John Barnes Books in Order
John Barnes has written 42 books, published between 1986 and 2012. The first book is The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky (1986) and the newest is Raise the Gipper! (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 42
- Published
- 1986–2012
- Pages on record
- 5,495 in 16 of 42 books
John Barnes writes science fiction, much of it hard science fiction, with thriller and time-travel plots alongside. Series include Century Next Door, the Giraut books built on Giraut Leones, Timeline Wars, Timeraider, Jak Jinnaka and Daybreak. The catalogue lists 42 books from The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky (1986) to Raise the Gipper! (2012), taking in Orbital Resonance (1991), A Million Open Doors (1992), Mother of Storms (1994) and Kaleidoscope Century (1995). The 1990s were the heaviest decade.
How many John Barnes books are there?
John Barnes has 42 books, released between 1986 and 2012. They include 7 series and 19 titles listed outside any series.
John Barnes Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 42 John Barnes 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.
- 1The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky1986 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419862561/4
- 2Sin of Origin1988 · 269 pages · confirmed 1/419882691/4
- 3Apostrophes & Apocalypses1990 · 349 pages · confirmed 1/419903491/4
- 419912141/4
- 519923151/4
- 61992–1/4
- 71992–1/4
- 81992–1/4
- 9Mother of Storms1994 · confirmed 1/41994–1/4
- 1019952521/4
- 11One for the Morning Glory1996 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/419963191/4
- 12Encounter with Tiber1996 · confirmed 1/41996–1/4
- 131997–1/4
- 141997–1/4
- 151997–1/4
- 1619984161/4
- 17Payback City1998 · confirmed 1/41998–1/4
- 18Finity1999 · 303 pages · confirmed 1/419993031/4
- 1920002371/4
- 20Upon Their Backs, to Bite 'em2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 2120005521/4
- 22The Return2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 2320013981/4
- 242002–1/4
- 2520023151/4
- 262003–1/4
- 272003–1/4
- 28Gaudeamus2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 2920064291/4
- 302009–1/4
- 3120104831/4
- 32Poga2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 33An Ocean is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 3420113881/4
- 35Every Hole is Outlined2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 36Rod Rapid and His Electric Chair2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 37The Lost Princess Man2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 38Things Undone2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 39The Quiet Guy It Always Was2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 402012–1/4
- 412012–1/4
- 42Raise the Gipper!2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
John Barnes 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.
Century Next Door in order
5 booksGiraut in order
4 booksTimeraider in order
3 books- 1. Wartide
- 2. Battlecry
- 3. Union Fires
Timeline Wars in order
3 booksJak Jinnaka in order
3 booksDaybreak in order
3 booksTeen & Young Adult in order
2 booksStandalone books
19 books19 John Barnes titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Barnes books in order?
You only need to read John Barnes 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 John Barnes
Start with The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky (1986), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Barnes book?
Raise the Gipper! (2012) is the newest John Barnes book released so far.
Is there a new John Barnes book coming?
No next John Barnes book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Award nominations for John Barnes
Wikidata records 31 nominations for John Barnes. 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 Novelette2016Shortlistedfor My Last Bringback
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2014Shortlistedfor The Last President
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2012Shortlistedfor Daybreak Zero
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2011Shortlistedfor Directive 51
- Theodore Sturgeon Award2010Shortlistedfor Things Undone
- Locus Award for Best Novelette2008Shortlistedfor An Ocean Is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2007Shortlistedfor The Armies of Memory
- Locus Award for Best Novella2007Shortlistedfor "The Night Is Fine" the Walrus Said
- Locus Award for Best Novelette2007Shortlistedfor Every Hole Is Outlined
- Locus Award for Best Novella2006Shortlistedfor The Diversification of Its Fancy
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2003Shortlistedfor The Sky So Big and Black
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2002Shortlistedfor The Merchants of Souls
John Barnes at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest John Barnes title on record dates from 2012, 14 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- John Barnes books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,495 pages across the 16 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 317 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Barnes books, 16 of 42, were published in the 1990s.
What the John Barnes books are about
21 of the 42 John Barnes 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 7 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 7 of 21 books
- Fantasy 4 of 21 books
- Giraut Leones (Fictitious character) 4 of 21 books
- Thrillers 3 of 21 books
- Individualism 2 of 21 books
- Life on other planets 2 of 21 books
- Officials and employees 2 of 21 books
- Political fiction 2 of 21 books
- Regression (Civilization) 2 of 21 books
- Science fiction, hard science fiction 2 of 21 books
- Time travel 2 of 21 books
- United States 2 of 21 books