James Axler Books in Order

James Axler has written 234 books, published between 1986 and 2025. The first book is Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) and the newest is Wraith Winter (2025). Publication order is the reading order below. 156 of the 234 books listed here are in the Deathlands series, which has its own page: Deathlands books in order.

Books
234
Published
1986–2025
Pages on record
55,292 in 164 of 234 books
Reading time
922–1,382 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 55,292 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200300 words a minute, covering the 164 of 234 titles with a page count on record.

James Axler is the pen name under which Mark Ellis wrote scores of Deathlands and Outlanders novels. The books are post-apocalyptic men's adventure: survivalism, the regression of civilisation, imaginary wars and the invented territory called Deathlands. The Axler name carries 234 titles published between 1986 and 2025, from Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) to Wraith Winter (2025). Volumes run long at a median of 347 pages, and Earthblood is a third series beside the two main runs.

How many James Axler books are there?

James Axler has 234 books, released between 1986 and 2025. They include 3 separate series.

James Axler Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 234 James Axler 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. 1
    Pilgrimage to HellDeathlands #11986 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986352
  2. 2
    Red HolocaustDeathlands #21986 · 251 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986251
  3. 3
    Neutron SolsticeDeathlands #31987 · 252 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987252
  4. 4
    Crater LakeDeathlands #41987 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987250
  5. 5
    Homeward BoundDeathlands #51987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987
  6. 6
    Pony SoldiersDeathlands #61988 · 348 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988348
  7. 7
    Dectra ChainDeathlands #71988 · 349 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988349
  8. 8
    Ice and FireDeathlands #81988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988
  9. 9
    Red EquinoxDeathlands #91989 · 299 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989299
  10. 10
    Northstar RisingDeathlands #101989 · 346 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989346
  11. 11
    Time NomadsDeathlands #111990 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990352
  12. 12
    Latitude ZeroDeathlands #121991 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991352
  13. 13
    SeedlingDeathlands #131991 · 349 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991349
  14. 14
    Dark CarnivalDeathlands #141991 · 349 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991349
  15. 15
    Chill FactorDeathlands #151992 · 349 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992349
  16. 16
    Moon FateDeathlands #161992 · confirmed 2/4
    1992
  17. 17
    Earth BloodEarthblood #11993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993
  18. 18
    ShockscapeDeathlands #171993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993
  19. 19
    Fury's PilgrimsDeathlands #181993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993
  20. 20
    Deep EmpireDeathlands #191993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993
  21. 21
    Deep TrekEarthblood #21994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  22. 22
    Aurora QuestEarthblood #31994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  23. 23
    Cold AsylumDeathlands #201994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  24. 24
    Twilight ChildrenDeathlands #211994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  25. 25
    Rider, ReaperDeathlands #221994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  26. 26
    Road WarsDeathlands #231994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  27. 27
    Trader ReduxDeathlands #241994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994
  28. 28
    Genesis EchoDeathlands #251995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995
  29. 29
    BloodlinesDeathlands #261995 · 348 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995348
  30. 30
    ShadowfallDeathlands #271995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995

James Axler series in order

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

James Axler 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.

Earthblood in order

3 books
  1. 1. Earth Blood
  2. 2. Deep Trek
  3. 3. Aurora Quest

Do you have to read James Axler books in order?

You only need to read James Axler 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 James Axler

Start with the first book of the James Axler series you want to read: Deathlands starts with Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) and Outlanders starts with Exile to Hell (1997). The earliest catalogued title overall is Pilgrimage to Hell (1986).

What is the newest James Axler book?

Wraith Winter (2025) is the newest James Axler book released so far.

Is there a new James Axler book coming?

No next James Axler book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

James Axler at a glance

Still publishing
James Axler published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
James Axler books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
55,292 pages across the 164 of 234 books with a recorded length, a median of 347 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James Axler books, 82 of 234, were published in the 2000s.

What the James Axler books are about

203 of the 234 James Axler books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction, action & adventure is tagged on 106 of 203. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.