Order of Book Series
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Christopher Priest Books in Order

Christopher Priest has written 35 books, published between 1970 and 2026. The first book is Indoctrinaire (1970) and the newest is The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J. G. Ballard (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
35
Published
1970–2026
Pages on record
6,347 in 25 of 35 books
Reading time
106–159 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,347 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 25 of 35 titles with a page count on record.

See all 35 books in order Printable Christopher Priest checklist
Photo of Christopher Priest, author

Christopher Priest (1943-2024) was a British science fiction novelist whose work took its bearings from H. G. Wells; in 2006 Priest was made a Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. The Inverted World (1974), The Affirmation (1981), The Prestige (1995) and The Separation (2002) are among the novels, with Fugue for a Darkening Island (1972) and The Space Machine (1976) from the 1970s, the heaviest decade of the run. The catalogue holds 35 books, opening with Indoctrinaire (1970) and reaching The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J. G. Ballard (2026).

How many Christopher Priest books are there?

Christopher Priest has 35 books, released between 1970 and 2026.

Christopher Priest Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 35 Christopher Priest 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 Indoctrinaire by Christopher Priest (1970)
  2. Cover of Fugue for a Darkening Island by Christopher Priest (1972)
  3. Cover of Real-Time World by Christopher Priest (1974)
  4. Cover of The Inverted World by Christopher Priest (1974)
  5. Cover of The Space Machine by Christopher Priest (1976)
  6. Cover of The Perfect Lover by Christopher Priest (1977)
  7. Cover of An Infinite Summer by Christopher Priest (1979)
  8. Cover of The Affirmation by Christopher Priest (1981)
  9. Cover of The Glamour by Christopher Priest (1984)
  10. Cover of Short Circuit by Christopher Priest (1986)
  11. Cover of Mona Lisa by Christopher Priest (1986)
  12. Cover of The Book on the Edge of Forever by Christopher Priest (1987)
  13. Cover of The Quiet Woman by Christopher Priest (1990)
  14. Cover of The Prestige by Christopher Priest (1995)
  15. Cover of The Extremes by Christopher Priest (1998)
  16. Cover of eXistenZ by Christopher Priest (1999)
  17. Cover of The Separation by Christopher Priest (2002)
  18. Cover of “It” Came From Outer Space by Christopher Priest (2008)
  19. Cover of The Islanders by Christopher Priest (2011)
  20. Cover of Real-Time World +2 by Christopher Priest (2012)
  21. Cover of The Adjacent by Christopher Priest (2013)
  22. Cover of An American Story by Christopher Priest (2018)
  23. Cover of Episodes by Christopher Priest (2019)
  24. Cover of Expect Me Tomorrow by Christopher Priest (2022)
  1. 1
    Indoctrinaire1970 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Fugue for a Darkening Island1972 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Real-Time World1974 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Inverted World1974 · 310 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Space Machine1976 · 363 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976363
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A Dream of Wessex1977 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Perfect Lover1977 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Negation1978 · confirmed 1/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    An Infinite Summer1979 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Affirmation1981 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Glamour1984 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Short Circuit1986 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Mona Lisa1986 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Book on the Edge of Forever1987 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198756
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Last Deadloss Visions1988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Quiet Woman1990 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Prestige1995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Extremes1998 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Dream Archipelago1999 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    eXistenZ1999 · 278 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Separation2002 · 338 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Magic2008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Ersatz Wines2008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    “It” Came From Outer Space2008 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Islanders2011 · 339 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011339
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Real-Time World +22012 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Adjacent2013 · 419 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013419
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Gradual2016 · 295 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016295
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    An American Story2018 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Episodes2019 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2019368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    The Evidence2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  32. 32
    Expect Me Tomorrow2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  33. 33
    Airside2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  34. 34
    The Recollections2026 · confirmed 1/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  35. 35
    The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J. G. Ballard2026 · confirmed 1/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Christopher Priest 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.

Standalone books

35 books

35 Christopher Priest titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Christopher Priest books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 35 Christopher Priest books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Christopher Priest

Start with Indoctrinaire (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Christopher Priest book?

The Illuminated Man: Life, Death and the Worlds of J. G. Ballard (2026) is the newest Christopher Priest book released so far.

Is there a new Christopher Priest book coming?

No next Christopher Priest 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 Christopher Priest has won

Wikidata records 12 awards and 37 nominations for Christopher Priest. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Bob Morane award for best foreign novel2014Wonfor The Islanders
  • John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2012Won
  • BSFA Award for Best Novel2011Wonfor The Islanders
  • Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign Novel2006Wonfor The Separation
  • Arthur C. Clarke Award2003Wonfor The Separation
  • Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign-Language Short Story2002Wonfor The Discharge
  • BSFA Award for Best Novel2002Wonfor The Separation
  • BSFA Award for Best Novel1998Wonfor The Extremes
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Novel1996Wonfor The Prestige
  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize1995Wonfor The Prestige
  • BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction1979Wonfor Palely Loitering
  • BSFA Award for Best Novel1974Wonfor The Inverted World

Christopher Priest at a glance

Still publishing
Christopher Priest published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Christopher Priest books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
6,347 pages across the 25 of 35 books with a recorded length, a median of 252 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Christopher Priest books, 9 of 35, were published in the 1970s.

What the Christopher Priest books are about

22 of the 35 Christopher Priest 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 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.