Order of Book Series
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Lester Del Rey Books in Order

45 books are credited to Lester Del Rey, published between 1948 and 2011; 5 of them appeared after Lester Del Rey's death in 1993. The first book is ...And Some Were Human (1948) and the newest is Lester del Rey Collection (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.

Lester Del Rey also publishes as Cameron Hall, Charles Satterfield, Edson McCann, Erik Van Lhin, John Alvarez, Kenneth Wright, Marion Henry, Philip James, Philip St. John, Ramon F. Alvarez-del Rey, Wade Kaempfert.

Books
45
Published
1948–2011
Pages on record
4,471 in 19 of 45 books
See all 45 books in order Printable Lester Del Rey checklist

Lester del Rey was the main pseudonym of Leonard Knapp (1915-1993), an American science fiction author and editor who wrote many books for the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series. His 45 catalogued titles open with the collection ...And Some Were Human (1948) and take in Marooned on Mars (1952), Rocket Jockey (1952), Attack from Atlantis (1953) and Battle on Mercury (1953, as Eric van Lhin). Space ships, space colonies, time travel and magic supply the subjects. Del Rey also worked as fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the Ballantine imprint run by his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.

How many Lester Del Rey books are there?

Lester Del Rey has 45 books, released between 1948 and 2011. 5 of them were published after Lester Del Rey's death in 1993. 3 of them belong to the Jim Stanley series.

Lester Del Rey Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 45 Lester Del Rey 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 Rocket Jockey by Lester Del Rey (1952)
  2. Cover of Attack from Atlantis by Lester Del Rey (1953)
  3. Cover of Step to the Stars by Lester Del Rey, book 1 of the Jim Stanley series (1954)
  4. Cover of The Sky Is Falling by Lester Del Rey (1954)
  5. Cover of Police Your Planet (As: Eric van Lhin) by Lester Del Rey (1956)
  6. Cover of Moon of Mutiny by Lester Del Rey, book 3 of the Jim Stanley series (1961)
  7. Cover of The Eleventh Commandment by Lester Del Rey (1962)
  8. Cover of Outpost of Jupiter by Lester Del Rey (1963)
  9. Cover of The Runaway Robot by Lester Del Rey (1965)
  10. Cover of Tunnel Through Time by Lester Del Rey (1966)
  11. Cover of The Infinite Worlds of Maybe by Lester Del Rey (1968)
  12. Cover of Pstalemate by Lester Del Rey (1971)
  13. Cover of Gods and Golems by Lester Del Rey (1973)
  14. Cover of Early Del Rey by Lester Del Rey (1975)
  15. Cover of The Best of Lester del Rey by Lester Del Rey (1978)
  16. Cover of Weeping May Tarry by Lester Del Rey (1978)
  17. Cover of War and Space by Lester Del Rey (2009)
  18. Cover of Robots and Magic by Lester Del Rey (2010)
  19. Cover of Lester del Rey Collection by Lester Del Rey (2011)
  1. 1
    ...And Some Were Human1948 · confirmed 1/4
    1948–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Pursuit1952 · confirmed 1/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Rocket Jockey1952 · confirmed 1/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Marooned on Mars1952 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1952158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Let 'em Breathe Space!1953 · confirmed 1/4
    1953–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Mysterious Planet1953 · 183 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Battle on Mercury (As: Eric van Lhin)1953 · confirmed 1/4
    1953–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Attack from Atlantis1953 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Step to the StarsJim Stanley #11954 · 154 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1954154
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Sky Is Falling1954 · 124 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1954124
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    No Strings Attached1954 · confirmed 1/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Life Watch1954 · confirmed 1/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Rockets to Nowhere1954 · 152 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1954152
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Mission to the MoonJim Stanley #21956 · 207 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Nerves1956 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Police Your Planet (As: Eric van Lhin)1956 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Robots and Changelings1957 · confirmed 1/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Badge of Infamy1957 · confirmed 1/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Day of the Giants1959 · confirmed 1/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Moon of MutinyJim Stanley #31961 · 181 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Eleventh Commandment1962 · 186 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Outpost of Jupiter1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Mortals and Monsters1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Runaway Robot1965 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1965176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Tunnel Through Time1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Cave of Spears1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Scheme of Things1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The One-Eyed Man1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Rocket From Infinity1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Siege Perilous1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Lester Del Rey 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.

Jim Stanley in order

3 books
  1. 1. Step to the Stars
  2. 2. Mission to the Moon
  3. 3. Moon of Mutiny

Standalone books

42 books

42 Lester Del Rey titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Lester Del Rey books in order?

You only need to read Lester Del Rey books in order within the Jim Stanley series, which holds 3 of the 45 Lester Del Rey books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Lester Del Rey

Start with ...And Some Were Human (1948), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Lester Del Rey book?

Lester del Rey Collection (2011) is the newest Lester Del Rey book released so far.

Is there a new Lester Del Rey book coming?

No next Lester Del Rey 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 Lester Del Rey has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 3 nominations for Lester Del Rey. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award1991Won
  • Locus Award for Best Anthology1992Shortlistedfor Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales
  • Locus Award for Best Collection1976Shortlistedfor Early del Rey
  • Locus Award for Best Reprint Anthology/Collection1975Shortlistedfor Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Third Annual Collection

Lester Del Rey at a glance

Died
Lester Del Rey died in 1993, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Lester Del Rey are still being published after Lester Del Rey's death in 1993; the newest appeared in 2011.
Release pace
Lester Del Rey books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,471 pages across the 19 of 45 books with a recorded length, a median of 181 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Lester Del Rey books, 18 of 45, were published in the 1950s.

What the Lester Del Rey books are about

14 of the 45 Lester Del Rey 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 9 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.