Order of Book Series
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David Brin Books in Order

David Brin has written 56 books, published between 1980 and 2025. The first book is Sundiver (1980) and the newest is Boondoggle (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
56
Published
1980–2025
Confirmed
2 of 56 titles
Pages on record
10,867 in 29 of 56 books
Reading time
181–272 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,867 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 56 titles with a page count on record.

See all 56 books in order Printable David Brin checklist
Photo of David Brin, author

David Brin writes science fiction, and the catalogue holds 56 books from Sundiver (1980) to Boondoggle (2025). Series include the Uplift Saga, Kiln, Colony High and David Brin's High Horizon. The Postman (1985) was adapted into a 1997 film starring Kevin Costner. Brin has won the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards. Other titles include Startide Rising (1983), The Practice Effect (1984) and Heart of the Comet (1986).

How many David Brin books are there?

David Brin has 56 books, released between 1980 and 2025. They include 5 series and 36 titles listed outside any series.

David Brin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 56 David Brin 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 Sundiver by David Brin, book 1 of the Uplift Saga (1980)
  2. Cover of Startide Rising by David Brin, book 2 of the Uplift Saga (1983)
  3. Cover of The Practice Effect by David Brin (1984)
  4. Cover of The Postman by David Brin (1985)
  5. Cover of The River of Time by David Brin (1986)
  6. Cover of Heart of the Comet by David Brin (1986)
  7. Cover of The Transparent Society by David Brin (1987)
  8. Cover of The Uplift War by David Brin, book 3 of the Uplift Saga (1987)
  9. Cover of Earth by David Brin (1990)
  10. Cover of Glory Season by David Brin (1993)
  11. Cover of Otherness by David Brin (1994)
  12. Cover of Brightness Reef by David Brin, book 4 of the Uplift Saga (1995)
  13. Cover of Infinity's Shore by David Brin, book 5 of the Uplift Saga (1996)
  14. Cover of Tribes by David Brin, book 1 of the David Brin Game series (1998)
  15. Cover of Heaven's Reach by David Brin, book 6 of the Uplift Saga (1998)
  16. Cover of The Game of Worlds by David Brin, book 3 of the Out Of Time series (1999)
  17. Cover of Forgiveness by David Brin, book 1 of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Graphic Novels series (2001)
  18. Cover of Contacting Aliens by David Brin, book 1 of the Uplift Non-Fiction series (2002)
  19. Cover of Kiln People / Kil'n People by David Brin, book 1 of the Kiln series (2002)
  20. Cover of The Life Eaters by David Brin (2003)
  21. Cover of Tomorrow Happens by David Brin (2003)
  22. Cover of King Kong Is Back! An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! by David Brin, book 14 of the Smart Pop series (2005)
  23. Cover of Sky Horizon by David Brin, book 1 of the Colony High series (2007)
  24. Cover of Through Stranger Eyes by David Brin (2008)
  1. 1
    SundiverUplift Saga #11980 · 340 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980340
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Startide RisingUplift Saga #21983 · 458 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983458
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Practice Effect1984 · 277 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Postman1985 · 294 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985294
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The River of Time1986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Heart of the Comet1986 · 496 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986496
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Transparent Society1987 · 378 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987378
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Uplift WarUplift Saga #31987 · 638 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987638
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Dr. Pak's Preschool1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Extraterrestrial Civilization1989 · 121 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989121
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Earth1990 · 682 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990682
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Piecework1992 · 43 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Glory Season1993 · 772 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993772
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Otherness1994 · 357 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994357
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Brightness ReefUplift Saga #41995 · 659 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995659
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Infinity's ShoreUplift Saga #51996 · 688 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996688
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    TribesDavid Brin Game #11998 · 12 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199812
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Heaven's ReachUplift Saga #61998 · 557 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998557
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Game of WorldsOut Of Time #31999 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Foundation's TriumphSecond Foundation Trilogy #32000 · confirmed 2/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    ForgivenessStar Trek: The Next Generation Graphic Novels #12001 · 96 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Contacting AliensUplift Non-Fiction #12002 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Kiln People / Kil'n PeopleKiln #12002 · 576 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Kil'n TimeKiln #22002 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Life Eaters2003 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Tomorrow Happens2003 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    King Kong Is Back! An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape!Smart Pop #142005 · 216 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Sky HorizonColony High #12007 · 120 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Through Stranger Eyes2008 · 216 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Dark Side2010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

David Brin characters in order

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

David Brin 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.

Uplift Saga in order

7 books
  1. 1. Sundiver
  2. 2. Startide Rising
  3. 3. The Uplift War
  4. 4. Brightness Reef
  5. 5. Infinity's Shore
  6. 6. Heaven's Reach
  7. 7. Gorilla, My Dreams

Kiln in order

2 books
  1. 1. Kiln People / Kil'n People
  2. 2. Kil'n Time

David Brin's High Horizon in order

2 books
  1. 1. Colony High
  2. 2. Castaways of New Mojave

Out Of Time in order

2 books
  1. 3. The Game of Worlds
  2. 5. Boondoggle

David Brin Game in order

1 book
  1. 1. Tribes

Star Trek: The Next Generation Graphic Novels in order

1 book
  1. 1. Forgiveness

Uplift Non-Fiction

1 book

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

Colony High in order

1 book
  1. 1. Sky Horizon

Second Foundation Trilogy in order

1 book
  1. 3. Foundation's Triumph

Ring of Fire Anthology

1 book

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

Smart Pop in order

1 book
  1. 14. King Kong Is Back! An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape!

Standalone books

36 books

36 David Brin titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read David Brin books in order?

You only need to read David Brin books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with David Brin

Start with Sundiver (1980), the first Uplift book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest David Brin book?

Boondoggle (2025) is the newest David Brin book released so far.

Is there a new David Brin book coming?

No next David Brin 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 David Brin has won

Wikidata records 11 awards and 36 nominations for David Brin. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Locus Award for Best Collection1995Wonfor Otherness
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1988Wonfor The Uplift War
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1988Wonfor The Uplift War
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette1987Wonfor Thor Meets Captain America
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1986Wonfor The Postman
  • John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1986Won
  • Inkpot Award1985Won
  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1985Wonfor The Crystal Spheres
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1984Wonfor Startide Rising
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1984Wonfor Startide Rising
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1984Wonfor Startide Rising
  • Locus Award for Best Anthology2018Shortlistedfor Chasing Shadows: Visions of Our Coming Transparent World

David Brin at a glance

Still publishing
David Brin published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
David Brin books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
10,867 pages across the 29 of 56 books with a recorded length, a median of 340 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most David Brin books, 22 of 56, were published in the 2010s.

What the David Brin books are about

26 of the 56 David Brin 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 17 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Science fiction 17 of 26 books
  • Life on other planets 6 of 26 books
  • Long Now Manual for Civilization 3 of 26 books
  • Award:hugo_award=novel 2 of 26 books
  • Hugo Award Winner 2 of 26 books
  • Life on other planets in fiction 2 of 26 books