Order of Book Series
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Frederik Pohl Books in Order

96 books are credited to Frederik Pohl, published between 1951 and 2017; 2 of them appeared after Frederik Pohl's death in 2013. The first book is Prince Henry Sinclair (1951) and the newest is Virtual Nightmare (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
96
Published
1951–2017
Confirmed
1 of 96 titles
Pages on record
15,225 in 59 of 96 books
Reading time
254–381 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 15,225 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 59 of 96 titles with a page count on record.

See all 96 books in order Printable Frederik Pohl checklist
Photo of Frederik Pohl, author

Frederik George Pohl Jr. (November 26, 1919 - September 2, 2013) was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan. Pohl's career lasted nearly 75 years, from the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellite: Luna" to the 2011 novel All the Lives He Led. From about 1959 to 1969 Pohl edited Galaxy and the sister magazine If, which won three consecutive Hugo Awards for best professional magazine. Gateway (1977) won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards for best novel. The catalogue lists 96 books, including The Space Merchants / Gravy Planet (1952) and Gladiator-at-Law (1955), and series such as Heechee Saga, Starchild, Eschaton Sequence and Man Plus.

How many Frederik Pohl books are there?

Frederik Pohl has 96 books, released between 1951 and 2017. 2 of them were published after Frederik Pohl's death in 2013. They include 8 series and 70 titles listed outside any series.

Frederik Pohl Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 96 Frederik Pohl 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 Prince Henry Sinclair by Frederik Pohl (1951)
  2. Cover of The Space Merchants / Gravy Planet by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Space Merchants series (1952)
  3. Cover of Undersea Quest by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Undersea Eden series (1954)
  4. Cover of The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl (1955)
  5. Cover of Gladiator-at-Law by Frederik Pohl (1955)
  6. Cover of Preferred Risk by Frederik Pohl (1955)
  7. Cover of Alternating Currents by Frederik Pohl (1956)
  8. Cover of Undersea Fleet by Frederik Pohl, book 2 of the Undersea Eden series (1956)
  9. Cover of Slave Ship by Frederik Pohl (1957)
  10. Cover of Wolfbane by Frederik Pohl (1957)
  11. Cover of Undersea City by Frederik Pohl, book 3 of the Undersea Eden series (1958)
  12. Cover of Drunkard's Walk by Frederik Pohl (1960)
  13. Cover of Critical Mass by Frederik Pohl, book 5 of the C.M. Kornbluth series (1962)
  14. Cover of The Reefs of Space by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Starchild series (1963)
  15. Cover of The Abominable Earthman by Frederik Pohl (1963)
  16. Cover of Starchild by Frederik Pohl, book 2 of the Starchild series (1965)
  17. Cover of Day Million by Frederik Pohl (1970)
  18. Cover of The Gold at the Starbow's End by Frederik Pohl (1972)
  19. Cover of Farthest Star by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Saga Of Cuckoo series (1975)
  20. Cover of The Midas Plague by Frederik Pohl (1975)
  21. Cover of Man Plus by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Man Plus series (1976)
  22. Cover of The Early Pohl by Frederik Pohl (1976)
  23. Cover of In the Problem Pit by Frederik Pohl (1976)
  24. Cover of Gateway by Frederik Pohl, book 1 of the Heechee Saga (1977)
  1. 1
    Prince Henry Sinclair1951 · 230 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Space Merchants / Gravy PlanetSpace Merchants #11952 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1952192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Search the Sky1954 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1954256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Undersea QuestUndersea Eden #11954 · 162 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1954162
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Tunnel Under the World1955 · 44 pages · confirmed 2/4
    195544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Gladiator-at-Law1955 · confirmed 2/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    A Town is Drowning1955 · confirmed 2/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Preferred Risk1955 · confirmed 2/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Alternating Currents1956 · 190 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1956190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Case against Tomorrow1956 · confirmed 2/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Undersea FleetUndersea Eden #21956 · confirmed 2/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Presidential Year1956 · confirmed 2/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Slave Ship1957 · confirmed 2/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Wolfbane1957 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1957256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Hated1958 · confirmed 2/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Knights of Arthur1958 · confirmed 2/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Undersea CityUndersea Eden #31958 · confirmed 2/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Tomorrow Times Seven1959 · confirmed 2/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Man Who Ate the World1960 · confirmed 2/4
    1960–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Drunkard's Walk1960 · 145 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1960145
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Critical MassC.M. Kornbluth #51962 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1962192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Wonder EffectC.M. Kornbluth #51962 · confirmed 2/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Reefs of SpaceStarchild #11963 · confirmed 2/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Abominable Earthman1963 · 159 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963159
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    StarchildStarchild #21965 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    A Plague of Pythons1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Digits and Dastards1966 · confirmed 2/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Rogue StarStarchild #31969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Turn Left at Thursday1969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Age of the Pussyfoot1969 · 212 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969212
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Frederik Pohl series and characters in order

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

Frederik Pohl 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.

Heechee Saga in order

5 books
  1. 1. Gateway
  2. 2. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon
  3. 3. Heechee Rendezvous
  4. 4. The Annals of the Heechee
  5. 5. The Boy Who Would Live Forever

C.M. Kornbluth in order

4 books
  1. 5. Critical Mass
  2. 5. The Wonder Effect
  3. 9. Before the Universe
  4. 10. Our Best

Undersea Eden in order

3 books
  1. 1. Undersea Quest
  2. 2. Undersea Fleet
  3. 3. Undersea City

Starchild in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Reefs of Space
  2. 2. Starchild
  3. 3. Rogue Star

Eschaton Sequence in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Other End of Time
  2. 2. The Siege of Eternity
  3. 3. The Far Shore of Time

Space Merchants in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Space Merchants / Gravy Planet
  2. 2. The Merchants' War

Saga Of Cuckoo in order

2 books
  1. 1. Farthest Star
  2. 2. Wall Around a Star

Man Plus in order

2 books
  1. 1. Man Plus
  2. 2. Mars Plus

Heechee books in order

1 book by Frederik Pohl
  1. 1. The Gateway Trip

Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy in order

1 book
  1. 38. The Heritage of Heinlein

Standalone books

70 books

70 Frederik Pohl titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Frederik Pohl books in order?

You only need to read Frederik Pohl 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 Frederik Pohl

Start with Gateway (1977), the first Heechee book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Prince Henry Sinclair (1951).

What is the newest Frederik Pohl book?

Virtual Nightmare (2017) is the newest Frederik Pohl book released so far.

Is there a new Frederik Pohl book coming?

No next Frederik Pohl 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 Frederik Pohl has won

Wikidata records 15 awards and 68 nominations for Frederik Pohl. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame1998Won
  • Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award1993Won
  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1986Wonfor Fermi and Frost
  • John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1985Wonfor The Years of the City
  • National Book Award1980Wonfor Jem
  • Prix Tour-Apollo Award1979Wonfor Gateway
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1978Wonfor Gateway
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1978Wonfor Gateway
  • John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1978Wonfor Gateway
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1978Wonfor Gateway
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1977Wonfor Man Plus
  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1973Wonfor The Meeting

Frederik Pohl at a glance

Died
Frederik Pohl died in 2013, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Frederik Pohl are still being published after Frederik Pohl's death in 2013; the newest appeared in 2017.
Release pace
Frederik Pohl books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
15,225 pages across the 59 of 96 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Frederik Pohl books, 29 of 96, were published in the 1980s.

What the Frederik Pohl books are about

66 of the 96 Frederik Pohl 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 40 of 66. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.