Gene Wolfe Books in Order

56 books are credited to Gene Wolfe, published between 1970 and 2023; 3 of them appeared after Gene Wolfe's death in 2019. The first book is Of Relays and Roses (1970) and the newest is The Wolfe at the Door (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books: 56
Published: 1970–2023
Pages on record: 14,649 in 46 of 56 books
Reading time: 244–366 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 14,649 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 46 of 56 titles with a page count on record.

See all 56 books in order Printable Gene Wolfe checklist

The Book of the New Sun, four volumes published from 1980 to 1983, is the work Gene Wolfe is best known for and the first part of the Solar Cycle; a 1998 Locus poll ranked it the third-best fantasy novel published before 1990. Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, born May 7, 1931, who died April 14, 2019, and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Wolfe was noted for dense, allusive prose, a fascination with memory and the strong influence of Catholic faith. The catalogue lists 56 books from 1970 to 2023, among them Operation Ares (1970), The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972), Peace (1975) and The Shadow of the Torturer (1980). Series include Urth: Book of the Long Sun, Urth: Book of the Short Sun, Soldier Of The Mist and Wizard Knight.

How many Gene Wolfe books are there?

Gene Wolfe has 56 books, released between 1970 and 2023. 3 of them were published after Gene Wolfe's death in 2019. They include 7 series and 34 titles listed outside any series.

Gene Wolfe characters in order

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

Solar Cycle books in order 12 books
Urth/Solar Cycle books in order 12 books

Gene Wolfe 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.

Urth: Book of the New Sun in order

5 books

1. The Shadow of the Torturer
2. The Claw of the Conciliator
3. The Sword of the Lictor
4. The Citadel of the Autarch
5. The Urth of the New Sun

Soldier Of The Mist in order

4 books

1. Soldier of the Mist
2. Soldier of Arete
3. Latro in the Mist
4. Soldier of Sidon

Urth: Book of the Long Sun in order

4 books

1. Nightside the Long Sun
2. Lake of the Long Sun
3. Caldé of the Long Sun
4. Exodus from the Long Sun

Urth: Book of the Short Sun in order

3 books

1. On Blue's Waters
2. In Green's Jungles
3. Return to the Whorl

Wizard Knight in order

2 books

1. The Wizard
2. The Knight

A Borrowed Man in order

2 books

1. A Borrowed Man
2. Interlibrary Loan

Palencar Project in order

1 book

1. New World Blues

R.A. Lafferty in order

1 book

4. In the Wake of Man

Standalone books

34 books

34 Gene Wolfe titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Gene Wolfe books in order?

You only need to read Gene Wolfe books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Gene Wolfe

Start with the first book of the Gene Wolfe series you want to read: Solar Cycle starts with The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) and Urth/Solar Cycle starts with The Shadow of the Torturer (1980). The earliest catalogued title overall is Of Relays and Roses (1970).

What is the newest Gene Wolfe book?

The Wolfe at the Door (2023) is the newest Gene Wolfe book released so far.

Is there a new Gene Wolfe book coming?

No next Gene Wolfe 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 Gene Wolfe has won

Wikidata records 21 awards and 106 nominations for Gene Wolfe. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award2013Won
World Fantasy Award for Best Collection2010Wonfor The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction
Locus Award for Best Collection2010Wonfor The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel2007Wonfor Soldier of Sidon
Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame2007Won
Locus Award for Best Novella2005Wonfor Golden City Far
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement1996Won
Premio Gigamesh1990Wonfor The Shadow of the Torturer
Edward E. Smith Memorial Award1989Won
World Fantasy Award for Best Collection1989Wonfor Storeys from the Old Hotel
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1987Wonfor Soldier of the Mist
Prix Tour-Apollo Award1985Wonfor The Citadel of the Autarch

Gene Wolfe at a glance

Died: Gene Wolfe died in 2019, according to Wikidata.
After death: Books credited to Gene Wolfe are still being published after Gene Wolfe's death in 2019; the newest appeared in 2023.
Release pace: Gene Wolfe books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length: 14,649 pages across the 46 of 56 books with a recorded length, a median of 316 pages each.
Busiest decade: Most Gene Wolfe books, 17 of 56, were published in the 1980s.

What the Gene Wolfe books are about

47 of the 56 Gene Wolfe 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 26 of 47. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Science fiction 26 of 47 books
Fantasy 12 of 47 books
Short stories 7 of 47 books
History 4 of 47 books
Latro (Fictitious character) 4 of 47 books
Soldiers 4 of 47 books
Fictions 3 of 47 books
Interplanetary voyages 3 of 47 books