Chung Kuo Books in Order
David Wingrove has written 20 Chung Kuo books, published between 1989 and 2020. The first book is The Middle Kingdom (1989) and the newest is Beneath the Tree of Heaven (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 20
- Published
- 1989–2020
- Pages on record
- 6,585 in 15 of 20 books
- Reading time
- 110–165 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,585 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 20 titles with a page count on record.
Chung Kuo is the imaginary future world of David Wingrove's science fiction series, whose subjects include revolution, diplomacy and the 21st century. The Middle Kingdom (1989) opens the series, followed by The Broken Wheel (1990), The White Mountain (1991) and The Stone Within (1992). The Marriage of the Living Dark appeared in 1997. Wingrove also has a Chung Kuo Recasting series, and titles such as Daylight On Iron Mountain and Son Of Heaven date from 2011. The catalogue lists 20 books up to 2020.
How many Chung Kuo books are there?
Chung Kuo has 20 books, released between 1989 and 2020.
Chung Kuo Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 20 Chung Kuo 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.
- 119896541/4
- 219903201/4
- 31991–1/4
- 419925621/4
- 519935721/4
- 619946831/4
- 719957521/4
- 819974801/4
- 92011–1/4
- 1020114161/4
- 1120123521/4
- 1220123271/4
- 1320132701/4
- 142013–1/4
- 152013–1/4
- 162014–1/4
- 1720173361/4
- 1820182831/4
- 1920193051/4
- 2020202731/4
Do you have to read Chung Kuo books in order?
You should read the Chung Kuo books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Chung Kuo book also stands alone.
Where to start with Chung Kuo
Start with The Middle Kingdom (1989), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Chung Kuo book?
Beneath the Tree of Heaven (2020) is the newest Chung Kuo book released so far.
Is there a new Chung Kuo book coming?
No next Chung Kuo book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Chung Kuo at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Chung Kuo title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Chung Kuo books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 6,585 pages across the 15 of 20 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Chung Kuo books, 11 of 20, were published in the 2010s.
What the Chung Kuo books are about
12 of the 20 Chung Kuo 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 5 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 5 of 12 books
- Foreign relations 3 of 12 books
More books by David Wingrove
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- David Wingrove books in order 29 books
Series that include Chung Kuo books
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Chung Kuo Recasting books in order 12 books