Order of Book Series
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Lawrence Watt-Evans Books in Order

Lawrence Watt-Evans has written 65 books, published between 1980 and 2023. The first book is The Lure of the Basilisk (1980) and the newest is Charming Sharra (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Lawrence Watt-Evans also publishes as Nathan Archer.

Books
65
Published
1980–2023
Pages on record
12,836 in 46 of 65 books
Reading time
214–321 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,836 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 46 of 65 titles with a page count on record.

See all 65 books in order Printable Lawrence Watt-Evans checklist
Photo of Lawrence Watt-Evans, author

Lawrence Watt-Evans is a pen name of the American science fiction and fantasy author Lawrence Watt Evans, born in 1954, who also publishes science fiction as Nathan Archer. The Legend of Ethshar is his longest series, with Lords of Dûs, Obsidian Chronicles, Annals of the Chosen, Nightside City and The Adventures of Tom Derringer alongside it. The catalogue records 65 titles from The Lure of the Basilisk (1980) to Charming Sharra (2023), with a median length of 265 pages.

How many Lawrence Watt-Evans books are there?

Lawrence Watt-Evans has 65 books, released between 1980 and 2023. They include 11 series and 23 titles listed outside any series.

Lawrence Watt-Evans Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 65 Lawrence Watt-Evans 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 The Lure of the Basilisk by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Lords of Dûs series (1980)
  2. Cover of The Seven Altars of Dûsarra by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 2 of the Lords of Dûs series (1981)
  3. Cover of The Sword of Bheleu by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 3 of the Lords of Dûs series (1982)
  4. Cover of The Book of Silence by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 4 of the Lords of Dûs series (1983)
  5. Cover of The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Legend of Ethshar series (1985)
  6. Cover of Shining Steel by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1986)
  7. Cover of The Wizard and the War Machine by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 2 of the War Surplus series (1987)
  8. Cover of Denner's Wreck / Among The Powers by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1988)
  9. Cover of Nightside City by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Nightside City series (1989)
  10. Cover of The Unwilling Warlord by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 3 of the Legend of Ethshar series (1989)
  11. Cover of The Nightmare People by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 4 of the Legend of Ethshar series (1990)
  12. Cover of The Blood of a Dragon by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 5 of the Legend of Ethshar series (1991)
  13. Cover of Crosstime Traffic by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1992)
  14. Cover of Split Heirs by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1993)
  15. Cover of Martian Deathtrap by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Mars Attacks series (1996)
  16. Cover of The Reign of the Brown Magician by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 3 of the Three Worlds series (1996)
  17. Cover of Touched by the Gods by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1997)
  18. Cover of Dragon Weather by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Obsidian Chronicles (1999)
  19. Cover of Night of Madness by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 8 of the Legend of Ethshar series (2000)
  20. Cover of The Dragon Society by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 2 of the Obsidian Chronicles (2001)
  21. Cover of Celestial Debris by Lawrence Watt-Evans (2002)
  22. Cover of Dragon Venom by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 3 of the Obsidian Chronicles (2003)
  23. Cover of The Spartacus File by Lawrence Watt-Evans (2005)
  24. Cover of The Wizard Lord by Lawrence Watt-Evans, book 1 of the Annals of the Chosen series (2006)
  1. 1
    The Lure of the BasiliskLords of Dûs #11980 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Seven Altars of DûsarraLords of Dûs #21981 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Cyborg and the Sorcerers / The Cyborg and the SorceressWar Surplus #11982 · confirmed 1/4
    1982–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Sword of BheleuLords of Dûs #31982 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Book of SilenceLords of Dûs #41983 · 360 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983360
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Chromosomal Code1984 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Misenchanted SwordLegend of Ethshar #11985 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Shining Steel1986 · 194 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986194
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Why I Left Harry's All-Night HamburgersHarry's All Night Hamburgers #11987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Wizard and the War MachineWar Surplus #21987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    With a Single SpellLegend of Ethshar #21987 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Denner's Wreck / Among The Powers1988 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Nightside CityNightside City #11989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Unwilling WarlordLegend of Ethshar #31989 · 248 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Nightmare PeopleLegend of Ethshar #41990 · 203 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990203
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Blood of a DragonLegend of Ethshar #51991 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Crosstime Traffic1992 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Rebirth of Wonder1992 · confirmed 1/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Split Heirs1993 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Taking FlightLegend of Ethshar #61993 · 218 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993218
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Spell of the Black DaggerLegend of Ethshar #71993 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Out of This WorldThree Worlds #11994 · confirmed 1/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    In the Empire of ShadowThree Worlds #21995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Martian DeathtrapMars Attacks #11996 · 243 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Reign of the Brown MagicianThree Worlds #31996 · 342 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996342
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Touched by the Gods1997 · 380 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997380
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Dragon WeatherObsidian Chronicles #11999 · 560 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999560
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Night of MadnessLegend of Ethshar #82000 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Dragon SocietyObsidian Chronicles #22001 · 468 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001468
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Celestial Debris2002 · 264 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Lawrence Watt-Evans series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Lawrence Watt-Evans 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.

Lords of Dûs in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Lure of the Basilisk
  2. 2. The Seven Altars of Dûsarra
  3. 3. The Sword of Bheleu
  4. 4. The Book of Silence

Three Worlds in order

3 books
  1. 1. Out of This World
  2. 2. In the Empire of Shadow
  3. 3. The Reign of the Brown Magician

Obsidian Chronicles in order

3 books
  1. 1. Dragon Weather
  2. 2. The Dragon Society
  3. 3. Dragon Venom

Annals of the Chosen in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Wizard Lord
  2. 2. The Ninth Talisman
  3. 3. The Summer Palace

Adventures of Tom Derringer in order

3 books
  1. 1. Tom Derringer and the Aluminum Airship
  2. 2. Tom Derringer in the Tunnels of Terror
  3. 3. Tom Derringer and the Steam-Powered Saurians

War Surplus in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Cyborg and the Sorcerers / The Cyborg and the Sorceress
  2. 2. The Wizard and the War Machine

Harry's All Night Hamburgers in order

2 books
  1. 1. Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers
  2. 2. A Flying Saucer with Minnesota Plates

Nightside City in order

2 books
  1. 1. Nightside City
  2. 2. Realms of Light

Fall of the Sorcerers in order

2 books
  1. 1. A Young Man Without Magic
  2. 2. Above His Proper Station

Mars Attacks in order

1 book
  1. 1. Martian Deathtrap

Standalone books

23 books

23 Lawrence Watt-Evans titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Lawrence Watt-Evans books in order?

You only need to read Lawrence Watt-Evans books in order within each series: the books listed here span 11 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Lawrence Watt-Evans

Start with The Misenchanted Sword (1985), the first Legend of Ethshar book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Lure of the Basilisk (1980).

What is the newest Lawrence Watt-Evans book?

Charming Sharra (2023) is the newest Lawrence Watt-Evans book released so far.

Is there a new Lawrence Watt-Evans book coming?

No next Lawrence Watt-Evans 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 Lawrence Watt-Evans has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 2 nominations for Lawrence Watt-Evans. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Lawrence Watt-Evans at a glance

Paused
No new Lawrence Watt-Evans title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Lawrence Watt-Evans books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
12,836 pages across the 46 of 65 books with a recorded length, a median of 265 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Lawrence Watt-Evans books, 23 of 65, were published in the 2010s.

What the Lawrence Watt-Evans books are about

28 of the 65 Lawrence Watt-Evans 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 13 of 28. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.