Courtney Books in Order
Courtney by Wilbur Smith contains 26 books, published between 1964 and 2026. The first book is When the Lion Feeds (1964) and the newest is Flashpoint (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 26
- Published
- 1964–2026
- Confirmed
- 26 of 26 titles
- Pages on record
- 9,659 in 17 of 26 books
- Reading time
- 161–241 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 9,659 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 26 titles with a page count on record.
Courtney is a Wilbur Smith series about the fictitious Courtney family, catalogued as 26 books from When the Lion Feeds (1964) to Flashpoint (2026). Tom Harper and David Churchill each share the credit with Smith on 1 book. Subjects include South Africa, gold mines and mining, the South African War of 1899 to 1902, World War I, brothers and family life, under historical and action and adventure headings. Other titles include A Sparrow Falls (1977), The Burning Shore (1985), Power of the Sword (1986) and Birds of Prey (1997). The Courtney series is ongoing.
How many Courtney books are there?
Courtney has 26 books, released between 1964 and 2026.
Courtney Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 26 Courtney 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.
- 1When the Lion Feeds1964 · 544 pages · confirmed 4/419645444/4
- 2The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder1966 · 600 pages · confirmed 4/419666004/4
- 3A Sparrow Falls1977 · 640 pages · confirmed 4/419776404/4
- 4The Burning Shore1985 · 496 pages · confirmed 4/419854964/4
- 5Power of the Sword1986 · 618 pages · confirmed 4/419866184/4
- 6Rage1987 · 896 pages · confirmed 4/419878964/4
- 7A Time to Die1989 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/419894804/4
- 8Golden Fox1990 · 576 pages · confirmed 4/419905764/4
- 9The Triumph of the Sun1992 · 512 pages · confirmed 4/419925124/4
- 10Birds of Prey1997 · 664 pages · confirmed 4/419976644/4
- 11Monsoon1999 · 822 pages · confirmed 4/419998224/4
- 12Blue Horizon2003 · 620 pages · confirmed 4/420036204/4
- 13Assegai2009 · confirmed 4/42009–4/4
- 14Golden Lion2015 · confirmed 4/42015–4/4
- 15War Cry2017 · confirmed 4/42017–4/4
- 16The Tiger's Prey2017 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/420174324/4
- 17Courtney's War2018 · 447 pages · confirmed 4/420184474/4
- 18King of Kings2019 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/420194644/4
- 19Ghost Fire2019 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/420194164/4
- 20Legacy of War2021 · confirmed 4/42021–4/4
- 21Storm Tide2022 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/420224324/4
- 22Nemesis2023 · confirmed 4/42023–4/4
- 23Warrior King2024 · confirmed 4/42024–4/4
- 24Crossfire2025 · confirmed 4/42025–4/4
- 25Vengeance2026 · confirmed 3/42026–3/4
- 26Flashpoint2026 · confirmed 3/42026–3/4
Courtney Books in Chronological Order
In story order, Birds of Prey comes first and A Time to Die comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 26 books below run in that in-universe sequence.
- 10Birds of Prey1997 · 664 pages · confirmed 4/419976644/4
- 14Golden Lion2015 · confirmed 4/42015–4/4
- 11Monsoon1999 · 822 pages · confirmed 4/419998224/4
- 16The Tiger's Prey2017 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/420174324/4
- 12Blue Horizon2003 · 620 pages · confirmed 4/420036204/4
- 19Ghost Fire2019 · 416 pages · confirmed 4/420194164/4
- 21Storm Tide2022 · 432 pages · confirmed 4/420224324/4
- 22Nemesis2023 · confirmed 4/42023–4/4
- 23Warrior King2024 · confirmed 4/42024–4/4
- 25Vengeance2026 · confirmed 3/42026–3/4
- 1When the Lion Feeds1964 · 544 pages · confirmed 4/419645444/4
- 9The Triumph of the Sun1992 · 512 pages · confirmed 4/419925124/4
- 18King of Kings2019 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/420194644/4
- 2The Sound of Thunder / The Roar of Thunder1966 · 600 pages · confirmed 4/419666004/4
- 13Assegai2009 · confirmed 4/42009–4/4
- 4The Burning Shore1985 · 496 pages · confirmed 4/419854964/4
- 3A Sparrow Falls1977 · 640 pages · confirmed 4/419776404/4
- 15War Cry2017 · confirmed 4/42017–4/4
- 17Courtney's War2018 · 447 pages · confirmed 4/420184474/4
- 5Power of the Sword1986 · 618 pages · confirmed 4/419866184/4
- 24Crossfire2025 · confirmed 4/42025–4/4
- 26Flashpoint2026 · confirmed 3/42026–3/4
- 20Legacy of War2021 · confirmed 4/42021–4/4
- 6Rage1987 · 896 pages · confirmed 4/419878964/4
- 8Golden Fox1990 · 576 pages · confirmed 4/419905764/4
- 7A Time to Die1989 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/419894804/4
Do you have to read Courtney books in order?
You should read the Courtney books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Courtney book also stands alone.
Where to start with Courtney
Start with When the Lion Feeds (1964), the earliest published title. In the chronological order, Birds of Prey comes first.
What is the newest Courtney book?
Flashpoint (2026) is the newest Courtney book released so far.
Is there a new Courtney book coming?
No next Courtney book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Courtney at a glance
- Still running
- Courtney is still running, with a title published as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Courtney books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 9,659 pages across the 17 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 544 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Courtney books, 7 of 26, were published in the 2020s.
- Corroboration
- 24 of the 26 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
- Attribution
- Of the 26 titles, 26 are credited to Wilbur Smith, 1 to David Churchill and 1 to Tom Harper.
What the Courtney books are about
17 of the 26 Courtney books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: action & adventure is tagged on 12 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Action & adventure 12 of 17 books
- Historical fiction 10 of 17 books
- South Africa 9 of 17 books
- Brothers 2 of 17 books
- English literature 2 of 17 books
- Family life 2 of 17 books
- History 2 of 17 books
More books by Wilbur Smith
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Wilbur Smith books in order 66 books
Characters in the Courtney books
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Ballantyne books in order 8 books
Other series by Wilbur Smith
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Ancient Egypt books in order 10 books