Order of Book Series
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Chris Bradford Books in Order

Chris Bradford has written 44 books, published between 2005 and 2023. The first book is Heart and Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting (2005) and the newest is Lunar (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
44
Published
2005–2023
Pages on record
6,575 in 29 of 44 books
Reading time
110–164 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,575 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 44 titles with a page count on record.

See all 44 books in order Printable Chris Bradford checklist

Chris Bradford is an English author and black belt martial artist, best known for the Young Samurai children's series. Puffin published the first Young Samurai book, The Way of the Warrior, in 2008, and Disney bought the rights that year. Seven further books followed, and a ninth, The Return of the Warrior, marked the series' tenth anniversary in 2018. The Bodyguard series began in 2013 with Hostage, in which teenage bodyguard Connor Reeves protects the US president's daughter. Other series include Ninja, Virtual Kombat, Bulletcatcher and Soul Hunters, and Lunar (2023) is the newest title.

How many Chris Bradford books are there?

Chris Bradford has 44 books, released between 2005 and 2023. They include 8 series and 6 titles listed outside any series.

Chris Bradford Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 44 Chris Bradford 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 Heart and Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting by Chris Bradford (2005)
  2. Cover of Crash Course Songwriting by Chris Bradford (2007)
  3. Cover of Music Publishing Out Loud by Chris Bradford (2007)
  4. Cover of The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Young Samurai series (2008)
  5. Cover of The Way of the Sword by Chris Bradford, book 2 of the Young Samurai series (2009)
  6. Cover of The Way of the Dragon by Chris Bradford, book 3 of the Young Samurai series (2010)
  7. Cover of The Ring of Earth by Chris Bradford, book 4 of the Young Samurai series (2010)
  8. Cover of Ninja: First Mission by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Ninja series (2011)
  9. Cover of The Ring of Water by Chris Bradford, book 5 of the Young Samurai series (2011)
  10. Cover of The Ring of Fire by Chris Bradford, book 6 of the Young Samurai series (2011)
  11. Cover of Gamer by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Virtual Kombat series (2012)
  12. Cover of The Ring of Wind by Chris Bradford, book 7 of the Young Samurai series (2012)
  13. Cover of The Way of Fire by Chris Bradford, book 8 of the Young Samurai series (2012)
  14. Cover of The Ring of Sky by Chris Bradford, book 9 of the Young Samurai series (2012)
  15. Cover of The Return of the Warrior by Chris Bradford, book 10 of the Young Samurai series (2012)
  16. Cover of Hostage by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Bodyguard Original series (2013)
  17. Cover of Ninja: Death Touch by Chris Bradford, book 2 of the Ninja series (2013)
  18. Cover of Ransom by Chris Bradford, book 2 of the Bodyguard Original series (2014)
  19. Cover of Ninja: Assassin by Chris Bradford, book 3 of the Ninja series (2014)
  20. Cover of Bulletcatcher by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Bulletcatcher series (2015)
  21. Cover of Ambush by Chris Bradford, book 3 of the Bodyguard Original series (2015)
  22. Cover of Shadow Warriors by Chris Bradford, book 4 of the Ninja series (2016)
  23. Cover of Target by Chris Bradford, book 4 of the Bodyguard Original series (2016)
  24. Cover of Jake and Jen in the Tomb of Ice by Chris Bradford, book 1 of the Jake & Jen Adventures series (2017)
  1. 1
    Heart and Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting2005 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Artist Management Out Loud2006 · confirmed 1/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Record Deals Out Loud2006 · confirmed 1/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Crash Course Songwriting2007 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Music Publishing Out Loud2007 · 49 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200749
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Way of the WarriorYoung Samurai #12008 · 332 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008332
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Way of the SwordYoung Samurai #22009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Way of the DragonYoung Samurai #32010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Ring of EarthYoung Samurai #42010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Ninja: First MissionNinja #12011 · 63 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201163
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Ring of WaterYoung Samurai #52011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Ring of FireYoung Samurai #62011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    GamerVirtual Kombat #12012 · 104 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012104
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Ring of WindYoung Samurai #72012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Way of FireYoung Samurai #82012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Ring of SkyYoung Samurai #92012 · 363 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012363
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Return of the WarriorYoung Samurai #102012 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    HostageBodyguard Original #12013 · 423 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013423
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Ninja: Death TouchNinja #22013 · 62 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201362
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    RansomBodyguard Original #22014 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Ninja: AssassinNinja #32014 · confirmed 1/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    BulletcatcherBulletcatcher #12015 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201580
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    AmbushBodyguard Original #32015 · 399 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015399
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    SniperBulletcatcher #22016 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201680
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Shadow WarriorsNinja #42016 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    TargetBodyguard Original #42016 · 428 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016428
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Jake and Jen in the Tomb of IceJake & Jen Adventures #12017 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201724
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    RecruitBodyguard (Split) #12017 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    HostageBodyguard (Split) #22017 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    BlowbackBulletcatcher #32017 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201780
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Chris Bradford series in order

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

Chris Bradford 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.

Bodyguard Original in order

6 books
  1. 1. Hostage
  2. 2. Ransom
  3. 3. Ambush
  4. 4. Target
  5. 5. Assassin
  6. 6. Fugitive

Ninja in order

4 books
  1. 1. Ninja: First Mission
  2. 2. Ninja: Death Touch
  3. 3. Ninja: Assassin
  4. 4. Shadow Warriors

Virtual Kombat in order

3 books
  1. 1. Gamer
  2. 2. Virus
  3. 3. Cyborg

Bulletcatcher in order

3 books
  1. 1. Bulletcatcher
  2. 2. Sniper
  3. 3. Blowback

Jake & Jen Adventures in order

2 books
  1. 1. Jake and Jen in the Tomb of Ice
  2. 2. Jake and Jen and the Mission to Mars

Soul Hunters in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Soul Hunters
  2. 2. The Soul Prophecy

Standalone books

6 books

6 Chris Bradford titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Chris Bradford books in order?

You only need to read Chris Bradford books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Chris Bradford

Start with the first book of the Chris Bradford series you want to read: Young Samurai starts with The Way of the Warrior (2008) and Bodyguard (Split) starts with Recruit (2017). The earliest catalogued title overall is Heart and Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting (2005).

What is the newest Chris Bradford book?

Lunar (2023) is the newest Chris Bradford book released so far.

Is there a new Chris Bradford book coming?

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

Chris Bradford at a glance

Paused
No new Chris Bradford title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Chris Bradford books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
6,575 pages across the 29 of 44 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Chris Bradford books, 33 of 44, were published in the 2010s.

What the Chris Bradford books are about

29 of the 44 Chris Bradford books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 20 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.