Order of Book Series
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Charles Stross Books in Order

Charles Stross has written 74 books, published between 1980 and 2026. The first book is Deathwing (1980) and the newest is Apostle (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
74
Published
1980–2026
Confirmed
70 of 74 titles
Pages on record
10,217 in 33 of 74 books
See all 74 books in order Printable Charles Stross checklist
Photo of Charles Stross, author

Charles Stross is a British science fiction and fantasy writer, born 18 October 1964, who specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. The Laundry Files, featuring Bob Howard, mixes intelligence work with demonology. Other series are Merchant Princes, Singularity Sky, Halting State, Empire Games and Freyaverse. The catalogue lists 74 entries from Deathwing (1980) to Apostle (2026), including A Colder War (2000), Antibodies (2000) and Lobsters (2001).

How many Charles Stross books are there?

Charles Stross has 74 books, released between 1980 and 2026. They include 7 separate series.

Charles Stross Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 74 Charles Stross 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.

  1. Cover of Deathwing by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Warhammer 40,000 series (1980)
  2. Cover of Inquisitor by Charles Stross, book 3 of the Warhammer 40,000 series (1990)
  3. Cover of The Web Architect's Handbook by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Charles Stross Non-Fiction series (1996)
  4. Cover of Toast, and Other Stories by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Charles Stross Short Story series (2002)
  5. Cover of Singularity Sky by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Singularity Sky series (2003)
  6. Cover of The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Laundry Files series (2004)
  7. Cover of The Family Trade by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Merchant Princes series (2004)
  8. Cover of Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Singularity Sky series (2004)
  9. Cover of The Hidden Family by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Merchant Princes series (2005)
  10. Cover of Accelerando by Charles Stross, book 3 of the Singularity Sky series (2005)
  11. Cover of Glasshouse by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Charles Stross Standalone Novels series (2006)
  12. Cover of Missile Gap by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Charles Stross Standalone Novels series (2006)
  13. Cover of The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Laundry Files series (2006)
  14. Cover of The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross, book 3 of the Merchant Princes series (2006)
  15. Cover of Halting State by Charles Stross, book 1 of the Halting State series (2007)
  16. Cover of The Merchants' War by Charles Stross, book 4 of the Merchant Princes series (2007)
  17. Cover of Blood & Thunder by Charles Stross, book 26 of the Warhammer 40,000 series (2008)
  18. Cover of Wireless by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Charles Stross Short Story series (2009)
  19. Cover of The Revolution Business by Charles Stross, book 5 of the Merchant Princes series (2009)
  20. Cover of Equoid by Charles Stross, book 5 of the Laundry Files series (2010)
  21. Cover of The Trade of Queens by Charles Stross, book 6 of the Merchant Princes series (2010)
  22. Cover of The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross, book 7 of the Laundry Files series (2010)
  23. Cover of Rule 34 by Charles Stross, book 2 of the Halting State series (2011)
  24. Cover of The Rapture of the Nerds by Charles Stross, book 4 of the Charles Stross Standalone Novels series (2012)
  1. 1
    DeathwingWarhammer 40,000 #11980 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1980288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Approaching XanaduCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #11989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    InquisitorWarhammer 40,000 #31990 · confirmed 3/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    HarlequinWarhammer 40,000 #41994 · confirmed 3/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Web Architect's HandbookCharles Stross Non-Fiction #11996 · 289 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996289
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A Colder War (Short Story)Charles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #22000 · confirmed 1/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    AntibodiesCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #32000 · confirmed 3/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    LobstersCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #42001 · confirmed 3/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 10
    Jury Service (Short Story)Charles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #52002 · confirmed 1/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 11
    HaloCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #62002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    Singularity SkySingularity Sky #12003 · 337 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003337
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    NightfallCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #72003 · confirmed 3/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    Festival of FoolsCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #82003 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    The Atrocity ArchivesLaundry Files #12004 · confirmed 3/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    The Family TradeMerchant Princes #12004 · 312 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    Iron SunriseSingularity Sky #22004 · 496 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004496
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Appeals Court (Short Story)Charles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #92004 · confirmed 1/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    ElectorCharles Stross Short Stories/Novellas #112004 · confirmed 3/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    The Hidden FamilyMerchant Princes #22005 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    AccelerandoSingularity Sky #32005 · 390 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005390
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    GlasshouseCharles Stross Standalone Novels #12006 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    Missile GapCharles Stross Standalone Novels #22006 · 99 pages · confirmed 3/4
    200699
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    The Jennifer MorgueLaundry Files #22006 · 340 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006340
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    PimpfLaundry Files #32006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    The Clan CorporateMerchant Princes #32006 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    Halting StateHalting State #12007 · 374 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007374
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    The Merchants' WarMerchant Princes #42007 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    Saturn's ChildrenFreyaverse #12008 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    Blood & ThunderWarhammer 40,000 #262008 · 128 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Charles Stross series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Charles Stross 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.

Warhammer 40,000 in order

17 books
  1. 1. Deathwing
  2. 3. Inquisitor
  3. 4. Harlequin
  4. 26. Blood & Thunder
  5. 141. Agents of the Imperium
  6. 175. The Infinite and The Divine
  7. 177. Darkness in the Blood: Blood Angels
  8. 193. Volpone Glory
  9. 196. Krieg
  10. 200. Assassinorum Kingmaker
  11. 202. The Triumph Of Saint Katherine
  12. 207. Helbrecht Knight Of The Throne
  13. and 5 more in the table above

Charles Stross Short Stories/Novellas

12 books

12 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Merchant Princes in order

6 books
  1. 1. The Family Trade
  2. 2. The Hidden Family
  3. 3. The Clan Corporate
  4. 4. The Merchants' War
  5. 5. The Revolution Business
  6. 6. The Trade of Queens

Charles Stross Standalone Novels

4 books

4 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Singularity Sky in order

3 books
  1. 1. Singularity Sky
  2. 2. Iron Sunrise
  3. 3. Accelerando

Freyaverse in order

3 books
  1. 1. Saturn's Children
  2. 2. Bit Rot
  3. 3. Neptune's Brood

Empire Games in order

3 books
  1. 1. Empire Games
  2. 2. Dark State
  3. 3. Invisible Sun

Charles Stross Short Story

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Halting State in order

2 books
  1. 1. Halting State
  2. 2. Rule 34

Charles Stross Non-Fiction

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Laundry Files Collections

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Shining Worlds in order

1 book
  1. 1. Ghost Engine

Do you have to read Charles Stross books in order?

You only need to read Charles Stross books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Charles Stross

Start with The Atrocity Archives (2004), the first Laundry Files book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Deathwing (1980).

What is the newest Charles Stross book?

Apostle (2026) is the newest Charles Stross book released so far.

Is there a new Charles Stross book coming?

No next Charles Stross book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Charles Stross has won

Wikidata records 8 awards and 60 nominations for Charles Stross. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Hugo Award for Best Novella2014Wonfor Equoid
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2013Wonfor The Apocalypse Codex
  • Hugo Award for Best Novella2010Wonfor Palimpsest
  • Edward E. Smith Memorial Award2008Won
  • Locus Award for Best Novella2007Wonfor Missile Gap
  • Sidewise Award for Alternate History2006Wonfor The Family Trade
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2006Wonfor Accelerando
  • Hugo Award for Best Novella2005Wonfor The Concrete Jungle
  • Hugo Award for Best Series2024Shortlistedfor The Laundry Files
  • Hugo Award for Best Series2022Shortlistedfor The Merchant Princes
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2022Shortlistedfor Invisible Sun
  • Dragon Award for Best Fantasy Novel2021Shortlistedfor Dead Lies Dreaming

Charles Stross at a glance

Still publishing
Charles Stross published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Charles Stross books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
10,217 pages across the 33 of 74 books with a recorded length, a median of 336 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Charles Stross books, 28 of 74, were published in the 2000s.

What the Charles Stross books are about

35 of the 74 Charles Stross books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 11 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.