Lois McMaster Bujold Books in Order

Lois McMaster Bujold has written 54 books, published between 1986 and 2026. The first book is Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection) (1986) and the newest is Darksight Dare (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
54
Published
1986–2026
Confirmed
54 of 54 titles
Pages on record
11,889 in 34 of 54 books
Reading time
198–297 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,889 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 54 titles with a page count on record.

Photo of Lois McMaster Bujold, author

Lois McMaster Bujold, born November 2, 1949, is an American writer of speculative fiction who has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, equalling Robert A. Heinlein's record. The Vorkosigan Saga is her best-known work: science fiction novels set about 1000 years in the future and featuring Miles Vorkosigan of the planet Barrayar, a physically impaired man who serves as interstellar spy and mercenary admiral. The catalogue lists 54 books from 1986 to Darksight Dare (2026), including Shards of Honor, The Warrior's Apprentice, Falling Free, Brothers in Arms and The Vor Game. Other series listings include Penric and Desdemona, Sharing Knife and Curse Of Chalion. SFWA named Bujold its 36th Grand Master in 2019.

How many Lois McMaster Bujold books are there?

Lois McMaster Bujold has 54 books, released between 1986 and 2026. They include 6 separate series.

Lois McMaster Bujold Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 54 Lois McMaster Bujold 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. 11986608
  2. 2
    Shards of HonorVorkosigan Saga #21986 · 239 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986239
  3. 3
    The Warrior's ApprenticeVorkosigan Saga #31986 · 309 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986309
  4. 4
    Ethan of AthosVorkosigan Saga #41986 · 237 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986237
  5. 5
    Falling FreeVorkosigan Saga #51987 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1987320
  6. 6
    Brothers in ArmsVorkosigan Saga #61989 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1989352
  7. 7
    The Mountains of MourningVorkosigan Saga #71989 · 102 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1989102
  8. 8
    LabyrinthVorkosigan Saga #81989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989
  9. 9
    Borders of InfinityVorkosigan Saga #91989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989
  10. 10
    WeathermanVorkosigan Saga #101990 · confirmed 3/4
    1990
  11. 11
    The Vor GameVorkosigan Saga #111990 · 381 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990381
  12. 12
    BarrayarVorkosigan Saga #121991 · 324 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991324
  13. 13
    The Spirit RingLois McMaster Bujold Standalone Novels #11992 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992384
  14. 14
    Mirror DanceVorkosigan Saga #131994 · 592 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994592
  15. 15
    CetagandaVorkosigan Saga #141995 · 302 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995302
  16. 16
    Dreamweaver's DilemmaVorkosigan Saga #151995 · 252 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995252
  17. 17
    MemoryVorkosigan Saga #161996 · 462 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996462
  18. 18
    KomarrVorkosigan Saga #171998 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998384
  19. 19
    A Civil CampaignVorkosigan Saga #181999 · 544 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999544
  20. 20
    The Curse of ChalionCurse Of Chalion #12000 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000416
  21. 21
    Diplomatic ImmunityVorkosigan Saga #192002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002
  22. 22
    Winterfair GiftsVorkosigan Saga #202002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002
  23. 23
    Paladin of SoulsCurse Of Chalion #22003 · 470 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003470
  24. 24
    The Hallowed HuntCurse Of Chalion #32005 · 436 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005436
  25. 25
    BeguilementSharing Knife #12006 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006384
  26. 26
    LegacySharing Knife #22007 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007368
  27. 27
    The Vorkosigan CompanionVorkosigan #12008 · 469 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008469
  28. 28
    PassageSharing Knife #32008 · 432 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008432
  29. 29
    HorizonSharing Knife #42009 · 435 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009435
  30. 30
    CryoburnVorkosigan Saga #212010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010

Lois McMaster Bujold characters in order

Each character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Lois McMaster Bujold books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.

Vorkosigan Saga books in order

24 books by Lois McMaster Bujold
  1. 1. Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection)
  2. 2. Shards of Honor
  3. 3. The Warrior's Apprentice
  4. 4. Ethan of Athos
  5. 5. Falling Free
  6. 6. Brothers in Arms
  7. 7. The Mountains of Mourning
  8. 8. Labyrinth
  9. 9. Borders of Infinity
  10. 10. Weatherman
  11. 11. The Vor Game
  12. 12. Barrayar
  13. and 12 more in the table above

Penric and Desdemona in order

17 books
  1. 1. Penric's Demon
  2. 1. Penric's Labors
  3. 2. Penric and the Shaman
  4. 3. Penric's Fox
  5. 4. Masquerade in Lodi
  6. 5. Penric\'s Mission
  7. 6. Mira's Last Dance
  8. 7. The Prisoner of Limnos
  9. 8. The Orphans of Raspay
  10. 9. The Physicians of Vilnoc
  11. 10. The Assassins of Thasalon
  12. 11. Knot of Shadows
  13. and 5 more in the table above

Sharing Knife in order

5 books
  1. 1. Beguilement
  2. 2. Legacy
  3. 3. Passage
  4. 4. Horizon
  5. 5. Knife Children

Curse Of Chalion in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Curse of Chalion
  2. 2. Paladin of Souls
  3. 3. The Hallowed Hunt

Lois McMaster Bujold Non-Fiction

2 books

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

Lois McMaster Bujold Standalone Novels

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Vorkosigan books in order

1 book by Lois McMaster Bujold
  1. 1. The Vorkosigan Companion

Lois McMaster Bujold in order

1 book
  1. 1. Proto Zoa

Do you have to read Lois McMaster Bujold books in order?

You only need to read Lois McMaster Bujold books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Lois McMaster Bujold

Start with the first book of the Lois McMaster Bujold series you want to read: Miles Vorkosigan starts with Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection) (1986) and Vorkosigan starts with Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection) (1986). The earliest catalogued title overall is Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection) (1986).

What is the newest Lois McMaster Bujold book?

Darksight Dare (2026) is the newest Lois McMaster Bujold book released so far.

Is there a new Lois McMaster Bujold book coming?

No next Lois McMaster Bujold 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 Lois McMaster Bujold has won

Wikidata records 17 awards and 38 nominations for Lois McMaster Bujold. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award2020Won
  • Hugo Award for Best Series2018Wonfor World of the Five Gods
  • Hugo Award for Best Series2017Wonfor The Vorkosigan Saga
  • Prometheus Award - Hall of Fame2014Wonfor Falling Free
  • Edward E. Smith Memorial Award2011Won
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel2005Wonfor Paladin of Souls
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel2004Wonfor Paladin of Souls
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2004Wonfor Paladin of Souls
  • Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature2002Wonfor The Curse of Chalion
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1995Wonfor Mirror Dance
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1995Wonfor Mirror Dance
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel1992Wonfor Barrayar

Lois McMaster Bujold at a glance

Still publishing
Lois McMaster Bujold published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Lois McMaster Bujold books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
11,889 pages across the 34 of 54 books with a recorded length, a median of 360 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Lois McMaster Bujold books, 15 of 54, were published in the 2010s.

What the Lois McMaster Bujold books are about

33 of the 54 Lois McMaster Bujold books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: miles vorkosigan (fictitious character) is tagged on 14 of 33. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.