Tad Williams Books in Order
Tad Williams has written 41 books, published between 1985 and 2026. The first book is Tailchaser's Song (1985) and the newest is The Splintered Sun (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 41
- Published
- 1985–2026
- Confirmed
- 41 of 41 titles
- Pages on record
- 14,788 in 25 of 41 books
- Reading time
- 246–370 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 14,788 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 25 of 41 titles with a page count on record.
Robert Paul "Tad" Williams, born March 14, 1957, is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. Williams wrote the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Otherland, Shadowmarch and Bobby Dollar series, plus the standalone novels Tailchaser's Song and The War of the Flowers. The Last King of Osten Ard closed with The Navigator's Children in 2024. Sales of Williams's work exceed 17 million copies. Comics work includes The Next for DC Comics and Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #50 to #57. The catalogue holds 41 books, from Tailchaser's Song (1985) to The Splintered Sun (2026).
How many Tad Williams books are there?
Tad Williams has 41 books, released between 1985 and 2026. They include 7 separate series.
Tad Williams Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 41 Tad Williams 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.
- 119853753/4
- 219887833/4
- 319907683/4
- 419921373/4
- 5199311043/4
- 619938163/4
- 719942013/4
- 819967803/4
- 919986753/4
- 101998–3/4
- 1119997843/4
- 122001–3/4
- 1320038283/4
- 1420048163/4
- 1520064803/4
- 1620076563/4
- 1720071283/4
- 182009–3/4
- 1920105643/4
- 2020107303/4
- 212011–3/4
- 222011–3/4
- 2320124643/4
- 242012–3/4
- 2520134043/4
- 262013–3/4
- 272013–3/4
- 282013–3/4
- 292013–3/4
- 302013–3/4
- 312013–3/4
- 322014–3/4
- 332014–3/4
- 342014–3/4
- 3520172103/4
- 3620177213/4
- 3720186683/4
- 3820213203/4
- 3920226083/4
- 4020247683/4
- 412026–3/4
Tad Williams 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.
Tad Williams Standalone Novels
7 books7 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Last King of Osten Ard in order
6 booksOz Reimagined in order
6 booksMemory, Sorrow, and Thorn in order
4 booksOtherland in order
4 booksShadowmarch in order
4 books- 1. Shadowmarch
- 2. Shadowplay
- 3. Shadowrise
- 4. Shadowheart
Bobby Dollar in order
4 booksTad Williams Short Story
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Ordinary Farm Adventures in order
2 booksOsten Ard Saga in order
1 bookTad Williams Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Tad Williams books run from Tailchaser's Song (1985) to The Splintered Sun (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Tad Williams in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Tad Williams books in order?
You only need to read Tad Williams books in order within each series: the books listed here span 7 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Tad Williams books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Tailchaser's Song (1985), the earliest published title. After it come The Dragonbone Chair (1988), Stone of Farewell (1990), Child of an Ancient City (1992) and To Green Angel Tower (1993); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Tad Williams book?
The Splintered Sun (2026) is the newest Tad Williams book released so far.
Is there a new Tad Williams book coming?
No next Tad Williams book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Award nominations for Tad Williams
Wikidata records 9 nominations for Tad Williams. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2018Shortlistedfor The Heart of What Was Lost
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2005Shortlistedfor Shadowmarch
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2004Shortlistedfor The War of the Flowers
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2002Shortlistedfor Sea of Silver Light
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1999Shortlistedfor River of Blue Fire
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1997Shortlistedfor City of Golden Shadow
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1994Shortlistedfor To Green Angel Tower
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1989Shortlistedfor The Dragonbone Chair
- Locus Award for Best First Novel1986Shortlistedfor Tailchaser's Song
Tad Williams at a glance
- Still publishing
- Tad Williams published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Tad Williams books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 14,788 pages across the 25 of 41 books with a recorded length, a median of 668 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Tad Williams books, 19 of 41, were published in the 2010s.
What the Tad Williams books are about
27 of the 41 Tad Williams 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 17 of 27. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 17 of 27 books
- Magic 6 of 27 books
- Otherland (Imaginary place) 4 of 27 books
- Science fiction 4 of 27 books
- Angels 3 of 27 books
- Demonology 3 of 27 books
- Fantasy, epic 3 of 27 books
- Fate and fatalism 3 of 27 books
- Gods 3 of 27 books
- Good and evil 3 of 27 books
- Twins 3 of 27 books