Karl Edward Wagner Books in Order

42 books are credited to Karl Edward Wagner, published between 1970 and 2020; 10 of them appeared after Karl Edward Wagner's death in 1994. The first book is Darkness Weaves (1970) and the newest is A Little Ochre Book of Occult Stories (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
42
Published
1970–2020
Confirmed
1 of 42 titles
Pages on record
4,959 in 15 of 42 books

Karl Edward Wagner was an American author of horror, science fiction and heroic fantasy who also worked as a poet, editor and publisher, and who created a run of stories about the fantasy character Kane. Wagner came from Knoxville, Tennessee, trained in psychiatry, lived from 12 December 1945 to 14 October 1994, and wrote seven novels. Wagner edited The Year's Best Horror Stories for DAW Books between 1980 and 1994 and put together three volumes of Robert E. Howard's Conan in restored original form. The catalogue lists 42 books, including Darkness Weaves (1970), Death Angel's Shadow (1973) and Bloodstone (1975).

Source: Wikidata

How many Karl Edward Wagner books are there?

Karl Edward Wagner has 42 books, released between 1970 and 2020. 10 of them were published after Karl Edward Wagner's death in 1994. They include 4 series and 23 titles listed outside any series.

Karl Edward Wagner Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 42 Karl Edward Wagner 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 November 2026.

  1. 1
    Darkness WeavesKane #11970 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970288
  2. 2
    In the Pines1973 · confirmed 1/4
    1973–
  3. 3
    Death Angel's ShadowKane #21973 · confirmed 1/4
    1973–
  4. 4
    Sticks1974 · confirmed 1/4
    1974–
  5. 5
    BloodstoneKane #31975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
  6. 6
    The Fourth Seal1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
  7. 7
    Bran Mak MornBran Mak Morn #11976 · confirmed 1/4
    1976–
  8. 8
    Legion from the ShadowsBran Mak Morn #21976 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976247
  9. 9
    Dark CrusadeKane #41976 · 222 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976222
  10. 10
    Undertow1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
  11. 11
    Night WindsKane #51978 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978286
  12. 12
    Conan: The Road of KingsConan (Bantam) #31979 · confirmed 2/4
    1979–
  13. 13
    The Book of KaneKane #61979 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979224
  14. 14
    The River of Night's Dreaming1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
  15. 15
    Beyond Any Measure1982 · confirmed 1/4
    1982–
  16. 16
    In a Lonely Place1983 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983288
  17. 17
    Into Whose Hands1983 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983240
  18. 18
    More Sinned Against1984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
  19. 19
    Old Loves1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  20. 20
    Shrapnel1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  21. 21
    Blue Lady, Come Back1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
  22. 22
    Echoes of ValorEchoes of Valor #11987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  23. 23
    Why Not You And I?1987 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987240
  24. 24
    Endless Night1987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
  25. 25
    Echoes of Valor IIEchoes of Valor #21989 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989288
  26. 26
    At First Just Ghostly1989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
  27. 27
    But You\'ll Never Follow Me1990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
  28. 28
    Echoes of Valor IIIEchoes of Valor #31991 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991384
  29. 29
    Unthreatened by the Morning LightAuthor's Choice Monthly #101991 · confirmed 3/4
    1991–
  30. 30
    Tell Me, Dark1992 · confirmed 1/4
    1992–

Karl Edward Wagner 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.

Kane in order

9 books
  1. 1. Darkness Weaves
  2. 2. Death Angel's Shadow
  3. 3. Bloodstone
  4. 4. Dark Crusade
  5. 5. Night Winds
  6. 6. The Book of Kane
  7. 7. Exorcisms and Ecstasies
  8. 8. Gods in Darkness
  9. 9. Midnight Sun

Echoes of Valor in order

3 books
  1. 1. Echoes of Valor
  2. 2. Echoes of Valor II
  3. 3. Echoes of Valor III

Bran Mak Morn in order

2 books
  1. 1. Bran Mak Morn
  2. 2. Legion from the Shadows

Best Horror Stories in order

2 books
  1. 1. Walk on the Wild Side
  2. 2. Where the Summer Ends

Conan (Bantam) in order

1 book
  1. 3. Conan: The Road of Kings

Little Book in order

1 book
  1. 5. A Little Ochre Book of Occult Stories

Author's Choice Monthly in order

1 book
  1. 10. Unthreatened by the Morning Light

Standalone books

23 books

23 Karl Edward Wagner titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Karl Edward Wagner books in order?

You only need to read Karl Edward Wagner books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Karl Edward Wagner

Start with Darkness Weaves (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Karl Edward Wagner book?

A Little Ochre Book of Occult Stories (2020) is the newest Karl Edward Wagner book released so far.

Is there a new Karl Edward Wagner book coming?

No next Karl Edward Wagner 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 Karl Edward Wagner has won

Wikidata records 5 awards and 27 nominations for Karl Edward Wagner. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given. Award data is sourced from Wikidata.

Karl Edward Wagner at a glance

Died
Karl Edward Wagner died in 1994, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Karl Edward Wagner are still being published after Karl Edward Wagner's death in 1994; the newest appeared in 2020.
Release pace
Karl Edward Wagner books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,959 pages across the 15 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Karl Edward Wagner books, 13 of 42, were published in the 1980s.

When Karl Edward Wagner books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when Karl Edward Wagner titles appeared. 1970s was the most productive decade with 13 titles.

1970s
13
1980s
13
1990s
9
2000s
3
2010s
3
2020s
1

42 books total across 6 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the Karl Edward Wagner books are about

16 of the 42 Karl Edward Wagner 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 5 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.