Order of Book Series
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Hal Clement Books in Order

27 books are credited to Hal Clement, published between 1943 and 2016; 3 of them appeared after Hal Clement's death in 2003. The first book is Attitude (1943) and the newest is Hot Planet (2016). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
27
Published
1943–2016
Confirmed
1 of 27 titles
Pages on record
3,834 in 12 of 27 books
See all 27 books in order Printable Hal Clement checklist
Photo of Hal Clement, author

Hal Clement was the pen name of Harry Clement Stubbs (1922-2003), an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. Clement painted astronomically oriented artwork under a second name, George Richard. Aliens, extraterrestrial beings and space exploration supply the material for 27 catalogued titles dated between 1943 and 2016, from Attitude (1943) to Hot Planet (2016). Mesklin, Needle and Essential Hal Clement are the listed series. Clement entered the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1998 and was named the 17th SFWA Grand Master in 1999.

How many Hal Clement books are there?

Hal Clement has 27 books, released between 1943 and 2016. 3 of them were published after Hal Clement's death in 2003. They include 3 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.

Hal Clement Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 27 Hal Clement 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 Needle by Hal Clement, book 1 of the Needle series (1949)
  2. Cover of Iceworld by Hal Clement (1951)
  3. Cover of Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, book 1 of the Mesklin series (1954)
  4. Cover of Cycle of Fire by Hal Clement (1957)
  5. Cover of Close to Critical by Hal Clement, book 2 of the Mesklin series (1964)
  6. Cover of Natives of Space by Hal Clement (1965)
  7. Cover of Small Changes by Hal Clement (1969)
  8. Cover of Left of Africa by Hal Clement (1976)
  9. Cover of Through the Eye of a Needle by Hal Clement, book 2 of the Needle series (1978)
  10. Cover of The Best of Hal Clement by Hal Clement (1979)
  11. Cover of The Nitrogen Fix by Hal Clement (1980)
  12. Cover of Still River by Hal Clement (1987)
  13. Cover of Fossil by Hal Clement, book 4 of the Isaac's Universe series (1993)
  14. Cover of Trio for Slide Rule and Typewriter by Hal Clement, book 1 of the Essential Hal Clement series (1999)
  15. Cover of Music of Many Spheres by Hal Clement, book 2 of the Essential Hal Clement series (2000)
  16. Cover of Variations on a Theme by Sir Isaac Newton by Hal Clement, book 3 of the Essential Hal Clement series (2000)
  17. Cover of Heavy Planet by Hal Clement, book 4 of the Mesklin series (2001)
  1. 1
    Attitude1943 · confirmed 1/4
    1943–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    NeedleNeedle #11949 · confirmed 1/4
    1949–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Iceworld1951 · confirmed 1/4
    1951–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Mission of GravityMesklin #11954 · confirmed 1/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Ranger Boys in Space1956 · confirmed 1/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Cycle of Fire1957 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1957192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Close to CriticalMesklin #21964 · confirmed 1/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Natives of Space1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Ocean On Top1967 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Small Changes1969 · 230 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Star LightMesklin #31971 · confirmed 1/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Left of Africa1976 · confirmed 1/4
    1976–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Through the Eye of a NeedleNeedle #21978 · 197 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978197
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Best of Hal Clement1979 · 379 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979379
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Nitrogen Fix1980 · confirmed 1/4
    1980–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Intuit1987 · 164 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987164
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Still River1987 · 262 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    FossilIsaac's Universe #41993 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Trio for Slide Rule and TypewriterEssential Hal Clement #11999 · 522 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999522
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Half Life1999 · confirmed 1/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Music of Many SpheresEssential Hal Clement #22000 · 504 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000504
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Variations on a Theme by Sir Isaac NewtonEssential Hal Clement #32000 · 522 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000522
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Heavy PlanetMesklin #42001 · 414 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001414
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Noise2003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Green World2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Planet for Plunder2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Hot Planet2016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Hal Clement 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.

Mesklin in order

4 books
  1. 1. Mission of Gravity
  2. 2. Close to Critical
  3. 3. Star Light
  4. 4. Heavy Planet

Essential Hal Clement in order

3 books
  1. 1. Trio for Slide Rule and Typewriter
  2. 2. Music of Many Spheres
  3. 3. Variations on a Theme by Sir Isaac Newton

Needle in order

2 books
  1. 1. Needle
  2. 2. Through the Eye of a Needle

Isaac's Universe in order

1 book
  1. 4. Fossil

Standalone books

17 books

17 Hal Clement titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Hal Clement books in order?

You only need to read Hal Clement books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Hal Clement

Start with Attitude (1943), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Hal Clement book?

Hot Planet (2016) is the newest Hal Clement book released so far.

Is there a new Hal Clement book coming?

No next Hal Clement 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 Hal Clement has won

Wikidata records 4 awards and 7 nominations for Hal Clement. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award1999Won
  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame1998Won
  • Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story1996Wonfor Uncommon Sense
  • Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel1994Wonfor Mission of Gravity
  • Locus Award for Best Collection2001Shortlistedfor Music of Many Spheres
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story1999Shortlistedfor Options
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1988Shortlistedfor Still River
  • Locus Award for Best Collection1980Shortlistedfor The Best of Hal Clement
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1971Shortlistedfor Star Light
  • Locus Award for Best Novel1971Shortlistedfor Star Light
  • International Fantasy Award for Best Fiction1955Shortlistedfor Mission of Gravity

Hal Clement at a glance

Died
Hal Clement died in 2003, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Hal Clement are still being published after Hal Clement's death in 2003; the newest appeared in 2016.
Release pace
Hal Clement books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
3,834 pages across the 12 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 275 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Hal Clement books, 4 of 27, were published in the 2000s.

What the Hal Clement books are about

10 of the 27 Hal Clement 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 6 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.