Howard Andrew Jones was an American fantasy author, editor, and scholar of adventure fiction best known for the Chronicles of Sword and Sand, the Ring-Sworn Trilogy, and the Chronicles of Hanuvar.
His novels fall into three clear phases. The early Dabir and Asim books combine historical fantasy with Arabian adventure. The Ring-Sworn Trilogy is a completed epic fantasy. The later Hanuvar books return to shorter, interconnected sword-and-sorcery adventures centered on an aging general trying to free his conquered people.
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Jones also wrote four Pathfinder Tales novels set in Golarion. Those books belong to licensed Pathfinder continuity and are completely separate from his original worlds.
For most readers, the best starting point is The Desert of Souls. Readers who want his later, more episodic sword-and-sorcery style should begin with Lord of a Shattered Land.
Howard Andrew Jones Reading Order at a Glance
Jones did not create one shared fictional universe. Read each group separately.
Chronicles of Sword and Sand
- The Desert of Souls
- The Waters of Eternity
- The Bones of the Old Ones
Ring-Sworn Trilogy
- For the Killing of Kings
- Upon the Flight of the Queen
- When the Goddess Wakes
Chronicles of Hanuvar
- Lord of a Shattered Land
- The City of Marble and Blood
- Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
Pathfinder Tales
- Plague of Shadows
- Stalking the Beast
- Beyond the Pool of Stars
- Through the Gate in the Sea
The Pathfinder books divide into two character groups, so they do not need to be read as one four-book story.
Chronicles of Sword and Sand Books in Order
The Chronicles of Sword and Sand follows Dabir ibn Khalil, a brilliant scholar and investigator, and Captain Asim el Abbas, the swordsman who narrates their adventures.
The stories take place in the eighth-century Islamic world during the era of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Jones combines real historical places and cultural details with sorcerers, monsters, lost cities, ancient artifacts, and supernatural threats.
1. The Desert of Souls
The Desert of Souls (2011): Captain Asim and the scholar Dabir pursue a stolen magical tablet from Baghdad toward the legendary lost city of Ubar, where Byzantine spies, sorcery, and an ancient supernatural danger turn a simple recovery mission into a much larger adventure.
This is the best introduction to Dabir and Asim.
The novel establishes their friendship, their service under Jaffar, Dabir’s analytical approach to supernatural mysteries, and Asim’s more practical role as warrior and narrator.
2. The Waters of Eternity
The Waters of Eternity (2011): Six shorter Dabir and Asim adventures send the pair against killers, monsters, Byzantine agents, dangerous magic, and a quest for the legendary waters capable of saving a dying girl.
This is a story collection rather than a second full-length novel.
Several of the stories were among Jones’s earliest published adventures featuring the characters. They helped establish Dabir and Asim before the novels appeared.
Some catalogs place the collection between the two novels, which is a sensible reading position.
3. The Bones of the Old Ones
The Bones of the Old Ones (2012): During an unnatural winter in Mosul, Dabir and Asim protect a Persian noblewoman being pursued by the ancient Sebitti and become involved in a search for magical weapons capable of unleashing catastrophic power.
The novel directly follows the world established in The Desert of Souls.
Returning enemies and relationships matter, so readers should not begin here.
The Best Dabir and Asim Reading Order
Use:
- The Desert of Souls
- The Waters of Eternity
- The Bones of the Old Ones
This order introduces the partnership through the strongest novel-length entry, gives readers the shorter adventures next, and then returns to the larger continuing story.
Readers interested only in the two novels can read The Desert of Souls and The Bones of the Old Ones without losing the central plot.
Is Chronicles of Sword and Sand Complete?
Two full-length novels were published:
- The Desert of Souls
- The Bones of the Old Ones
The Waters of Eternity collects six shorter adventures.
No third Dabir and Asim novel was published.
The existing books do not end in the middle of one unresolved novel-sized storyline. The characters were designed to support episodic adventures, so the published material remains readable as a self-contained body of work.
Ring-Sworn Trilogy Books in Order
The Ring-Sworn Trilogy is Jones’s largest conventional epic fantasy.
The story follows the Altenerai, an elite order of warriors defending the Allied Realms. A supposedly ceremonial sword exposes a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of government just as an old enemy begins preparing for war.
Unlike the episodic Dabir and Asim and Hanuvar books, Ring-Sworn is one continuous three-volume narrative.
1. For the Killing of Kings
For the Killing of Kings (2019): Squire Elenai discovers that the sword of the legendary fallen warrior N’lahr has been replaced with a forgery, and the investigation into that seemingly small mystery exposes murder, political conspiracy, and the approaching return of the Naor.
Elenai and the archer Kyrkenall become central to the investigation.
The book also introduces the Altenerai, the hearthstones that provide magical power, and the political divisions weakening the Allied Realms.
2. Upon the Flight of the Queen
Upon the Flight of the Queen (2019): The Naor invasion spreads across the Allied Realms while Elenai, Kyrkenall, N’lahr, Varama, Rylin, and the surviving Altenerai divide across several missions to prevent military defeat and expose the deeper betrayal behind the war.
The novel begins after the revelations of For the Killing of Kings.
Do not read it independently. Character identities, alliances, and the truth surrounding N’lahr’s death all depend on Book One.
3. When the Goddess Wakes
When the Goddess Wakes (2021): The Altenerai survive the immediate Naor conflict only to face a greater danger when the queen escapes with powerful hearthstones and attempts to awaken a goddess capable of destroying and remaking the realms.
Former enemies become uneasy allies as the remaining warriors pursue the queen across increasingly dangerous magical territory.
This novel resolves the principal mysteries and conflicts established throughout the trilogy.
Ring-Sworn Reading Order
Read the trilogy without interruption:
- For the Killing of Kings
- Upon the Flight of the Queen
- When the Goddess Wakes
Publication order and story chronology are identical.
Is the Ring-Sworn Trilogy Complete?
Yes.
When the Goddess Wakes is explicitly the third and final volume.
Readers can begin For the Killing of Kings knowing the complete central story has been published.
Chronicles of Hanuvar Books in Order
The Chronicles of Hanuvar was Jones’s final major original fantasy series.
Hanuvar is inspired partly by Hannibal of Carthage. He is the last great general of Volanus, a city destroyed by the Dervan Empire. Rather than rebuilding an army, he travels through enemy territory searching for Volani survivors who were sold into slavery.
The books use an episodic structure. Each volume contains connected adventures that can often stand individually while gradually advancing Hanuvar’s larger mission.
1. Lord of a Shattered Land
Lord of a Shattered Land (2023): After the Dervan Empire destroys Volanus and enslaves its survivors, the aging general Hanuvar travels alone through enemy territory to find his scattered people and free them by deception, strategy, negotiation, or force.
The book contains a sequence of linked adventures rather than one uninterrupted quest narrative.
Individual episodes involve monsters, revenants, sorcerers, soldiers, prisoners, corrupt officials, and people forced to choose whether helping Hanuvar is worth challenging the empire.
Several chapters originated as previously published Hanuvar stories, including “The Way of Serpents,” “The Crypt of Stars,” “The Second Death of Hanuvar,” and “Shroud of Feathers.”
This is the correct starting point.
2. The City of Marble and Blood
The City of Marble and Blood (2023): Hanuvar enters deeper into the Dervan heartland, using the remnants of his old intelligence network and unlikely allies to rescue enslaved Volani while murders committed in his people’s name threaten to bring renewed imperial attention upon them.
The volume develops the larger pursuit surrounding Hanuvar and brings his missing daughter more prominently into the story.
A magical attack also leaves him carrying a dangerous curse.
Read it after Lord of a Shattered Land even though many individual chapters still have the feel of independent adventures.
3. Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain (2024): Hanuvar moves south to continue freeing Volani slaves while a rogue group of gladiators, a Revenant determined to prove he still lives, and an ancient warrior-mage near a volcano draw his scattered missions into another larger crisis.
This is the third published Hanuvar volume.
The individual episodes remain sword-and-sorcery adventures, but accumulated relationships and consequences from the first two books increasingly matter.
The Correct Hanuvar Reading Order
- Lord of a Shattered Land
- The City of Marble and Blood
- Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
Do not try to reconstruct a separate prequel order from the Hanuvar short stories published before 2023.
Many of those stories were collected or incorporated into Lord of a Shattered Land. Reading the novels prevents accidental duplication and provides the intended larger narrative structure.
Is the Chronicles of Hanuvar Complete?
No.
Baen originally signed Jones for five Chronicles of Hanuvar books.
Three were published:
- Lord of a Shattered Land
- The City of Marble and Blood
- Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
Jones was working on a fourth Hanuvar book before his illness and death.
As of August 7, 2026, Baen’s official series listing still contains only three published volumes. No fourth Hanuvar novel has a confirmed title and publication date.
The planned five-book sequence therefore remains incomplete.
Should You Read Hanuvar Even Though It Is Unfinished?
Yes, if episodic sword-and-sorcery appeals to you.
The Hanuvar books are less dependent on a final series resolution than a conventional epic fantasy trilogy. Each volume contains multiple missions with their own beginnings, confrontations, and endings.
A larger story does continue across the books, including Hanuvar’s missing people, family, enemies, and long campaign against Dervan power.
Readers who require every overarching thread to have a published ending should know that Books Four and Five never appeared during Jones’s lifetime.
Previously Published Hanuvar Short Stories
Several Hanuvar adventures appeared before the Baen novels.
These include:
The Way of Serpents
The Way of Serpents: Hanuvar becomes involved in another dangerous encounter during his effort to move through hostile territory and help people under Dervan rule.
The story was later incorporated into Lord of a Shattered Land.
The Crypt of Stars
The Crypt of Stars: Hanuvar confronts an ancient and supernatural danger while navigating one of the many local cultures within the conquered world.
The story appears in Lord of a Shattered Land.
The Second Death of Hanuvar
The Second Death of Hanuvar: Hanuvar’s reputation and the empire’s desire to destroy him become weapons in an adventure involving deception, danger, and the possibility of making his enemies believe he is already dead.
It was collected in Lord of a Shattered Land.
Shroud of Feathers
Shroud of Feathers: Hanuvar enters another regional conflict shaped by strange customs and supernatural danger while continuing his wider mission.
A version of the story appears in Lord of a Shattered Land.
Course of Blood
Course of Blood: Hanuvar becomes involved in another violent episode connected to the empire and the scattered people living beneath its rule.
The story belongs to the Hanuvar continuity.
From the Darkness Beneath
From the Darkness Beneath: Hanuvar faces a threat emerging from a dangerous hidden place, combining his military instincts with the supernatural dangers typical of the series.
This is another optional earlier-published Hanuvar tale.
The Warrior’s Way
The Warrior’s Way: The story explores Hanuvar’s approach to combat, responsibility, and survival during one of the journeys that eventually became part of the larger published chronicle.
It appears within Lord of a Shattered Land.
Readers who own the novels should check contents before purchasing magazines or anthologies solely for Hanuvar fiction.
Pathfinder Tales by Howard Andrew Jones
Jones wrote four novels for Pathfinder Tales, the fiction line set in Paizo’s world of Golarion.
These books are licensed fiction. They are not connected to Dabir and Asim, Ring-Sworn, or Hanuvar.
The four novels divide into two pairs.
Elyana and Drelm Pathfinder Books in Order
1. Plague of Shadows
Plague of Shadows (2011): Elven ranger Elyana and a mixed band of adventurers race to cure Lord Stelan after he is struck by a wasting magical curse, leading them through revolution-torn Galt and into a hidden valley filled with dangerous magic and monsters.
Elyana’s history with Stelan and with the people accompanying her becomes as important as finding the cure.
This is Jones’s first Pathfinder Tales novel.
2. Stalking the Beast
Stalking the Beast (2013): Elyana and her half-orc companion Drelm lead a group of hunters into the River Kingdoms after a mysterious monster begins destroying isolated settlements, only to discover that the creature may be part of a more deliberate threat.
The novel gives Drelm greater personal stakes because he hopes a successful hunt will help overcome the prejudice preventing him from marrying the woman he loves.
Read it after Plague of Shadows.
Mirian Raas Pathfinder Books in Order
3. Beyond the Pool of Stars
Beyond the Pool of Stars (2015): Salvager Mirian Raas takes over her dead father’s unfinished expedition and travels into the jungles of Sargava with lizardfolk allies to recover treasures hidden beneath dangerous inland pools.
Her mixed heritage places her between colonial authorities and native communities.
This begins a new Pathfinder storyline and does not require the Elyana books.
4. Through the Gate in the Sea
Through the Gate in the Sea (2017): Mirian and her crew return after their earlier salvage expedition and become involved in another conflict involving hidden places, clashing cultures, dangerous exploration, and threats beneath the water.
This is a direct sequel to Beyond the Pool of Stars.
Read the two together.
Recommended Pathfinder Order
For Jones’s Pathfinder fiction, the cleanest route is:
- Plague of Shadows (2011): Meet Elyana and Drelm during a desperate cure quest.
- Stalking the Beast (2013): Continue with their monster hunt in the River Kingdoms.
- Beyond the Pool of Stars (2015): Begin Mirian Raas’s separate salvage adventure.
- Through the Gate in the Sea (2017): Continue Mirian’s story.
The Mirian books can be read without the first two.
Pathfinder Short Fiction
Jones also wrote promotional Pathfinder short stories.
The Walkers from the Crypt
The Walkers from the Crypt: A shorter adventure associated with Plague of Shadows places its characters against another supernatural danger in Golarion.
Read it after meeting Elyana.
Bells for the Dead
Bells for the Dead: This companion story supports the world and characters surrounding Stalking the Beast and provides another compact Pathfinder adventure.
It is optional.
Pathfinder short fiction does not connect to Jones’s original fantasy series.
Howard Andrew Jones Books in Publication Order
A career-wide publication list shows how Jones moved between original fantasy and licensed fiction.
- Plague of Shadows (2011): Elyana races to save a cursed former companion in Pathfinder’s Golarion.
- The Desert of Souls (2011): Dabir and Asim pursue a stolen magical tablet from Baghdad toward Ubar.
- The Waters of Eternity (2011): Six shorter Dabir and Asim adventures are collected.
- The Bones of the Old Ones (2012): Dabir and Asim confront the ancient Sebitti during an unnatural winter.
- Stalking the Beast (2013): Elyana and Drelm hunt a destructive monster through the River Kingdoms.
- Beyond the Pool of Stars (2015): Salvager Mirian Raas searches flooded ruins and jungle pools in Sargava.
- Through the Gate in the Sea (2017): Mirian’s Pathfinder adventures continue.
- For the Killing of Kings (2019): Elenai discovers a forged legendary sword and uncovers a conspiracy among the Allied Realms.
- Upon the Flight of the Queen (2019): The Altenerai divide across several fronts during the Naor invasion.
- When the Goddess Wakes (2021): The Ring-Sworn Trilogy concludes with a race to stop the awakening of a destructive goddess.
- Lord of a Shattered Land (2023): Hanuvar begins traveling through the Dervan Empire to free the surviving Volani.
- The City of Marble and Blood (2023): Hanuvar moves deeper into enemy territory while political murders and a magical curse complicate his mission.
- Shadow of the Smoking Mountain (2024): Hanuvar travels south as gladiators, revenants, and an ancient mage threaten another region of the empire.
This order is useful for following Jones’s career, but it is not the best way to read his fiction because it repeatedly changes worlds.
A Better Complete Reading Route
Begin with Dabir and Asim.
First: Chronicles of Sword and Sand
- The Desert of Souls: Enter Jones’s historical fantasy through his most accessible partnership.
- The Waters of Eternity: Add the shorter adventures that established Dabir and Asim.
- The Bones of the Old Ones: Complete the published novel sequence.
Second: Ring-Sworn
- For the Killing of Kings: Move into larger epic fantasy.
- Upon the Flight of the Queen: Continue through war and conspiracy.
- When the Goddess Wakes: Finish the completed trilogy.
Third: Hanuvar
- Lord of a Shattered Land: Meet the aging general during his campaign of liberation.
- The City of Marble and Blood: Follow him deeper into the Dervan Empire.
- Shadow of the Smoking Mountain: Reach the latest published point in his unfinished larger mission.
Fourth: Pathfinder
- Plague of Shadows: Begin Elyana’s Pathfinder adventures.
- Stalking the Beast: Continue with Elyana and Drelm.
- Beyond the Pool of Stars: Switch to Mirian Raas.
- Through the Gate in the Sea: Complete Mirian’s published pair.
This route keeps every continuity together.
Which Howard Andrew Jones Series Should You Read First?
Read Dabir and Asim for Historical Fantasy
Begin with The Desert of Souls when you want sword-and-sorcery grounded in the eighth-century Islamic world.
The partnership between a thoughtful scholar and a capable swordsman gives the stories both investigation and action.
Read Ring-Sworn for Epic Fantasy
Begin with For the Killing of Kings when you want armies, elite warriors, magical artifacts, political conspiracy, multiple viewpoints, and a fully completed trilogy.
This is Jones’s most conventional long-form epic.
Read Hanuvar for Sword-and-Sorcery
Begin with Lord of a Shattered Land when you prefer shorter adventures connected by one protagonist and one long-term mission.
Hanuvar is older and more experienced than many fantasy heroes. He often survives through planning, deception, diplomacy, and knowledge rather than simply defeating opponents in combat.
Read Pathfinder for Licensed Adventure
Begin with Plague of Shadows for a traditional adventuring-party quest.
Begin with Beyond the Pool of Stars instead if jungle exploration, salvage, underwater ruins, and colonial conflict sound more appealing.
Howard Andrew Jones as an Editor
Jones was also important as an editor and scholar of adventure fiction.
He assembled and edited eight collections of historical adventure stories by Harold Lamb for the University of Nebraska Press and helped bring previously difficult-to-find Lamb fiction back into print.
He also served as managing editor of Black Gate and later edited Tales from the Magician’s Skull.
Those books and magazines are significant to his career but are not Howard Andrew Jones novels, so they should remain outside a normal “books in order” reading list.
Latest Howard Andrew Jones Book
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain (2024): Published October 1, 2024, this is Howard Andrew Jones’s final published novel during his lifetime.
It is Book Three of the Chronicles of Hanuvar.
Jones died on January 16, 2025 at age 56 after being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2024.
As of August 7, 2026, no new posthumous Howard Andrew Jones novel has been officially scheduled by a publisher.
What Happened to Hanuvar Books Four and Five?
Baen announced the Chronicles of Hanuvar as a five-book series in 2022.
Jones completed and published the first three books. He publicly stated in 2024 that he was working on Book Four.
He died before the five-volume plan was completed.
There have been informal discussions among readers about unfinished material and the possibility of someone someday continuing the series, but no reliable publisher announcement confirms a fourth or fifth volume.
For reference purposes, the stable published series ends with Shadow of the Smoking Mountain.
Series Completion Status
Chronicles of Sword and Sand
Published material complete but open-ended: Two novels and one story collection exist.
No third Dabir and Asim novel was published.
Ring-Sworn Trilogy
Complete: Three novels, ending with When the Goddess Wakes.
Chronicles of Hanuvar
Incomplete: Three of a planned five books were published.
The latest volume is Shadow of the Smoking Mountain.
Pathfinder, Elyana and Drelm
Two novels published: Plague of Shadows and Stalking the Beast form the available pair.
Pathfinder, Mirian Raas
Two novels published: Beyond the Pool of Stars and Through the Gate in the Sea form a direct two-book sequence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Howard Andrew Jones book should I read first?
Start with The Desert of Souls.
It is a complete novel, introduces Jones’s Dabir and Asim partnership, and provides an excellent example of his historical sword-and-sorcery style.
What is the Dabir and Asim reading order?
Read The Desert of Souls, The Waters of Eternity, and The Bones of the Old Ones.
Is The Waters of Eternity a novel?
No.
It is a collection of six shorter Dabir and Asim adventures.
Can I skip The Waters of Eternity?
Yes.
The two full-length novels can be read together without the collection, although the stories provide more time with Dabir and Asim.
Is there a third Desert of Souls novel?
No third Dabir and Asim novel was published.
What is the Ring-Sworn order?
Read For the Killing of Kings, Upon the Flight of the Queen, and When the Goddess Wakes.
Is Ring-Sworn complete?
Yes.
When the Goddess Wakes concludes the trilogy.
What is the Hanuvar order?
Read Lord of a Shattered Land, The City of Marble and Blood, and Shadow of the Smoking Mountain.
Is Lord of a Shattered Land a novel or collection?
It is published as a book in the Chronicles of Hanuvar series, but its structure is deliberately episodic.
Its chapters function as connected sword-and-sorcery adventures, and several originated as independently published short stories.
Should I read the old Hanuvar stories before Lord of a Shattered Land?
No.
Several were incorporated directly into the book. Reading them separately first can simply duplicate material.
Is Chronicles of Hanuvar complete?
No.
The original publishing deal called for five books, but only three were published before Jones’s death.
Was Howard Andrew Jones writing Hanuvar Book Four?
Yes.
He publicly said in 2024 that he was working on the fourth book.
Will Hanuvar Book Four be published?
No confirmed publication has been announced as of August 7, 2026.
It should therefore remain outside the numbered reading order.
Does Hanuvar end on a huge cliffhanger?
The larger mission remains unfinished, but the books are episodic.
Many individual adventures resolve within their own chapters or volumes, so the experience is less abrupt than an unfinished conventional epic fantasy series.
What Pathfinder books did Howard Andrew Jones write?
He wrote Plague of Shadows, Stalking the Beast, Beyond the Pool of Stars, and Through the Gate in the Sea.
Are all four Pathfinder books one series?
Not exactly.
Plague of Shadows and Stalking the Beast center on Elyana and Drelm.
Beyond the Pool of Stars and Through the Gate in the Sea center on Mirian Raas and her companions.
Do I need the Elyana books before Beyond the Pool of Stars?
No.
Mirian’s story provides a new entry point.
Is Pathfinder connected to Hanuvar?
No.
Pathfinder Tales belongs to Golarion, a licensed game setting. Hanuvar is Jones’s original fantasy world.
What was Howard Andrew Jones’s final novel?
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain, published October 1, 2024.
Did Howard Andrew Jones publish any books in 2025 or 2026?
No new full-length Howard Andrew Jones novel has been confirmed for publication in either year as of August 7, 2026.
The Reading Order to Keep
Begin with The Desert of Souls, continue through The Waters of Eternity, and finish the published Dabir and Asim sequence with The Bones of the Old Ones.
Move next to the completed Ring-Sworn Trilogy if you want one fully resolved epic story.
Then read the three Hanuvar books in publication order. Do not hunt down the earlier Hanuvar magazine stories first, because several were incorporated into the opening book. The only important warning is that the planned five-book series remains unfinished.
Keep the four Pathfinder novels on a separate shelf. Read the first two for Elyana and Drelm, then begin a fresh storyline with Beyond the Pool of Stars and continue to Through the Gate in the Sea.
For a single recommendation, start with The Desert of Souls. For Jones’s most distinctive later work, start with Lord of a Shattered Land.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.