Imaginary wars and battles book series in reading order

by James Axler

by Taylor Anderson

by Brian K. Vaughan

by Tracey West

by Jim Butcher

by Karen Traviss

by R.F. Kuang

by Shannon K. Butcher

by James Lovegrove

by George R.R. Martin

by Richard Kadrey

by David Weber

by Sandy Mitchell / Alex Stewart

by Robert Adams

by Rachel Aaron

James Axler is the pen name under which Mark Ellis wrote scores of Deathlands and Outlanders novels. The books are post-apocalyptic men's adventure: survivalism, the regression of civilisation, imaginary wars and the invented territory called Deathlands. The Axler name carries 234 titles published between 1986 and 2025, from Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) to Wraith Winter (2025). Volumes run long at a median of 347 pages, and Earthblood is a third series beside the two main runs.

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.

Karen Traviss is a science fiction author from Wiltshire, England, and the creator of the Wess'har Wars series. Tie-in work covers Star Wars, including Republic Commando, plus Gears of War, Halo, G.I. Joe and the Galaxy's Edge: Nomad series with Nick Cole and Jason Anspach. The writing spans novels, short stories, comics and video games. The catalogue lists 36 books, from City of Pearl (2004) to Here We Stand (2023).

David Weber

90 books• 23 series

David Mark Weber, born October 24, 1952, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. The Honor Harrington books are his best-known work, and his first novel, written with Steve White, sold to Baen Books in 1989; Baen has remained his principal publisher. Weber's catalogue holds 90 titles from Insurrection (1990) to Challenges (2025), spanning the Honorverse, Safehold, War God, Dahak and Gordian Division series. Space warfare, women soldiers and imaginary wars and battles run through the recorded subjects.

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.

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

87 books• 11 series

The Saga of Recluce made L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s name: 25 novels of wizards, magic and imaginary wars by 2025, with the first 18 selling close to three million copies. Modesitt, born Leland Exton Modesitt Jr. in 1943, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer whose 87 catalogued books run from The Timegod / The Fires of Paratime (1982) to Last of the First (2026). The Imager Portfolio, Corean Chronicles, Spellsong Cycle, Ecolitan Matter and Forever Hero stand beside Recluce. Modesitt also publishes poetry, columns and technical studies, and his volumes median 501 pages.

Taylor Anderson is a former history professor, an artillery and firearms expert, and a re-enactor. His Destroyermen series follows the crews of the USS Walker, the USS Mahan and the USS S-19 in their fight against the Grik, and short stories extend the same fictional universe. The catalogue holds 24 books published between 2008 and 2026, opening with Into the Storm and Crusade in 2008 and reaching Fleet of Ghosts in 2026, with the Artillerymen and Corps of Discovery sequences alongside. Alternative history, naval battles, the Second World War and time travel recur as subjects. Anderson has consulted on weapons for media organisations, including the 2004 film The Alamo.

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.

R.A. Salvatore

133 books• 34 series

Robert Anthony Salvatore, published as R.A. Salvatore, is an American fantasy writer born on January 20, 1959. The Legend of Drizzt, set in the Forgotten Realms and starring Drizzt Do'Urden, is the work Salvatore is chiefly known for. Other work includes The DemonWars Saga, a high fantasy series, and Vector Prime, the first novel in Star Wars: The New Jedi Order. The catalogue counts 134 books, starting with The Crystal Shard (1988); Witch of Whispervale (2025) is the newest, and Fat Rabbit is listed for 2027. US sales exceed 15 million copies, and 22 Salvatore titles have been New York Times best-sellers.

Jack Campbell

44 books• 13 series

Jack Campbell is the pen name of John G. Hemry, born April 14, 1956, a retired United States Navy officer who writes military science fiction. Under the Campbell name, Hemry has written 21 volumes of The Lost Fleet and the steampunk and fantasy Pillars of Reality series. Beyond the Frontier continues The Lost Fleet as a spin-off. As Hemry, the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series appeared, along with short stories in Analog. The 44 catalogued books run from Dauntless (2006) to Squad Kill (2026).

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.

Troy Denning

48 books• 24 series

Troy Denning writes fantasy and science fiction and also works as a game designer. The catalogue holds 49 books, from Cosmos Cubed (1988) to Outcasts (2023), with Fireteam Noble due in 2027. Series include Dark Sun: Prism Pentad, Forgotten Realms: Twilight Giants, Forgotten Realms: Return of the Archwizards, Halo: The Ferrets and Halo: A Master Chief Story. The Verdant Passage (1991), The Crimson Legion (1992) and The Cerulean Storm (1993) are among the early titles.

Brandon Sanderson

109 books• 28 series

Brandon Sanderson, born December 19, 1975, is an American writer of high fantasy, science fiction and young adult fiction. Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive both belong to the Cosmere, a shared fictional universe. Outside the Cosmere, Sanderson wrote the Reckoners, Skyward and Alcatraz series, and completed Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. White Sand and Dark One are Sanderson's two graphic novels. Sanderson's Laws of Magic, a framework for hard and soft magic systems, carry the author's name. The catalogue lists 109 titles, from Centrifugal (1994) through Elantris (2005) to King Lopen the First of Alethkar (2026).

George R.R. Martin

90 books• 19 series

George R.R. Martin, born George Raymond Martin on September 20, 1948 and known by the initials GRRM, is an American author, screenwriter and television producer. A Song of Ice and Fire, the epic fantasy series adapted by HBO as Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and the prequel House of the Dragon, is Martin's best-known work; the related Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas became A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The catalogue begins in 1976 with A Song for Lya, Starlady and Fast-Friend and The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr, followed by Dying of the Light (1977), Sandkings and Windhaven (1981), and Fevre Dream (1982). Science fiction, fantasy and short stories appear among the subjects.

Robert Jordan

43 books• 8 series

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney Jr. (17 October 1948 to 16 September 2007), an American writer of epic fantasy who used several pen names for different genres. The Wheel of Time, 14 books plus a prequel novel, has sold 90 million copies and ranks among the highest-selling book series. Earlier in the career, Jordan was one of several writers of original Conan the Barbarian novels. The catalogue opens with The Fallon Blood (1980), followed by The Fallon Pride (1981), and Conan titles such as Conan the Invincible (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984) appear in the early years. Jordan series also include Fallon.

Gena Showalter is an American novelist, born in Oklahoma in 1975, who writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and young adult fiction. Showalter sold a first book at age 27 and has reached the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The catalogue lists 116 books from The Stone Prince (2004) to The Kraken Bride (2026). Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress, Angels of the Dark and the White Rabbit Chronicles are among the linked series, and vampires and demonology recur in the subject headings.

Steven Erikson

33 books• 5 series

Steven Erikson writes epic fantasy. The Malazan Book of the Fallen, opened by Gardens of the Moon (1999), is the central sequence, and 33 catalogued books reach Legacies of Betrayal in 2026 by way of the Kharkanas Trilogy, the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas and the Willful Child science fiction. Imaginary wars, magic and invented places run through the subjects.

David Dalglish, born April 2, 1984, is an American writer of epic fantasy fiction. Assassins, thieves, brothers, criminals and gods fill the subject list, which also names imaginary wars and battles and coming of age. Forty books stand under Dalglish in the catalogue, opening in 2010 with A Dance of Cloaks and The Weight of Blood and reaching Daughter of Destruction in 2026. Series include Half-Orcs, Shadowdance, Paladins, Breaking World, Seraphim, Vagrant Gods and Astral Kingdoms. The books run long, at a median of 431 pages.

Liu Cixin

32 books• 1 series

Liu Cixin is a Chinese science fiction writer and computer engineer, born in 1963 and published in English translation as Cixin Liu. The Three-Body Problem (2006) took the 2015 Hugo Award and Death's End the 2017 Locus Award; Liu has also won China's Galaxy Award nine times and the Chinese Nebula Award, and serves as vice president of the Shanxi Writers Association. Thirty-three titles are catalogued from 1998 onward, among them Ball Lightning (2004), The Wandering Earth (2005) and The Dark Forest (2008). Human-alien encounters, imaginary wars and survival recur as subjects.

Dan Abnett

224 books• 95 series

Dan Abnett, born 12 October 1965, is an English novelist and comic book writer. Abnett has written for Marvel Comics and its UK imprint Marvel UK since the 1990s, for 2000 AD and for DC Comics, often in partnership with Andy Lanning. Abnett's Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels and graphic novels for Games Workshop's Black Library number several dozen and have sold more than two million copies. Abnett's first original novels came from Angry Robot in 2009. The catalogue lists 224 books from Uther, the Half Dead King (1993) to Legends of the Waaagh! (2026), across series such as Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Guardians of the Galaxy and Aquaman graphic novels.

Brian K. Vaughan

78 books• 17 series

Brian K. Vaughan is an American writer and producer, born July 17, 1976, whose best-known comic series are Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Saga and Paper Girls. Vaughan served as a writer, story editor and producer on the television series Lost for seasons three to five. The work on season four earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Dramatic Series in 2008, and the writing staff was nominated again in 2009 for season five. The catalogue holds 78 books from 2003 to 2025, and its other series include Private Eye and We Stand On Guard.

Chris Bunch (1943–2005) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and television who wrote or co-wrote about thirty novels. The catalogue opens with Sten (1982), followed by The Wolf Worlds (1984), The Court of a Thousand Suns (1985) and Fleet of the Damned (1988), and holds 54 books through Sten and the Mutineers (2016). Allan Cole shares credit on 1 book. Series include Sten, Star Risk, Last Legion, Shadow Warrior Trilogy, Seer King Trilogy and Dragonmaster, with subjects covering imaginary wars and the Vietnam War.

Midkemia is the world Raymond E. Feist writes: epic fantasy of magicians, wizards and long imaginary wars, with Pug and Mara among its figures. The Riftwar opens the sequence in Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master (1982), and the Serpentwar, Demonwar, Darkwar, Chaoswar, Dragonwar and Firemane sagas follow, with the Riftwar Legacy and the Conclave of Shadows between them. Thirty-four catalogued books reach A Darkness Returns in 2024.

David Gemmell wrote heroic fantasy. Legend, also published as Against the Horde (1984), opens the Drenai saga, continued in The King Beyond the Gate (1985) and Waylander (1986). The Rigante, Troy, Lion Of Macedon, Hawk Queen and Sipstrassi sequences follow. Thirty-five catalogued books reach Rhyming Rings (2017). Imaginary wars, warriors and kings are the recurring subjects.