Alistair MacLean Books in Order
Alistair MacLean has written 42 books, published between 1955 and 1998. The first book is H.M.S. Ulysses (1955) and the newest is Borrowed Time (1998). Publication order is the reading order below.
Alistair MacLean also publishes as Ian Stuart.
- Books
- 42
- Published
- 1955–1998
- Confirmed
- 42 of 42 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,014 in 31 of 42 books
- Reading time
- 134–200 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,014 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 31 of 42 titles with a page count on record.
Alistair MacLean (21 April 1922 to 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist of thrillers and adventure stories. MacLean's books have sold an estimated 150 million copies, placing MacLean among the best-selling fiction authors of all time. Service in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Royalist during the Second World War supplied the basis for the debut novel, H.M.S. Ulysses (1955). Many of the novels were filmed, above all The Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra. Catalogued titles include South by Java Head (1958), Night Without End (1960) and Fear is the Key (1961). The author page also lists the Alistair MacLean's UNACO series and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
How many Alistair MacLean books are there?
Alistair MacLean has 42 books, released between 1955 and 1998. 10 of them belong to the Alistair MacLean's UNACO series.
Alistair MacLean Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 42 Alistair MacLean 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 September 2026.
- 119553083/4
- 21957–3/4
- 319582793/4
- 41959–3/4
- 519601283/4
- 619602553/4
- 719612643/4
- 81961–3/4
- 919621633/4
- 1019622233/4
- 1119622563/4
- 1219662363/4
- 1319672403/4
- 141968–3/4
- 151969–3/4
- 1619702083/4
- 171971–3/4
- 1819721923/4
- 191973–3/4
- 2019741923/4
- 2119751923/4
- 2219753623/4
- 2319772723/4
- 2419772403/4
- 251980–3/4
- 2619802843/4
- 2719812243/4
- 2819812163/4
- 291982–3/4
- 3019833103/4
- 3119842903/4
- 3219851883/4
- 3319862763/4
- 341988–3/4
- 3519893203/4
- 3619903763/4
- 371991–3/4
- 3819922883/4
- 3919933943/4
- 4019953843/4
- 4119972403/4
- 4219982143/4
Alistair MacLean characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- UNACO books in order 10 books
Alistair MacLean 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.
Alistair MacLean Standalone Novels
27 books27 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Alistair MacLean's UNACO in order
10 booksAlastair MacLean Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Alastair MacLean Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Alistair MacLean Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Alistair MacLean books run from H.M.S. Ulysses (1955) to Borrowed Time (1998), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Alistair MacLean in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Alistair MacLean books in order?
You only need to read Alistair MacLean books in order within the Alistair MacLean's UNACO series, which holds 10 of the 42 Alistair MacLean books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Alistair MacLean
Start with Hostage Tower (1980), the first UNACO book. The earliest catalogued title overall is H.M.S. Ulysses (1955).
What is the newest Alistair MacLean book?
Borrowed Time (1998) is the newest Alistair MacLean book released so far.
Is there a new Alistair MacLean book coming?
No next Alistair MacLean book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Alistair MacLean at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Alistair MacLean title on record dates from 1998, 28 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Alistair MacLean books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,014 pages across the 31 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 255 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Alistair MacLean books, 11 of 42, were published in the 1980s.
What the Alistair MacLean books are about
31 of the 42 Alistair MacLean books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: thrillers is tagged on 11 of 31. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Thrillers 11 of 31 books
- Action & adventure 10 of 31 books
- World War, 1939-1945 9 of 31 books
- Fiction in English 7 of 31 books
- War & military 5 of 31 books
- English fiction 4 of 31 books
- Adventure stories 3 of 31 books
- English literature 3 of 31 books
- Terrorism 3 of 31 books
- Children's fiction 2 of 31 books
- Crime 2 of 31 books
- Criminals 2 of 31 books