David Gemmell Books in Order
35 books are credited to David Gemmell, published between 1984 and 2017; 2 of them appeared after David Gemmell's death in 2006. The first book is Legend / Against the Horde (1984) and the newest is Rhyming Rings (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.
David Gemmell also publishes as Ross Harding.
- Books
- 35
- Published
- 1984–2017
- Confirmed
- 35 of 35 titles
- Pages on record
- 12,943 in 33 of 35 books
- Reading time
- 216–324 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,943 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 33 of 35 titles with a page count on record.
David Gemmell wrote heroic fantasy. Legend, also published as Against the Horde (1984), opens the Drenai saga, continued in The King Beyond the Gate (1985) and Waylander (1986). The Rigante, Troy, Lion Of Macedon, Hawk Queen and Sipstrassi sequences follow. Thirty-five catalogued books reach Rhyming Rings (2017). Imaginary wars, warriors and kings are the recurring subjects.
How many David Gemmell books are there?
David Gemmell has 35 books, released between 1984 and 2017. 2 of them were published after David Gemmell's death in 2006. They include 7 separate series.
David Gemmell Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 35 David Gemmell books in the order they were released, 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.
- 119843453/4
- 219853203/4
- 319863203/4
- 419873243/4
- 519873263/4
- 619883043/4
- 719883203/4
- 819893203/4
- 919892793/4
- 1019902903/4
- 1119915283/4
- 1219915603/4
- 1319922903/4
- 1419923063/4
- 151993–3/4
- 1619933043/4
- 1719933523/4
- 1819943363/4
- 1919953683/4
- 2019953683/4
- 2119964163/4
- 2219963843/4
- 2319974483/4
- 2419973393/4
- 2519984393/4
- 2619994303/4
- 2720004063/4
- 2820014483/4
- 2920025123/4
- 3020034803/4
- 3120045123/4
- 3220054493/4
- 3320064493/4
- 3420076713/4
- 352017–3/4
David Gemmell series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Drenai Saga books in order 12 books
David Gemmell books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Drenai Saga books in order
11 books by David GemmellDavid Gemmell Standalone Novels
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Sipstrassi in order
5 booksRigante in order
4 booksTroy in order
3 booksLion Of Macedon in order
2 booksHawk Queen in order
2 booksSipstrassi Graphic Novels in order
1 bookDrenai Graphic Novels in order
1 bookDavid Gemmell Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the David Gemmell books run from Legend / Against the Horde (1984) to Rhyming Rings (2017), the sequence in the table above. The Drenai Saga series also has a separate in-universe order on record: Drenai Saga books in chronological order. No other David Gemmell story order is on record.
Do you have to read David Gemmell books in order?
You only need to read David Gemmell books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read David Gemmell books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Legend / Against the Horde (1984), the first Drenai Saga book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest David Gemmell book?
Rhyming Rings (2017) is the newest David Gemmell book released so far.
Is there a new David Gemmell book coming?
No next David Gemmell book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
David Gemmell at a glance
- Died
- David Gemmell died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to David Gemmell are still being published after David Gemmell's death in 2006; the newest appeared in 2017.
- Release pace
- David Gemmell books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 12,943 pages across the 33 of 35 books with a recorded length, a median of 368 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most David Gemmell books, 17 of 35, were published in the 1990s.
What the David Gemmell books are about
33 of the 35 David Gemmell books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 19 of 33. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 19 of 33 books
- Fantasy, epic 6 of 33 books
- Imaginary wars and battles 5 of 33 books
- Science fiction 5 of 33 books
- Action & adventure 3 of 33 books
- Jon Shannow (Fictitious character) 3 of 33 books
- Rigante (imaginary place) 3 of 33 books
- Drenai (Imaginary place) 2 of 33 books