Fantasy games book series in reading order

by Reki Kawahara

by R.L. Stine

by Reki Kawahara

by Tracey West

Reki Kawahara is a Japanese novelist, born August 18, 1974, who created Sword Art Online and Accel World; both have been adapted as anime series. Kawahara has been called one of the most successful light novel writers of the 2010s. The catalogue lists 96 books from 2009 to 2026, with subject tags for virtual reality, video games, internet games and survival. Kuroyukihime's Return and The Red Storm Princess both date from 2009. Series include Sword Art Online Progressive, Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret and Demons' Crest, and Goddess of the Night (2026) is the latest title.

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Ed Greenwood

94 books• 31 series

Ed Greenwood, born July 21, 1959, is a Canadian fantasy writer and the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting. Greenwood wrote about the Forgotten Realms in Dragon magazine from 1979 and sold the setting to TSR, the company behind the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, in 1986. Greenwood has since written many Forgotten Realms novels along with articles and D&D game supplements. Spellfire (1987) is the first title in the catalogue, and Forgotten Realms lines include Elminster, the Knights of Myth Drannor, the Cormyr Saga and Shadow of the Avatar. The Falconfar Saga is a separate series. The listing also files Forgotten Realms anthologies and game products under the Greenwood name.

L. Richard Baker III, published as Richard Baker, is an American game designer and author whose design work spans numerous campaign settings for Dungeons & Dragons. The catalogue lists 41 books from 1995 to 2019, including game titles such as Spells and Magic (1995), Naval Battle Rules (1996) and the Alternity Gamemaster Guide (1998). Subjects include Dungeons and Dragons, the Forgotten Realms, elves and game handbooks. Series include Forgotten Realms: The Last Mythal, Forgotten Realms: Blades of the Moonsea, Breaker of Empires and Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. Scornful Stars (2019) is the latest title.

Tracey West, born October 1, 1965, is a children's author who writes for licensed series such as Pokémon and SpongeBob SquarePants. The catalogue lists 356 titles from 1988 to 2027, reaching Heart of the Ruby Dragon (2026), with Claw of the Diamond Dragon due in 2027. Named series include Pokémon chapter books, novelizations and readers, Naruto Chapter Books, LEGO Ninjago Reader, Bakugan Chapter Books, Pixie Tricks, Pet Vet Club and Scream Shop Pick Your Path. Dragon Masters and Heroes in Training appear as recurring lines. Ninja, dragons and plot-your-own stories appear among the subject headings.

John Timothy Akers, born 12 December 1972, writes speculative fiction and publishes as Tim Akers. Steampunk, knights, imaginary places, conspiracies and women heroes run through the subject tags, alongside Pathfinder game material. The catalogue holds 31 books from Heart of Veridon (2009) to The Dragon in the Mists (2026), including The Horns of Ruin (2010), Dead of Veridon (2011), Bones of Veridon (2013) and The Pagan Night (2016). Series headings include Hallowed War, Knight Watch, the Burn Cycle, Gunpowder Gods, the Spiritbinder Saga, War for the Crown, the Dragon and the Crow, Joan d'Arcology and the Bladecaster Ephemera.

Steve Jackson's catalogue opens with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (1982) and holds 26 books through to Secrets of Salamonis (2022). Subject headings record plot-your-own stories, fantasy games, fantasy fiction and children's fiction, alongside crime, murder, case studies and biography. Titles from the 1980s include Starship Traveller (1983), The Citadel of Chaos (1983), House of Hell (1984), Appointment with F.E.A.R. (1985) and Creature of Havoc (1986). Ian Livingstone shares a credit on 3 titles and Jonathan Green on one. Saving Annie is the series recorded under the name.

Piers Anthony is the publishing name of Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob, born August 6, 1934, an American science fiction and fantasy writer. The long-running Xanth novels, set in the imaginary realm of Xanth, are his best-known work. Anthony has counted among his chief achievements the publication of a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover, and a number of his books have reached The New York Times Best Seller list. This catalogue lists 195 titles from Chthon (1967) to Knicklepede Knight (2026), including the Apprentice Adept, Cluster, Battle Circle, Mode and Incarnations of Immortality sequences.

Cindy Dees writes romantic suspense, with special forces and undercover operations among the subject tags. The catalogue holds 83 books from Behind Enemy Lines (2002) to Where the Sky Begins (2026). Medusa Project, H.O.T. Watch, Charlie Squad, Code: Warrior SEALs, Blackjacks, Runaway Ranch and Doctors Unlimited are among the series, and Hot Soldier Down (2002) and Kill Zone (2004) are early titles. Fantasy also appears in the subjects, alongside the Sleeping King series.

William H. Keith writes military fiction and science fiction. Naval warfare supplies much of the subject matter, from Navy SEALs and aircraft carriers to submarines, naval battles and the Vietnam War, with men's adventure and espionage alongside. The catalogue runs to 116 titles dated between 1985 and 2021, and the 1990s are its busiest decade. SEAL Team Seven, Carrier, Warstrider, Silent Service, Freedom's Rangers, Cybernarc and Renegade Legion are among the series. The listing also carries tabletop game material, sourcebooks and CD-ROM game guides under Keith's name, including Twilight: 2000 titles. No book is listed after 2021.

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.

Carl Bowen has 41 books in the catalogue, from Project Utopia (1999) to Gods and Thunder (2017). Special forces, soldiers and terrorism appear among the subject headings, alongside graphic novels and adaptations. The Bowen series are Shadow Squadron, Firestormers, Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Tribe Novel and Aberrant. Predator & Prey: Vampire (2000) and Silent Striders & Black Furies (2001) are early titles.

Jamie Thomson, born 14 November 1958, is a British writer, editor and game developer who won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012. Subjects include adventure games, fantasy games, magic and humorous stories, and the catalogue lists 39 books from Talisman of Death (1984) to The Serpent King's Domain (2018). Thomson's series include Way of the Tiger, Fabled Lands, Tales of the Fabled Lands, Falcon, Dark Lord, Crystal Maze Gamebooks and Starship Captain. Titles from 1985 include Avenger!, Assassin! and Usurper!. Mark Smith and Dave Morris each share credit on 1 book.

Jody Lynn Nye

37 books• 16 series

Jody Lynn Nye, born 1957, is an American science fiction writer credited as author or co-author of roughly forty novels and more than a hundred short stories. Nye's specialism is action-driven science fiction and fantasy with a humorous register: contemporary fantasy such as Mythology 101 at one end, military science fiction such as Strong Arm Tactics at the other. About a third of the novels are collaborations. The catalogue holds 37 books from Dragonharper (1987) to 1635: The Weaver's Code (2024), with Mythology, Taylor's Ark, Tildi Summerbee, Bright Sparks and Wolfe Pack among the recorded series.