Fantasy, historical book series in reading order

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

by John Norman

by Mercedes Lackey

by Genevieve Cogman

by Stephen R. Lawhead

by Sarah Woodbury

by Lian Hearn

by R.F. Kuang

Harry Turtledove

141 books• 28 series

Harry Turtledove, born June 14, 1949, is an American historian and novelist of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and mystery, based in Southern California. The catalogue counts 142 books, starting with Wereblood and Werenight (1979), published as Eric G. Iverson, and listing The Succulent Succubus for 2027. Other pen names are H. N. Turteltaub, Dan Chernenko and Mark Gordian. The Videssos Cycle, Southern Victory / Timeline-191, Worldwar, Colonization, Crosstime Traffic, The War That Came Early and Gerin the Fox are among the series. World War II and the American Civil War are frequent subjects.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a British novelist of historical, romance and mystery fiction, born 13 August 1948 at Shepherd's Bush, London. The first Harrod-Eagles novel was written in 1972, during university. Most books carry the author's own name, though Emma Woodhouse and Elizabeth Bennett have also served as pseudonyms, and several 1970s titles on file appear as Emma Woodhouse. The catalogue lists 115 books from 1974 to 2026, and series include Morland Dynasty, Bill Slider, War At Home, Ashmore Castle and the Kirov Trilogy. Deadly Force (2026) is the newest.

Dave Duncan (1933-2018) was a Canadian fantasy and science fiction author, and swordsmen, swordplay and magic run through most of his 67 catalogued books. The King's Blades and King's Daggers, the Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and A Handful of Men are among twelve series, with the Venice Trilogy, Years of Longdirk, Great Game and Enchanter General beside them. Historical fantasy and science fiction sit next to the epic fantasy. A Rose-Red City (1987) opens the catalogue and Corridor to Nightmare (2024) closes it, with the 1990s his heaviest decade and a median of 332 pages.

Gordon R. Dickson

94 books• 15 series

Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 to January 31, 2001) was an American science fiction writer inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. The catalogue lists 94 Dickson books, beginning with Time Grabber (1952) and No Shield from the Dead (1953). Dorsai! / The Genetic General (1960), Secret Under the Sea (1960) and Naked to the Stars (1961) are among the titles. Series include Childe Cycle, Dragon and the George, Dilbia, Sea People and Jim Eckert. Subjects include the Dorsai, time travel, dragons and the Middle Ages.

Mercedes Lackey

230 books• 52 series

Valdemar, a country in the world of Velgarth, is the setting for many of Mercedes Lackey's interlinked fantasy novels and trilogies. Lackey, an American writer born on June 24, 1950, brings human and non-human protagonists from many cultures together in the Valdemar books. A second Lackey setting resembles Earth but hides populations of elves, mages, vampires and other mythical beings. Bedlam's Bard follows a young man who works magic through music, SERRAted Edge features elves who race cars, and the Diana Tregarde thrillers star a Wiccan fighting evil. Arrows of the Queen (1987), Arrow's Flight (1987) and Arrow's Fall (1988) are among the listed titles, and Elemental Masters and Five Hundred Kingdoms are further series.

Juliet Marillier

28 books• 10 series

Juliet Marillier, born in 1948 in New Zealand, writes speculative fiction, mostly historical fantasy. Marillier has 26 Aurealis Award nominations with 6 wins, four Sir Julius Vogel Awards and the 2025 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. The catalogue lists 28 books from Daughter of the Forest (1999) to The Amber Owl (2025). Sevenwaters, the Bridei Chronicles, Shadowfell, Blackthorn & Grim, Warrior Bards and Wildwood Dancing are among the series, and Celtic mythology and Ireland appear in the subjects.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

101 books• 21 series

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, September 15, 1942 to August 31, 2025, was an American writer known for a sequence of historical horror novels about Count Saint-Germain, the one character the catalogue attaches to the run. The catalogue records 101 books, from 1976, when Ogilvie, Tallant and Moon and Time of the Fourth Horseman appeared, to Siren Song in 2025. Other groupings under the Yarbro name include Charlie Moon Mysteries, Atta Olivia Clemens, Madelaine de Montalia, Vildecaz Talents, Messages From Michael and Sisters Of The Night.

Diana Gabaldon

33 books• 12 series

Diana Gabaldon is best known for the Outlander book series. Gabaldon, born January 11, 1952, is an American author and television writer whose novels mix historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction or fantasy. Starz premiered a television adaptation of the Outlander novels in 2014. The catalogue lists 33 titles, from Outlander / Cross Stitch (1991) to Besieged (2022), with Dragonfly in Amber (1992) and Voyager (1993) early in the run. Lord John Grey is a second named series. Time travel, Scotland, Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall appear among the subject headings.

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.

Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 to March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who also produced historical and contemporary fiction, and used the names Andrew North and Allen Weston as well. Norton was the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master, and the first inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. The catalogue carries 209 books from The Prince Commands (1934) onward. Witch World, Solar Queen, Time Traders, Beast Master and Forerunner are series.

H. Rider Haggard

78 books• 6 series

Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) was an English writer of adventure romances set in exotic locations, Africa above all, and a pioneer of the lost world genre. The eighteen Allan Quatermain stories begin with King Solomon's Mines (1885), and Ayesha is the other named series. Haggard also worked on land reform across the British Empire. The catalogue holds 78 titles dated 1882 to 2013, from Cetywayo and His White Neighbours to a complete anthology, and covers novels, non-fiction and short fiction.

Orson Scott Card

114 books• 29 series

Orson Scott Card, born August 24, 1951, is an American writer known chiefly for science fiction. Card is the only person, as of 2024, to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in consecutive years, for Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). Card coproduced the 2013 film of Ender's Game. The Tales of Alvin Maker won the Locus Fantasy Award. The catalogue counts 114 books from A Planet Called Treason / Treason (1978) to Ender's Tribe (2026), with Homecoming Saga, Mither Mages, Worthing and Women of Genesis among the other series.

Brian McClellan

24 books• 5 series

Epic fantasy is Brian McClellan's field, with imaginary wars, kings and military campaigns as its furniture. The Powder Mage and Gods of Blood and Powder trilogies are McClellan's best known work, and the catalogue also holds the Glass Immortals, War Cry and Valkyrie Collections. McClellan has 24 catalogued books published between 2013 and 2026, opening with Promise of Blood and Hope's End, both 2013, and continuing through The Crimson Campaign and Murder at the Kinnen Hotel in 2014. Mr. Styke is dated 2026.

Stephen R. Lawhead, born 1950, is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction, with Celtic historical fiction the strand the name is most attached to. In the Hall of the Dragon King (1982) opens the Dragon King books and a catalogue of 44 titles that reaches Aurelia (2025). The Pendragon Cycle and King Raven take up Arthurian material and knighthood; the Song of Albion, Celtic Crusades, Eirlandia, Empyrion and Bright Empires follow. Children's books, among them the Howard and Riverbank Stories, sit alongside the novels.

Lian Hearn is the pen name of Gillian Rubinstein, an English-born author who moved to Australia in 1973. The Hearn books are historical fantasies set in Japan: Tales of the Otori opens with Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), then Grass for His Pillow (2003), Brilliance of the Moon (2004) and The Harsh Cry of the Heron (2006), with the Tale of Shikanoko following. Seventeen titles are catalogued to 2020, and revenge, inheritance, succession and honour recur as subjects.

Marie Brennan

49 books• 11 series

Marie Brennan is the pen name of Bryn Neuenschwander, an American fantasy author. The Memoirs of Lady Trent, a sequence about a woman naturalist and the dragons she studies, was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018. The Onyx Court novels began with Midnight Never Come in 2008, and the Doppelganger duology with Doppelganger and Warrior and Witch. Brennan took the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Poem with A War of Words. Fifty titles are catalogued through The Eye of Leviathan (2026), with Rook & Rose, Wilders, Driftwood and Legend Of The Five Rings among the other series.

V.E. Schwab

49 books• 11 series

V.E. Schwab, born Victoria Elizabeth Schwab on July 7, 1987, is an American writer. Schwab is known for the 2013 novel Vicious, the Shades of Magic series and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, a nominee for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Children's and young adult books appear under the name Victoria Schwab. The catalogue runs to 49 books from The Near Witch (2011) to Victorious (2026), with series including Archived, Monsters of Verity and Cassidy Blake. Schwab also created First Kill, a supernatural teen drama adapted from a short story in the 2020 anthology Vampires Never Get Old.

Witches recur throughout Paula Brackston's fiction, The Witch's Daughter (2008), The Winter Witch (2013), The Midnight Witch (2014) and The Silver Witch (2015) among them. Twenty catalogued books run from The Dragon's Trail (1999) to Hecate Cavendish and the Angel of Death in 2026, with the Brothers Grimm Mysteries, Found Things and the Shadow Chronicles as further series. Immortality, the occult and Merlin figure in the subjects.

Larry Correia

50 books• 14 series

Larry Correia, born 1977, is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction known for Monster Hunter International, the Grimnoir Chronicles and the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. The catalogue lists 52 books from Monster Hunter International (2009) to Monster Hunter Alien Files: First Contact (2026), with Reap the Whirlwind due in 2027. Monster Hunter Vendetta (2010), Hard Magic (2011) and Dead Six (2011) came early. Correia has written or co-written more than 30 novels and over 50 short works and has co-edited four anthologies. Honours include a 2011 John W. Campbell Award nomination, two Audie Awards and four Dragon Awards.

Steven Brust

37 books• 5 series

Steven Brust is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent, born on November 23, 1955. The Vlad Taltos novels, about an assassin from a disdained human minority on the world of Dragaera, are the work Brust is best known for. The catalogue holds 37 books from The Book of Jhereg (1983) to Lyorn (2024), and other series include the Khaavren Romances and the Incrementalists. The Incrementalists (2013) and the sequel The Skill of Our Hands (2017) were written with Skyler White. Outside fiction, Brust is a drummer and singer-songwriter with one solo album and two albums recorded as part of Cats Laughing.

Christina Henry

28 books• 4 series

Christina Henry writes horror and dark fantasy. Born in New York in 1974, the American novelist has 28 catalogued books dated 2010 to 2026, opening with Black Wings (2010), first of a national bestselling series of that name, and reaching Pinfeathers (2026). Henry also retells classic children's stories: the Chronicles of Alice draws on Lewis Carroll, Lost Boy (2017) on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and The Girl in Red (2019) on Little Red Riding Hood. Angels, demons, death and imaginary places recur across the catalogue.

Jack Whyte

17 books• 4 series

Jack Whyte (15 March 1940 - 22 February 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction who left Scotland for Canada in 1967 and settled in Kelowna, British Columbia. The catalogue holds 17 books published between 1992 and 2018, opening with The Skystone (1992) and closing with The Burning Stone (2018). Subject tags cover Arthurian romances, Britons, Romans, Scotland, kings and rulers, and the Crusades, with fantasy and adventure alongside the historical filing. The headings are the Camulod Chronicles, the Templar Trilogy and a non-fiction list; Forty Years in Canada: A Memoir dates from 2006. The Jack Whyte run is listed as likely complete.

Genevieve Cogman

11 books• 2 series

Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library sequence opens her catalogue: The Invisible Library (2014), The Masked City (2015), The Burning Page (2016), The Lost Plot (2017), The Mortal Word (2018), The Secret Chapter (2019), The Dark Archive (2020) and The Untold Story (2021). The Scarlet Revolution series follows with Scarlet (2023), Elusive (2024) and Damned (2025), for 11 books in all. Librarians, rare books, secret societies and alternative history are the recurring subjects. Cogman is a British writer of fantasy and of role-playing games, and remains actively publishing.

Irish history and myth are Morgan Llywelyn's material. Born in 1937, the American-Irish novelist has sold more than 40 million copies of her historical and mythological fiction and took the Exceptional Celtic Woman of the Year Award in 1999. Lion of Ireland (1980), The Horse Goddess (1982) and Bard (1984) sit in the Celtic World sequence, alongside the Irish Century and Druids series. Forty-one catalogued books span The Wind from Hastings (1978) to Glendower: The Last Prince of Wales (2023).