Resident Evil Books in Order
Resident Evil contains 12 books, published between 1998 and 2017. The first book is The Umbrella Conspiracy (1998) and the newest is The Final Chapter (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 12
- Published
- 1998–2017
- Pages on record
- 2,313 in 8 of 12 books
- Reading time
- 39–58 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,313 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 8 of 12 titles with a page count on record.
Resident Evil is a book line based on the Resident Evil game, with subjects covering zombies, viruses, biological weapons and paramilitary forces. The 12 books begin with The Umbrella Conspiracy (1998) and Caliban Cove (1998), followed by City of the Dead (1999), Underworld (1999) and Nemesis (2000). S.D. Perry is credited on 7 titles. Genesis (2004), Apocalypse (2004) and Extinction (2007) are credited to Keith R.A. DeCandido, Retribution (2012) to John Shirley, and The Final Chapter (2017), which closes the listing, to Tim Waggoner.
How many Resident Evil books are there?
Resident Evil has 12 books, released between 1998 and 2017.
Resident Evil Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 12 Resident Evil 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.
- 1The Umbrella Conspiracy1998 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/419983041/4
- 1Genesis2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 2Caliban Cove1998 · 242 pages · confirmed 1/419982421/4
- 2Apocalypse2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 3City of the Dead1999 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/419993361/4
- 3Extinction2007 · confirmed 1/42007–1/4
- 4Underworld1999 · 244 pages · confirmed 1/419992441/4
- 4Retribution2012 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/420123201/4
- 5Nemesis2000 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/420003201/4
- 5The Final Chapter2017 · confirmed 1/42017–1/4
- 6Code Veronica2001 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/420012721/4
- 7Zero Hour2004 · 275 pages · confirmed 1/420042751/4
Resident Evil Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Resident Evil books run from The Umbrella Conspiracy (1998) to The Final Chapter (2017), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Resident Evil in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Resident Evil books in order?
You should read the Resident Evil books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Resident Evil book also stands alone.
Where to start with Resident Evil
Start with The Umbrella Conspiracy (1998), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Resident Evil book?
The Final Chapter (2017) is the newest Resident Evil book released so far.
Is there a new Resident Evil book coming?
No next Resident Evil book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Resident Evil at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Resident Evil title on record dates from 2017, 9 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Resident Evil books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 2,313 pages across the 8 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 290 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Resident Evil books, 6 of 12, were published in the 2000s.
- Attribution
- Of the 12 titles, 7 are credited to S.D. Perry, 3 to Keith R.A. DeCandido, 1 to John Shirley and 1 to Tim Waggoner.
What the Resident Evil books are about
8 of the 12 Resident Evil books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: biological weapons is tagged on 2 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Biological weapons 2 of 8 books
- Horror 2 of 8 books
- Paramilitary forces 2 of 8 books
- Science fiction 2 of 8 books
- Virus diseases 2 of 8 books
- Viruses 2 of 8 books
- Zombies 2 of 8 books