Chris Roberson is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, comics writer, editor, and publisher. His prose bibliography ranges from alternate history and planetary romance to supernatural thrillers and licensed fiction, while his comics work includes iZombie, Cinderella, Hellboy Universe titles, Elric, Starborn, Edison Rex, and numerous other series.
His bibliography has one unusual complication: some early novels were later expanded, revised, or absorbed into larger fictional settings.
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That means publication dates alone do not always reveal the best edition to read.
The two main original prose worlds are the Bonaventure-Carmody sequence and the Celestial Empire. The Recondito books form a separate two-novel supernatural sequence. His X-Men, Warhammer 40,000, Zombie Army, Sniper Elite, and other franchise books belong to their respective licensed universes.
Start by Choosing the Right Chris Roberson Sequence
For his interconnected pulp science fiction and alternate-world fiction, begin with Here, There & Everywhere.
For the alternate-history Celestial Empire, begin with The Voyage of Night Shining White if you want every book-length work, or The Dragon’s Nine Sons if you want to begin with a full novel.
For supernatural crime fiction, read:
- Firewalk
- Firewalkers
For his standalone science fiction, Further: Beyond the Threshold requires no other Roberson book.
Licensed novels should be read according to their franchise rather than inserted into his original-fiction chronology.
Bonaventure-Carmody Books in Order
The Bonaventure-Carmody sequence follows generations of an extended family of explorers, scientists, adventurers, time travelers, and pulp-style heroes across different eras and worlds.
Roberson’s current bibliography lists the principal modern editions as:
- Here, There & Everywhere (2005)
- Paragaea: A Planetary Romance (2006)
- Set the Seas on Fire (2007)
- End of the Century (2009)
- Book of Secrets (2009)
Publication order is the simplest route for new readers.
These books are connected by the larger Bonaventure-Carmody family and Roberson’s “Myriad” concept, but they do not behave like five installments of one continuous adventure.
Individual books shift between protagonists, time periods, worlds, and genres.
Do You Have to Read the Bonaventure-Carmody Books in Order?
Not strictly.
Roberson designed several of these stories to work independently even though family histories and larger connections accumulate across the sequence.
Publication order is still recommended because later books make relationships between different branches of the family clearer.
The biggest reason to preserve the order is End of the Century, which draws together material and characters from different parts of Roberson’s interconnected fiction.
Here, There & Everywhere
Here, There & Everywhere follows Roxanne Bonaventure, whose unusual relationship with time allows her adventures to stretch across different periods and alternate realities.
It is the best modern starting point for the Bonaventure-Carmody material.
The book also has an earlier publication history that can confuse collectors.
Any Time at All
Any Time at All: The Lives and Time of Roxanne Bonaventure was published in 2002.
Here, There & Everywhere is a significantly expanded version of that earlier book.
New readers do not need to read both.
Recommended edition: Here, There & Everywhere.
Status of Any Time at All: Earlier version.
Paragaea: A Planetary Romance
Paragaea: A Planetary Romance follows Soviet cosmonaut Akilina Chirikov after she arrives in a strange alternate world.
The book belongs to the wider Bonaventure-Carmody sequence through Hieronymus Bonaventure and Roberson’s interconnected alternate-world framework.
It can nevertheless be read as its own planetary adventure.
Recommended position: After Here, There & Everywhere.
Set the Seas on Fire
Set the Seas on Fire follows Hieronymus Bonaventure during an earlier period of his life.
Although it takes place before some of his appearances elsewhere, publication order remains preferable.
Read it after Paragaea on a first pass.
Earlier Set the Seas on Fire Edition
An earlier version of Set the Seas on Fire appeared through Clockwork Storybook in 2001.
The later Solaris edition was revised and expanded.
For readers building a modern reading order, the expanded edition is the one to use.
Status: Revised edition, not a sequel to the earlier version.
End of the Century
End of the Century brings several strands of the Bonaventure-Carmody material together.
This is one reason not to use it as the starting point even though individual portions of the book can initially appear self-contained.
Readers familiar with earlier members of the family will recognize more of its structure and connections.
Recommended position: Fourth among the current principal editions.
Book of Secrets
Book of Secrets follows Spencer Finch and is connected with the wider Bonaventure-Carmody material.
Roberson’s own comments have also identified links between the Taylor family in Book of Secrets and the Bonaventure-Carmody clan.
Read it after the earlier sequence if you want those relationships to have their full context.
What Happened to Voices of Thunder?
Voices of Thunder was an early Clockwork Storybook novel published in 2001.
Material from Roberson’s early small-press period was later revised as his fictional setting evolved.
Book of Secrets is the later expanded and revised form associated with that material.
For a current reading list, use Book of Secrets rather than treating Voices of Thunder as another required installment.
Status: Earlier version.
What About Cybermancy Incorporated?
Cybermancy Incorporated is one of the most confusing entries in Roberson’s bibliography.
It was an early Clockwork Storybook novel featuring Jon Bonaventure Carmody and was described by Roberson as the first Bonaventure-Carmody book.
However, that original version belonged partly to the Clockwork Storybook shared setting of San Cibola.
Roberson later explained that the Bonaventure-Carmody concept evolved away from that version of the setting. He anticipated revising the material into the later continuity rather than simply reprinting the original text unchanged.
The current official bibliography does not include Cybermancy Incorporated among the five principal Bonaventure-Carmody novels.
For that reason:
For a modern first reading: Begin with Here, There & Everywhere.
For collectors: Treat Cybermancy Incorporated as an early form of the sequence.
Status: Optional early continuity material.
Bonaventure-Carmody Short Stories
Roberson has written additional stories involving members of the extended family.
They include works such as:
- Nowhere Man
- The Jewel of Leystall
- Death on the Crosstime Express
- Ill Met in Elvera
- The Funeral Affair
- Edison’s Frankenstein
- A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows
- Mariner
These are useful for readers exploring the complete family history but are not necessary between the five principal modern books.
The safest approach is to read the novels first and add the shorter fiction afterward.
Status: Optional related fiction.
Celestial Empire Books in Order
The Celestial Empire is Roberson’s alternate-history setting in which Imperial China develops along a radically different path and eventually becomes a major spacefaring power.
The book-length works are:
- The Voyage of Night Shining White (2006)
- The Dragon’s Nine Sons (2008)
- Iron Jaw and Hummingbird (2008)
- Three Unbroken (2009)
These share a world rather than one continuous protagonist.
Publication order is therefore useful but not as mandatory as it would be in a tightly serialized trilogy.
The Voyage of Night Shining White
The Voyage of Night Shining White is a short book-length work set in the Celestial Empire.
It was published before the three full-length novels.
Readers seeking everything should begin here.
Readers who specifically want a full novel can instead begin with The Dragon’s Nine Sons without treating the novella as compulsory preparation.
Status: Included, but not essential before the novels.
The Dragon’s Nine Sons
The Dragon’s Nine Sons is one of the central Celestial Empire novels.
It uses the alternate-history setting for a military science fiction mission involving conflict between the Chinese empire and its rivals.
The novel won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in the long-form category.
Recommended position: First full-length Celestial Empire novel.
Iron Jaw and Hummingbird
Iron Jaw and Hummingbird takes place in the same alternate future but follows its own characters and story.
It is not a direct sequel to The Dragon’s Nine Sons.
Publication order places the two in the same year, and either can largely stand on its own.
For a tidy complete read, keep The Dragon’s Nine Sons first.
Three Unbroken
Three Unbroken is another Celestial Empire novel.
It returns to the setting through a different military and political story.
Readers do not need to remember one continuous protagonist across the three novels.
Status: Shared-world novel.
Celestial Empire Short Stories
The Celestial Empire began and developed extensively through shorter fiction.
Stories include:
- Fire in the Lake
- Thy Saffron Wings
- The Sky Is Large and the Earth Is Small
- O One
- Metal Dragon Year
- Gold Mountain
- Mirror of Fiery Brightness
- The Line of Dichotomy
- Red Hands, Black Hands
- All Under Heaven
- Dragon King of the Eastern Sea
- Wonder House
These stories span different periods in the alternate history.
Some occur centuries before the spacefaring novels.
Should You Read Celestial Empire Chronologically?
Only if you are already familiar with the setting.
Roberson constructed the shorter pieces at different points in the timeline, including stories around the historical divergence itself.
Rearranging them into internal chronology changes the way the alternate world is discovered.
For a new reader, publication order or the book-length sequence is easier.
For a completionist reread, chronological ordering of the stories can be interesting.
Are Celestial Empire and Bonaventure-Carmody Connected?
Roberson’s fiction frequently uses alternate histories and multiple worlds, so broad conceptual connections can appear between different bodies of work.
However, the Celestial Empire should be treated as its own primary setting for reading-order purposes.
Do not insert The Dragon’s Nine Sons between Bonaventure-Carmody novels simply because both involve alternate realities.
Recommended classification: Separate sequence.
Recondito Books in Order
Roberson returned to prose novels in the 2010s with the Recondito supernatural crime series.
Read:
- Firewalk (2016)
- Firewalkers (2018)
This is a genuine two-book sequence.
Unlike the more loosely connected Celestial Empire novels, the order matters here.
Firewalk
Firewalk introduces FBI agent Izzie Lefevre and detective Patrick Tevake as they investigate disappearances and increasingly strange events around the California city of Recondito.
It establishes the supernatural mystery that drives the sequence.
Status: Book 1.
Firewalkers
Firewalkers continues the Recondito story.
Readers should not begin here because it builds on the investigation, characters, and supernatural discoveries established in Firewalk.
Status: Book 2.
Is Recondito Connected to Cybermancy Incorporated?
This requires some care.
When discussing revisions to Cybermancy Incorporated, Roberson once said that a future rewritten version would move its events to Recondito, California.
That does not mean readers should automatically treat the published 2016 Firewalk as a sequel to the old Clockwork Storybook novel.
The current bibliography presents Firewalk and Firewalkers together, while the old Cybermancy Incorporated belongs to the author’s earlier Bonaventure-Carmody publishing history.
Safest reading classification: Keep the published Recondito novels together and treat Cybermancy Incorporated separately.
Further: Beyond the Threshold
Further: Beyond the Threshold was published in 2012.
It is a far-future science fiction novel about a man awakening into a civilization vastly removed from the era he knew.
No earlier Roberson novel is necessary.
Status: Standalone.
Chris Roberson Original Prose Reading Order
Readers concentrating only on Roberson’s original book-length fiction can use this practical route:
Bonaventure-Carmody
- Here, There & Everywhere
- Paragaea: A Planetary Romance
- Set the Seas on Fire
- End of the Century
- Book of Secrets
Celestial Empire
- The Voyage of Night Shining White
- The Dragon’s Nine Sons
- Iron Jaw and Hummingbird
- Three Unbroken
Standalone
- Further: Beyond the Threshold
Recondito
- Firewalk
- Firewalkers
The two major shared worlds can be reversed. There is no continuity requirement connecting the Bonaventure-Carmody and Celestial Empire blocks.
Shark Boy and Lava Girl Adventures Books
Roberson co-wrote two books connected with Robert Rodriguez’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.
Read:
- The Day Dreamer (2005)
- Return to Planet Drool (2005)
Both are credited to Roberson and Robert Rodriguez.
These belong to the Shark Boy and Lava Girl franchise rather than Roberson’s original fictional worlds.
Status: Separate licensed continuity.
X-Men: The Return
X-Men: The Return was originally published in 2007.
It is a prose adventure featuring Marvel’s X-Men.
Later digital editions can carry much newer publication dates. Those dates represent republication rather than a newly written Chris Roberson X-Men sequel.
Status: Standalone licensed novel.
No Bonaventure-Carmody or Celestial Empire reading is required.
Star Trek: Myriad Universes
Roberson contributed to Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Echoes and Refractions.
His contribution belongs to a collection exploring alternate versions of Star Trek history.
This is not one of Roberson’s original “Myriad” worlds despite the coincidental similarity in terminology.
Status: Licensed Star Trek fiction.
Readers following Star Trek should place it according to that franchise rather than Roberson’s original novels.
Warhammer 40,000 Books
Roberson wrote prose in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
His principal novels include:
- Dawn of War II (2009)
- Sons of Dorn (2010)
These should not be treated as a two-book Chris Roberson series.
Dawn of War II is connected with the Dawn of War game storyline.
Sons of Dorn follows the Imperial Fists and belongs to the much larger Warhammer 40,000 setting.
Status: Separate franchise works.
Do You Need the Earlier Dawn of War Novels Before Dawn of War II?
Roberson’s Dawn of War II belongs to an established game and fiction franchise with material written by other authors.
It is not Book 1 of a Roberson-created series.
Readers wanting the entire Blood Ravens or Dawn of War storyline should follow the wider Warhammer chronology.
Readers collecting only Roberson’s novels can treat it as his individual franchise contribution.
Zombie Army: Fortress of the Dead
Zombie Army: Fortress of the Dead was published in 2020.
It is based on Rebellion’s Zombie Army game universe.
It does not belong to Recondito despite both involving supernatural threats.
Status: Licensed franchise novel.
Sniper Elite: Origins
Sniper Elite: Origins was published in 2022.
It belongs to Rebellion’s Sniper Elite franchise.
The book should be kept outside Roberson’s original science fiction and fantasy continuities.
Status: Licensed franchise novel.
As of August 8, 2026, it remains the most recent prose novel listed in Roberson’s official bibliography.
Chris Roberson Prose Books in Broad Publication Order
For readers who prefer to follow his career by year, the major modern book-length works can be arranged approximately as:
- Here, There & Everywhere (2005)
- The Day Dreamer (2005), with Robert Rodriguez
- Return to Planet Drool (2005), with Robert Rodriguez
- The Voyage of Night Shining White (2006)
- Paragaea: A Planetary Romance (2006)
- X-Men: The Return (2007)
- Set the Seas on Fire (2007)
- The Dragon’s Nine Sons (2008)
- Iron Jaw and Hummingbird (2008)
- End of the Century (2009)
- Book of Secrets (2009)
- Three Unbroken (2009)
- Dawn of War II (2009)
- Sons of Dorn (2010)
- Further: Beyond the Threshold (2012)
- Firewalk (2016)
- Firewalkers (2018)
- Zombie Army: Fortress of the Dead (2020)
- Sniper Elite: Origins (2022)
Earlier Clockwork Storybook editions exist, including Cybermancy Incorporated, Any Time at All, Voices of Thunder, and an earlier Set the Seas on Fire. Those editions should be treated as part of Roberson’s publication history rather than additional required modern installments.
Why Older Chris Roberson Lists Look Different
Roberson’s early career involved Clockwork Storybook, a shared online and small-press publishing project.
Several concepts that originated during that period later changed as Roberson revised his fiction for broader commercial publication.
This is why older lists may contain:
- Cybermancy Incorporated
- Any Time at All
- Voices of Thunder
- The 2001 version of Set the Seas on Fire
while newer official lists emphasize:
- Here, There & Everywhere
- Paragaea
- The expanded Set the Seas on Fire
- End of the Century
- Book of Secrets
For someone reading rather than collecting, the later versions are the cleaner route.
Chris Roberson Comics
Roberson’s comics bibliography is substantially larger than his prose bibliography.
His official bibliography separates creator-owned comics from work for BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, DC, Dynamite, IDW, Legendary, and other publishers.
Because those titles belong to many unrelated universes, they should not be inserted into the prose reading order.
iZombie
Roberson co-created iZombie with artist Mike Allred.
The comic follows Gwen Dylan and belongs to its own creator-owned continuity.
It has been collected in individual volumes and in complete omnibus editions.
For readers who want the entire comic rather than individual issues, a complete-series omnibus provides the simplest route.
Status: Complete comic series, separate from Roberson’s prose fiction.
The television adaptation uses the title and broad concept but substantially changes the characters and story, so its continuity should not be confused with the comic.
Cinderella
Roberson wrote two Fables spin-off series centered on Cinderella:
- Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love
- Cinderella: Fables Are Forever
Read them in that order.
These belong to Bill Willingham’s larger Fables universe.
Readers familiar with Fables will have additional context, but the Cinderella collections form a clear Roberson-written pair.
Status: Licensed shared continuity.
Memorial
Memorial, created with artist Rich Ellis, is one of Roberson’s creator-owned comics.
It belongs to its own fantasy continuity.
No prose book is required beforehand.
Status: Separate comic continuity.
Edison Rex
Roberson co-created Edison Rex with Dennis Culver.
The series explores a supervillain forced into a different role after defeating his greatest heroic opponent.
It was initially published digitally through MonkeyBrain Comics and later collected.
Status: Creator-owned comic series.
The Mysterious Strangers
The Mysterious Strangers, with Scott Kowalchuk, is another creator-owned comics project.
It mixes pulp adventure and supernatural material but does not connect to the Bonaventure-Carmody novels.
Status: Separate comic continuity.
Sovereign
Sovereign, with Paul Maybury, is an original fantasy comic series.
It has no continuity connection to Roberson’s prose worlds.
Status: Separate creator-owned series.
Starborn
Roberson wrote Starborn, created with Stan Lee and artist Khary Randolph.
The collected sequence is:
- Starborn: Beyond the Far Stars
- Starborn: Far From Home
- Starborn: Homecoming
Read the volumes in order.
Status: Complete separate comic continuity.
Elric: The Balance Lost
Roberson wrote Elric: The Balance Lost, using Michael Moorcock’s characters and multiverse.
The principal collected volumes should be read numerically.
This is Moorcock franchise material rather than an extension of Roberson’s Bonaventure-Carmody “Myriad.”
Status: Separate licensed continuity.
Hellboy Universe Books
Roberson has become a major contributor to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Universe.
His work includes multiple Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. series, Witchfinder, The Visitor, Rasputin, Panya, The House of Lost Horizons, British Paranormal Society, and other projects.
These stories occupy the larger Hellboy Universe and often intersect with material written by Mike Mignola and other creators.
They should therefore be read according to Hellboy Universe chronology or collection order, not as a standalone Chris Roberson series.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.
Roberson has co-written extensive material with Mike Mignola covering different years of Hellboy’s career with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
Collections include stories set in:
- 1953
- 1954
- 1955
- 1956
- 1957
Readers concentrating on this branch can follow the years numerically.
However, the complete Hellboy Universe contains important earlier and later stories by other writers, so this is only Roberson’s portion of a much larger continuity.
Shadow of the Golden Crane
Shadow of the Golden Crane is a Hellboy Universe story by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, with art by Michael Avon Oeming.
The collected hardcover was published in November 2025.
It follows B.P.R.D. agent Susan Xiang and connects with the 1950s B.P.R.D. material.
Status: Hellboy Universe comic collection.
It is one of Roberson’s newest book-format releases, but it is not a prose novel.
Latest Chris Roberson Novel
As of August 8, 2026, the newest prose novel listed in Chris Roberson’s official bibliography is:
Sniper Elite: Origins (2022)
It is licensed fiction based on the Sniper Elite franchise.
His most recent original prose novel sequence remains the Recondito pair:
- Firewalk
- Firewalkers
No newly announced original Chris Roberson prose novel with a firm 2026 or 2027 publication date was confirmed for this update.
Latest Chris Roberson Fiction
Roberson has continued publishing after his most recent novel.
His official bibliography lists the short story That Same Peculiar Tint in Tales of the Shadowmen Vol. 20 in 2023.
His comics work has also continued, including Shadow of the Golden Crane, whose collected edition appeared in 2025.
This distinction matters when asking for his “latest book.” His newest book-format comics work is more recent than his latest prose novel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Chris Roberson book should I read first?
For his original interconnected prose, begin with Here, There & Everywhere.
For supernatural crime fiction, begin with Firewalk.
For the Celestial Empire, The Dragon’s Nine Sons is the strongest full-novel entry point, although The Voyage of Night Shining White was published earlier.
What order are the Bonaventure-Carmody books?
Use:
- Here, There & Everywhere
- Paragaea: A Planetary Romance
- Set the Seas on Fire
- End of the Century
- Book of Secrets
Earlier small-press versions and related stories are optional for a first read.
Is Cybermancy Incorporated Book 1?
Historically, Roberson described it as the first Bonaventure-Carmody book.
However, its original continuity reflected the Clockwork Storybook shared setting, and it is not included in the principal modern sequence on Roberson’s current bibliography.
New readers should start with Here, There & Everywhere.
Is Here, There & Everywhere the same as Any Time at All?
Here, There & Everywhere is a substantially expanded version of Any Time at All.
You do not need both for the story.
Is the 2007 Set the Seas on Fire a different novel from the 2001 book?
The later edition is an expanded and revised version.
Use the later edition for a current reading order.
Is Book of Secrets connected to Voices of Thunder?
Yes, they are connected through the history of Roberson’s early material.
For modern reading purposes, Book of Secrets is the edition to use rather than counting both as consecutive books.
What order are the Celestial Empire books?
For book-length works:
- The Voyage of Night Shining White
- The Dragon’s Nine Sons
- Iron Jaw and Hummingbird
- Three Unbroken
The setting also contains many short stories.
Do the Celestial Empire novels have to be read in order?
Not strictly.
They share an alternate-history universe but generally focus on different characters and situations.
Publication order remains the easiest route.
What order are Firewalk and Firewalkers?
Read:
- Firewalk
- Firewalkers
This is a continuing sequence, and Firewalkers should not be read first.
Is Further: Beyond the Threshold part of a series?
No.
It is a standalone science fiction novel.
Are Chris Roberson’s Warhammer books connected?
Not as a two-book Roberson series.
Dawn of War II belongs to the Dawn of War portion of Warhammer 40,000, while Sons of Dorn focuses on the Imperial Fists.
Is X-Men: The Return part of his original universe?
No.
It is licensed Marvel prose fiction.
Is iZombie based on a Chris Roberson novel?
No.
iZombie originated as a comic series co-created by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred.
It is separate from his prose novels.
Is the iZombie television series the same story as the comic?
No.
The television adaptation substantially reworks the original comic concept and continuity.
Are the Hellboy books part of a Chris Roberson series?
Roberson has written many Hellboy Universe stories, usually with Mike Mignola, but they belong to the larger shared Hellboy continuity.
They should not be numbered as one independent Roberson series.
What is Chris Roberson’s newest prose novel?
Sniper Elite: Origins from 2022 is the newest prose novel currently listed on his official bibliography.
No later confirmed prose novel was identified for this August 2026 update.
Best Reading Order
Chris Roberson’s bibliography works best when it is divided by fictional world rather than forced into one publication chronology.
Begin the Bonaventure-Carmody sequence with Here, There & Everywhere. The older Any Time at All, Cybermancy Incorporated, Voices of Thunder, and original Set the Seas on Fire are primarily of interest to readers tracing how Roberson’s early fiction evolved.
Treat the Celestial Empire separately. Its four book-length works share an alternate history but are looser than a conventional series.
For the clearest direct sequel relationship in his original prose, read Firewalk followed by Firewalkers.
Finally, keep the franchise books and comics within their own universes. X-Men, Warhammer 40,000, Zombie Army, Sniper Elite, Fables, Elric, and the Hellboy Universe all have reading orders much larger than Roberson’s individual contributions.
For a reader interested specifically in Chris Roberson’s original fiction, Here, There & Everywhere remains the most useful place to begin.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.