Order of Book Series
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James Riley Books in Order

James Riley has written 16 books, published between 2010 and 2025. The first book is Half Upon a Time (2010) and the newest is The Dragon's Apprentice (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
16
Published
2010–2025
Pages on record
3,333 in 9 of 16 books
Reading time
56–83 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,333 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 9 of 16 titles with a page count on record.

See all 16 books in order Printable James Riley checklist
Photo of James Riley, author

James Riley, born in 1977, writes fantasy for readers in grades 3 to 5. Story Thieves is the best known series, opening in 2015 and continuing through The Stolen Chapters (2016), Secret Origins (2017) and Pick the Plot (2018). Half Upon a Time (2010) opens the catalogue and its own trilogy, and the Revenge of Magic, Once Upon Another Time and The Dragon's Apprentice follow. Sixteen books are catalogued through 2025, with fairy tales, magic, monsters and books about books as recurring subjects.

Thirteen years after magical creatures and spellbooks are discovered, only children born after 'Discovery Day' wield magic. Fort Fitzgerald, whose father died in a creature attack, is recruited to a secret government school, where he trains with other children to control magic and confront the return of ancient forces threatening the world.

How many James Riley books are there?

James Riley has 16 books, released between 2010 and 2025. They include 4 series and 1 title listed outside any series.

James Riley Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 16 James Riley 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 Half Upon a Time by James Riley, book 1 of the Half Upon a Time series (2010)
  2. Cover of Story Thieves by James Riley, book 1 of the Story Thieves series (2015)
  3. Cover of Secret Origins by James Riley, book 3 of the Story Thieves series (2017)
  4. Cover of Pick the Plot by James Riley, book 4 of the Story Thieves series (2017)
  5. Cover of Worlds Apart by James Riley, book 5 of the Story Thieves series (2018)
  6. Cover of The Revenge of Magic by James Riley, book 1 of the Revenge of Magic series (2019)
  7. Cover of The Timeless One by James Riley, book 4 of the Revenge of Magic series (2020)
  8. Cover of The Chosen One by James Riley, book 5 of the Revenge of Magic series (2021)
  9. Cover of Tall Tales by James Riley, book 2 of the Once Upon Another Time series (2022)
  1. 1
    Half Upon a TimeHalf Upon a Time #12010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Twice Upon a TimeHalf Upon a Time #22012 · 340 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012340
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Once Upon the EndHalf Upon a Time #32013 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Story ThievesStory Thieves #12015 · 383 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015383
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Stolen ChaptersStory Thieves #22016 · 350 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016350
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Secret OriginsStory Thieves #32017 · 372 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017372
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Pick the PlotStory Thieves #42017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Worlds ApartStory Thieves #52018 · confirmed 1/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Revenge of MagicRevenge of Magic #12019 · 416 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2019416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Last DragonRevenge of Magic #22019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Future KingRevenge of Magic #32020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Timeless OneRevenge of Magic #42020 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Chosen OneRevenge of Magic #52021 · 480 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2021480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Once Upon Another TimeOnce Upon Another Time #12022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Tall TalesOnce Upon Another Time #22022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Dragon's Apprentice2025 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2025240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James Riley series in order

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

James Riley 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.

Revenge of Magic in order

5 books
  1. 1. The Revenge of Magic
  2. 2. The Last Dragon
  3. 3. The Future King
  4. 4. The Timeless One
  5. 5. The Chosen One

Half Upon a Time in order

3 books
  1. 1. Half Upon a Time
  2. 2. Twice Upon a Time
  3. 3. Once Upon the End

Once Upon Another Time in order

2 books
  1. 1. Once Upon Another Time
  2. 2. Tall Tales

Standalone books

1 book

1 James Riley title here is not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read James Riley books in order?

You only need to read James Riley books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with James Riley

Start with Story Thieves (2015), the first Story Thieves book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Half Upon a Time (2010).

What is the newest James Riley book?

The Dragon's Apprentice (2025) is the newest James Riley book released so far.

Is there a new James Riley book coming?

No next James Riley 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 Riley at a glance

Still publishing
James Riley published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
James Riley books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,333 pages across the 9 of 16 books with a recorded length, a median of 372 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James Riley books, 10 of 16, were published in the 2010s.

What the James Riley books are about

11 of the 16 James Riley books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: adventure stories is tagged on 10 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.