Order of Book Series
0

K.J. Parker Books in Order

K.J. Parker has written 46 books, published between 1998 and 2026. The first book is Colours in the Steel (1998) and the newest is Sister Svangerd and the Chosen One (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Tom Holt books in order are published under that pen name.

Books
46
Published
1998–2026
Pages on record
12,182 in 32 of 46 books
Reading time
203–305 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,182 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 32 of 46 titles with a page count on record.

See all 46 books in order Printable K.J. Parker checklist

K.J. Parker writes fantasy, including historical fantasy, with catalogue subjects such as imaginary wars and battles, magic, gods, philosophers and blacksmiths. The catalogue holds 46 books, starting with Colours in the Steel (1998) and The Belly of the Bow (1999). Devices and Desires (2005), Evil for Evil (2006) and The Escapement (2007) are also listed. Series include the Fencer Trilogy, Engineer Trilogy, Corax Trilogy and Loyal Opposition Trilogy, as well as Two of Swords, Siege, Saloninus and Prosper's Demon. Sister Svangerd and the Chosen One (2026) is the newest title.

How many K.J. Parker books are there?

K.J. Parker has 46 books, released between 1998 and 2026. They include 9 series and 8 titles listed outside any series.

K.J. Parker Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 46 K.J. Parker 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.

  1. Cover of Colours in the Steel by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Fencer Trilogy (1998)
  2. Cover of The Belly of the Bow by K.J. Parker, book 2 of the Fencer Trilogy (1999)
  3. Cover of The Proof House by K.J. Parker, book 3 of the Fencer Trilogy (2000)
  4. Cover of Shadow by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Scavenger series (2001)
  5. Cover of Pattern by K.J. Parker, book 2 of the Scavenger series (2002)
  6. Cover of Memory by K.J. Parker, book 3 of the Scavenger series (2003)
  7. Cover of Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Engineer Trilogy (2005)
  8. Cover of Evil for Evil by K.J. Parker, book 2 of the Engineer Trilogy (2006)
  9. Cover of The Escapement by K.J. Parker, book 3 of the Engineer Trilogy (2007)
  10. Cover of The Company by K.J. Parker (2008)
  11. Cover of Purple and Black by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas series (2009)
  12. Cover of Blue and Gold by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Saloninus series (2010)
  13. Cover of The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker (2010)
  14. Cover of The Hammer by K.J. Parker (2011)
  15. Cover of Sharps by K.J. Parker (2012)
  16. Cover of Academic Exercises by K.J. Parker, book 4 of the K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas series (2014)
  17. Cover of Savages by K.J. Parker (2015)
  18. Cover of The Last Witness by K.J. Parker, book 6 of the K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas series (2015)
  19. Cover of Downfall of the Gods by K.J. Parker, book 7 of the K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas series (2016)
  20. Cover of The Two of Swords, Volume One by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Two of Swords series (2017)
  21. Cover of The Two of Swords, Volume Two by K.J. Parker, book 2 of the Two of Swords series (2017)
  22. Cover of Mightier than the Sword by K.J. Parker, book 8 of the K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas series (2017)
  23. Cover of The Father of Lies by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the K.J. Parker Short Story series (2018)
  24. Cover of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker, book 1 of the Siege series (2019)
  1. 1
    Colours in the SteelFencer Trilogy #11998 · 503 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998503
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Belly of the BowFencer Trilogy #21999 · 521 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999521
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Proof HouseFencer Trilogy #32000 · 602 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000602
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    ShadowScavenger #12001 · 576 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    PatternScavenger #22002 · 576 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    MemoryScavenger #32003 · 576 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Devices and DesiresEngineer Trilogy #12005 · 720 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005720
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Evil for EvilEngineer Trilogy #22006 · 704 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006704
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The EscapementEngineer Trilogy #32007 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Company2008 · 419 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008419
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Purple and BlackK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #12009 · 120 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Blue and GoldSaloninus #12010 · 99 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201099
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Folding Knife2010 · 453 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010453
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Hammer2011 · 421 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011421
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Sharps2012 · 471 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012471
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Sun and IK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #22013 · confirmed 2/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Academic ExercisesK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #42014 · 536 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014536
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Savages2015 · 388 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015388
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Last WitnessK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #62015 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Devil You KnowSaloninus #22016 · 125 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016125
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Priest's HoleFive Stories High Books #42016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Downfall of the GodsK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #72016 · 110 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016110
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Two of Swords, Volume OneTwo of Swords #12017 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Two of Swords, Volume TwoTwo of Swords #22017 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Two of Swords, Volume ThreeTwo of Swords #32017 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Mightier than the SwordK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #82017 · 134 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017134
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Father of LiesK.J. Parker Short Story #12018 · 544 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled CitySiege #12019 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    My Beautiful LifeK.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas #92019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Prosper's DemonProsper's Demon #12020 · 104 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020104
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

K.J. Parker 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.

K.J. Parker Short Stories/Novellas

10 books

10 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Fencer Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Colours in the Steel
  2. 2. The Belly of the Bow
  3. 3. The Proof House

Scavenger in order

3 books
  1. 1. Shadow
  2. 2. Pattern
  3. 3. Memory

Engineer Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Devices and Desires
  2. 2. Evil for Evil
  3. 3. The Escapement

Two of Swords in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Two of Swords, Volume One
  2. 2. The Two of Swords, Volume Two
  3. 3. The Two of Swords, Volume Three

Siege in order

3 books
  1. 1. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
  2. 2. How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It
  3. 3. A Practical Guide to Conquering the World

Corax Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead
  2. 2. Saevus Corax Captures the Castle
  3. 3. Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder

Loyal Opposition Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead
  2. 2. Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know
  3. 3. Sister Svangerd and the Chosen One

Saloninus in order

2 books
  1. 1. Blue and Gold
  2. 2. The Devil You Know

K.J. Parker Short Story

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Prosper's Demon in order

2 books
  1. 1. Prosper's Demon
  2. 2. Inside Man

Five Stories High Books in order

1 book
  1. 4. Priest's Hole

Standalone books

8 books

8 K.J. Parker titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read K.J. Parker books in order?

You only need to read K.J. Parker books in order within each series: the books listed here span 9 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with K.J. Parker

Start with Colours in the Steel (1998), the earliest published title.

What is the newest K.J. Parker book?

Sister Svangerd and the Chosen One (2026) is the newest K.J. Parker book released so far.

Is there a new K.J. Parker book coming?

No next K.J. Parker book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

K.J. Parker at a glance

Still publishing
K.J. Parker published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
K.J. Parker books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
12,182 pages across the 32 of 46 books with a recorded length, a median of 420 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most K.J. Parker books, 18 of 46, were published in the 2010s.

What the K.J. Parker books are about

29 of the 46 K.J. Parker 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 14 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.