S. M. Stirling is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy writer best known for the Emberverse, the Nantucket Trilogy, the Draka novels, and a long career of alternate history, military science fiction, time travel, and collaborative fiction.
His bibliography is unusually interconnected in places but completely separate in others. Nantucket and the Emberverse are parallel consequences of the same mysterious Event. Make the Darkness Light and the upcoming Pax Astra share another timeline. The Draka, Black Chamber, Shadowspawn, Lords of Creation, and most of his collaborations are separate continuities.
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The easiest way to read Stirling is therefore by world rather than by strict career publication order.
Quick Answer: Where to Start
- Start with Island in the Sea of Time if you want time travel and alternate history. Nantucket is transported from 1998 into the Bronze Age, forcing modern Americans to survive among ancient civilizations.
- Start with Dies the Fire if you want post-apocalyptic fantasy. Modern technology suddenly stops working, leaving survivors to build new societies in the Pacific Northwest.
- Start with Marching Through Georgia if you want darker military alternate history centered on the expansionist, slaveholding Domination of the Draka.
- Start with Black Chamber if you want espionage and twentieth-century alternate history.
- Start with To Turn the Tide if you want Stirling’s newest time travel series, in which modern historians become stranded in the Roman Empire.
The strongest overall starting point is Island in the Sea of Time. It introduces the Event whose other consequence creates the Emberverse.
Nantucket and the Emberverse: How They Connect
In 1998, an unexplained Event removes Nantucket from the modern world.
One branch of the story follows Nantucket itself after the island is sent into the Bronze Age. That is the Nantucket Trilogy.
The other branch follows the modern world that Nantucket left behind. At the same moment, electricity, internal combustion, gunpowder, explosives, and other high-energy technologies stop functioning. That world becomes the Emberverse.
Neither trilogy is technically a sequel to the other. They are parallel outcomes of the same Event.
For the broadest understanding, read the Nantucket Trilogy first and then begin Dies the Fire.
Nantucket Trilogy Books in Order
Island in the Sea of Time
Island in the Sea of Time (1998): The island of Nantucket and a Coast Guard training ship are transported from 1998 to roughly 1250 BC, forcing residents to rebuild technology and diplomacy while deciding how much they should change ancient history.
This is the required opening of the trilogy.
Against the Tide of Years
Against the Tide of Years (1999): Nantucket expands its alliances and industrial capacity while renegade William Walker builds his own power base and attempts to reshape Bronze Age empires for personal domination.
The conflict becomes international rather than purely local.
On the Oceans of Eternity
On the Oceans of Eternity (2000): Nantucket and its allies launch the final campaign against Walker as modern technology, ancient armies, and competing visions of history collide across several civilizations.
The trilogy is complete.
Blood Wolf
Blood Wolf (2004): Set roughly fifteen years after On the Oceans of Eternity, this short story returns to the altered Bronze Age and shows another episode in the civilization created after Nantucket’s arrival.
It is optional and should be read after the trilogy.
Recommended Nantucket Order
- Island in the Sea of Time (1998): Nantucket is transported to the Bronze Age and begins rebuilding.
- Against the Tide of Years (1999): Walker’s rival civilization turns survival into a geopolitical struggle.
- On the Oceans of Eternity (2000): The major Nantucket conflict reaches its conclusion.
- Blood Wolf (2004): Return later for a shorter post-trilogy story.
The Emberverse Books in Order
The Emberverse begins in the modern world immediately after the Event.
The Change disables technologies based on electricity, high pressures, explosives, and rapid combustion. Most modern infrastructure collapses, and enormous numbers of people die.
The surviving communities gradually become kingdoms, clans, religious orders, military republics, and other societies influenced by the beliefs of their founders.
The full main sequence contains fifteen novels.
Emberverse I: The Change Trilogy
Dies the Fire
Dies the Fire (2004): Pilot Mike Havel and musician Juniper Mackenzie struggle to survive after modern technology stops working, while Norman Arminger builds a violent feudal state around Portland.
The book establishes the Change and the principal Oregon communities.
The Protector’s War
The Protector’s War (2005): Several years after the Change, Montival’s future powers prepare for renewed conflict with Arminger while survivors in Britain show how completely the old global order has disappeared.
The political structures created in the first book become more permanent.
A Meeting at Corvallis
A Meeting at Corvallis (2006): The communities of Oregon enter open war against the Portland Protective Association as Arminger’s ambitions threaten the region’s remaining independence.
This completes the first Emberverse trilogy.
Pronouncing Doom
Pronouncing Doom (2013): Juniper Mackenzie presides over a difficult legal and moral judgment in the early post-Change community.
The novella is best read after A Meeting at Corvallis.
Emberverse II: The Sunrise Lands
The series then jumps forward roughly one generation. Children who grew up after the Change begin taking the central roles.
The Sunrise Lands
The Sunrise Lands (2007): Rudi Mackenzie and his companions leave Oregon on a cross-continent quest connected to Nantucket and the mysterious powers behind the Change.
The book begins the second major era.
The Scourge of God
The Scourge of God (2008): Rudi’s party travels through a transformed western and central North America while conflict with the Church Universal and Triumphant becomes increasingly dangerous.
The supernatural dimension of the Change becomes much more explicit.
The Sword of the Lady
The Sword of the Lady (2009): Rudi continues toward Nantucket and the object tied to his destiny while alliances and enemies converge around the quest.
The novel completes the journey east but not the wider war.
Something for Yew
Something for Yew (2007): This shorter Emberverse story explores another corner of the post-Change world and the customs that have developed since technological collapse.
It is optional and can be read during or after the Sunrise Lands books.
A Murder in Eddsford
A Murder in Eddsford (2008): A murder investigation in post-Change England shows how law, society, and local power evolved after modern institutions disappeared.
The novella is supplementary rather than part of Rudi’s main quest.
Ancient Ways
Ancient Ways (2010): A warrior journey in the transformed world explores older traditions that have gained new practical and spiritual significance after the Change.
Read it after the Sunrise Lands trilogy for the easiest context.
Emberverse III: Montival
The High King of Montival
The High King of Montival (2010): Rudi returns west as Artos, carrying the Sword and preparing the growing realm of Montival for war against the Prophet and Boise.
The quest becomes a campaign for political unity.
The Tears of the Sun
The Tears of the Sun (2011): Montival’s leaders prepare for the decisive conflict while the novel fills in important events that occurred during Rudi’s absence.
The book expands both family and political consequences of the quest.
Lord of Mountains
Lord of Mountains (2012): Artos leads the final major struggle against the forces threatening Montival and confronts the destiny associated with the Sword.
The principal Prophet conflict reaches its climax.
Emberverse IV: The Sacrifice Book
The Given Sacrifice
The Given Sacrifice (2013): Artos faces the personal cost required to secure Montival’s future as the conflict involving the Powers moves toward its conclusion.
The book can be treated as the final volume of the Montival arc.
Do not skip it after Lord of Mountains.
Emberverse V: Rudi’s Children
The last five novels move the focus to the next generation, particularly Crown Princess Órlaith and Prince John.
The Golden Princess
The Golden Princess (2014): Órlaith Mackenzie becomes central to a new conflict when events involving Japan and supernatural forces draw Montival into another international struggle.
The book begins the final Emberverse subseries.
The Desert and the Blade
The Desert and the Blade (2015): Órlaith travels westward across the Pacific sphere while alliances with Japan and confrontations with new supernatural enemies reshape the conflict.
The series expands beyond North America.
Prince of Outcasts
Prince of Outcasts (2016): Prince John survives a disastrous voyage and finds himself in the island chains of Southeast Asia, where pirates, local powers, and supernatural threats force him into leadership.
John becomes a major viewpoint rather than simply Órlaith’s younger brother.
The Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples (2017): Órlaith, John, and their allies continue confronting the malign power spreading through Asia as the struggle draws together Pacific kingdoms and post-Change cultures.
The conflict moves toward Mongolia and the interior of Asia.
The Sky-Blue Wolves
The Sky-Blue Wolves (2018): Órlaith and Japanese Empress Reiko confront the power behind the Yellow Raja while Prince John remains endangered and a resurgent Mongol empire enters the struggle.
This is the fifteenth and final main Emberverse novel.
Complete Main Emberverse Reading Order
- Dies the Fire
- The Protector’s War
- A Meeting at Corvallis
- The Sunrise Lands
- The Scourge of God
- The Sword of the Lady
- The High King of Montival
- The Tears of the Sun
- Lord of Mountains
- The Given Sacrifice
- The Golden Princess
- The Desert and the Blade
- Prince of Outcasts
- The Sea Peoples
- The Sky-Blue Wolves
The shorter Emberverse fiction is optional and can be added after the main arc in which it belongs.
Is the Emberverse Complete?
Yes.
The Sky-Blue Wolves concludes the fifteen-novel main sequence.
The world remains large enough for additional stories, and the anthology The Change includes fiction by other writers set in Stirling’s universe, but the principal novel series has a published ending.
The Change Anthology
The Change (2015): This multi-author anthology collects stories set in the Emberverse, exploring regions and characters outside the central novels.
It is optional.
Read it after at least the original Dies the Fire trilogy, and preferably after more of the main series, because the setting’s cultures will be easier to recognize.
Make the Darkness Light Books in Order
Make the Darkness Light is Stirling’s newest solo series.
A group of modern historians is sent from 2032 into the Roman Empire during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Their objective quickly changes from survival to intentionally altering Roman history.
To Turn the Tide
To Turn the Tide (2024): American historian Arthur Vandenberg and four graduate students are transported to Pannonia in 165 CE with books, tools, seeds, precious materials, and knowledge that could transform the Roman Empire.
The group must survive while deciding how aggressively to accelerate ancient technology and reform.
The Winds of Fate
The Winds of Fate (2025): Artorius and his companions learn that another modern group has appeared in Han China, creating the possibility that both Rome and China will industrialize centuries early and become strategic rivals.
The second novel raises the stakes from Roman reform to global alternate history.
Read it directly after To Turn the Tide.
Is Make the Darkness Light Complete?
No final book count has been confirmed.
Two novels are currently published:
- To Turn the Tide
- The Winds of Fate
No third Make the Darkness Light novel had a confirmed publication date as of August 7, 2026.
Pax Astra Books in Order
Pax Astra is a new science fiction series set far in the future of the timeline created by Make the Darkness Light.
The Roman civilization influenced by Artorius eventually reaches the stars.
Rome to the Stars
Rome to the Stars (Expected October 6, 2026): Co-written with Melissa Olthoff, the novel follows a far-future Roman civilization expanding into space and confronting the political and military problems created by an empire that survived into an interstellar age.
It is Book One of Pax Astra.
The novel remains upcoming as of August 7, 2026.
Readers can approach it as a new science fiction entry point, but To Turn the Tide and The Winds of Fate provide the historical origin of its Rome.
Tales from the Black Chamber Books in Order
The Black Chamber series takes place in an alternate twentieth century where Theodore Roosevelt returns to the presidency in 1912.
The United States develops an aggressive intelligence service called the Black Chamber. Agents Luz O’Malley and Ciara Whelan become the central characters.
Black Chamber
Black Chamber (2018): Black Chamber operative Luz O’Malley infiltrates a German operation during an alternate First World War in which chemical and technological weapons could destroy entire nations.
The novel establishes Roosevelt’s altered America and Luz’s covert career.
Theater of Spies
Theater of Spies (2019): Luz and Ciara return to Europe as espionage, new weapons, and German strategy threaten the United States and its allies.
Their relationship becomes more central while the intelligence war expands.
To the Rescue
To the Rescue (2019): This shorter Black Chamber story adds another mission involving the agents and the altered political world around them.
It is optional.
Shadows of Annihilation
Shadows of Annihilation (2020): Luz and Ciara protect American strategic facilities while both sides of the war possess weapons capable of mass annihilation.
The novel develops the unstable deterrence created by the earlier conflicts.
Daggers in Darkness
Daggers in Darkness (2021): Luz and Ciara investigate murders, smuggling, Chinese antiquities, and a conspiracy stretching from San Francisco to Shanghai.
This is the fourth published novel.
The Warlord of the Steppes
The Warlord of the Steppes: Luz and Ciara continue into China and Central Asia as the Black Chamber timeline moves into the early 1920s.
The book has been delayed.
The January 1, 2099 date shown on some listings is a placeholder, not a meaningful publication schedule.
As of August 7, 2026, The Warlord of the Steppes remains unpublished.
Black Chamber Reading Order
- Black Chamber
- Theater of Spies
- To the Rescue, optional
- Shadows of Annihilation
- Daggers in Darkness
- The Warlord of the Steppes, unpublished
The series is therefore still open.
The Lords of Creation Books in Order
The Lords of Creation imagines that Venus and Mars are habitable worlds filled with native civilizations, prehistoric creatures, and humanlike peoples.
The premise deliberately revisits old planetary romance through twentieth-century science and Cold War politics.
The Sky People
The Sky People (2006): American explorers on Venus discover a world of dinosaurs, human civilizations, and mysteries that suggest someone deliberately terraformed and populated the planet.
The adventure combines Cold War rivalry with classic Venusian planetary romance.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings (2008): The focus shifts to Mars, where human explorers encounter sophisticated native societies, ancient technology, and a civilization unlike the Venusian cultures.
The book broadens the mystery of who created both worlds.
Swords of Zar-Tu-Kan
Swords of Zar-Tu-Kan (2013): This shorter story returns to the Lords of Creation setting for another planetary adventure involving the civilizations created by the ancient terraformers.
It is optional.
The Lords of Creation
The Lords of Creation (2025): The long-awaited third novel brings the Venusian and Martian mysteries together and completes the larger question of the ancient beings responsible for creating the two inhabited planets.
This is a new novel, not an omnibus.
The title matches the name of the series, which can cause confusion.
Is Lords of Creation Complete?
Yes.
The publication of The Lords of Creation in 2025 turned the former two-book sequence into a completed trilogy.
The 2025 editions of The Sky People and In the Courts of the Crimson Kings are reissues, not new installments.
Shadowspawn Books in Order
Shadowspawn is an urban fantasy series about a hidden human subspecies whose abilities helped create legends of vampires and werewolves.
A Taint in the Blood
A Taint in the Blood (2010): Adrian Brézé becomes involved with the Shadowspawn and discovers the brutal hidden society that has manipulated human civilization from behind the scenes.
The novel establishes the secret conflict and Adrian’s unusual heritage.
The Council of Shadows
The Council of Shadows (2011): Adrian’s struggle expands into the institutions that govern the Shadowspawn as rival factions compete for power and control over humanity.
The second book raises the conflict beyond one family.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and Suffering (2011): This shorter Shadowspawn story explores another violent episode involving the hidden predators and people who oppose them.
It is optional.
Shadows of Falling Night
Shadows of Falling Night (2013): Adrian and his allies confront the wider Shadowspawn power structure as the conflict threatens to become open war.
This is the third published novel.
The trilogy is complete as the currently published sequence.
Draka Books in Order
The Draka series is one of Stirling’s darkest alternate histories.
It imagines British Loyalists settling in southern Africa after the American Revolution and gradually creating the Domination of the Draka, a militarized slave empire dedicated to conquest.
The books depict the Draka as a dystopian civilization rather than a conventional heroic society.
Marching Through Georgia
Marching Through Georgia (1988): During an alternate Second World War, Draka forces under Eric von Shrakenberg fight Nazi Germany through the Caucasus as the Domination expands its influence.
The novel introduces the Draka at the height of military power.
Under the Yoke
Under the Yoke (1989): The story shifts toward people living under Draka occupation, showing the machinery of slavery, resistance, and assimilation behind the empire’s battlefield victories.
The cost of Draka rule becomes the central focus.
The Stone Dogs
The Stone Dogs (1990): The conflict between the Draka and the remaining free powers develops into an alternate Cold War in which nuclear weapons and strategic technology threaten civilization.
The original trilogy reaches its large-scale geopolitical conclusion.
Drakon
Drakon (1996): A genetically modified Draka from a far-future Domination timeline arrives in another version of late twentieth-century Earth, bringing the threat of Draka ideology and biotechnology into a new world.
The book works as a later continuation rather than a fourth direct wartime installment.
The Domination
The Domination (1999): This omnibus collects Marching Through Georgia, Under the Yoke, and The Stone Dogs with some additional connecting material.
It does not include Drakon.
Drakas!
Drakas! (2000): Stirling edited this multi-author anthology of stories set in the Draka universe.
It contains no new principal Draka novel by Stirling and is optional.
Recommended Draka Order
Read Marching Through Georgia, Under the Yoke, The Stone Dogs, and then Drakon.
Readers using The Domination omnibus already own the first three novels.
The General Books by S. M. Stirling and David Drake
The General is military science fiction based loosely on the career of Byzantine general Belisarius.
David Drake created the detailed story outlines, while Stirling developed the early novels.
The first five books follow Raj Whitehall on Bellevue.
The Forge
The Forge (1991): Officer Raj Whitehall discovers the ancient battle computer Center, which tells him that only a campaign of planetary reunification can prevent Bellevue from falling into another age of chaos.
Raj begins the military career that will transform his world.
The Hammer
The Hammer (1992): Raj’s victories increase both his strategic importance and the paranoia of political leaders who fear that their most successful general may become a rival.
The campaign for Bellevue continues.
The Anvil
The Anvil (1993): Raj draws closer to unifying the planet while the ruler he serves becomes increasingly willing to destroy him rather than tolerate his popularity.
Military success creates a domestic political crisis.
The Steel
The Steel (1993): Raj continues the wars required to reunify Bellevue while Center’s long-term plan increasingly clashes with the ambitions and survival instincts of existing rulers.
The series moves toward its final campaign.
The Sword
The Sword (1995): Raj’s Bellevue campaign reaches its conclusion as the work of political and technological restoration prepares the world for a future beyond its long collapse.
This closes the original Raj Whitehall sequence.
General Follow-On Novels by Stirling and Drake
The Chosen
The Chosen (1996): Copies of Raj and Center’s personalities guide new human agents on Visager, where they attempt to stop the militaristic Chosen from unifying the planet into an expansionist dictatorship.
The book begins a new planetary story within the same larger framework.
The Reformer
The Reformer (1999): Raj and Center assist Adrian Gellert on Hafardine, a world whose civilization has fallen further and must be reshaped through reform, warfare, and political manipulation.
This is Stirling’s final original General novel.
Later General books were developed by other writers.
General Omnibus Editions
Warlord (2003): Contains The Forge and The Hammer.
Conqueror (2003): Contains The Anvil, The Steel, and The Sword.
Hope Reborn (2013): Contains The Forge and The Hammer.
Hope Rearmed (2014): Contains The Anvil and The Steel.
Hope Renewed (2014): Contains The Sword and The Chosen.
Hope Reformed (2014): Contains The Reformer plus The Tyrant, which was developed by Eric Flint rather than Stirling.
These are collected editions, not additional Stirling novels.
Fifth Millennium Books in Order
The Fifth Millennium is an early post-apocalyptic fantasy setting shared with Shirley Meier and Karen Wehrstein.
Civilization has rebuilt thousands of years after a technological collapse, producing cultures with medieval technology, magic, and remnants of lost history.
Snowbrother
Snowbrother (1985): Warrior Shkai’ra becomes involved in a brutal conflict in the Fifth Millennium, establishing the world’s mix of barbarian cultures, magic, and post-collapse societies.
This was Stirling’s first published novel.
The Sharpest Edge
The Sharpest Edge (1986): Co-written with Shirley Meier, the novel brings Shkai’ra together with Megan, a thief and illusionist, as rival magical powers threaten the stability of the Fehinnan Empire.
The book was later revised.
Saber and Shadow
Saber and Shadow (1992): This is the revised and expanded edition of The Sharpest Edge, not a separate sequel.
New readers should choose this version instead of buying both.
The Cage
The Cage (1989): Megan and Shkai’ra seek revenge after merchant Habiku destroys Megan’s trading house and sells her into slavery.
The story continues their partnership in the Fifth Millennium.
Shadow’s Son
Shadow’s Son (1991): Co-written with Shirley Meier and Karen Wehrstein, the novel continues the shared world through family, captivity, and political conflicts connected to the earlier books.
This is Stirling’s final principal Fifth Millennium novel.
Recommended Fifth Millennium Order
- Snowbrother
- Saber and Shadow
- The Cage
- Shadow’s Son
Use Saber and Shadow in place of The Sharpest Edge.
Other Fifth Millennium novels by Meier and Wehrstein continue the setting without Stirling as coauthor.
Flight Engineer Books in Order
These novels were co-written with James Doohan.
The Rising
The Rising (1996): Former ace pilot Peter Raeder becomes flight engineer aboard the carrier Invincible, where he must confront both enemy forces and a traitor within his own crew.
The novel begins the military space opera trilogy.
The Privateer
The Privateer (1999): Raeder’s career moves into privateering and covert operations as the interstellar war develops beyond conventional fleet action.
The series expands its political and military scope.
The Independent Command
The Independent Command (2000): Raeder receives greater command responsibility as the conflict reaches its final stage and he must operate with less direct support.
This completes the trilogy.
Brainships Books by Anne McCaffrey and S. M. Stirling
The City Who Fought
The City Who Fought (1993): Space station shellperson Simeon and his new partner Channa Hap must defend the station and refugees from brutal Kolnari raiders.
The novel belongs to Anne McCaffrey’s Brainships universe.
The Ship Avenged
The Ship Avenged (1997): Stirling returns to characters and consequences connected to the Kolnari conflict in another Brainships adventure.
Read it after The City Who Fought.
The City and the Ship
The City and the Ship (2004): This omnibus collects The City Who Fought and The Ship Avenged.
It adds no third story.
CoDominium and Prince Books With Jerry Pournelle
Go Tell the Spartans
Go Tell the Spartans (1991): Co-written with Jerry Pournelle, the novel follows military and political conflict on Sparta within Pournelle’s CoDominium future history.
It belongs to the broader Falkenberg and Empire of Man setting.
Prince of Sparta
Prince of Sparta (1993): The struggle on Sparta continues as political factions and military forces fight over the planet’s future.
Read it after Go Tell the Spartans.
The Prince
The Prince (2002): This large collection combines the Sparta novels with other Falkenberg material by Pournelle.
It is an omnibus rather than a new sequel.
The Children’s Hour
The Children’s Hour (1991): Co-written with Jerry Pournelle, this Man-Kzin Wars novel combines shorter stories about humanity’s conflict with the Kzinti in Larry Niven’s Known Space universe.
It is licensed shared-universe fiction.
The later Houses of the Kzinti collection reprints this material alongside Dean Ing’s work.
The Rose Sea
The Rose Sea (1994): Co-written with Holly Lisle, this standalone fantasy follows characters caught in a magical conflict centered on a mysterious sea and the powers surrounding it.
It does not connect to Stirling’s other fantasy settings.
Conquistador
Conquistador (2003): A portal discovered after the Second World War connects California to an alternate Earth where Europeans never conquered the Americas, allowing a secret colonial society to grow on the other side.
The novel is a complete standalone alternate history.
The Peshawar Lancers
The Peshawar Lancers (2002): After comet impacts devastate the Northern Hemisphere in the nineteenth century, the British Empire relocates its center to India, creating an alternate 2025 shaped by imperial politics, espionage, and Central Asian rivalry.
The novel is a standalone.
Shikari in Galveston
Shikari in Galveston (2002): This novella takes place in the same alternate world and follows another dangerous adventure shaped by the changed geography and politics of the Peshawar Lancers timeline.
Read it after the novel.
Terminator 2 Trilogy in Order
Stirling wrote an authorized continuation of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
T2: Infiltrator
T2: Infiltrator (2001): Sarah and John Connor discover that the threat behind Skynet has not disappeared and confront a new infiltration plan involving advanced Terminator technology.
The book begins Stirling’s alternate continuation of the film.
T2: Rising Storm
T2: Rising Storm (2002): The Connors continue trying to prevent Judgment Day as Skynet’s creation becomes harder to stop and new allies and enemies enter the conflict.
Read it second.
T2: The Future War
T2: The Future War (2003): The story reaches the future war between humanity and Skynet, bringing Stirling’s Terminator trilogy to its conclusion.
The trilogy is separate from later film continuities.
Conan
Conan: Blood of the Serpent
Conan: Blood of the Serpent (2022): Conan serves as a mercenary in Stygia and becomes involved in a dangerous pursuit that leads toward the events of Robert E. Howard’s “Red Nails.”
The novel is licensed Conan fiction.
It is separate from Stirling’s original worlds and is designed to connect with Howard’s classic story rather than begin a Stirling-created series.
Riftwar
Jimmy the Hand
Jimmy the Hand (2003, later editions vary): Co-written with Raymond E. Feist, the novel follows young thief Jimmy during events connected to the Riftwar world.
It is part of the Legends of the Riftwar sequence.
Readers following Feist’s full continuity should use the Riftwar reading order rather than treating it as an independent Stirling series.
Babylon 5
Betrayals
Babylon 5: Betrayals (1996): Stirling’s licensed Babylon 5 novel follows political and military complications surrounding the station and the fragile alliances of the television universe.
It belongs to Babylon 5 continuity rather than Stirling’s original science fiction.
Ice, Iron and Gold
Ice, Iron and Gold (2007): Stirling’s first major short story collection gathers science fiction, alternate history, fantasy, and series-related stories from across his career.
Some stories connect to established worlds, while others stand alone.
Read it after sampling his major series rather than using the collection as a starting point.
Latest S. M. Stirling Book
The Winds of Fate (2025): Published July 1, 2025, this is Stirling’s latest released solo novel as of August 7, 2026.
It is the second Make the Darkness Light novel.
The Lords of Creation (2025): Published shortly before it in June 2025, this novel finally completed the Lords of Creation trilogy after a seventeen-year gap.
Next S. M. Stirling Book
Rome to the Stars (Expected October 6, 2026): Co-written with Melissa Olthoff, this is the first Pax Astra novel.
It is set in the far future of the timeline created by Make the Darkness Light.
As of August 7, 2026, the novel remains upcoming.
Series Completion Status
Nantucket
Complete: Three novels, ending with On the Oceans of Eternity.
Emberverse
Complete: Fifteen main novels, ending with The Sky-Blue Wolves.
Make the Darkness Light
Ongoing or open: Two novels are published.
Pax Astra
Upcoming: Begins with Rome to the Stars in October 2026.
Tales from the Black Chamber
Incomplete: Four novels are published. The Warlord of the Steppes remains delayed without a reliable publication date.
Lords of Creation
Complete: Three novels, ending with The Lords of Creation in 2025.
Shadowspawn
Complete as currently published: Three novels.
Draka
Complete as a principal sequence: Three original historical novels followed by Drakon.
The General
Stirling’s contribution complete: Five Raj Whitehall novels plus The Chosen and The Reformer.
Later books were developed by other writers.
Fifth Millennium
Stirling’s contribution complete: His principal books end with Shadow’s Son.
Flight Engineer
Complete: Three novels.
Terminator 2
Complete: Three novels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What S. M. Stirling book should I read first?
Start with Island in the Sea of Time for alternate history.
Start with Dies the Fire if post-apocalyptic fiction is your priority.
Should I read Nantucket before Dies the Fire?
It is recommended but not required.
The two series are parallel consequences of the same Event. Nantucket explains what happened to the missing island, while the Emberverse follows the world it left behind.
Is Island in the Sea of Time part of the Emberverse?
They share the originating Event but follow different timelines.
Treat them as sister continuities rather than one continuous sequence.
What is the correct Emberverse order?
Begin with Dies the Fire, The Protector’s War, and A Meeting at Corvallis.
Continue through the Sunrise Lands, Montival, The Given Sacrifice, and the five Rudi’s Children books.
How many main Emberverse novels are there?
There are fifteen.
The Sky-Blue Wolves is the final main novel.
Is the Emberverse complete?
Yes.
The main series has a published ending.
Where does Pronouncing Doom fit?
Read it after the original Dies the Fire trilogy.
It is an early post-Change novella focused on Juniper Mackenzie.
Should I read The Change anthology?
It is optional.
Read it after becoming familiar with the Emberverse because several contributors explore regions and ideas outside Stirling’s central cast.
What is Stirling’s newest series?
Make the Darkness Light is his newest solo series, beginning with To Turn the Tide.
Pax Astra begins in October 2026 as a far-future series in the same altered timeline.
What is the Make the Darkness Light order?
Read To Turn the Tide and then The Winds of Fate.
Is Rome to the Stars connected to To Turn the Tide?
Yes.
Pax Astra takes place far in the future of the Roman civilization affected by Artorius and the other time travelers.
Is Rome to the Stars published?
No.
It is scheduled for October 6, 2026.
What is the Black Chamber order?
Read Black Chamber, Theater of Spies, Shadows of Annihilation, and Daggers in Darkness.
“To the Rescue” is optional shorter fiction.
Is The Warlord of the Steppes published?
No.
Its publication has been delayed. The 2099 date appearing on some pages is a placeholder.
Is Lords of Creation finally complete?
Yes.
The third novel, The Lords of Creation, was published in 2025.
Is the 2025 Sky People a new book?
No.
It is a reissue of the 2006 novel.
Is The Domination a new Draka novel?
No.
It collects the first three Draka books.
Where does Drakon fit?
Read it after The Stone Dogs.
It follows a much later Draka future and a different version of Earth.
What is the General series order for Stirling’s books?
Read The Forge, The Hammer, The Anvil, The Steel, and The Sword for Raj Whitehall.
Then read The Chosen and The Reformer for the follow-on planetary stories.
Are Hope Reborn and the other Hope books new novels?
No.
They are omnibus editions of earlier General books.
Is Saber and Shadow different from The Sharpest Edge?
It is a revised and expanded version of the same core novel.
New readers should choose Saber and Shadow.
What is the Terminator 2 order?
Read T2: Infiltrator, T2: Rising Storm, and T2: The Future War.
Is Conquistador part of a series?
No.
It is a standalone parallel-world alternate history.
Is The Peshawar Lancers a standalone?
Yes.
“Shikari in Galveston” is an optional novella in the same world.
What is S. M. Stirling’s latest novel?
The Winds of Fate, published July 1, 2025, is his latest released solo novel as of August 7, 2026.
What is his next book?
Rome to the Stars, co-written with Melissa Olthoff, is scheduled for October 6, 2026.
The Best Overall Reading Route
Start with the Nantucket Trilogy: Island in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years, and On the Oceans of Eternity. It gives the cleanest introduction to the Event that later produces the Emberverse.
Then move to Dies the Fire and follow all fifteen main Emberverse novels through The Sky-Blue Wolves. Keep the shorter stories optional unless you want every regional detail.
After that, choose by subgenre. Read the Draka for dystopian military alternate history, Black Chamber for spy fiction, Lords of Creation for planetary romance, Shadowspawn for urban fantasy, or The General for military science fiction.
For Stirling’s current work, begin Make the Darkness Light with To Turn the Tide, continue through The Winds of Fate, and then move into the far-future Pax Astra with Rome to the Stars after its October 2026 publication.
The central continuity rule is simple: Nantucket and the Emberverse share one Event, while almost everything else belongs to its own separate world.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.