Order of Book Series
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Joan D. Vinge Books in Order

Joan D. Vinge has written 24 books, published between 1977 and 2012. The first book is Eyes of Amber and Other Stories (1977) and the newest is Ladysmith (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
24
Published
1977–2012
Pages on record
4,121 in 17 of 24 books
Reading time
69–103 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,121 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 24 titles with a page count on record.

See all 24 books in order Printable Joan D. Vinge checklist
Photo of Joan D. Vinge, author

The Snow Queen (1980), winner of the Hugo Award, is the best-known novel of American science fiction author Joan D. Vinge, born Joan Carol Dennison on April 2, 1948. Vinge continued The Snow Queen in sequels, wrote a series about a telepath called Cat, and wrote the Heaven Chronicles. The catalogue lists 24 books from Eyes of Amber and Other Stories (1977) to Ladysmith (2012), including Psion (1982) and film storybooks for Return of the Jedi and Dune.

How many Joan D. Vinge books are there?

Joan D. Vinge has 24 books, released between 1977 and 2012. They include 3 series and 15 titles listed outside any series.

Joan D. Vinge Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 24 Joan D. Vinge 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 Outcasts of Heaven Belt by Joan D. Vinge, book 1 of the Heaven Chronicles (1978)
  2. Cover of Fireship by Joan D. Vinge (1978)
  3. Cover of The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge, book 1 of the Snow Queen Cycle (1980)
  4. Cover of Psion by Joan D. Vinge, book 1 of the Cat series (1982)
  5. Cover of Return of the Jedi: The Storybook Based on the Movie by Joan D. Vinge (1983)
  6. Cover of Tarzan, King of Apes by Joan D. Vinge (1983)
  7. Cover of World's End by Joan D. Vinge, book 2 of the Snow Queen Cycle (1984)
  8. Cover of The Dune Storybook by Joan D. Vinge (1984)
  9. Cover of Phoenix in the Ashes by Joan D. Vinge (1985)
  10. Cover of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome by Joan D. Vinge (1985)
  11. Cover of Santa Claus the Movie Storybook by Joan D. Vinge (1985)
  12. Cover of Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge, book 2 of the Cat series (1988)
  13. Cover of Willow by Joan D. Vinge (1988)
  14. Cover of The Summer Queen by Joan D. Vinge, book 3 of the Snow Queen Cycle (1991)
  15. Cover of Dreamfall by Joan D. Vinge, book 3 of the Cat series (1996)
  16. Cover of Lost in Space Novelization by Joan D. Vinge (1998)
  17. Cover of Tangled Up in Blue by Joan D. Vinge, book 4 of the Snow Queen Cycle (2000)
  18. Cover of 47 Ronin by Joan D. Vinge (2012)
  1. 2
    Outcasts of Heaven BeltHeaven Chronicles #11978 · confirmed 2/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 3
    Fireship1978 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 4
    The Snow QueenSnow Queen Cycle #11980 · 536 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980536
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 5
    LegacyHeaven Chronicles #21980 · confirmed 2/4
    1980–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 6
    PsionCat #11982 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 7
    Return of the Jedi: The Storybook Based on the Movie1983 · 60 pages · confirmed 2/4
    198360
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 8
    Tarzan, King of Apes1983 · 104 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983104
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 9
    World's EndSnow Queen Cycle #21984 · 230 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 10
    The Dune Storybook1984 · 60 pages · confirmed 2/4
    198460
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 11
    Phoenix in the Ashes1985 · confirmed 2/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    Ladyhawke1985 · confirmed 2/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    Return to Oz1985 · 214 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome1985 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    Santa Claus the Movie Storybook1985 · 58 pages · confirmed 2/4
    198558
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    CatspawCat #21988 · 409 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988409
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    Willow1988 · 80 pages · confirmed 2/4
    198880
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    The Summer QueenSnow Queen Cycle #31991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    DreamfallCat #31996 · 431 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996431
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Lost in Space Novelization1998 · 225 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998225
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    Tangled Up in BlueSnow Queen Cycle #42000 · 235 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000235
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    Cowboys and Aliens2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    47 Ronin2012 · 448 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    Ladysmith2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Joan D. Vinge 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.

Snow Queen Cycle in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Snow Queen
  2. 2. World's End
  3. 3. The Summer Queen
  4. 4. Tangled Up in Blue

Cat in order

3 books
  1. 1. Psion
  2. 2. Catspaw
  3. 3. Dreamfall

Heaven Chronicles in order

2 books
  1. 1. Outcasts of Heaven Belt
  2. 2. Legacy

Standalone books

15 books

15 Joan D. Vinge titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Joan D. Vinge books in order?

You only need to read Joan D. Vinge 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 Joan D. Vinge

Start with Eyes of Amber and Other Stories (1977), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Joan D. Vinge book?

Ladysmith (2012) is the newest Joan D. Vinge book released so far.

Is there a new Joan D. Vinge book coming?

No next Joan D. Vinge 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 Joan D. Vinge has won

Wikidata records 3 awards and 20 nominations for Joan D. Vinge. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1981Wonfor The Snow Queen
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1981Wonfor The Snow Queen
  • Hugo Award for Best Novelette1978Wonfor Eyes of Amber
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1997Shortlistedfor Dreamfall
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1992Shortlistedfor The Summer Queen
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1992Shortlistedfor The Summer Queen
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1989Shortlistedfor Catspaw
  • Locus Award for Best Collection1986Shortlistedfor Phoenix in the Ashes
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1985Shortlistedfor World's End
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1981Shortlistedfor The Snow Queen
  • Locus Award for Best Novella1980Shortlistedfor Fireship
  • Nebula Award for Best Novella1980Shortlistedfor Fireship

Joan D. Vinge at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Joan D. Vinge title on record dates from 2012, 14 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Joan D. Vinge books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,121 pages across the 17 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 225 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Joan D. Vinge books, 14 of 24, were published in the 1980s.

What the Joan D. Vinge books are about

20 of the 24 Joan D. Vinge 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 11 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.