Space ships book series in reading order

by Robert Reed

by John Jackson Miller

by Allen M. Steele

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.

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.

William Shatner

33 books• 8 series

William Shatner, born on 22 March 1931, is a Canadian actor who played Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek from 1966 to 1994, from the second pilot of the original television series to Star Trek Generations. Shatner started in Canadian film and television before guest roles on American shows. The catalogue lists 33 Shatner books, from Shatner: Where No Man ... (1979) to Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder (2022), including TekWar (1989), Star Trek Memories (1993) and The Ashes of Eden (1995). Series include Quest for Tomorrow, Star Trek: Odyssey, Star Trek: The Mirror Universe Trilogy and Star Trek: Totality.

Peter David

272 books• 94 series

Peter David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often called PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games. A 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk won awards, and other comics runs include Aquaman, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Captain Marvel, X-Factor, Young Justice, SpyBoy and Spider-Man 2099. Star Trek: New Frontier is among David's Star Trek novels. Original series include Knight Life and Apropos of Nothing. The catalogue lists 272 books, beginning in 1984 with Picture Perfect, High Society and Sapphire Star.

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.

Michael Jan Friedman is an American writer born in New York City on March 7, 1955. Friedman has written nearly 60 books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of them licensed Star Trek tie-ins, and 10 titles have reached The New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television, for radio and for more than 150 comic books, most of them from DC Comics. The catalogue lists 89 entries from 1985 to 2023, beginning with The Hammer and the Horn and Seekers And The Sword, and series include Star Trek: Stargazer, Vidar Saga and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

John Jackson Miller

53 books• 23 series

John Jackson Miller, born in 1968, is an American science fiction author, comic book writer and commentator, known for work on the Star Wars franchise and for research into comic book circulation history published as the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series and on the Comichron website. The catalogue holds 53 entries, among them The Standard Catalog of Comic Books (2002), Warman's Comic Book Field Guide (2004), Star Wars: Vector, Vol. 1 (2005) and Batman: Revolution (2025). Listings include Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, Star Wars: Knight Errant Graphic Novels, Star Wars: Lost Tribe Of The Sith, Star Trek: Prey, Mass Effect Graphic Novels and Orion Offensive. Subjects cover comic books and strips, graphic novels, space warfare, space ships and Star Wars fiction. Entries dated 1990 to 1995 carry the byline John J. Miller instead.

Dayton Ward

42 books• 18 series

Dayton Ward is an American science fiction author, born in 1967, known mainly for Star Trek novels and short stories. Ward's fiction began in the Strange New Worlds anthology, with a story in each of its first three volumes, which under the anthology's rules ended Ward's eligibility; later writers who matched the feat were said to have earned a Wardy. The catalogue holds 42 books published between 2001 and 2026, from Interphase, Part 1 (2001) to To Defy Fate (2026). Starships, interplanetary voyages and space warfare are the recurring subjects. Kevin Dilmore is credited alongside Ward on 12 titles, and the Last World War and 24 series sit beside the Star Trek work.

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).

Eric Brown was a British science fiction author and a critic for The Guardian, born on 24 May 1960 and died on 21 March 2023. Catalogue subjects include space opera, human-alien encounters, space colonies and mystery. The earliest listed book is The Time Lapsed Man And Other Stories (1990), followed by Meridian Days (1992) and Engineman (1994). Series credited to Brown include Langham and Dupré Mystery, Starship Seasons, Telemass Quartet, Virex Trilogy and Bengal Station.

David Gerrold

78 books• 18 series

David Gerrold, born Jerrold David Friedman on January 24, 1944, is an American science fiction novelist and screenwriter. Gerrold wrote the original Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" and created the Sleestak for Land of the Lost. The novelette The Martian Child won the Hugo and Nebula Awards and became a 2007 film starring John Cusack. The catalogue lists 78 books from 1972 to 2026, including When HARLIE Was One (1972) and The Man Who Folded Himself (1973), and the series list includes War Against the Chtorr and Yesterday's Children/Star Wolf.

James Blish was an American science fiction and fantasy writer who lived from May 23, 1921 to July 30, 1975. Blish is best known for the Cities in Flight novels and for Star Trek novelisations written with J. A. Lawrence, and A Case of Conscience (1958) won the Hugo Award. Blish is credited with coining the term "gas giant". Criticism of science fiction appeared under the pen name William Atheling Jr. The catalogue lists 64 books, opening with Jack of Eagles (1952), and includes Earthman, Come Home (1956) and The Seedling Stars (1957).

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.

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.

Jack McDevitt

35 books• 4 series

Jack McDevitt, born April 14, 1935, is an American science fiction author whose novels often turn on contact with alien races and on archaeology, including xenoarchaeology. Two sets of characters carry most of the books: the relic hunters Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath, and the faster-than-light pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins. Seeker took the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and McDevitt has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and John W. Campbell awards many times. The catalogue lists 35 books from The Hercules Text (1986) to Doorway to the Stars (2024), including A Talent for War (1989), The Engines of God (1994), Eternity Road (1997) and Moonfall (1998). The first published McDevitt story was "The Emerson Effect" in The Twilight Zone Magazine in 1981.

Elizabeth Bear

54 books• 14 series

Elizabeth Bear is the writing name of Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky, born in 1971, an American author working across speculative fiction. Bear took the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2008 Hugo for Best Short Story with Tideline and the 2009 Hugo for Best Novelette with Shoggoths in Bloom, one of the few writers to win multiple fiction Hugos after that Campbell win. Fifty-seven catalogued books run from Hammered (2004) to Angel Maker (2025), across the Promethean Age, Jacob's Ladder, New Amsterdam, Jenny Casey, Eternal Sky, Lotus Kingdoms, White Space and Karen Memory.

William Joyce

50 books• 6 series

William Joyce, born in 1957, is an American writer, illustrator and filmmaker who has produced more than 50 children's books, translated into over 40 languages. Rolie Polie Olie, the Guardians of Childhood and Dinosaur Bob are his main series, working with robots, dogs, adventure and the contest of good and evil, often in rhyme. Joyce started in film as a concept artist on Toy Story (1995) and took credits on A Bug's Life (1998) and Robots (2005); his A Day with Wilbur Robinson (1988) became the Disney film Meet the Robinsons (2007). The catalogue runs from William Joyce's Mother Goose (1984) to Scarecrow and the Nightingale (2020), at a median of 40 pages a book.

Science fiction is Robert Reed's field, and the Great Ship sequence his longest-running work. Reed's 149 catalogued books run from The Leeshore (1987) to Retrograde Tests (2024) and take in starships, interstellar travel and life on other planets. Beyond the Veil of Stars, Trials of Quentin Maurus and Raven Dream are his other series. Reed was born in Omaha in 1956, studied biology, and has won a Hugo Award. Most of his output is short fiction rather than novels.

Mike Resnick

139 books• 24 series

Mike Resnick, born Michael Diamond Resnick, was an American science fiction writer and editor who lived from March 5, 1942 to January 9, 2020. Resnick won five Hugo awards and one Nebula, was guest of honor at Chicon 7, served as executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe and created Galaxy's Edge magazine. The catalogue lists 139 books from The Goddess Of Ganymede (1967) to The Hex Is In (2020). Tags cover space opera, alternative history, private investigators and psychics, and series include Chronicles of Lucifer Jones, Starship, Widowmaker and John Justin Mallory Mystery.

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.

Jody Lynn Nye

37 books• 16 series

Jody Lynn Nye, born 1957, is an American science fiction writer credited as author or co-author of roughly forty novels and more than a hundred short stories. Nye's specialism is action-driven science fiction and fantasy with a humorous register: contemporary fantasy such as Mythology 101 at one end, military science fiction such as Strong Arm Tactics at the other. About a third of the novels are collaborations. The catalogue holds 37 books from Dragonharper (1987) to 1635: The Weaver's Code (2024), with Mythology, Taylor's Ark, Tildi Summerbee, Bright Sparks and Wolfe Pack among the recorded series.

E.E. “Doc” Smith

30 books• 6 series

E.E. 'Doc' Smith was the writing name of Edward Elmer Smith (1890-1965), an American food engineer who specialised in doughnut and pastry mixes and wrote science fiction. The Lensman and Skylark books are the work Smith is known for, and Smith is sometimes called the father of space opera. The catalogue lists 30 titles dated between 1928 and 1985, from The Skylark of Space (1928) through Spacehounds of IPC (1931), Children of the Lens (1947), Triplanetary (1948) and Gray Lensman (1951). Family d'Alembert, Lord Tedric and Subspace are recorded as further sequences. Subjects include space opera, spaceships, space flight and space warfare.

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.

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.