End of the world book series in reading order

by Michael Wallace

by Robert Kroese

Jerry Bruce Jenkins, born September 23, 1949, is an American writer who co-wrote the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins also writes the novels based on The Chosen, the TV series about Jesus. Across more than 200 books, Jenkins covers biography, self-help, romance, mystery and young adult fiction, and 19 novels explore eschatological themes. The catalogue lists 207 books from The Night the Giant Rolled Over (1971) to The Battle for Heaven and Earth (2026). Series include Left Behind: The Kids, Red Rock Mysteries, Margo Mysteries and Wormling.

Tim LaHaye (April 27, 1926 to July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical minister and political activist. LaHaye wrote more than 85 books of fiction and nonfiction, among them the Left Behind novels, co-written with Jerry B. Jenkins, which depict apocalyptic events after a pre-tribulation rapture. LaHaye also helped found the Council for National Policy, a conservative Christian advocacy group. The catalogue lists 70 books from How to Be Happy Though Married (1968) to Target Israel (2015), with Babylon Rising and Soul Survivor among the series and Bible prophecy, marriage and the end of the world among the subjects.

David A. Drake (1945-2023) wrote science fiction and fantasy. A Vietnam War veteran, Drake practised law before turning to military science fiction. The catalogue holds 106 books published between 1975 and 2021, from The Barrow Troll (1975) to The Serpent (2021). Series include Hammer's Slammers, the Lt. Leary / RCN novels featuring Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy, the Books of the Elements, Northworld, Reaches and Crown Of The Isles. Tony Daniel shares the credit on 2 titles and Eric Flint on 1. Subjects record space warfare, imaginary wars and battles, and epic fantasy.

Mel Odom's 86 catalogued books range from Lethal Interface (1992) to The Legend of Bass Reeves (2025). Subjects list television tie-ins, children's fiction, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, vampires, witches and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Series include Bass Reeves Frontier Marshal, Rover, Left Behind: Apocalypse, Hunter's League, Blackpool Mysteries, Hellgate: London, Makaum War and F.R.E.E.Lancers, and Forgotten Realms and Net Force appear among the characters.

Tui T. Sutherland

58 books• 13 series

Tui T. Sutherland is an American children's author, born July 31, 1978, with more than 60 books written under Sutherland's own name and several pen names. Sutherland is best known for Wings of Fire, a series of dragon fantasy novels, and won $46,200 over three games on Jeopardy! in 2009. The catalogue lists 58 Sutherland books from Jewel Sticker Stories (2000) to The Hybrid Prince (2026), with Kari Sutherland credited on 2. Other listings include Pet Trouble, Avatars and Menagerie. Subjects include dragons, pets, dogs, prophecies and fantasy.

Meg (1997) opens Steve Alten's catalogue and the shark series his name is attached to. Alten, an American science fiction author born in 1959, builds the MEG books on the survival of the megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark. His 21 catalogued titles reach Heaven's Lake (2023) and take in The Trench (1999), Primal Waters (2004), Hell's Aquarium (2009) and the Domain Trilogy, also listed as the Mayan Trilogy. The Loch (2005) heads a separate series. Deep diving, sea monsters, archaeologists and the end of the world recur across the subjects.

Chuck Wendig

70 books• 23 series

Chuck Wendig (Charles David Wendig, born April 22, 1976) is an American novelist, comic book writer, screenwriter and blogger best known for the Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy. The catalogue runs from VII (2005) to The Calamities (2026) and includes writing guides such as 250 Things You Should Know About Writing and 500 Ways to Be a Better Writer, both from 2011. Wendig's series include Miriam Black, Atlanta Burns, Mookie Pearl, the Heartland Trilogy, Double Dead and the Dinocalypse Trilogy, along with Turok, Shield single issues and the Star Wars: The Force Awakens adaptation. Subjects include horror, psychic ability, prophecy, the end of the world and resistance to government.

Robert Rankin

39 books• 7 series

Robert Rankin, born in 1949 in Parsons Green, London, writes comedic fantasy. 39 catalogued books run from The Antipope (1981) to Normanghast (2025). Brentford, Cornelius Murphy, Eddie Bear, the Japanese Devil Fish Girl and the Barking Mad Trilogy are the series, and the novels mix science fiction, fantasy, the occult, urban legend, running gags, metafiction and steampunk. Rankin entered the bestseller lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which point his previous eighteen books had sold around a million copies. Rankin calls the style Far Fetched Fiction.

Robert Charles Wilson

23 books• 2 series

Science fiction is the field of Robert Charles Wilson, an American-Canadian author born on December 15, 1953. The catalogue credits Wilson with 23 books from A Hidden Place (1986) to Owning the Unknown (2023), one of them shared with Marc Scott Zicree. Subject tags include the end of the world, human-alien encounters, time travel and cults. Memory Wire (1987), The Divide (1989), Mysterium (1994) and Darwinia (1998) come from the earlier years, and the Spin Saga is the named Wilson series.

John Peel's 81 catalogued books begin with The Fireball XL5 Files and Island in the Sky in 1986 and end with It Came From The Isle of Man in 2023. Doctor Who, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are among the names linked to the catalogue. Subjects span science fiction, fantasy, horror, the supernatural and children's fiction. Series include Outer Limits, Shockers, Fear the Year 2099, Dragonhome, Magical States of America and Lucy Wilson Mysteries. Terrance Dicks and Justin Richards each share the credit on 1 book.

Michael Wallace's catalogue includes a run of titles dated 2011, among them The Righteous, The Wicked, Mighty and Strong, The Dark Citadel, The Devil's Deep and The Devil's Peak. Subjects include polygamy, cults, religious leaders, Utah, terrorists, the end of the world, Christian suspense and thrillers. Series include Righteous, Dark Citadel, Starship Blackbeard, Sword Saint, Void Queen Trilogy, Red Sword Trilogy and Quintana Trilogy. The Free Kingdoms and The Kingdom of the Bears are also 2011 titles, and Fogland (2024) is the newest.

Dystopian science fiction is what the catalogue records for G. Michael Hopf, with the end of the world, the regression of civilisation, survival, electromagnetic interference and the United States among the subjects. The 29 books run from The End (2013) to Cries of a Dying World (2023), with The Long Road (2013), Sanctuary (2014) and The Line of Departure (2014) early in the sequence. Beyond The Fray, Van Zandt Chronicles and Driver 8 Trilogy are the three series credited to Hopf, and New World stands as a character entry. Nothing has been listed since 2023, so the entry is dormant.

Joel C. Rosenberg

26 books• 6 series

Middle East politics, terrorism and end-of-the-world themes run through Joel C. Rosenberg's thrillers. The Last Jihad (2002) opens the first series, followed by the David Shirazi, J.B. Collins and Marcus Ryker sequences, with non-fiction such as Epicenter (2006) and Inside the Revolution (2009) alongside. Twenty-six books are catalogued through The Beijing Betrayal in 2025, at 432 pages on median.

Matthew Reilly is an Australian action thriller writer, born 2 July 1974, whose books sell internationally. The catalogue lists 41 titles, from Contest (1996) and Ice Station (1998) to The Detective (2025). Reilly's series are Jack West Jr., Shane Schofield, Hover Car Racer, Troll Mountain and Tournament, plus a set of short stories. Subject tags include antiquities, automobile racing, action and adventure, and children's fiction.

Neil Gaiman

199 books• 41 series

Neil Gaiman, born Neil Richard Gaiman on 10 November 1960, is an English writer of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre and screenplays. The Sandman comic series ran from 1989 to 1996, and the novels include Stardust (1999), American Gods (2001), Coraline (2002), Anansi Boys (2005) and The Graveyard Book (2008). The Graveyard Book made Gaiman the first author to win both the Newbery and Carnegie medals for one work, and other awards include the Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker. Gaiman co-created the television adaptations of Good Omens and The Sandman. The catalogue runs from Duran Duran (1984) to The Silver Age (2024) and includes Sandman and Death graphic novels and children's books.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

83 books• 21 series

Adrian Tchaikovsky is the name under which British author Adrian Czajkowski, born in June 1972, publishes fantasy and science fiction. The natural world shapes the writing, which often treats artificial intelligence and alienness through non-human characters. Tchaikovsky is best known for Shadows of the Apt and for the Children of Time series, which won a Hugo Award; Children of Time also took the 30th Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016. The catalogue holds 86 books, opening with Empire in Black and Gold (2008), and Last Song of Ash is due in 2027. Further series include Final Architecture, Tyrant Philosophers, Dogs of War and Echoes of the Fall.

Katherine Applegate

228 books• 20 series

Katherine Applegate, born October 9, 1956, and sometimes published as K. A. Applegate, is an American author of children's and young adult fiction. Animorphs, Remnants and Everworld are the series most tied to Applegate, and The One and Only Ivan (2012) won the 2013 Newbery Medal. Applegate received the Publishers Weekly Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997. The catalogue lists 228 books, from Welcome to Junior High! (1990) to The Littlest Elephant (2026), including Girl Talk, Making Out and Roscoe Riley Rules.

John Ringo, born March 22, 1963, is an American author of science fiction and military fiction, with several New York Times best sellers. The work ranges from straight science fiction to military and political thrillers, and more than seven million copies are in print in seven languages. The catalogue starts with A Hymn Before Battle (2000), followed by Gust Front, March Upcountry and March to the Sea in 2001, and reaches Beyond the Rift (2026). Series include Posleen War, Black Tide Rising, Council Wars, Looking Glass, Troy Rising, Von Neumann's War and Special Circumstances. Subjects include space warfare, human-alien encounters, Navy SEALs and survival.

Ann Aguirre, born on 27 August 1970, is an American writer of speculative fiction across urban fantasy, romantic science fiction and post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult fiction. Apocalyptic paranormal romance appears under the shared name Ellen Connor with Carrie Lofty, and paranormal romantic suspense under the name Ava Gray. The catalogue lists 160 books, from Grimspace (2008) and Wanderlust (2008) to The Hocus Pocus Handbook (2026). Series include Sirantha Jax, Razorland, Corine Solomon and Ars Numina, plus Ava Gray series such as Alpha Billionaire and Valkov Bratva. Subjects include interstellar travel and women astronauts.

Alton Gansky writes Christian fiction and mysteries, including Christian suspense, according to the catalogue subjects, which also mention science fiction and the end of the world. The 50 books span 1996 to 2017, from By My Hands (1996) to End Game (2017). Series include J.D. Stanton Mystery, Perry Sachs Mystery, Madison Glenn, Ridgeline Mystery and Barringston Relief Chronicles. The catalogue marks the output as likely complete.

Zombies and the end of the world drive Michael Stephen Fuchs's Arisen books, split into Raiders, Operators and a set of prequels. D-Boys is the other series. Fuchs opened with The Manuscript (2006) and Pandora's Sisters (2007), which work with manuscripts, genetics and research instead, and his 40 catalogued titles reach Stronghold (2026), with The Last Alamo scheduled for 2027. Volumes median 390 pages.

Robert Kroese writes humorous science fiction and fantasy. Angels and the end of the world sit in the subject record, and the Mercury books run from Mercury Falls (2009) through Mercury Rises, Mercury Swings, Mercury Begins and Mercury Rests. Nine series are recorded in all, including Rex Nihilo, Saga Of The Iron Dragon, Land Of Dis, Counterfeit Sorcerer, Erasmus Kane, Mammon and Cross-Time Crusade. Kroese has 55 catalogued books dated 2007 to 2026, averaging 254 pages.

Stephen Jones

54 books• 10 series

Stephen Jones, born 4 November 1953 in Pimlico, London, is an English editor of horror anthologies. Jones has also written studies of horror and fantasy films and an account of H. P. Lovecraft's early British publications. With Kim Newman, Jones edited Horror: 100 Best Books and Horror: Another 100 Best Books, both winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction. The catalogue lists 54 books from Fantasy Tales 1 (1989) to The Art of Pulp Horror: An Illustrated History (2020), including The Mammoth Book of Terror and The Mammoth Book of Vampires.

Manda Scott

21 books• 5 series

Manda Scott, born in 1962, trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Glasgow before becoming a novelist, columnist, blogger, podcaster and occasional broadcaster. Scott grew up in Glasgow and now lives in Shropshire. Her 21 books start with Hen's Teeth (1996). Dreaming the Eagle (2003), Dreaming the Bull, Dreaming the Hound and Dreaming the Serpent Spear followed, and the Iceni, Romans and Britons are listed subjects. Scott's series are Boudica, Rome, Kellen Stewart, Storycuts and Capitaine Inés Picaut, and Any Human Power (2024) is her newest book.