Science fiction, action & adventure book series in reading order

by James Axler

by James Axler

by John Norman

by Mack Maloney

by Lisanne Norman

by Alan Dean Foster

by Taylor Anderson

by Jodi Taylor

by Cheryl Brooks

by Douglas Preston

by Steve Alten

by Christopher Paolini

by Ernest Cline

by Tamsyn Muir

by Gini Koch

by James White

by Michael Z. Williamson

by E.E. Knight

by Ian Douglas

by Timothy Zahn

by Karen Traviss

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.

John Norman is the pen name of John Frederick Lange Jr., born in 1931, an American writer and philosophy professor. The Gor novels are the main work: science fantasy set on the imaginary world of Gor, with Tarl Cabot recurring, running from Tarnsman of Gor (1967) to Treasure of Gor (2024) and filling most of a 53-book catalogue. The Telnarian Histories form a second series, and The Cognitivity Paradox (1970) is a work of philosophy. Slavery, adventure and erotica recur as subjects, in books with a median length of 488 pages.

Alan Dean Foster

162 books• 30 series

Alan Dean Foster, born on 18 November 1946, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, with several book series, more than 20 standalone novels and many film novelizations. Catalogued titles open with The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972), followed by Bloodhype (1973), Icerigger (1974), Star Trek Log One (1974) and Midworld (1975). Lost on Paradise (2026) is the newest title. Foster series include Pip & Flinx, Icerigger, Journeys of the Catechist, Damned, Star Trek: The Animated, Alien Movie and Transformers. Subjects include the Humanx Commonwealth, interplanetary voyages and human-alien encounters.

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.

Timothy Zahn

98 books• 26 series

Timothy Zahn, born September 1, 1951, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who grew up in Lombard, Illinois. The Star Wars books, above all the Thrawn trilogy, are the core of Zahn's reputation, and those novels are credited with reviving interest in the franchise. Original series include Cobra, Blackcollar, Dragonback, Quadrail, Conquerors Saga, Icarus and Sibyl's War. The catalogue lists 99 books by Zahn, starting with The Blackcollar (1983); Trap Line appeared in 2025 and A Call to Deception is due in 2027.

Alex Archer is the name on the Rogue Angel series, 66 catalogued books published between 2006 and 2025. Annja Creed, a woman archaeologist, is the recurring character, and the books mix antiquities, adventure and suspense with fantasy. Destiny (2006) opens the run, followed by Solomon's Jar (2006), The Spider Stone (2006) and a rapid 2007 sequence including Forbidden City, God of Thunder, Provenance, Secret of the Slaves, Serpent's Kiss, The Chosen and The Lost Scrolls. Shadow Highlanders (2025) is the newest title, at a median of 320 pages.

Eric Flint's catalogue opens with Mother of Demons (1997) and runs to 1637: The Pilgrim's Passage (2026). 1632 appeared in 2000, alongside Fortune's Stroke and Rats, Bats & Vats, and In the Heart of Darkness (1998) and Destiny's Shield (1999) came before it. Series include Ring of Fire: Assiti Shards, Grantville Gazette, Belisarius, Jao, Boundary, Pyramid, Demon Rift and Rats, Bats & Vats, and two short fiction lines carry Dave Freer's name alongside Flint's. Subjects include time travel, alternate history, West Virginia, Europe, the Thirty Years' War and life on other planets.

David Mack

46 books• 20 series

David Mack is an American writer best known for freelance Star Trek novels, and has also had a Star Trek script produced and worked on a Star Trek comic book. The catalogue lists 46 books from Invincible, Part 1 (2001) to Echoes in Eternity (2026). Series include Star Trek: Vanguard, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Destiny, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations, Star Trek: Seekers and the Star Trek Mirror Universe relaunch. Other titles include Wildfire (2002), The Starfleet Survival Guide (2002), A Time to Heal and A Time to Kill (both 2004). Keith R.A. DeCandido shares the credit on 2 books and Robert Greenberger on 1.

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.

Poul Anderson

160 books• 18 series

Poul Anderson (25 November 1926 to 31 July 2001) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy who also wrote historical novels. Anderson won the Hugo Award seven times and the Nebula Award three times. The catalogue lists 160 titles, from Duel on Syrtis (1951) to Swordsmen from the Stars (2020), with series including Flandry, the Polesotechnic League, the Psychotechnic League, Time Patrol, Hoka, Maurai, King of Ys and Harvest of Stars. Subjects on file include space opera, time travel, space warfare and epic fantasy.

William C. Dietz

66 books• 18 series

William Corey Dietz, January 30, 1945 to March 15, 2026, was an American science fiction writer working principally in military science fiction and video game novelizations. Sixty-six titles are catalogued, from Galactic Bounty / War World (1986) to Red Dawn (2025). Series include Sam McCade, Drifter, Winds of War, Mutant Files, America Rising and Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Legion of the Damned stands as the recurring character entry. Subjects name space opera, space warfare, human-alien encounters and imaginary wars. David Drake shares credit on one title.

Mack Maloney writes men's adventure and military science fiction. Wingman (1987) opens a catalogue of 45 books that reaches The God Satellite in 2022, with the pilot Hawk Hunter at the centre of the Wingman novels. Seven series carry the Maloney name, including Wingman, Starhawk, Superhawks, Chopper Ops, Pirate Hunters and Codename: Starman. Air pilots, pirates and suspense recur as subjects; no new title has appeared since 2022.

Mike Moscoe, born 2 August 1947, is an American science fiction writer living in Vancouver, Washington, who also publishes as Mike Shepherd. Moscoe grew up in a Navy family and moved often as a child. The catalogue holds 44 books from First Dawn (1996) to The South Shall Rise Again (2022), including Mutineer (2004) and Audacious (2007). Series include Kris Longknife, Vicky Peterwald, Rita Longknife: Iteeche War, Jump Universe, Lost Millennium and BattleTech: Mechwarrior Dark Age. Subjects cover space opera, navies, space warfare and women soldiers.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

81 books• 12 series

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1 September 1875 to 19 March 1950) was an American writer of adventure, science fiction and fantasy, and the creator of Tarzan and John Carter. Burroughs wrote twenty-four Tarzan books and eleven books with John Carter as a recurring character, along with the Pellucidar and Amtor series and the Caspak trilogy. Tarzan also became a syndicated comic strip, films and merchandise. Catalogued titles begin in 1912 with A Princess of Mars and Tarzan of the Apes, followed by The Gods of Mars (1913), The Return of Tarzan (1913) and At the Earth's Core (1914). Subjects include extraterrestrial beings, Africa and Dejah Thoris.

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.

Lois McMaster Bujold

54 books• 8 series

Lois McMaster Bujold, born November 2, 1949, is an American writer of speculative fiction who has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, equalling Robert A. Heinlein's record. The Vorkosigan Saga is her best-known work: science fiction novels set about 1000 years in the future and featuring Miles Vorkosigan of the planet Barrayar, a physically impaired man who serves as interstellar spy and mercenary admiral. The catalogue lists 54 books from 1986 to Darksight Dare (2026), including Shards of Honor, The Warrior's Apprentice, Falling Free, Brothers in Arms and The Vor Game. Other series listings include Penric and Desdemona, Sharing Knife and Curse Of Chalion. SFWA named Bujold its 36th Grand Master in 2019.

C.J. Cherryh

105 books• 23 series

C.J. Cherryh is the pen name of Carolyn Janice Cherry, an American writer of speculative fiction born September 1, 1942. The silent h came at the prompting of editor Donald A. Wollheim, who judged that Cherry read like the name of a romance writer. Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988), both set in the Alliance-Union universe, each won the Hugo Award, and the Foreigner series sits alongside them among Cherryh's notable work. The catalogue holds 105 books from Brothers of Earth (1976) to Alliance Unbound (2024). Worldbuilding grounded in research across history, language, psychology and archeology is what Cherryh is known for.

Neal Asher

44 books• 10 series

Neal Asher, born in 1961, is an English science fiction writer living near Chelmsford. Asher's fiction works in space opera and military science fiction: artificial intelligence, human-alien encounters, space warfare and dystopias run through it. The Polity universe holds most of the catalogue, with Agent Cormac, Spatterjay, Rise of the Jain and Far Future Polity set inside it, and the Owner Trilogy standing apart. Forty-four books span 1994 to 2026, from Africa Zero to Dark Agent.

Kevin J. Anderson

182 books• 44 series

Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author, born March 27, 1962. Tie-in work covers Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E. and The X-Files, including comics such as Tales of the Jedi with Tom Veitch. Original series include the Saga of Seven Suns, Saga of Shadows, Terra Incognita, Gamearth and Dan Shamble, Zombie PI, and Assemblers of Infinity was nominated for a Nebula Award. Rebecca Moesta shares credit on 9 catalogued books. The catalogue lists 182 books from Resurrection, Inc. (1984) to Sleep With the Fishes (2026).

Anne McCaffrey

96 books• 20 series

Anne McCaffrey (1 April 1926 to 21 November 2011) was an American writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction, for the novella Weyr Search (1968), and the first to win a Nebula, for Dragonrider (1969). The White Dragon (1978) was among the earliest science fiction books on the New York Times Best Seller list. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd Grand Master in 2005. The catalogue lists 96 books, from Restoree (1967) to Sky Dragons (2011), plus the Acorna, Crystal Singer and Tower and Hive series.

Robert A. Heinlein

83 books• 11 series

Robert A. Heinlein wrote science fiction from 1939, starting with the short story Life Line. Interplanetary voyages, space colonies, space opera and time travel are the recurring subjects, and the catalogue carries a Hugo Award winner. The Future History timeline groups a large part of the early work; the Juveniles were written for younger readers, and World As Myth came later. Eighty-two titles are catalogued, with editions dated through 2025.

Peter F. Hamilton

48 books• 18 series

Peter F. Hamilton is a British author of science fiction space opera, born in 1960. Catalogue entries run from Mindstar Rising (1993) to The Helium Sea (2026). Series include Greg Mandel, Night's Dawn, Commonwealth Saga, Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers, Salvation Sequence, Arkship Trilogy, Archimedes Engine and Queen of Dreams. The Suspect Genome (1993), A Quantum Murder (1994) and The Reality Dysfunction (1996) are among the earlier titles. Space colonies, telepathy and space warfare appear in the subjects.

L. Ron Hubbard

110 books• 5 series

L. Ron Hubbard (Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, March 13, 1911 to January 24, 1986) was an American writer and the founder of Scientology. The early career produced a large body of pulp science fiction and fantasy. The catalogue holds 110 books, starting in 1934 with Sea Fangs, Dead Men Kill, Hurtling Wings and Twenty Fathoms Down. Series include Mission Earth, Slaves of Sleep and collections of western and science fiction short stories. Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950, a book described as pseudoscientific, created Scientology in 1952 and led the Church of Scientology until 1986. Subjects include air pilots, sea stories, westerns and crime.

Christopher Golden is an American writer, born in 1967, with 139 catalogued books published between 1994 and 2026. Horror, fantasy and science fiction run through the work, alongside vampires, the supernatural and murder. Of Saints and Shadows (1994) opens the catalogue and Carry Me to My Grave (2026) is the newest entry. Golden's series include the Shadow Saga, Baltimore, Joe Golem, Body of Evidence, Prowlers, Hollow, Hidden Cities and the Secret Journeys of Jack London, and the listing also carries Buffy the Vampire Slayer and X-Men titles. Mike Mignola is credited alongside Golden on 4 books.