Middle East book series in reading order

by Goscinny

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.

Goscinny wrote comics. Asterix and Lucky Luke are the two recurring creations, joined by Iznogoud, Dogmatix and the Nicholas books. Asterix the Gaul (1959) is the earliest entry, with Asterix and the Golden Sickle (1960), Asterix and the Goths (1961), Asterix the Gladiator (1962) and Asterix and Cleopatra (1963) following in quick order. The catalogue holds 107 titles dated 1959 to 2011, averaging 48 pages. Gauls, cowboys and caricature run through the subject list.

Donald Eugene Pendleton (December 12, 1927 to October 23, 1995) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction who created Mack Bolan, a character with hundreds of millions of copies sold since a 1969 debut. From 1980, other authors wrote the Bolan books under the Pendleton name, at first with Pendleton's editorial guidance. Pendleton also wrote six Joe Copp, Private Eye novels and six Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective novels. Early titles include The Insatiables (1967), War Against the Mafia (1969) and Miami Massacre (1970).

Nelson DeMille

34 books• 8 series

Nelson Richard DeMille, born on 23 August 1943, was an American novelist of action-adventure and suspense fiction who died on 17 September 2024. Plum Island, The Charm School and The General's Daughter are among the DeMille novels, and DeMille also published as Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews. The catalogue lists 34 books, from The Sniper (1974) to The Tin Men (2025). Series include Joe Ryker, John Sutter and Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor, and John Corey and Paul Brenner are among the recurring characters. Subjects include terrorism, espionage and the Middle East.

Christian mystery, thriller and fantasy novels make up the work of Ted Dekker, an American author born October 24, 1962, whose name is stylised TED DEKkER. Thr3e, Obsessed and the Circle Series are named in the sourced record. The catalogue holds 66 Dekker books from Heaven's Wager (2000) to Play Dead (2021), including Black, Red and White (all 2004). Listed series include Books Of Mortals, Martyr's Song, Paradise, Dream Traveler's Quest and A.D. No new title is recorded after 2021, so the catalogue lists Dekker as dormant.

Sarah Morgan writes contemporary and medical romance, with 119 books catalogued from Expectant Bride (1999) to The Best Christmas Ever (2026). Physicians, nurses, billionaires and Italians are among the recorded subjects, and early titles include The Doctor's Engagement (2001), The Midwife's Child (2001) and The Greek Tycoon's Bride (2002). Series lines include From Manhattan With Love, Lakeside Mountain Rescue, Glenmore Island Doctors, Cornish Consultants, O'Neil Brothers and Miller Sisters.

David Ignatius

13 books

David Ignatius writes espionage thrillers built on the Central Intelligence Agency and the Middle East. Agents of Innocence (1987) opens the catalogue, followed by Siro (1991), The Bank of Fear (1994), Body of Lies (2007), The Increment (2009), Bloodmoney (2011) and The Director (2014). Thirteen books run to Phantom Orbit in 2024, at 352 pages on median.

Eric Ambler (1909-1998) wrote English thrillers, spy novels above all, and worked as a screenwriter. His 29 catalogued books span 1936 to 1995, from The Dark Frontier (1936) to The Story So Far (1995), with the 1950s his busiest decade. Ambler built series around Valeshoff, Charles Latimer and Arthur Abdel Simpson, and his subjects take in intelligence services, smuggling and the Orient Express. He also published as Eliot Reed for titles written with Charles Rodda.

Jimmy Carter

51 books• 1 series

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, and wrote 51 books. Carter's subjects cover his own childhood and career, American politics and government, peace negotiation, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Christian faith. The catalogue opens with Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years (1975), two years before he took office, and takes in Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (1982) and The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East (1986). Later titles turn to the Bible and devotional writing, the most recent dated 2020. Books median 224 pages, and the 2000s were Carter's most productive decade.

Jon Land is an American thriller author whose Caitlin Strong novels follow a fifth-generation Texas Ranger. The Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea books pair a Palestinian detective with a chief inspector of the Israeli police. Land is an emeritus board member of International Thriller Writers and sits on its marketing committee, and was a screenwriter for the film Dirty Deeds. The catalogue lists 55 books from The Doomsday Spiral (1983) to Icefall: The Rise of the Nine (2026), with Blaine McCracken, Jared Kimberlain and National Parks Thriller among the other series.

Sam Barone writes historical fiction set in early antiquity. The Eskkar series is the body of the work, opening with Dawn of Empire (2006) and continuing through Empire Rising (2007), Quest for Honour (2010), Battle for Empire (2012) and Clash of Empires (2013). Bronze Age cities, siege warfare, nomads and the Akkadians supply the material. The novels are long at around 577 pages, and ten titles are catalogued through Sentinel Star (2018).

Jane Porter's 74 catalogued books span 2001 to 2026, opening with Christos's Promise (2001) and reaching A Soldier's Promise (2026). Subjects place the work in contemporary romance and romantic suspense, with arranged marriage, princesses, kings and rulers, and single mothers among the listed themes. Series include Wyatt Brothers of Montana, Taming of the Sheenans, Galvan Brides, Desert Kings, Brennan Sisters, Bellevue Wives and Disgraced Copelands. Jane Porter is still publishing.

Gavin Lyall (1932-2003) wrote espionage thrillers in English. Eighteen titles are catalogued between 1961 and 2011, opening with The Wrong Side of the Sky (1961) and taking in The Most Dangerous Game (1964), Midnight Plus One (1965), Shooting Script (1966), Venus With Pistol (1969), Blame The Dead (1973), Judas Country (1975) and The Secret Servant (1980). Two series carry his name, Harry Maxim and Honour. Freedom's Battle (1971) and Operation Warboard (1972) also appear, with a second Freedom's Battle volume dated 2011. The Second World War, the Middle East and Finland run through the subjects.

Susan Stephens writes romance, with 85 books catalogued from The Italian Prince's Proposal (2003) to Christmas with Angel (2024). Stephens was once a professional singer and has also written several non-fiction books. Stephens met a future spouse on the Mediterranean island of Malta and has three children. Series include Acostas!, Blood and Thunder, Skavanga Diamonds, Hot Brazilian Nights!, Young, Hot & Royal and Maktabi Brothers. Subjects include contemporary romance, inheritance and succession, polo players and Italians.

Rabih Alameddine

8 books

Rabih Alameddine, born in 1959, is a Lebanese painter and writer. Eight catalogued books run from Koolaids: The Art of War (1998) to The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) (2025), which took the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction; The Wrong End of the Telescope (2021) had already taken the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Subject headings cover Lebanon and its civil war of 1975 to 1990, Lebanese Americans, emigration and immigration, gay men, AIDS and storytellers.