Faded Sun Books in Order
C.J. Cherryh has written 18 Faded Sun books, published between 1978 and 2024. The first book is Kesrith (1978) and the newest is Alliance Unbound (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 18
- Published
- 1978–2024
- Confirmed
- 18 of 18 titles
- Pages on record
- 5,270 in 15 of 18 books
- Reading time
- 88–132 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,270 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 18 titles with a page count on record.
Faded Sun is catalogued as a character entry for C.J. Cherryh, linked to 18 science fiction books published between 1978 and 2024. The listing draws on the Alliance-Union: Company Wars, Alliance-Union: Cyteen and Hinder Stars series. Kesrith and Shon'jir (1978) and Kutath (1979) are the earliest titles, followed by Serpent's Reach (1980), Downbelow Station (1981) and Merchanter's Luck (1982). Recorded subjects include space warfare, human cloning and human-alien encounters. Alliance Unbound (2024) is the newest.
How many Faded Sun books are there?
Faded Sun has 18 books, released between 1978 and 2024.
Faded Sun Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 18 Faded Sun 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.
- 119782523/4
- 219782533/4
- 31979–3/4
- 419802883/4
- 519815263/4
- 619824483/4
- 7198313/4
- 819883683/4
- 919892563/4
- 1019892803/4
- 1119893203/4
- 121991–3/4
- 1319923933/4
- 1419943843/4
- 1519975643/4
- 1620095853/4
- 1720193523/4
- 182024–3/4
Do you have to read Faded Sun books in order?
You should read the Faded Sun books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Faded Sun book also stands alone.
Where to start with Faded Sun
Start with Kesrith (1978), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Faded Sun book?
Alliance Unbound (2024) is the newest Faded Sun book released so far.
Is there a new Faded Sun book coming?
No next Faded Sun 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 Faded Sun has won
Wikidata records 1 award and 9 nominations for Faded Sun. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Hugo Award for Best Novel1982Wonfor Downbelow Station
- Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2025Shortlistedfor Alliance Unbound
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1998Shortlistedfor Finity's End
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1995Shortlistedfor Tripoint
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1992Shortlistedfor Heavy Time
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1990Shortlistedfor Rimrunners
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1984Shortlistedfor Forty Thousand in Gehenna
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1983Shortlistedfor Merchanter's Luck
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1982Shortlistedfor Downbelow Station
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1981Shortlistedfor Serpent's Reach
Faded Sun at a glance
- Still running
- Faded Sun is still running, with a title published as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Faded Sun books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 5,270 pages across the 15 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Faded Sun books, 8 of 18, were published in the 1980s.
What the Faded Sun books are about
17 of the 18 Faded Sun 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 11 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 11 of 17 books
- Ariane Emory (Fictitious character) 4 of 17 books
- Cyteen (Imaginary place) 3 of 17 books
- Emory, ariane (fictitious character) 3 of 17 books
- Space warfare 3 of 17 books
- Award:hugo_award=novel 2 of 17 books
- Hugo Award Winner 2 of 17 books
- Human cloning 2 of 17 books
- Interplanetary voyages 2 of 17 books
More books by C.J. Cherryh
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- C.J. Cherryh books in order 105 books