Gene Wolfe Reading Order

2 books (2015–2020)

Start with A Borrowed Man and read in order.

#	Title
1	A Borrowed Man 2015Buy 🇺🇸
2	Interlibrary Loan 2020Buy 🇺🇸

79 books (1967–2016)

Start with Orbit 3, the first of 79 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Orbit 3 1967Buy 🇺🇸
2	Alchemy and Academe 1970Buy 🇺🇸
3	Nova 1 1970Buy 🇺🇸
4	Orbit 6 1970Buy 🇺🇸
5	Orbit 11 1972Buy 🇺🇸
6	Frontiers 1: Tomorrow's Alternatives 1973Buy 🇺🇸
7	Orbit 12 1973Buy 🇺🇸
8	Continuum 1 1974Buy 🇺🇸
9	Isaac Asimov's Worlds of Science Fiction 1980Buy 🇺🇸
10	TriQuarterly 49: Science Fiction 1980Buy 🇺🇸
11	Isaac Asimov's Wonders of the World 1982Buy 🇺🇸
12	Changes | Stories of Metamorphosis 1983Buy 🇺🇸
13	Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction 1984Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Third Omni Book of Science Fiction 1985Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Year's Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection 1985Buy 🇺🇸
16	Terry's Universe: Science fiction's finest writers join in honoring the memory of Terry Carr 1987Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Drabble Project 1988Buy 🇺🇸
18	Tropical Chills: Fourteen Tales of Scorching Horror to Make Your Blood Run Cold 1988Buy 🇺🇸
19	A Separate Star: A Tribute to Rudyard Kipling 1989Buy 🇺🇸
20	The Year's Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection 1989Buy 🇺🇸
21	Best New Horror 2 1991Buy 🇺🇸
22	Dante's Disciples 1991Buy 🇺🇸
23	Now We Are Sick 1991Buy 🇺🇸
24	The Architecture of Fear 1991Buy 🇺🇸
25	Walls of Fear 1991Buy 🇺🇸
26	Christmas Stars 1992Buy 🇺🇸
27	Christmas Forever 1993Buy 🇺🇸
28	The Giant Book of Best New Horror 1993Buy 🇺🇸
29	Love in Vein 1994Buy 🇺🇸
30	The Ascent of Wonder 1994Buy 🇺🇸
31	Cthulhu 2000 1995Buy 🇺🇸
32	Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears 1995Buy 🇺🇸
33	Spirits Of Christmas: Twenty Other-Worldly Tales 1995Buy 🇺🇸
34	Asimov's Science Fiction, August 1996 1996Buy 🇺🇸
35	Space Opera 1996Buy 🇺🇸
36	Year's Best SF 1996Buy 🇺🇸
37	Wild Women 1997Buy 🇺🇸
38	The Best from Fantasy & Science Fiction: The 50th Anniversary Anthology 1999Buy 🇺🇸
39	Graven Images 2000Buy 🇺🇸
40	Such a Pretty Face: Tales of Power and Abundance 2000Buy 🇺🇸
41	The Furthest Horizon 2000Buy 🇺🇸
42	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #11 2000Buy 🇺🇸
43	Dark Masques 2001Buy 🇺🇸
44	Fifteenth Annual Collection 2002Buy 🇺🇸
45	Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores 2002Buy 🇺🇸
46	Supermen 2002Buy 🇺🇸
47	The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine: Joe Haldeman and Others 2003Buy 🇺🇸
48	Year's Best SF 8 2003Buy 🇺🇸
49	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15 2004Buy 🇺🇸
50	The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels 2005Buy 🇺🇸
51	Cross Plains Universe 2006Buy 🇺🇸
52	Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition 2006Buy 🇺🇸
53	The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection 2006Buy 🇺🇸
54	Best New Horror 18 2007Buy 🇺🇸
55	Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge 2007Buy 🇺🇸
56	The Best of Jim Baen's Universe 2007Buy 🇺🇸
57	This Is My Funniest 2 2007Buy 🇺🇸
58	TwentiethAnnual Collection 2007Buy 🇺🇸
59	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 2008Buy 🇺🇸
60	The Secret History of Science Fiction 2009Buy 🇺🇸
61	Curse of the Full Moon: A Werewolf Anthology 2010Buy 🇺🇸
62	Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror 2010Buy 🇺🇸
63	Ghosts by Gaslight 2011Buy 🇺🇸
64	The Book of Cthulhu 2011Buy 🇺🇸
65	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition 2011Buy 🇺🇸
66	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2011 2011Buy 🇺🇸
67	Season of Wonder 2012Buy 🇺🇸
68	The Mammoth Book of SF Wars 2012Buy 🇺🇸
69	The Palencar Project 2012Buy 🇺🇸
70	The Wildside Book of Fantasy 2012Buy 🇺🇸
71	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition 2012Buy 🇺🇸
72	Shadows of the New Sun 2013Buy 🇺🇸
73	Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2012 Edition 2013Buy 🇺🇸
74	Super Stories of Heroes and Villains 2013Buy 🇺🇸
75	The Time Traveler's Almanac 2013Buy 🇺🇸
76	Lightspeed Magazine, July 2014 2014Buy 🇺🇸
77	Lightspeed Magazine, October 2015 2015Buy 🇺🇸
78	Mermaids and Other Mysteries of the Deep 2015Buy 🇺🇸
79	Worst Contact 2016Buy 🇺🇸

19 books (1980–2001)

Start with Isaac Asimov's Worlds of Science Fiction(With: Isaac Asimov,Tanith Lee,Phyllis Eisenstein,Barry B. Longyear,John M. Ford,Arnie Bateman,Alan Dean Foster,Martin Gardner,Randall Garrett,Rob Chilson,Ted Reynolds,George Scithers,Richard S. McEnroe,Jeff Duntemann,R.N. Bracewell,K.W. MacAnn,G. Richard Bozarth), the first of 19 books in the Isaac Asimov's Anthology series.

#	Title
1	Isaac Asimov's Worlds of Science Fiction(With: Isaac Asimov,Tanith Lee,Phyllis Eisenstein,Barry B. Longyear,John M. Ford,Arnie Bateman,Alan Dean Foster,Martin Gardner,Randall Garrett,Rob Chilson,Ted Reynolds,George Scithers,Richard S. McEnroe,Jeff Duntemann,R.N. Bracewell,K.W. MacAnn,G. Richard Bozarth) 1980Buy 🇺🇸
2	Isaac Asimov's Near Futures and Far(By: Isaac Asimov,Frederik Pohl,Carter Scholz,Barry B. Longyear,John M. Ford,Jack Williamson,Darrell Schweitzer,John Brunner,Juleen Brantingham,Martin Gardner,Richard Wilson,Milton A. Rothman,Elizabeth Anne Hull,Sharon Webb,Somtow Sucharitkul,Lee Weinstein,Ted Reynolds,George Scithers,F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre,William Tuning,Francis E. Izzo,Paul David Novitski,Lee Russell,Seth S. Horowitz,Tol E. Rant,S. Dale,Julie Flores,Tony Sarowitz) 1981Buy 🇺🇸
3	Isaac Asimov's Space of Her Own(By: Connie Willis,Ursula K. Le Guin,Pat Cadigan,Joan D. Vinge,Tanith Lee,Pamela Sargent,Lee Killough,Mary Gentle,Mildred Downey Broxon,Shawna McCarthy,Sharon Webb,Leigh Kennedy,Stephanie A. Smith,Cherie Wilkerson,Julie Stevens,Sydney J. Van Scyoc,Cyn Mason,P.A. Kagan,P.J. MacQuarrie,Janet O. Jeppson,Beverly Grant,Hope Athearn) 1983Buy 🇺🇸
4	Isaac Asimov's Fantasy!(By: Connie Willis,George R.R. Martin,Ron Goulart,John Kessel,George Alec Effinger,Robert Thurston,Tanith Lee,Lucius Shepard,Scott Baker,Lillian Carl,Juleen Brantingham,Lee Killough,Ian McDowell,Daphne Castell,Sharon N. Farber,Richard Kearns,Shawna McCarthy,Leigh Kennedy,Gregg Keizer,Kristi Olesen) 1989Buy 🇺🇸
5	Isaac Asimov's Aliens(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1991Buy 🇺🇸
6	Isaac Asimov's Robots(By: Isaac Asimov,Rob Chilson) 1991Buy 🇺🇸
7	Isaac Asimov's SF-Lite(By: Isaac Asimov,John M. Ford) 1993Buy 🇺🇸
8	Isaac Asimov's War(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1993Buy 🇺🇸
9	Isaac Asimov's Cyberdreams(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1994Buy 🇺🇸
10	Isaac Asimov's Ghosts(By: Isaac Asimov,Terry Bisson) 1995Buy 🇺🇸
11	Isaac Asimov's Skin Deep(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1995Buy 🇺🇸
12	Isaac Asimov's Christmas(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1997Buy 🇺🇸
13	Isaac Asimov's Camelot(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois,Eleanor Arnason) 1998Buy 🇺🇸
14	Isaac Asimov's Detectives(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 1998Buy 🇺🇸
15	Isaac Asimov's Solar System(By: Gardner Dozois) 1999Buy 🇺🇸
16	Isaac Asimov's Werewolves(By: Isaac Asimov,Suzy McKee Charnas,Gardner Dozois) 1999Buy 🇺🇸
17	Isaac Asimov's Utopias(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 2000Buy 🇺🇸
18	Isaac Asimov's Father Day(By: Isaac Asimov,Gardner Dozois) 2001Buy 🇺🇸
19	Isaac Asimov's Halloween(By: Isaac Asimov) 2001Buy 🇺🇸

41 books (1985–2025)

Start with L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 1, the first of 41 books in the L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future series.

#	Title
1	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 1 1985Buy 🇺🇸
2	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 2 1986Buy 🇺🇸
3	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 3 1987Buy 🇺🇸
4	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 4 1988Buy 🇺🇸
5	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 5 1989Buy 🇺🇸
6	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 6 1990Buy 🇺🇸
7	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 7 1991Buy 🇺🇸
8	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 8 1992Buy 🇺🇸
9	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future9 1993Buy 🇺🇸
10	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 10 1994Buy 🇺🇸
11	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 11 1995Buy 🇺🇸
12	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 12 1996Buy 🇺🇸
13	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 13 1997Buy 🇺🇸
14	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 14 1998Buy 🇺🇸
15	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 15 1999Buy 🇺🇸
16	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 16 2000Buy 🇺🇸
17	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 17 2001Buy 🇺🇸
18	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 18 2002Buy 🇺🇸
19	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 19 2002Buy 🇺🇸
20	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 20 2004Buy 🇺🇸
21	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 21 2005Buy 🇺🇸
22	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 22 2006Buy 🇺🇸
23	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 23 2007Buy 🇺🇸
24	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 24 2008Buy 🇺🇸
25	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 25 2009Buy 🇺🇸
26	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 26 2010Buy 🇺🇸
27	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 27 2011Buy 🇺🇸
28	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 28 2012Buy 🇺🇸
29	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 29 2013Buy 🇺🇸
30	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 30 2014Buy 🇺🇸
31	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 31 2015Buy 🇺🇸
32	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 32 2016Buy 🇺🇸
33	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 33 2017Buy 🇺🇸
34	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 34 2018Buy 🇺🇸
35	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 35 2019Buy 🇺🇸
36	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 36 2020Buy 🇺🇸
37	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 37 2021Buy 🇺🇸
38	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 38 2022Buy 🇺🇸
39	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 39 2023Buy 🇺🇸
40	L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future 40 2024Buy 🇺🇸
41	L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future 41 2025Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (1982–2012)

Start with The Castle of the Otter and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Castle of the Otter 1982Buy 🇺🇸
2	Letters Home 1991Buy 🇺🇸
3	Gate of Horn, Book of Silk: A Guide to Gene Wolfe's The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun 2012Buy 🇺🇸

16 books (1970–2019)

Start with Nine Hundred Grandmothers(By: R.A. Lafferty), the first of 16 books in the R.A. Lafferty Collections series.

#	Title
1	Nine Hundred Grandmothers(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1970Buy 🇺🇸
2	Strange Doings(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1973Buy 🇺🇸
3	Does Anyone Else Have Something Further to Add?(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1974Buy 🇺🇸
4	In the Wake of Man(With: R.A. Lafferty) 1975Buy 🇺🇸
5	Apocalypses(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1977Buy 🇺🇸
6	Ringing Changes(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1979Buy 🇺🇸
7	Golden Gate and Other Stories(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1982Buy 🇺🇸
8	Snake In His Bosom And Other Stories(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1983Buy 🇺🇸
9	Man Who Made Models and Other Stories(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1984Buy 🇺🇸
10	Slippery And Other Stories(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1985Buy 🇺🇸
11	East of Laughter(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1988Buy 🇺🇸
12	Dotty(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1990Buy 🇺🇸
13	Lafferty in Orbit(By: R.A. Lafferty) 1991Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Man Who Made Models(By: R.A. Lafferty) 2013Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Best of R. A. Lafferty(By: R.A. Lafferty) 2019Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Man Who Walked Through Cracks(By: R.A. Lafferty) 2019Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1970–2008)

Start with Of Relays and Roses, the first of 5 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	Of Relays and Roses 1970Buy 🇺🇸
2	In the House of Gingerbread 1987Buy 🇺🇸
3	No Planets Strike (in Strange Travelers) 1997Buy 🇺🇸
4	Golden City Far 2000Buy 🇺🇸
5	Memorare 2008Buy 🇺🇸

18 books (1972–2023)

Start with The Fifth Head of Cerberus, the first of 18 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Fifth Head of Cerberus 1972Buy 🇺🇸
2	In the Wake of Man(With: R.A. Lafferty) 1975Buy 🇺🇸
3	The New Atlantis and Other Novellas of Science Fiction 1975Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories 1980Buy 🇺🇸
5	Gene Wolfe's Book of Days 1981Buy 🇺🇸
6	Bibliomen 1984Buy 🇺🇸
7	Plan(e)t Engineering 1984Buy 🇺🇸
8	For Rosemary 1988Buy 🇺🇸
9	Storeys from the Old Hotel 1988Buy 🇺🇸
10	Endangered Species 1989Buy 🇺🇸
11	Castle of Days 1992Buy 🇺🇸
12	Young Wolfe 1992Buy 🇺🇸
13	Starwater Strains 2000Buy 🇺🇸
14	Strange Travelers 2000Buy 🇺🇸
15	Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories 2004Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Best of Gene Wolfe 2009Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Dead Man and Other Horror Stories 2023Buy 🇺🇸
18	The Wolfe at the Door 2023Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (1986–2006)

Start with Soldier of the Mist, the first of 4 books in the Soldier Of The Mist series.

#	Title
1	Soldier of the Mist 1986Buy 🇺🇸
2	Soldier of Arete 1989Buy 🇺🇸
3	Latro in the Mist 2003Buy 🇺🇸
4	Soldier of Sidon 2006Buy 🇺🇸

12 books (1970–2013)

Start with Operation Ares, the first of 12 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Operation Ares 1970Buy 🇺🇸
2	Peace 1975Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Devil in a Forest 1976Buy 🇺🇸
4	Free Live Free 1984Buy 🇺🇸
5	There Are Doors 1988Buy 🇺🇸
6	Castleview 1990Buy 🇺🇸
7	Pandora by Holly Hollander 1990Buy 🇺🇸
8	Pirate Freedom 2007Buy 🇺🇸
9	An Evil Guest 2008Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Sorcerer's House 2010Buy 🇺🇸
11	Home Fires 2011Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Land Across 2013Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (2012–2012)

Start with Dormanna, the first of 5 books in the The Palencar Project series.

2 books (2004–2004)

Start with The Knight and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Knight 2004Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Wizard 2004Buy 🇺🇸

15 books (2010–2024)

Start with The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition, the first of 15 books in the The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror series.

#	Title
1	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2010 Edition 2010Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition 2011Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition 2012Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition 2013Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Edition 2014Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2015 Edition 2015Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2016 Edition 2016Buy 🇺🇸
8	The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2017 Edition 2017Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2018 Edition 2018Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2019 Edition 2020Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 1 2020Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 2 2021Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, Volume 3 2022Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 4 2023Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 5 2024Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (1993–1996)

Start with Nightside the Long Sun, the first of 4 books in the Urth: Book of the Long Sun series.

#	Title
1	Nightside the Long Sun 1993Buy 🇺🇸
2	Caldé of the Long Sun 1994Buy 🇺🇸
3	Lake of the Long Sun 1994Buy 🇺🇸
4	Exodus from the Long Sun 1996Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1980–1987)

Start with The Shadow of the Torturer, the first of 5 books in the Urth: Book of the New Sun series.

#	Title
1	The Shadow of the Torturer 1980Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Claw of the Conciliator 1981Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Sword of the Lictor 1982Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Citadel of the Autarch 1983Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Urth of the New Sun 1987Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (1999–2001)

Start with On Blue's Waters and read in order.

#	Title
1	On Blue's Waters 1999Buy 🇺🇸
2	In Green's Jungles 2000Buy 🇺🇸
3	Return to the Whorl 2001Buy 🇺🇸

18 books (1996–2013)

Start with Year's Best SF, the first of 18 books in the Year's Best SF Anthology series.

#	Title
1	Year's Best SF 1996Buy 🇺🇸
2	Year's Best SF 2 1997Buy 🇺🇸
3	Year's Best SF 3 1998Buy 🇺🇸
4	Year's Best SF 4 1999Buy 🇺🇸
5	Year's Best SF 5 2000Buy 🇺🇸
6	Year's Best SF 6 2001Buy 🇺🇸
7	Year's Best SF 7 2002Buy 🇺🇸
8	Year's Best SF 8 2003Buy 🇺🇸
9	Year's Best SF 9 2004Buy 🇺🇸
10	Year's Best SF 10 2005Buy 🇺🇸
11	Year's Best SF 11 2006Buy 🇺🇸
12	Year's Best SF 12 2007Buy 🇺🇸
13	Year's Best SF 13 2008Buy 🇺🇸
14	Year's Best SF 14 2009Buy 🇺🇸
15	Year's Best SF 15 2010Buy 🇺🇸
16	Year's Best SF 16 2011Buy 🇺🇸
17	Year's Best SF 17 2012Buy 🇺🇸
18	Year's Best SF 18 2013Buy 🇺🇸