John Christopher Books in Order
John Christopher has written 29 books, published between 1954 and 2003. The first book is The Twenty Second Century (1954) and the newest is Bad Dream (2003). Publication order is the reading order below.
John Christopher also publishes as Hilary Ford.
- Books
- 29
- Published
- 1954–2003
- Pages on record
- 4,505 in 21 of 29 books
- Reading time
- 75–113 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,505 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 29 titles with a page count on record.
John Christopher was the best-known pen name of Sam Youd (1922-2012), a British writer who signed other books Hilary Ford, Peter Graaf, Stanley Winchester, Anthony Rye, William Godfrey, Peter Nichols and William Vine. The Death of Grass (1956) and The Possessors (1964) sit among 29 catalogued titles, and the Tripods books made the Christopher name with young readers. Sword of the Spirits and the Fireball Trilogy are the other two series. Prizes followed the children's work: the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1971, then the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis five years later.
How many John Christopher books are there?
John Christopher has 29 books, released between 1954 and 2003. They include 3 series and 19 titles listed outside any series.
John Christopher Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 29 John Christopher 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 Twenty Second Century1954 · confirmed 1/41954–1/4
- 2The Year of the Comet / Planet in Peril1955 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/419552721/4
- 3The Death of Grass / No Blade of Grass1956 · 222 pages · confirmed 1/419562221/4
- 4The Caves of Night1958 · confirmed 1/41958–1/4
- 5A Scent Of White Poppies1959 · confirmed 1/41959–1/4
- 6The White Voyage / The White Voyage1960 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/419602521/4
- 7The World in Winter / The Long Winter1962 · confirmed 1/41962–1/4
- 8Cloud On Silver / Sweeney's Island1964 · confirmed 1/41964–1/4
- 9The Possessors1964 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/419642521/4
- 10A Wrinkle in the Skin / The Ragged Edge1965 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419652561/4
- 11The Little People1966 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/419662281/4
- 1219671601/4
- 1319671951/4
- 1419672091/4
- 1519682041/4
- 16Pendulum1968 · confirmed 1/41968–1/4
- 17The Lotus Caves1969 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/419692881/4
- 1819702721/4
- 19The Guardians1970 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/419701121/4
- 2019712161/4
- 2119722121/4
- 22Dom and Va / In The Beginning1973 · confirmed 1/41973–1/4
- 23Wild Jack1974 · 193 pages · confirmed 1/419741931/4
- 24Empty World1977 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419772561/4
- 251981–1/4
- 2619831351/4
- 2719861391/4
- 28A Dusk of Demons1993 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/419931761/4
- 29Bad Dream2003 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/420032561/4
John Christopher 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.
Tripods in order
4 booksSword of the Spirits in order
3 booksFireball Trilogy in order
3 books- 1. Fireball
- 2. New Found Land
- 3. Dragon Dance
Standalone books
19 books19 John Christopher titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Christopher books in order?
You only need to read John Christopher 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 John Christopher
Start with The Twenty Second Century (1954), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Christopher book?
Bad Dream (2003) is the newest John Christopher book released so far.
Is there a new John Christopher book coming?
No next John Christopher 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 John Christopher has won
Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for John Christopher. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize1971Wonfor The Guardians
- Nebula Award for Best Short Story1966Shortlistedfor A Few Kindred Spirits
John Christopher at a glance
- Died
- John Christopher died in 2012, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to John Christopher on record dates from 2003.
- Release pace
- John Christopher books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 4,505 pages across the 21 of 29 books with a recorded length, a median of 216 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Christopher books, 12 of 29, were published in the 1960s.
What the John Christopher books are about
20 of the 29 John Christopher 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 16 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 16 of 20 books
- Children's fiction 12 of 20 books
- Fantasy 4 of 20 books
- Fiction in English 4 of 20 books
- Alternative histories (Fiction) 3 of 20 books
- Extraterrestrial beings 3 of 20 books
- Human-alien encounters 3 of 20 books
- Space and time 3 of 20 books
- Dystopias 2 of 20 books