John Saul Books in Order
John Saul has written 36 books, published between 1977 and 2009. The first book is Suffer the Children (1977) and the newest is House of Reckoning (2009). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 36
- Published
- 1977–2009
- Pages on record
- 11,437 in 34 of 36 books
- Reading time
- 191–286 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,437 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 36 titles with a page count on record.
John Saul wrote horror and suspense. Thirty-six catalogued books run from Suffer the Children (1977) to House of Reckoning (2009), taking in Punish the Sinners (1978), Cry for the Strangers (1979) and Comes the Blind Fury (1980). The Blackstone Chronicles is the one linked series. Supernatural events and serial murder recur as subjects. No new Saul title has appeared since 2009.
How many John Saul books are there?
John Saul has 36 books, released between 1977 and 2009. 6 of them belong to the Blackstone Chronicles series.
John Saul Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 36 John Saul books in the order they were released, 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.
- 1Suffer the Children1977 · 378 pages · confirmed 2/419773782/4
- 2Punish the Sinners1978 · 415 pages · confirmed 2/419784152/4
- 3Cry for the Strangers1979 · 415 pages · confirmed 2/419794152/4
- 4Comes the Blind Fury1980 · 383 pages · confirmed 2/419803832/4
- 5When the Wind Blows1981 · 348 pages · confirmed 2/419813482/4
- 6The God Project / All Fall Down1982 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/419823842/4
- 7Nathaniel1984 · 343 pages · confirmed 2/419843432/4
- 8Brain Child1985 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/419853842/4
- 9Hellfire1986 · 344 pages · confirmed 2/419863442/4
- 10The Unwanted1987 · 339 pages · confirmed 2/419873392/4
- 11The Unloved1988 · 358 pages · confirmed 2/419883582/4
- 12Creature1989 · 377 pages · confirmed 2/419893772/4
- 13Second Child1990 · 355 pages · confirmed 2/419903552/4
- 14Sleepwalk1990 · 449 pages · confirmed 2/419904492/4
- 15Darkness1991 · 371 pages · confirmed 2/419913712/4
- 16Shadows1992 · 393 pages · confirmed 2/419923932/4
- 17Guardian1993 · 370 pages · confirmed 2/419933702/4
- 18The Homing1994 · 423 pages · confirmed 2/419944232/4
- 19Black Lightning1995 · 438 pages · confirmed 2/419954382/4
- 201996822/4
- 211997862/4
- 221997862/4
- 231997832/4
- 241997842/4
- 251997972/4
- 26The Presence1997 · 422 pages · confirmed 2/419974222/4
- 27The Right Hand of Evil1999 · 427 pages · confirmed 2/419994272/4
- 28Nightshade2000 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/420004162/4
- 29Black Creek Crossing2001 · 459 pages · confirmed 2/420014592/4
- 30The Manhattan Hunt Club2001 · confirmed 2/42001–2/4
- 31Midnight Voices2002 · confirmed 2/42002–2/4
- 32Perfect Nightmare2005 · 339 pages · confirmed 2/420053392/4
- 33In the Dark of the Night2006 · 404 pages · confirmed 2/420064042/4
- 34The Devil's Labyrinth2007 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/420074162/4
- 35Faces of Fear2008 · 401 pages · confirmed 2/420084012/4
- 36House of Reckoning2009 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/420093682/4
John Saul 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.
Blackstone Chronicles in order
6 booksStandalone books
30 books30 John Saul titles here are not listed as part of any series.
John Saul Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the John Saul books run from Suffer the Children (1977) to House of Reckoning (2009), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for John Saul in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read John Saul books in order?
You only need to read John Saul books in order within the Blackstone Chronicles series, which holds 6 of the 36 John Saul books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with John Saul
Start with Suffer the Children (1977), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Saul book?
House of Reckoning (2009) is the newest John Saul book released so far.
Is there a new John Saul book coming?
No next John Saul 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 Saul has won
Wikidata records 1 award for John Saul. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement2022Won
John Saul at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest John Saul title on record dates from 2009, 17 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- John Saul books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 11,437 pages across the 34 of 36 books with a recorded length, a median of 378 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Saul books, 15 of 36, were published in the 1990s.
What the John Saul books are about
All 36 John Saul books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: horror is tagged on 25 of 36. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Horror 25 of 36 books
- Serial murders 4 of 36 books
- Supernatural 4 of 36 books
- Suspense 3 of 36 books
- Thrillers 3 of 36 books
- Mystery & detective 2 of 36 books
- Haunted houses 2 of 36 books
- Paranormal fiction 2 of 36 books