John Gardner Books in Order
John Gardner has written 60 books, published between 1964 and 2008. The first book is The Liquidator (1964) and the newest is Moriarty (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 60
- Published
- 1964–2008
- Confirmed
- 59 of 60 titles
- Pages on record
- 12,448 in 41 of 60 books
- Reading time
- 207–311 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,448 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 41 of 60 titles with a page count on record.
John Gardner (20 November 1926 – 3 August 2007) was an English author of spy and thriller novels, best known for continuing the James Bond books. Gardner also wrote the Boysie Oakes series and three novels featuring Professor Moriarty, the villain created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Gardner joined the Home Guard at 13 during the Second World War and went on to serve in the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Marines; after demobilisation Gardner studied theology at St John's College, Cambridge, and was ordained a Church of England priest in 1953. The Liquidator (1964) opens a catalogue of 60 books that includes Understrike (1965), Amber Nine (1966), Madrigal (1967) and Traitor's Exit (1970) and ends with Moriarty (2008). Herbie Kruger, Derek Torry and Detective Sergeant Suzie Mountford are further series.
How many John Gardner books are there?
John Gardner has 60 books, released between 1964 and 2008. They include 6 separate series.
John Gardner Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 60 John Gardner 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.
- 11964–3/4
- 219653043/4
- 319663713/4
- 419674003/4
- 51968–3/4
- 61969–3/4
- 719691843/4
- 819701503/4
- 91972–3/4
- 1019734213/4
- 1119734553/4
- 1219731923/4
- 131973–3/4
- 141974–3/4
- 1519741763/4
- 161975–3/4
- 1719751923/4
- 1819762523/4
- 1919762043/4
- 2019771883/4
- 211979–3/4
- 2219793223/4
- 2319802533/4
- 2419802763/4
- 251981–3/4
- 2619812853/4
- 2719823113/4
- 2819831503/4
- 2919832503/4
- 301983–3/4
- 3119843043/4
- 3219854813/4
- 3319863013/4
- 341987–3/4
- 3519873173/4
- 361988–3/4
- 3719883193/4
- 381989–3/4
- 3919892943/4
- 401989–3/4
- 4119903043/4
- 4219913033/4
- 4319922563/4
- 4419923403/4
- 4519934393/4
- 4619932863/4
- 4719942973/4
- 4819943123/4
- 4919954163/4
- 501995–3/4
- 511996–3/4
- 521999–2/4
- 5319992903/4
- 5420013513/4
- 5520024343/4
- 5620033523/4
- 5720044163/4
- 582005–3/4
- 592007–3/4
- 6020083003/4
John Gardner 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.
James Bond in order
18 books- 3. License Renewed
- 4. For Special Services
- 5. Icebreaker
- 6. Role of Honor
- 7. Nobody Lives Forever
- 8. No Deals, Mr. Bond
- 9. Scorpius
- 10. Licence to Kill
- 11. Win, Lose or Die
- 12. Brokenclaw
- 13. The Man from Barbarossa
- 14. Death Is Forever
- and 6 more in the table above
Boysie Oakes in order
11 booksJohn Gardner Standalone Novels
11 books11 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Herbie Kruger in order
5 booksDetective Sergeant Suzie Mountford in order
5 booksProfessor Moriarty in order
3 booksRailton Family in order
3 booksDerek Torry in order
2 booksJohn Gardner Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Do you have to read John Gardner books in order?
You only need to read John Gardner books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with John Gardner
Start with The Liquidator (1964), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Gardner book?
Moriarty (2008) is the newest John Gardner book released so far.
Is there a new John Gardner book coming?
No next John Gardner 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 Gardner at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest John Gardner title on record dates from 2008, 18 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- John Gardner books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 12,448 pages across the 41 of 60 books with a recorded length, a median of 303 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Gardner books, 18 of 60, were published in the 1980s.
What the John Gardner books are about
53 of the 60 John Gardner books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: espionage is tagged on 19 of 53. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Espionage 19 of 53 books
- Great Britain 15 of 53 books
- Intelligence service 15 of 53 books
- James Bond (Fictitious character) 15 of 53 books
- Bond, james (fictitious character) 12 of 53 books
- Fiction in English 12 of 53 books
- Boysie Oakes (Fictitious character) 8 of 53 books
- Serie:Boysie-Oakes 8 of 53 books
- England 7 of 53 books
- Mystery & detective 6 of 53 books
- Herbie Kruger (Fictitious character) 5 of 53 books
- Oakes, boysie (fictitious character) 5 of 53 books