Gears of War Books in Order
Gears of War contains 8 books, published between 2008 and 2021. The first book is Aspho Fields (2008) and the newest is Ephyra Rising (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 8
- Published
- 2008–2021
- Pages on record
- 1,745 in 4 of 8 books
- Reading time
- 29–44 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,745 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 4 of 8 titles with a page count on record.
Gears of War is a military science fiction tie-in series of 8 novels, published between 2008 and 2021. Aspho Fields (2008) opens the run, followed by Jacinto's Remnant (2009), Anvil Gate (2010), Coalition's End (2011) and The Slab (2012). After a seven-year gap, Ascendance (2019), Bloodlines (2020) and Ephyra Rising (2021) complete the list. Karen Traviss is credited with the first 5 books, Jason M. Hough with Ascendance and Bloodlines, and Michael A. Stackpole with Ephyra Rising. Soldiers, space warfare, military bases and imaginary wars appear in the subject tags, and no new title has been listed since 2021.
How many Gears of War books are there?
Gears of War has 8 books, released between 2008 and 2021.
Gears of War Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 8 Gears of War 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.
- 1Aspho Fields2008 · 385 pages · confirmed 2/420083852/4
- 2Jacinto's Remnant2009 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/420094002/4
- 3Anvil Gate2010 · confirmed 2/42010–2/4
- 4Coalition's End2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 5The Slab2012 · 496 pages · confirmed 2/420124962/4
- 6Ascendance2019 · 464 pages · confirmed 2/420194642/4
- 7Bloodlines2020 · confirmed 2/42020–2/4
- 8Ephyra Rising2021 · confirmed 2/42021–2/4
Gears of War Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Gears of War books run from Aspho Fields (2008) to Ephyra Rising (2021), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Gears of War in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Gears of War books in order?
You should read the Gears of War books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Gears of War book also stands alone.
Where to start with Gears of War
Start with Aspho Fields (2008), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Gears of War book?
Ephyra Rising (2021) is the newest Gears of War book released so far.
Is there a new Gears of War book coming?
No next Gears of War book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Gears of War at a glance
- Paused
- No new Gears of War title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
- Release pace
- Gears of War books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 1,745 pages across the 4 of 8 books with a recorded length, a median of 432 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Gears of War books, 4 of 8, were published in the 2010s.
- Attribution
- Of the 8 titles, 5 are credited to Karen Traviss, 2 to Jason M. Hough and 1 to Michael A. Stackpole.
What the Gears of War books are about
6 of the 8 Gears of War books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: imaginary wars and battles is tagged on 5 of 6. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Imaginary wars and battles 5 of 6 books
- Science fiction 5 of 6 books
- Soldiers 5 of 6 books
- Friendship 3 of 6 books
- Space opera 3 of 6 books
- Space warfare 3 of 6 books
Other series by Karen Traviss
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.