Garth Nix Reading Order

43 books (1999–2026)

Garth Nix has edited 39 anthology collections spanning fantasy, horror, literary fiction, and young adult genres from 1999 to 2026, with the series still ongoing. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Fantastic Worlds and continuing through the most recent entries. Each anthology gathers original or curated stories from various authors, offering diverse perspectives across speculative fiction and dark fantasy themes.

Start with Fantastic Worlds, the first of 39 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Fantastic Worlds 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Love and Sex 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Firebirds 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Kids' Night In 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Midnight Feast 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Top Stories 2 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Wizards / Dark Alchemy 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Fast Ships, Black Sails 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 22 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Twenty-First Annual Collection 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, Volume 4 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Dragon Book 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Legends of Australian Fantasy 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Ghosts by Gaslight 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Happily Ever After 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Teeth: Vampire Tales 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Fearie Tales 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Rogues 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Nine 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Starlit Wood 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Infinity Wars 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	The Book of Swords: Part 1 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	The Unicorn Anthology 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2015 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	Three Sides of a Heart 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	The Book of Magic: A Collection of Stories 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Thirteen 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Edited By 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Tor.com Short Fiction Winter 2020 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Relics, Wrecks and Ruins 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Shapers of Worlds Volume II 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	World of Warcraft: Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	The Book of Witches 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	All Hallows Eve 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1998–2005)

The Aussie Bites series consists of four complete books published between 1998 and 2005, with contributions from authors including Garth Nix and Debra Oswald. These standalone stories should be read in publication order, beginning with Nathan and the Ice Rockets. The series spans fantasy and young adult fiction, offering self-contained adventures suitable for readers discovering the collaborative works of multiple authors across this collection.

Start with Nathan And The Ice Rockets(By: Debra Oswald), the first of 4 books in the Aussie Bites series.

#	Title
1	Nathan And The Ice Rockets(By: Debra Oswald) 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Frank & The Emergency Joke(By: Debra Oswald) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Serena and the Sea Serpent 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Frank and the Secret Club(By: Debra Oswald) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

19 books (2009–2026)

The Best Horror of the Year is an ongoing anthology series edited by Garth Nix, comprising 18 volumes published from 2009 to 2025. Each annual installment collects the year's finest horror short fiction from various authors across multiple genres including fantasy, horror, and literary fiction. Readers should follow the series in publication order, beginning with Volume One and progressing sequentially through each year's selections. The series also includes a retrospective collection, The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction, which highlights standout stories from the first decade.

Start with The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One, the first of 18 books in the Best Horror of the Year series.

#	Title
1	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Three 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eight 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Nine 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Ten 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eighteen 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2017–2018)

This two-book fantasy series by Garth Nix spans 2017 to 2018 and should be read in publication order. The complete series consists of Have Sword, Will Travel followed by Let Sleeping Dragons Lie, offering a finished story arc for readers.

Start with Have Sword, Will Travel and read in order.

7 books (2022–2022)

Into Shadow is a seven-book fantasy series launched in 2022 by Garth Nix and appears to be complete. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Out of the Mirror, Darkness. Each subsequent entry is written by a different author, including Lev Grossman, Veronica G. Henry, Tomi Adeyemi, Alix E. Harrow, Tamsyn Muir, and Nghi Vo, creating an anthology-style collection within a shared narrative framework.

Start with Out of the Mirror, Darkness, the first of 7 books in the Into Shadow series.

2 books (2020–2023)

Garth Nix's Left-Handed Booksellers series is a two-book fantasy sequence published between 2020 and 2023. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with The Left-Handed Booksellers of London followed by The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. The series appears to be complete, combining elements of fantasy and horror with Nix's characteristic literary style.

Start with The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Left-Handed Booksellers of London 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Sinister Booksellers of Bath 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1995–2021)

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix spans nine fantasy novels published between 1995 and 2021, following publication order from Sabriel through Terciel and Elinor. The series appears to be complete, though some entries like The Creature in the Case and To Hold the Bridge are shorter works that supplement the main narrative. These interconnected stories should be read in the order they were published to experience the world's history and character development as Nix intended.

Start with Sabriel, the first of 9 books in the Old Kingdom series.

#	Title
1	Sabriel 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Lirael 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Abhorsen 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Creature in the Case 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Clairel 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	To Hold the Bridge 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Doctor Crake Crosses the Wall 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Goldenhand 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Terciel and Elinor 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1997–1997)

#	Title
1	Shade's Children 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2013–2025)

Garth Nix's Short Stories/Novellas series consists of six books published between 2013 and 2025, with the series still ongoing. These fantasy and horror novellas should be read in publication order, beginning with Fire Above, Fire Below. The collection spans various standalone and interconnected stories that showcase Nix's range across fantasy, horror, and literary fiction.

Start with Fire Above, Fire Below, the first of 6 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

4 books (2005–2015)

This complete fantasy and horror short story collection series spans four books published between 2005 and 2015. The four volumes—Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Beyond, Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz, One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales, and To Hold the Bridge—should be read in publication order. The series collects standalone and interconnected tales from acclaimed author Garth Nix across his fantasy and speculative fiction worlds.

Start with Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Beyond, the first of 4 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Beyond 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	To Hold the Bridge 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (2013–2015)

Spirit Animals is a complete seven-book fantasy series for young adults published between 2013 and 2015, with each installment written by a different author including Brandon Mull, Tui T. Sutherland, Sean Williams, Shannon Hale, Maggie Stiefvater, Eliot Schrefer, and Marie Lu. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Wild Born and concluding with The Evertree. This collaborative work blends adventure and fantasy elements across its full arc.

Start with Wild Born(By: Brandon Mull), the first of 7 books in the Spirit Animals series.

#	Title
1	Wild Born(By: Brandon Mull) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Against the Tide(By: Tui T. Sutherland) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Blood Ties(With: Sean Williams) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Fire and Ice(By: Shannon Hale) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hunted(By: Maggie Stiefvater) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Rise and Fall(By: Eliot Schrefer) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Evertree(By: Marie Lu) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (1990–2026)

Garth Nix's standalone novels span seven books published from 1990 to 2026, with the series still ongoing. These fantasy, horror, and young adult works should be read in publication order, beginning with The Ragwitch and continuing through the most recent entry, Massif. Each novel stands independently while contributing to Nix's broader fictional universe.

Start with The Ragwitch, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Ragwitch 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Confusion of Princes 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Newt's Emerald 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Frogkisser! 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Angel Mage 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Massif 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (2003–2010)

The Keys to the Kingdom is a complete seven-book fantasy series by Garth Nix, published between 2003 and 2010. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with Mister Monday and concluding with Lord Sunday. This series blends fantasy and darker elements into a young adult narrative that unfolds across its seven installments.

Start with Mister Monday, the first of 7 books in the The Keys to the Kingdom series.

#	Title
1	Mister Monday 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Drowned Wednesday 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Grim Tuesday 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Sir Thursday 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Lady Friday 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Superior Saturday 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Lord Sunday 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2000–2001)

The Seventh Tower is a complete fantasy series by Garth Nix comprising six books published between 2000 and 2001. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Aenir and concluding with The Violet Keystone. This young adult fantasy sequence unfolds across a richly imagined world with interconnected storylines that build throughout the narrative arc.

Start with Aenir, the first of 6 books in the The Seventh Tower series.

#	Title
1	Aenir 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Castle 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Fall 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Above the Veil 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Into Battle 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Violet Keystone 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

16 books (1996–2000)

The X-Files: Young Adult is a complete sixteen-book series published between 1996 and 2000, featuring various authors adapting episodes from the television phenomenon. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Bad Sign and concluding with the final entry in the sequence. The series explores supernatural and science fiction themes through standalone stories that capture the spirit of the original show for young adult readers.

Start with Bad Sign(By: Neal Shusterman), the first of 16 books in the The X-Files: Young Adult series.

#	Title
1	Bad Sign(By: Neal Shusterman) 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Control(By: Cliff Nielsen,Everett Owens) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Empathy(By: Ellen Steiber) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Eve(By: Ellen Steiber) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Fresh Bones(By: Les Martin) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Our Town(By: Eric Elfman) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Calusari 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Host(By: Les Martin) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Howlers(By: Everett Owens) 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Hungry Ghosts(By: Ellen Steiber) 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Dark Matter(By: Easton Royce) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Grotesque(By: Ellen Steiber) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Quarantine(By: Les Martin) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Regeneration(By: Everett Owens) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Haunted(By: Ellen Steiber) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Miracle Man(By: Terry Bisson) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2011–2014)

The Troubletwisters series by Garth Nix comprises four complete books published between 2011 and 2014, beginning with The Monster and continuing through Troubletwisters, The Mystery, and The Missing. This fantasy series for young adult readers should be read in publication order. The books follow a cohesive narrative arc across all four installments.

Start with The Monster, the first of 4 books in the Troubletwisters series.

#	Title
1	The Monster 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Troubletwisters 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Mystery 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Missing 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible