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Authors

Browse our curated list of authors to find the perfect reading order for their universes and series.

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Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician, renowned for creating the character Sherlock Holmes, a milestone in the field of crime fiction.

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Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson writes fantasy and science fiction across the interconnected Cosmere and series including Skyward, The Reckoners, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive are separate Cosmere series, so new Mistborn readers can begin with The Final Empire without reading another Sanderson book first.

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George R.R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin is an American novelist and short story writer in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, best known for his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

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J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic, widely regarded as the father of modern high fantasy literature for his seminal works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

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Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century.

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Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert was an American science-fiction author, widely recognized for his 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels, which stand as classics of the genre.

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Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry, considered one of the 'Big Three' science fiction writers, famous for the Foundation and Robot series.

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Lee Child

Lee Child is the pen name of James Dover Grant, a British author best known for his internationally bestselling thriller series featuring Jack Reacher, a former US Army military policeman turned wandering lone-wolf vigilante. For first-time readers, the recommended order is publication order, beginning with Killing Floor (1997). While several novels are prequels set during Reacher's army career, reading in publication sequence preserves the gradual reveal of his backstory and character evolution.

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Rick Riordan

Richard Russell Riordan Jr. is an American author, best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which blends Greek mythology with modern-day settings.

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Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney Jr., an American author best known for his epic high fantasy series The Wheel of Time.

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Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett was an English humorist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, famously known for his 41-novel Discworld series.

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Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon writes the Outlander novels and the connected Lord John Grey stories. The nine published main novels follow Claire and Jamie Fraser across historical periods and should be read from Outlander onwards in publication order. Lord John Grey is a related companion series that can be read independently or after Voyager, while the Outlander Universe page explains how the two routes connect.

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James S.A. Corey

James S.A. Corey is the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Together they created The Expanse, an award-winning nine-novel hard science fiction saga adapted into the hit Amazon Prime Video series. For new readers, the recommended starting point is the debut novel Leviathan Wakes (2011). The main nine novels form a complete story arc that can be read straight through, while nine companion novellas (collected in Memory's Legion) provide optional character backstories and side perspectives.

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Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn is the pseudonym of Julie Pottinger, a best-selling American author of historical romance fiction, world-famous for her Bridgerton series.

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Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus 'Harry' Bosch.

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Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is a pen name of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, an American writer of fantasy fiction primarily known for her Realm of the Elderlings series.

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Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey was an American-Irish writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series.

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C.J. Box

C.J. Box is an American author of novels. He is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several stand-alone novels and a collection of short stories.

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Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews is the pen name of husband-and-wife author duo Ilona and Andrew Gordon, celebrated for their urban fantasy and romantic fiction.

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Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is an American author best known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files, featuring wizard and private investigator Harry Dresden.

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Martha Wells

Martha Wells is an American writer of speculative fiction, highly acclaimed for her sci-fi series The Murderbot Diaries.

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Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs is an American writer of fantasy, successfully writing both high fantasy and the highly popular Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series.

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Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire is an American author and filker, known for her urban fantasy works including the October Daye and InCryptid series.

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Vince Flynn

Vince Flynn was an American political thriller novelist who created the Mitch Rapp series, focusing on a counter-terrorism operative.

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Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is an American author known for her The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, which inspired the hit television series True Blood.

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Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is an American writer known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, the Hyperion Cantos, as well as works in horror and fantasy.

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Mira Grant

Mira Grant is a pseudonym used by Seanan McGuire to write science fiction and horror, notably the Newsflesh zombie series.

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Megan Lindholm

Megan Lindholm is the real name and original publishing name of the author famously known as Robin Hobb, under which she writes more contemporary and urban fantasy.

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A. Deborah Baker

A. Deborah Baker is a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire, under which she writes the portal fantasy series The Up-and-Under.

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Paul French

Paul French was a pseudonym used by Isaac Asimov for his early Lucky Starr series of juvenile science fiction novels.

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Janci Patterson

Janci Patterson is an American author who co-wrote the Skyward Flight novellas with Brandon Sanderson.

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Alastair Reynolds

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Brian Herbert

American author and son of Frank Herbert, co-author of the expanded Dune universe novels.

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Clive Cussler

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David Baldacci

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David Weber

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Harlan Coben

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Ian Rankin

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J. D. Robb

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J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling created the seven Harry Potter novels and related Wizarding World books. New readers should begin with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published in the United States as Sorcerer's Stone, and follow the seven novels in publication order. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a later stage-play script, while the Hogwarts Library books and Fantastic Beasts screenplays are optional companion branches.

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James Patterson

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John Sandford

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Kelley Armstrong

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Kevin J. Anderson

American science fiction author, co-author of the expanded Dune universe.

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Kim Harrison

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Lois McMaster Bujold

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Mercedes Lackey

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Nalini Singh

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Peter F. Hamilton

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R. A. Salvatore

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Raymond E. Feist

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Sherrilyn Kenyon

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Stephen King

Stephen King is a legendary American author, widely recognized as one of the masters of modern horror, suspense, and speculative fiction. He is best known for his magnum opus, The Dark Tower—an eight-book epic fantasy series that serves as the nexus of his entire literary multiverse. For new readers, the core Dark Tower series is recommended in publication sequence starting with The Gunslinger (1982) and including the mid-series addition The Wind Through the Keyhole (Book 4.5). For a richer experience, the Expanded Multiverse order integrates key crossover novels that explain character backstories and multiversal concepts.

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Terry Brooks

Terry Brooks is a prominent American fantasy writer. He is best known for his epic Shannara series, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, and the comedic Magic Kingdom of Landover series.

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Todd McCaffrey

Son of Anne McCaffrey, co-author and continuator of the Dragonriders of Pern series.

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