Slaves book series in reading order

by Rosemary Rowe / Aitken

by John Norman

by Sabaa Tahir

by Wilbur Smith

by Cheryl Brooks

Two bodies of work sit under Rosemary Rowe, who also publishes as Rosemary Aitken. The Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain novels follow Libertus through murder investigations in Roman Britain, beginning with The Germanicus Mosaic (1999) and continuing in A Pattern of Blood (2000), Murder in the Forum (2001) and The Chariots of Calyx (2002). The Cornish Sagas take in Cornwall and the First World War, starting with The Girl from Penvarris (1995). The catalogue runs to 36 books, ending with The Rewards of Treachery (2023).

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.

Wilbur Smith was a British-South African novelist born in Northern Rhodesia. Smith's historical fiction covers four centuries of international involvement in Southern Africa. The catalogue lists 66 books, from When the Lion Feeds (1964) to Flashpoint (2026). Series include Courtney, Jack Courtney, Ancient Egypt, Hector Cross and Prey Zone. Recurring character listings include the Courtney family, Ballantyne and Hector Cross. David Churchill and Tom Harper each share the credit on 1 book. Subjects include Africa, Egypt, revenge, espionage and terrorism.

Sabaa Tahir

9 books• 3 series

An Ember in the Ashes (2015) opens Sabaa Tahir's catalogue. Tahir is an American young adult novelist whose 9 books cover the Ember in the Ashes series, a graphic novel prequel line, the Heir duology, and the standalone All My Rage (2022). Slavery, authoritarianism, insurgency and military cadets are recurring subjects. The catalogue reaches Empire (2026) and Tahir continues to publish.

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.

Ginny Dye writes historical fiction, and the Bregdan Chronicles are the recurring series in the catalogue. The 24 listed books run from Storm Clouds Rolling In (1996) to Lifted By The Wings of Destiny (2026). On To Richmond, Dark Chaos, The Last Long Night and Carried Forward By Hope are among the titles. Subjects include plantation life, slaves and fugitive slaves, the Underground Railroad, women and Reconstruction-era U.S. history. The median listed edition runs to 520 pages.

Kathleen Grissom writes American historical fiction about slavery and plantation life. Three books carry Grissom's name: The Kitchen House (2010), Glory over Everything (2016) and Crow Mary (2023). Indentured servitude, the Underground Railroad and fugitive slaves in the Southern states supply the subject matter, and Kitchen House is the one named series. Grissom's publishing has been dormant since 2023.

Octavia E. Butler

23 books• 4 series

Octavia E. Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American author of science fiction and speculative fiction and a winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards. In 1995 Butler became the first science fiction writer awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Born in Pasadena, California and raised by a widowed mother, Butler found refuge in library books as a shy child, started writing science fiction as a teenager, and attended community college during the 1960s Black Power movement. The catalogue opens with Patternmaster (1976) and includes Mind of My Mind (1977), Kindred (1979), Wild Seed (1980) and Dawn (1987). Series include Patternmaster, Xenogenesis and Earthseed, with graphic novel adaptations also listed.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is one of the series by Kathryn Lasky, an American children's writer born June 24, 1944, who writes for adults as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann. Lasky's children's work also includes Dear America and The Royal Diaries books, Wolves of the Beyond, Sugaring Time and The Night Journey, and honours include a Newbery Honor, the National Jewish Book Award and the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature. The catalogue holds 159 books from I Have Four Names for My Grandfather (1976) to Sacred Light (2026), including Tugboats Never Sleep (1977), The Weaver's Gift (1980) and Beyond the Divide (1983). Horses Of The Dawn, Bears Of The Ice and Camp Princess are further series, and subjects name owls, wolves, diaries and Jews.

Ann Rinaldi was an American journalist and young adult novelist, known above all for historical fiction, who lived from August 27, 1934 to July 1, 2021. Rinaldi worked as a newspaper columnist before writing novels, eight of which the ALA named notable. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears (1991) was listed among the best young adult novels of the preceding twenty-five years. Rinaldi also contributed to the Dear America series. The catalogue holds 48 books from Term Paper (1980) to Leigh Ann's Civil War (2011), including The Last Silk Dress (1988) and A Break with Charity (1992).

Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 - June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist who worked across mysteries and horror and, above all, speculative fiction. Greenberg compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned more than 8,200 original short stories, founded the book packager Tekno Books and co-founded the Sci-Fi Channel; terrorism and the Middle East were a second field of expertise, and Isaac Asimov was a long-standing friend and business partner. The 51 titles listed here are edited collections rather than single-author works, running from Fantastic Lives (1981) to Louisiana Vampires (2010) and taking in Civil War Women (1988), Murder Most Sacred (1989), Horse Fantastic (1991) and Dragon Fantastic (1995).

Tracy Hickman

37 books• 15 series

Tracy Raye Hickman, born November 26, 1955, is an American fantasy author and a designer of games and virtual reality experiences. Hickman co-authored the original Dragonlance novels with Margaret Weis, created role-playing material while working for TSR, and has written novels with Laura Hickman. More than 60 books carry Hickman's name as author or co-author. The catalogue lists 37 of them, from Pharaoh (1983) to The Eye of Scales (2022), including Dragonlance modules and the Bronze Canticles, Annals of Drakis, Nightbirds and Songs of the Stellar Wind series.

Cheryl Brooks writes science fiction romance: aliens, life on other planets, slaves and erotic romance are the recorded subjects. The catalogue holds 34 books from Slave (2008) to Captive (2020), with Warrior (2008), Outcast and Rogue (2009), and Fugitive and Hero (2010) following the opening title. Series recorded for Brooks are the Cat Star Chronicles, the Cat Star Legacy, Unlikely Lovers, Cowboy Heaven, Soul Survivors and the Sextet anthologies. All 34 books are credited to Brooks alone, and the listing is marked likely complete.