Order of Book Series
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Rudy Rucker Books in Order

Rudy Rucker has written 53 books, published between 1980 and 2025. The first book is White Light (1980) and the newest is Sqinks (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
53
Published
1980–2025
Confirmed
1 of 53 titles
Pages on record
12,380 in 35 of 53 books
Reading time
206–310 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,380 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 35 of 53 titles with a page count on record.

See all 53 books in order Printable Rudy Rucker checklist
Photo of Rudy Rucker, author

Rudy Rucker, born March 22, 1946, is an American mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author, and a founder of the cyberpunk movement. Software and Wetware, the first two Ware novels, each won a Philip K. Dick Award, and Rucker edited the webzine Flurb until 2014. Rucker writes both fiction and non-fiction, and the 53 catalogued books run from White Light (1980) to Sqinks (2025), taking in Infinity and the Mind (1981) and The Fourth Dimension (1984). Ware, Hollow Earth and Postsingular are the series.

How many Rudy Rucker books are there?

Rudy Rucker has 53 books, released between 1980 and 2025. They include 3 series and 43 titles listed outside any series.

Rudy Rucker Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 53 Rudy Rucker 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 White Light by Rudy Rucker (1980)
  2. Cover of Spacetime Donuts by Rudy Rucker (1981)
  3. Cover of The Sex Sphere by Rudy Rucker (1983)
  4. Cover of The Fourth Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality by Rudy Rucker (1984)
  5. Cover of Master of Space and Time by Rudy Rucker (1985)
  6. Cover of Mind Tools by Rudy Rucker (1987)
  7. Cover of Wetware by Rudy Rucker, book 2 of the Ware series (1988)
  8. Cover of The Hollow Earth by Rudy Rucker, book 1 of the Hollow Earth series (1990)
  9. Cover of Transreal! by Rudy Rucker (1991)
  10. Cover of Artificial Life Lab/Book and Disk by Rudy Rucker (1993)
  11. Cover of The Hacker and the Ants by Rudy Rucker (1994)
  12. Cover of Freeware by Rudy Rucker, book 3 of the Ware series (1997)
  13. Cover of Seek! Selected Nonfiction by Rudy Rucker (1999)
  14. Cover of Saucer Wisdom by Rudy Rucker (1999)
  15. Cover of Gnarl! by Rudy Rucker (2000)
  16. Cover of Realware by Rudy Rucker, book 4 of the Ware series (2000)
  17. Cover of Software Engineering and Computer Games by Rudy Rucker (2002)
  18. Cover of As Above, So Below by Rudy Rucker (2002)
  19. Cover of Spaceland by Rudy Rucker (2002)
  20. Cover of Frek and the Elixir by Rudy Rucker (2004)
  21. Cover of Mad Professor by Rudy Rucker (2006)
  22. Cover of Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker (2006)
  23. Cover of Postsingular by Rudy Rucker, book 1 of the Postsingular series (2007)
  24. Cover of Hylozoic by Rudy Rucker, book 2 of the Postsingular series (2009)
  1. 1
    White Light1980 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Infinity and the Mind: The Science and Philosophy of the Infinite1981 · 376 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981376
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Spacetime Donuts1981 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    SoftwareWare #11982 · 167 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982167
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The 57th Franz Kafka1983 · confirmed 1/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Sex Sphere1983 · 264 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Fourth Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality1984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Master of Space and Time1985 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Mind Tools1987 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    WetwareWare #21988 · 183 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Hollow EarthHollow Earth #11990 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Transreal!1991 · 534 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991534
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Artificial Life Lab/Book and Disk1993 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Hacker and the Ants1994 · 308 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    FreewareWare #31997 · 262 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Seek! Selected Nonfiction1999 · 364 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999364
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Saucer Wisdom1999 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Gnarl!2000 · 566 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000566
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    RealwareWare #42000 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Software Engineering and Computer Games2002 · 648 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002648
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Spaceland of the Fourth Dimension2002 · confirmed 1/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    As Above, So Below2002 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Spaceland2002 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Frek and the Elixir2004 · 480 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Lifebox, the Seashell, and the Soul2005 · confirmed 1/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Mad Professor2006 · 301 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006301
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Mathematicians in Love2006 · 432 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    PostsingularPostsingular #12007 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    HylozoicPostsingular #22009 · 334 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009334
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Jack and the Aktuals, or, Physical Applications of Transfinite Set Theory2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Rudy Rucker 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.

Ware in order

4 books
  1. 1. Software
  2. 2. Wetware
  3. 3. Freeware
  4. 4. Realware

Hollow Earth in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Hollow Earth
  2. 2. Return to the Hollow Earth
  3. 3. Notes for Return to the Hollow Earth

Postsingular in order

2 books
  1. 1. Postsingular
  2. 2. Hylozoic

Outspoken Authors in order

1 book
  1. 10. Surfing the Gnarl

Standalone books

43 books

43 Rudy Rucker titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Rudy Rucker books in order?

You only need to read Rudy Rucker books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Rudy Rucker

Start with White Light (1980), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Rudy Rucker book?

Sqinks (2025) is the newest Rudy Rucker book released so far.

Is there a new Rudy Rucker book coming?

No next Rudy Rucker 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 Rudy Rucker has won

Wikidata records 2 awards and 16 nominations for Rudy Rucker. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Philip K. Dick Award1989Wonfor Wetware
  • Philip K. Dick Award1983Wonfor Software
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2020Shortlistedfor Million Mile Road Trip
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2013Shortlistedfor Turing & Burroughs
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story2010Shortlistedfor Colliding Branes
  • Locus Award for Best Novella2008Shortlistedfor Hormiga Canyon
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2007Shortlistedfor Mathematicians in Love
  • Locus Award for Best Short Story2007Shortlistedfor Chu and the Nants
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2005Shortlistedfor Frek and the Elixir
  • BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction2005Shortlistedfor Guadalupe and Hieronymus Bosch
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette2004Shortlistedfor Junk DNA
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2003Shortlistedfor Spaceland

Rudy Rucker at a glance

Still publishing
Rudy Rucker published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Rudy Rucker books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
12,380 pages across the 35 of 53 books with a recorded length, a median of 320 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Rudy Rucker books, 21 of 53, were published in the 2010s.

What the Rudy Rucker books are about

35 of the 53 Rudy Rucker 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 22 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.