
- 4520044882/4
- 4620045172/4
- 472011–2/4
- 4820119282/4
- 49201110242/4
- 50Raiders of the Solar Frontier2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 512012–2/4
- 5220146302/4
- 53Up to the Sky in Ships2015 · confirmed 2/42015–2/4
A. Bertram Chandler books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Commander Grimes in order
15 books- 1. Rendezvous on a Lost World
- 2. The Deep Reaches of Space
- 3. Catch the Star Winds
- 4. The Far Traveler
- 5. To Keep the Ship
- 6. Matilda's Stepchildren
- 7. Star Loot
- 8. The Anarch Lords
- 9. The Wild Ones
- 10. The Last Amazon
- 11. Tramp Captain
- 12. Lieutenant Of The Survey Service
- and 3 more in the table above
Grimes in the Rim World in order
7 booksGrimes in Federation Service in order
7 booksJohn Grimes Saga in order
5 booksEmpress in order
3 booksDerek Calver Adventures in order
2 booksStandalone books
14 books14 A. Bertram Chandler titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read A. Bertram Chandler books in order?
You only need to read A. Bertram Chandler books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with A. Bertram Chandler
Start with Giant Killer (1945), the earliest published title.
What is the newest A. Bertram Chandler book?
Up to the Sky in Ships (2015) is the newest A. Bertram Chandler book released so far.
Is there a new A. Bertram Chandler book coming?
No next A. Bertram Chandler book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
A. Bertram Chandler at a glance
- Died
- A. Bertram Chandler died in 1984, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to A. Bertram Chandler are still being published after A. Bertram Chandler's death in 1984; the newest appeared in 2015.
- Release pace
- A. Bertram Chandler books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,146 pages across the 9 of 53 books with a recorded length, a median of 608 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most A. Bertram Chandler books, 18 of 53, were published in the 1960s.
When A. Bertram Chandler books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when A. Bertram Chandler titles appeared. 1960s was the most productive decade with 18 titles.
53 books total across 8 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.
What the A. Bertram Chandler books are about
12 of the 53 A. Bertram Chandler books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: john grimes (fictitious character) is tagged on 6 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- John Grimes (Fictitious character) 6 of 12 books
- Science fiction 5 of 12 books
- Space opera 2 of 12 books