Peter Watts Reading Order

33 books (1994–2026)

Peter Watts has contributed to 26 science fiction, fantasy, horror, and non-fiction anthologies spanning from 1994 to 2023. These collections represent a mix of annual best-of volumes, themed anthologies, and magazine issues featuring his work alongside other authors. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Northern Stars in 1994, and appears to be complete as of 2023. Readers interested in sampling Watts's shorter fiction across genres will find these anthologies document his contributions over nearly three decades.

Start with Northern Stars, the first of 26 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Northern Stars 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Tesseracts 5 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Hard SF Renaissance 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	ReVisions 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2009 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 40 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Engineering Infinity 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 2 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 5 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2011 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 3 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Imaginarium 2012 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Blood Type 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2014 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Nine 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Upgraded 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 7 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Imaginarium 4 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Infinity Wars 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume Three 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	The Final Frontier 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2018 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 3 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The 2020 Look at Space Opera Book 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Five 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 4 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Life Beyond Us 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume One 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 8 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 10 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1994–2019)

Peter Watts's Collections comprises three complete works published between 1994 and 2019, spanning fantasy, science fiction, and horror across both fiction and nonfiction formats. Read these books in publication order beginning with Beyond the Rift, followed by Ten Monkeys, Ten Minutes, and Peter Watts Is An Angry Sentient Tumor to experience the series as intended.

Start with Beyond the Rift and read in order.

#	Title
1	Beyond the Rift 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ten Monkeys, Ten Minutes 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Peter Watts Is An Angry Sentient Tumor 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2011–2013)

Peter Watts and Gavin G. Smith's Crysis duology consists of two science fiction novels published between 2011 and 2013. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Crysis: Legion followed by Crysis: Escalation. Both books are standalone entries that can be appreciated independently, though reading them sequentially provides the intended narrative experience.

Start with Crysis: Legion and read in order.

#	Title
1	Crysis: Legion 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Crysis: Escalation(By: Gavin G. Smith) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2006–2014)

Peter Watts' Firefall trilogy spans from 2006 to 2014 and consists of three complete science fiction novels best read in publication order. The series begins with Blindsight, followed by Echopraxia and concluding with The Colonel, offering readers a finished narrative arc across all entries.

Start with Blindsight and read in order.

#	Title
1	Blindsight 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Echopraxia 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Colonel 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1999–2004)

The Rifters series comprises four science fiction novels published between 1999 and 2004, concluding with Behemoth: Seppuku. The sequence should be read in publication order, beginning with Starfish and continuing through Maelstrom before moving to the two Behemoth installments. This complete series blends hard science fiction with elements of horror and explores themes relevant to both speculative and contemporary concerns.

Start with Starfish, the first of 4 books in the Rifters series.

#	Title
1	Starfish 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Maelstrom 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Behemoth: B-Max 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Behemoth: Seppuku 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2009–2010)

Peter Watts's two-book collection of short fiction consists of The Island (2009) and The Things (2010), both of which should be read in publication order. This complete series blends science fiction, horror, and fantasy elements characteristic of Watts's broader work. The novellas offer standalone yet interconnected narratives that reward sequential reading.

Start with The Island and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Island 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Things 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2018–2026)

#	Title
1	The Freeze-Frame Revolution 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Fold Catastrophes 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

15 books (2010–2024)

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror is an ongoing annual anthology series edited by Peter Watts, consisting of 15 volumes published from 2010 to 2024. The series features curated selections of the year's best dark fantasy and horror short stories and should be read in publication order, beginning with the 2010 Edition and continuing through the numbered volumes that follow. Each volume stands alone as a complete collection, making them accessible to readers interested in sampling specific years or reading the entire series chronologically.

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