Mike Resnick wrote across science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, mystery, steampunk, media tie-ins, short fiction, and anthology editing. The largest portion of his science fiction belongs to an enormous future history commonly called the Birthright Universe.
That label needs some explanation before any reading list is useful.
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Santiago, the Oracle trilogy, the Widowmaker books, Starship, Dead Enders, Tales of the Velvet Comet, Chronicles of a Distant World, and several standalone novels all occupy the same broad future. They are separated by centuries or even millennia, and most do not require the others first.
So the best Mike Resnick reading order is not one seventy-book timeline.
Read the individual subseries in publication order. Use Birthright: The Book of Man when you want to understand how those scattered stories fit into the larger rise and decline of humanity.
The Mike Resnick Reading Map
If you want one starting recommendation, choose according to the kind of Resnick you want.
For far-future adventure:
- Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future
For military space opera:
- Starship: Mutiny
For Resnick’s broad future history:
- Birthright: The Book of Man
For his Africa-influenced science fiction:
- Kirinyaga
- Or Paradise: A Chronicle of a Distant World
For steampunk westerns:
- The Buntline Special
For humorous fantasy:
- Adventures, the first Lucifer Jones book
- Or Stalking the Unicorn, the first John Justin Mallory novel
Readers intending to explore everything should still resist strict chronological order. The Birthright Universe covers too much fictional time for that approach to improve a first reading.
Birthright Universe Explained
Birthright: The Book of Man (1982) establishes the framework for much of Resnick’s science fiction.
It is structured as a future history rather than as the opening chapter of a conventional series. Its stories trace humanity’s expansion across the galaxy, the growth of successive political systems, and eventual decline.
Numerous later Resnick novels take place at specific points inside that history.
Major Birthright Universe groups include:
- Tales of the Galactic Midway
- Tales of the Velvet Comet
- Chronicles of a Distant World
- Starship
- Santiago
- Oracle
- Dead Enders
- Widowmaker
Several standalone novels, including The Soul Eater, The Dark Lady, A Miracle of Rare Design, and A Hunger in the Soul, also belong to the wider setting.
They share history and background more often than characters.
That is why reading all of them in strict fictional chronology is unnecessary.
Where Should Birthright: The Book of Man Be Read?
There are two sensible choices.
For Context First
Read Birthright: The Book of Man before exploring the other Birthright Universe series.
This gives you the overall shape of Resnick’s future and makes references to the Republic, Democracy, Oligarchy, and other periods easier to place.
For Story First
Begin with a more conventional novel such as Santiago or Starship: Mutiny, then read Birthright once you decide you want the larger historical framework.
This is often the more accessible route.
Birthright is important background, but it is not a required Book 1 before every novel in the universe.
Santiago Books in Order
The Santiago Saga contains two novels.
- Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future (1986)
- The Return of Santiago (2003)
Read them in this order.
The first follows bounty hunters and larger-than-life figures on the galactic frontier while building the mythology surrounding the outlaw Santiago.
The Return of Santiago revisits that legend more than a century later in the fictional timeline.
Status: Complete two-book sequence
Continuity: Birthright Universe
Legends of Santiago
Legends of Santiago is an omnibus containing:
- Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future
- The Return of Santiago
It is not a third Santiago novel.
Readers who own the omnibus already have the complete main sequence.
Oracle Trilogy Books in Order
The Oracle trilogy belongs to the same far-future setting as Santiago but follows a different central story.
Read:
- Soothsayer (1991)
- Oracle (1992)
- Prophet (1993)
The books follow Penelope Bailey, whose extraordinary ability to foresee possible futures makes her valuable and dangerous to powerful people.
The trilogy is serialized.
Do not begin with Oracle merely because its title matches the name commonly used for the series.
Status: Complete trilogy
Continuity: Birthright Universe
Does Santiago Need to Be Read Before Oracle?
No.
Santiago takes place earlier in the same enormous future history, but the Oracle trilogy stands on its own.
Readers who want the broad Birthright chronology can place them as:
- Santiago
- The Return of Santiago
- Soothsayer
- Oracle
- Prophet
For a normal reading project, treat Santiago and Oracle as separate series.
Widowmaker Books in Order
Resnick’s Widowmaker sequence contains four novels.
- The Widowmaker (1996)
- The Widowmaker Reborn (1997)
- The Widowmaker Unleashed (1998)
- A Gathering of Widowmakers (2005)
Publication order is also the correct story order.
The series begins with Jefferson Nighthawk, a legendary bounty hunter whose physical condition leads to an unusual attempt to preserve his abilities.
Later books develop the consequences of that decision.
Status: Complete published sequence
Continuity: Birthright Universe
Was Widowmaker Originally a Trilogy?
The first three books form an initial Widowmaker arc.
A Gathering of Widowmakers returned to the storyline several years later and functions as the fourth published novel.
Modern reading lists should therefore include all four.
Starship Books in Order
The Starship series follows the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt during a period of conflict in Resnick’s future history.
Read:
- Starship: Mutiny (2005)
- Starship: Pirate (2006)
- Starship: Mercenary (2007)
- Starship: Rebel (2008)
- Starship: Flagship (2009)
This is one of Resnick’s most straightforward series.
The same characters and conflicts continue across all five volumes.
Status: Complete five-book series
Continuity: Birthright Universe
There is no reason to insert unrelated Birthright novels between these books.
Dead Enders Books in Order
The Dead Enders trilogy takes place much later in the same broad future.
- The Fortress in Orion (2014)
- The Prison in Antares (2015)
- The Castle in Cassiopeia (2017)
Read all three consecutively.
The series follows an unconventional team assembled for difficult missions during another major galactic conflict.
Status: Complete trilogy
Continuity: Birthright Universe
You do not need to finish Starship, Santiago, or Widowmaker first.
They contribute historical context rather than required plot setup.
Tales of the Galactic Midway Books in Order
This early Resnick sequence consists of four novels.
- Sideshow (1982)
- The Three-Legged Hootch Dancer (1983)
- The Wild Alien Tamer (1983)
- The Best Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gunslinger in the Whole Damned Galaxy (1983)
The books concern a traveling carnival and the exploitation of alien performers.
They belong to the Birthright future but are set very early relative to most of the galactic material.
Status: Complete four-book sequence
Tales of the Galactic Midway Omnibus
The four novels have also been collected as Tales of the Galactic Midway.
That omnibus does not add a fifth novel.
Use either the individual editions or the collected edition.
Tales of the Velvet Comet Books in Order
The Velvet Comet is an enormous luxury space establishment that provides the common setting for this four-book sequence.
Read:
- Eros Ascending (1984)
- Eros at Zenith (1984)
- Eros Descending (1985)
- Eros at Nadir (1986)
Each installment moves forward through the establishment’s history.
Status: Complete four-book sequence
Continuity: Birthright Universe
Tales of the Velvet Comet Omnibus
Tales of the Velvet Comet collects all four novels.
It should not be counted as Book 5.
Chronicles of a Distant World Books in Order
This sequence is also sometimes associated with the name Galactic Comedy.
The three novels are:
- Paradise: A Chronicle of a Distant World (1989)
- Purgatory: A Chronicle of a Distant World (1993)
- Inferno: A Chronicle of a Distant World (1993, with some editions dated 1994)
The books use alien planets to examine themes related to colonialism, postcolonial government, and African history.
Paradise draws heavily on parallels with Kenya.
Purgatory uses parallels with Zimbabwe.
Inferno draws on Uganda.
The planets and immediate casts differ, so these are not a conventional trilogy about one protagonist.
Publication order is still the best sequence because the three books form a deliberate thematic progression.
Status: Complete thematic trilogy
Continuity: Birthright Universe
The Galactic Comedy Omnibus
The three Chronicles of a Distant World novels have been collected together under the Galactic Comedy name.
The omnibus contains:
- Paradise
- Purgatory
- Inferno
It is a collection of existing novels, not a fourth story.
Birthright Universe Standalone Novels
Several Resnick novels occupy the Birthright future without belonging to one of the numbered subseries.
Important examples include:
- The Soul Eater (1981)
- Walpurgis III (1982)
- The Dark Lady (1987)
- Ivory (1988)
- A Miracle of Rare Design (1994)
- A Hunger in the Soul (1998)
- The Outpost (2001)
These can generally be selected independently.
The Soul Eater
The Soul Eater follows Nicobar Lane, a hunter obsessed with an elusive alien creature.
It belongs to Resnick’s future history but does not require another series first.
Walpurgis III
Walpurgis III is another independent Birthright-era novel.
Treat it as a standalone within the shared future.
The Dark Lady
The Dark Lady is set far later in the Birthright timeline.
It is independent of the Oracle and Widowmaker sequences despite occupying the same broad universe.
Ivory
Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future moves across multiple historical periods as it traces a set of elephant tusks.
Its structure makes it especially relevant to readers interested in the complete Birthright chronology.
It is still a standalone novel.
A Miracle of Rare Design
This novel deals with humanity’s relationship with alien cultures.
It occupies the Birthright future but does not require the Velvet Comet or Distant World books.
A Hunger in the Soul
This standalone takes place between the two Santiago novels in the broad fictional chronology.
That does not make it Santiago Book 1.5.
Read it separately unless you are deliberately constructing a chronological Birthright reread.
The Outpost
The Outpost uses a collection of exaggerated frontier figures and stories inside Resnick’s far-future setting.
It is connected by universe rather than by a required preceding series.
Should You Read the Birthright Universe Chronologically?
Not for a first reading.
The chronology stretches across thousands of years, and Birthright and Ivory themselves move through multiple periods.
A strict timeline would also force you to alternate among series that were written to function independently.
A better plan is:
- Read Birthright for the big picture.
- Choose one subseries.
- Finish that subseries in publication order.
- Move to another part of the future history.
Chronological order is useful only for readers already familiar with the major books.
Kirinyaga Reading Order
Kirinyaga is one of Resnick’s best-known bodies of short fiction.
Rather than a standard novel series, it consists primarily of linked stories about a Kikuyu community attempting to preserve a traditional way of life on an artificial world.
The simplest reading route is:
- Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia (1998)
- Kilimanjaro: A Fable of Utopia (2008)
The Kirinyaga volume collects the main sequence of stories into one book.
That is the best entry point for most readers.
Do You Need to Read the Individual Kirinyaga Stories Separately?
No.
Stories such as Kirinyaga, For I Have Touched the Sky, The Manamouki, Song of a Dry River, and The Lotus and the Spear were originally published independently.
The 1998 collection brings the principal material together.
For a books-in-order guide, listing each original magazine appearance creates more confusion than value.
Read the collection.
Where Does Kilimanjaro Fit?
Kilimanjaro: A Fable of Utopia is a later related novella.
Read it after Kirinyaga.
Status: Optional but strongly connected follow-up
Lucifer Jones Books in Order
The Chronicles of Lucifer Jones are comic adventure novels following a con man and self-proclaimed preacher through exaggerated versions of different regions and adventure traditions.
Read:
- Adventures (1985)
- Exploits (1993)
- Encounters (1995)
- Hazards (2009)
- Voyages (2017)
The publication gaps are large, but the five books belong to the same character sequence.
Status: Complete published five-book series
The books are largely episodic, so continuity is less demanding than in Starship or Widowmaker.
Publication order is still the cleanest route.
John Justin Mallory Books in Order
John Justin Mallory is a private detective whose cases lead into a supernatural alternate Manhattan.
The principal books are:
- Stalking the Unicorn (1987)
- Stalking the Vampire (2008)
- Stalking the Dragon (2009)
- Stalking the Zombie (2012)
There is an important format distinction.
The first three are novels.
Stalking the Zombie is a collection of Mallory stories rather than a fourth conventional novel.
For that reason:
Included: Stalking the Unicorn, Stalking the Vampire, Stalking the Dragon
Optional collection: Stalking the Zombie
Read them in publication order.
Weird West Tales in Order
Resnick’s Weird West sequence combines historical figures with steampunk and supernatural elements.
Read:
- The Buntline Special (2010)
- The Doctor and the Kid (2011)
- The Doctor and the Rough Rider (2012)
- The Doctor and the Dinosaurs (2013)
The books use figures including Doc Holliday, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and other historical personalities inside an alternate American West.
They form one continuing setting.
Status: Complete four-book sequence
Begin with The Buntline Special. Later volumes assume you understand Resnick’s altered version of the frontier.
Eli Paxton Mystery Books in Order
Resnick also wrote a three-book mystery sequence about private investigator Eli Paxton.
- Dog in the Manger (1997)
- The Trojan Colt (2013)
- Cat on a Cold Tin Roof (2014)
The long gap between Books 1 and 2 does not indicate a reboot.
They belong to the same mystery series.
Status: Three published novels
Publication order is the natural reading order.
Dreamscape Books in Order
The Dreamscape project was planned as a trilogy.
The published books are:
- The Master of Dreams (2019)
- The Mistress of Illusions (2020)
A third volume was announced under the title:
The Lord of Nightmares
As of August 8, 2026, no reliable publication record confirms that third book as having been released.
Mike Resnick died on January 9, 2020. The Mistress of Illusions was published later that year.
For a current bibliography, the accurate status is therefore:
Published: Two books
Planned: Three books
Third book: Unpublished or not reliably confirmed
Do not list The Lord of Nightmares as an available novel.
Ganymede Books in Order
Resnick’s earliest science fiction series dates from the beginning of his career.
- The Goddess of Ganymede (1967)
- Pursuit on Ganymede (1968)
Some bibliographies give 1968 for the first book depending on edition history, but bibliographic reference sources record the original hardcover of The Goddess of Ganymede in 1967.
These planetary romances show the influence of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Status: Complete two-book sequence
They are separate from the later Birthright Universe.
Art Encounter Books
Resnick also wrote a group of short books built around encounters with famous artists.
The sequence is:
- Lady with an Alien: An Encounter with Leonardo da Vinci (2005)
- A Club in Montmartre: An Encounter with Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (2006)
- World Behind the Door: An Encounter with Salvador Dali (2007)
These are separate from his major science fiction series.
They can be read in publication order, although they are connected more by concept than by one continuing plot.
Mike Resnick Standalone Novels
Several other Resnick novels do not require a numbered series.
Redbeard
Redbeard (1969) is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel.
It is separate from Ganymede and Birthright.
The Branch
The Branch (1984) is a standalone novel.
No Birthright reading is required.
Second Contact
Second Contact (1990) is independent science fiction.
It should not be confused with a sequel simply because of the word “Second” in the title.
The Red Tape War
The Red Tape War (1991) was written with Jack L. Chalker and George Alec Effinger.
It is a collaborative standalone novel.
Dragon America
Dragon America (2005) is an alternate-history fantasy involving dragons during the American Revolutionary era.
It is separate from Weird West Tales.
Some listings use expanded subtitle styling, but it should not be split into multiple novels on that basis.
The Cassandra Project
The Cassandra Project (2012), written with Jack McDevitt, is a standalone science fiction thriller involving the history of the space program.
It is not part of the Birthright Universe.
The Gods of Sagittarius
The Gods of Sagittarius (2017), written with Eric Flint, is a separate science fiction adventure.
It does not belong to Starship or Santiago merely because it shares space-opera elements.
Media Tie-In Novels
Resnick occasionally wrote in established media universes.
These should be separated from his original series.
Battlestar Galactica
Galactica Discovers Earth (1980), written with Glen A. Larson, belongs to the original Battlestar Galactica publishing line.
It is not part of Birthright.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power (2003) is a tie-in novel featuring Lara Croft.
It belongs to the Tomb Raider franchise rather than Resnick’s original worlds.
Neither tie-in is required for a Mike Resnick series reading project unless you specifically want his franchise work.
Mike Resnick Short Story Collections
Resnick was an extremely prolific short-story writer, so a complete list of collections is much longer than his novel series list.
Notable collections include:
- Unauthorized Autobiographies
- Through Darkest Resnick with Gun and Camera
- The Alien Heart
- Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Shut Off the Sun?
- Solo Flights Through Shared Worlds
- A Safari of the Mind
- Hunting the Snark and Other Short Novels
- With a Little Help from My Friends
- New Dreams for Old
- Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks
- Blasphemy
- The Incarceration of Captain Nebula and Other Lost Futures
- Win Some, Lose Some
- Resnick’s Menagerie
- First Person Peculiar
- Away Games
- Soulmates, with Lezli Robyn
- The Hex Is In
These collections are generally optional in a novels-first reading order.
The exceptions are collections such as Kirinyaga or Stalking the Zombie, where the shorter fiction forms an identifiable recurring sequence.
Masters of the Galaxy
Masters of the Galaxy collects stories about Jake Masters in Resnick’s Birthright Universe.
The stories take place in the far future and share a protagonist.
For readers concentrating on the principal novels, the collection is optional.
For readers attempting a deeper Birthright exploration, it adds another small character sequence inside the Democracy era.
Do not mistake it for a sequel to Starship.
Mike Resnick Omnibus Editions
Several Resnick series have been republished in omnibus form.
Common examples include:
Tales of the Galactic Midway: collects all four Galactic Midway novels.
Tales of the Velvet Comet: collects all four Velvet Comet novels.
Legends of Santiago: collects Santiago and The Return of Santiago.
The Galactic Comedy: collects Paradise, Purgatory, and Inferno.
Later digital collections have also bundled series such as Widowmaker.
An omnibus does not add a new installment.
If you own the omnibus, follow the original book order inside it and do not count the individual novels again.
Mike Resnick’s Major Series at a Glance
Ganymede
- The Goddess of Ganymede
- Pursuit on Ganymede
Tales of the Galactic Midway
- Sideshow
- The Three-Legged Hootch Dancer
- The Wild Alien Tamer
- The Best Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gunslinger in the Whole Damned Galaxy
Tales of the Velvet Comet
- Eros Ascending
- Eros at Zenith
- Eros Descending
- Eros at Nadir
Lucifer Jones
- Adventures
- Exploits
- Encounters
- Hazards
- Voyages
John Justin Mallory
- Stalking the Unicorn
- Stalking the Vampire
- Stalking the Dragon
- Stalking the Zombie, story collection
Chronicles of a Distant World
- Paradise
- Purgatory
- Inferno
Oracle
- Soothsayer
- Oracle
- Prophet
Widowmaker
- The Widowmaker
- The Widowmaker Reborn
- The Widowmaker Unleashed
- A Gathering of Widowmakers
Eli Paxton
- Dog in the Manger
- The Trojan Colt
- Cat on a Cold Tin Roof
Santiago
- Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future
- The Return of Santiago
Starship
- Starship: Mutiny
- Starship: Pirate
- Starship: Mercenary
- Starship: Rebel
- Starship: Flagship
Weird West Tales
- The Buntline Special
- The Doctor and the Kid
- The Doctor and the Rough Rider
- The Doctor and the Dinosaurs
Dead Enders
- The Fortress in Orion
- The Prison in Antares
- The Castle in Cassiopeia
Dreamscape
- The Master of Dreams
- The Mistress of Illusions
The planned third volume remains unconfirmed as published.
A Practical Birthright Universe Reading Order
Readers determined to explore the larger future history can use a publication-friendly route rather than a strict year-by-year chronology.
Start with:
- Birthright: The Book of Man
Then move through complete groups:
- Tales of the Galactic Midway
- Tales of the Velvet Comet
- Chronicles of a Distant World
- Starship
- Santiago
- Oracle
- Dead Enders
- Widowmaker
Add standalones such as The Soul Eater, Ivory, The Dark Lady, A Miracle of Rare Design, A Hunger in the Soul, and The Outpost whenever you want another view of the same future.
This order is deliberately not pretending that all of those books form one continuous plot.
The connection is historical.
The individual subseries remain the real reading units.
What Was Mike Resnick’s First Science Fiction Series?
His earliest published series was Ganymede:
- The Goddess of Ganymede
- Pursuit on Ganymede
Those books appeared in the late 1960s.
After Redbeard, Resnick spent years publishing extensively under pseudonyms in other genres before returning prominently to science fiction around 1980.
His later career became much more closely associated with the Birthright Universe.
What Is Mike Resnick’s Latest Novel?
Mike Resnick died on January 9, 2020.
His final published novel-length series work was The Mistress of Illusions, the second Dreamscape book, published in 2020.
It followed:
- The Master of Dreams
- The Mistress of Illusions
The announced third volume, The Lord of Nightmares, should not be listed as published unless a reliable edition record can be confirmed.
Later publication dates attached to collections, ebooks, or omnibus editions do not necessarily represent newly written novels.
Is the Dreamscape Trilogy Complete?
No, not in published form.
Two volumes are reliably available:
- The Master of Dreams
- The Mistress of Illusions
The Lord of Nightmares was announced as the intended third volume.
As of August 8, 2026, it remains safer to label that book planned but unpublished rather than presenting it as an available conclusion.
Mike Resnick Books in Order FAQs
What Mike Resnick book should I read first?
For Resnick’s signature far-future adventure, start with Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future.
For the architecture of his wider science fiction universe, choose Birthright: The Book of Man.
For military space opera, start with Starship: Mutiny.
Are all Mike Resnick science fiction books connected?
No.
Many of his best-known science fiction novels belong to the Birthright Universe, but he also wrote unrelated science fiction, collaborations, tie-ins, fantasy, alternate history, and mystery.
Always check the individual series rather than assuming every futuristic novel shares continuity.
What is the Birthright Universe?
It is Resnick’s large future history of humanity’s expansion, political dominance, and eventual decline across the galaxy.
Birthright: The Book of Man gives the broad framework.
Santiago, Oracle, Widowmaker, Starship, Dead Enders, Velvet Comet, Galactic Midway, and Chronicles of a Distant World are among the stories situated within it.
Do I need to read Birthright first?
No.
It helps you understand the full future history, but individual series such as Santiago and Starship work on their own.
What order should I read Santiago?
Read:
- Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future
- The Return of Santiago
Is A Hunger in the Soul a Santiago book?
It occupies the same Birthright Universe and takes place between the two Santiago novels in the broad chronology.
It is not a numbered Santiago installment.
Treat it as a standalone.
What order is the Oracle trilogy?
Read:
- Soothsayer
- Oracle
- Prophet
Is Oracle connected to Santiago?
Yes, through the Birthright Universe.
It is still a separate trilogy with its own protagonist and storyline.
How many Widowmaker books are there?
Four:
- The Widowmaker
- The Widowmaker Reborn
- The Widowmaker Unleashed
- A Gathering of Widowmakers
What order are the Starship books?
Read:
- Mutiny
- Pirate
- Mercenary
- Rebel
- Flagship
The five-book series is complete.
Is Dead Enders part of Starship?
Both are part of the Birthright Universe, but Dead Enders is a separate trilogy set much later.
You do not need Starship before The Fortress in Orion.
What order are the Dead Enders books?
Read:
- The Fortress in Orion
- The Prison in Antares
- The Castle in Cassiopeia
How should I read Kirinyaga?
Begin with Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia, which collects the main connected story sequence.
Then read Kilimanjaro: A Fable of Utopia as a later related novella.
Is Kirinyaga a novel?
It is better described as a linked or mosaic collection of stories that together form a larger narrative.
Readers do not need to find the stories individually before reading the book.
What order are the Weird West books?
Read:
- The Buntline Special
- The Doctor and the Kid
- The Doctor and the Rough Rider
- The Doctor and the Dinosaurs
What order are the Lucifer Jones books?
Read:
- Adventures
- Exploits
- Encounters
- Hazards
- Voyages
What order are the John Justin Mallory books?
Use:
- Stalking the Unicorn
- Stalking the Vampire
- Stalking the Dragon
- Stalking the Zombie
The final item is a story collection rather than another full novel.
What order are the Eli Paxton mysteries?
Read:
- Dog in the Manger
- The Trojan Colt
- Cat on a Cold Tin Roof
Is The Mistress of Illusions Mike Resnick’s final novel?
It is the latest reliably confirmed published novel in his Dreamscape sequence and appeared in 2020, the year of Resnick’s death.
No later completed Dreamscape novel has been reliably confirmed as published.
Was The Lord of Nightmares published?
It was announced as the planned third Dreamscape book.
As of August 8, 2026, it should still be treated as unpublished unless a verifiable edition appears.
Did Mike Resnick write Battlestar Galactica?
He co-wrote Galactica Discovers Earth with Glen A. Larson.
It is a Battlestar Galactica tie-in and separate from Resnick’s original universes.
Did Mike Resnick write a Tomb Raider novel?
Yes.
He wrote Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power.
It is a franchise tie-in, not part of one of his original series.
Where Mike Resnick Makes the Most Sense
The easiest mistake is to see “Birthright Universe” and assume you need a forty-book master sequence.
You do not.
Start with Santiago if you want the frontier mythology and bounty-hunter side of Resnick’s future. Start with Starship: Mutiny if you prefer military space opera. Read Birthright: The Book of Man when you want the historical framework connecting those distant eras.
After that, keep each branch intact.
Read the Oracle trilogy straight through. Read all four Widowmaker books together. Keep the five Starship novels together. Treat Dead Enders as its own later trilogy. Read Velvet Comet, Galactic Midway, and Chronicles of a Distant World as complete smaller sequences.
Outside Birthright, Kirinyaga, Lucifer Jones, John Justin Mallory, Weird West, Eli Paxton, Ganymede, and Dreamscape each have their own boundaries.
The reliable rule for Mike Resnick is therefore not strict chronology. It is series first, shared future second.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.