John Flanagan Books in Order
John Flanagan has written 37 books, published between 2004 and 2024. The first book is The Ruins of Gorlan (2004) and the newest is Ambush at Sorato (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 37
- Published
- 2004–2024
- Confirmed
- 34 of 37 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,096 in 16 of 37 books
John Flanagan writes fantasy adventure for readers in grades 6 to 8. The Ruins of Gorlan (2004) opens Ranger's Apprentice, which extends into The Royal Ranger and The Early Years; the Brotherband Chronicles are a second series, and seafaring life and pirates sit in the subject tags. Thirty-eight titles are catalogued through Ambush at Sorato (2024). Apprentices, heroes, courage and friendship recur across the books.
Will, the protagonist of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, travels on horseback and fights mystical beings.
How many John Flanagan books are there?
John Flanagan has 37 books, released between 2004 and 2024. They include 5 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.
John Flanagan Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 37 John Flanagan 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.
- 120042493/4
- 22005–3/4
- 320052663/4
- 42006–3/4
- 52006–3/4
- 62006–3/4
- 72007–3/4
- 820083583/4
- 920093913/4
- 1020094403/4
- 11The Emperor of Nihon-Ja2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 122010–3/4
- 132011–4/4
- 142011–3/4
- 1520114383/4
- 162012–3/4
- 172012–3/4
- 182012–3/4
- 19A New Beginning2013 · 480 pages · confirmed 1/420134801/4
- 2020134553/4
- 2120144623/4
- 2220144613/4
- 232015–3/4
- 2420153843/4
- 2520163463/4
- 2620163833/4
- 2720173553/4
- 282017–3/4
- 2920183723/4
- 302018–3/4
- 312019–3/4
- 322020–3/4
- 3320212563/4
- 342022–3/4
- 352022–3/4
- 36Arazan's Wolves2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 372024–3/4
John Flanagan series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
John Flanagan 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.
Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger in order
7 booksJesse Parker Mystery in order
2 books- 1. Storm Peak
- 2. Avalanche Pass
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Early Years in order
2 booksJohn Flanagan Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Standalone books
3 books3 John Flanagan titles here are not listed as part of any series.
John Flanagan Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the John Flanagan books run from The Ruins of Gorlan (2004) to Ambush at Sorato (2024), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for John Flanagan in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read John Flanagan books in order?
You only need to read John Flanagan books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with John Flanagan
Start with the first book of the John Flanagan series you want to read: Ranger's Apprentice starts with The Ruins of Gorlan (2004), Brotherband Chronicles starts with The Outcasts / Brotherband (2011) and Ranger’s Apprentice starts with The Ruins of Gorlan (2004). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Ruins of Gorlan (2004).
What is the newest John Flanagan book?
Ambush at Sorato (2024) is the newest John Flanagan book released so far.
Is there a new John Flanagan book coming?
No next John Flanagan book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
John Flanagan at a glance
- Still publishing
- John Flanagan published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- John Flanagan books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,096 pages across the 16 of 37 books with a recorded length, a median of 384 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Flanagan books, 20 of 37, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 1 of the 37 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 34 in at least three.
What the John Flanagan books are about
26 of the 37 John Flanagan books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 16 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 16 of 26 books
- Children's fiction 13 of 26 books
- Adventure stories 8 of 26 books
- Heroes 8 of 26 books
- Sea stories 6 of 26 books
- Apprentices 5 of 26 books
- Courage 5 of 26 books
- Friendship 5 of 26 books
- Pirates 5 of 26 books
- War 4 of 26 books