Order of Book Series
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Outer Limits Books in Order

Outer Limits contains 15 books, published between 1996 and 1999. The first book is The Outer Limits, Volume 1 (1996) and the newest is The Change (1999). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1996–1999
Pages on record
1,629 in 13 of 15 books
Reading time
27–41 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,629 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable Outer Limits checklist

Outer Limits is a run of 15 books published in four years, between 1996 and 1999. John Peel is credited on 12 titles and Diane Duane on 2. The Outer Limits, Volume 1 (1996) opens the listing and The Change (1999) closes it, with The Zanti Misfits (1997) and The Time Shifter (1997) among the titles in between. Recorded subjects cover science fiction for children, horror, time travel, dinosaurs, archaeology, extrasensory perception and brainwashing. The median volume runs 117 pages.

How many Outer Limits books are there?

Outer Limits has 15 books, released between 1996 and 1999.

Outer Limits Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Outer Limits 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.

  1. Cover of The Outer Limits, Volume 1 by Diane Duane, book 1 of the Outer Limits series (1996)
  2. Cover of The Zanti Misfits by John Peel, book 1 of the Outer Limits series (1997)
  3. Cover of The Outer Limits, Volume Two, book 2 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  4. Cover of The Time Shifter by John Peel, book 3 of the Outer Limits series (1997)
  5. Cover of The Outer Limits, Volume Three by Diane Duane, book 3 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  6. Cover of The Lost by John Peel, book 4 of the Outer Limits series (1997)
  7. Cover of The Invaders by John Peel, book 5 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  8. Cover of The Innocent by John Peel, book 6 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  9. Cover of The Vanished by John Peel, book 7 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  10. Cover of The Nightmare by John Peel, book 8 of the Outer Limits series (1998)
  11. Cover of Beware the Metal Children by John Peel, book 9 of the Outer Limits series (1999)
  12. Cover of Alien Invasion from Hollyweird by John Peel, book 10 of the Outer Limits series (1999)
  13. Cover of The Payback by John Peel, book 11 of the Outer Limits series (1999)
  14. Cover of The Change by John Peel, book 12 of the Outer Limits series (1999)
  1. 1
    The Outer Limits, Volume 11996 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 1
    The Zanti Misfits1997 · 116 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997116
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    The Choice1997 · 114 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997114
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 2
    The Outer Limits, Volume Two1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 3
    The Time Shifter1997 · 119 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997119
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 3
    The Outer Limits, Volume Three1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 4
    The Lost1997 · 116 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997116
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 5
    The Invaders1998 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 6
    The Innocent1998 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 7
    The Vanished1998 · 114 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998114
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 8
    The Nightmare1998 · 113 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998113
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 9
    Beware the Metal Children1999 · 116 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999116
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 10
    Alien Invasion from Hollyweird1999 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 11
    The Payback1999 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 12
    The Change1999 · 117 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999117
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read Outer Limits books in order?

You should read the Outer Limits books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Outer Limits book also stands alone.

Where to start with Outer Limits

Start with The Outer Limits, Volume 1 (1996), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Outer Limits book?

The Change (1999) is the newest Outer Limits book released so far.

Is there a new Outer Limits book coming?

No next Outer Limits book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Outer Limits at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Outer Limits title on record dates from 1999, 27 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Outer Limits books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
1,629 pages across the 13 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 117 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Outer Limits books, 15 of 15, were published in the 1990s.
Attribution
Of the 15 titles, 12 are credited to John Peel and 2 to Diane Duane. One title carries no credit.

What the Outer Limits books are about

14 of the 15 Outer Limits 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 12 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other series by John Peel

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.