Richard Laymon Reading Order
8 series · 154 books · Born 1947
Richard Laymon was a prominent American writer known for his gripping suspense and horror fiction, particularly within the splatterpunk genre. Over his prolific career from 1979 to 2014, he authored 154 books spanning eight series, including the acclaimed Beast House Chronicles, as well as numerous standalone novels, short stories, and collections. His work is celebrated for its intense narratives and inventive storytelling.
Anthologies Series
Complete20 books (1983–2008)
Start with The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XI, the first of 20 books in the Anthologies series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XI 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Book of the Dead 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Night Visions 7 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Best New Horror 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Triage 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Hotter Blood: More Tales of Erotic Horror 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  The Giant Book of Best New Horror 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Ten Tales 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Vampire Detectives 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Bad News 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Grave Tales 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  October Dreams 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  Skull Full of Spurs 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  The Children of Cthulhu 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Cemetery Dance: Issue 52 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  Dark Delicacies 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Mondo Zombie 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  In Laymon's Terms 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
Beast House Chronicles Series
Complete4 books (1980–2001)
Start with The Cellar, the first of 4 books in the Beast House Chronicles series.
Making Of America Series
Complete57 books (1979–2001)
Start with Hearts Divided(By: Paula Moore,Fancy Dewitt), the first of 57 books in the Making Of America series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Hearts Divided(By: Paula Moore,Fancy Dewitt) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  The Builders(By: Jeanne Sommers) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  The Conestoga People(By: Jeanne Sommers) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  The Forty-Niners(By: John Toombs) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Land Rushers(By: Elizabeth Zachary) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  The Mountain Breed(By: Aaron Fletcher) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | The Wild and The Wayward(By: Georgia Granger) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  The Wilderness Seekers(By: Lou Cameron) 1979Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  The Alaskans(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1980Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | The Golden Staters(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1980Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  The Texans(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1980Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  The Boomers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Border Breed(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  The Buffalo People(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  The Cajuns(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  The Far Islanders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  The Frontier Healers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | The Gunfighters(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  The Homesteaders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  The Land Grabbers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  The Ranchers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | The River People(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  The Wildcatters(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | The Creoles(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  The Donner People(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  The Express Riders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  The Nightriders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 |  The Soldiers of Fortune(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 | The Sooners(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 |  The Vigilantes(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 |  The Wranglers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 |  The Baja People(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 33 |  The Barbary Coasters(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 34 |  The Canadians(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 35 |  The Caribbeans(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 36 |  The Copper Kings(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 37 |  The Gamblers(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 38 |  The Lawmen(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 39 |  The Prophet's People(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 40 | The Robber Barons(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 41 |  The Smugglers(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 42 |  The Trail Blazers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 43 |  The Voyageurs(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 44 | The Whalers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 45 |  The Yukon Breed(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 46 |  The Assassins(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 47 |  The Bounty Hunters(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 48 |  The Frontier Detectives(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 49 |  The Fugitives(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 50 |  The Outlaws(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 51 |  The Raiders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 52 |  The Rough Riders(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 53 |  The Texas Rangers(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 54 | Warriors of the Code(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 55 |  The Sixgun Apostles(As:Lee Davis Willoughby) 1987Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 56 |  The Scarlet Sisters(As: Lee Davis Willoughby) 1988Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 57 | Northeast Georgia: A History(By: Gordon Sawyer) 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
Making Of The Cities Series
Complete3 books (1990–1992)
Start with Baton Rouge and read in order.
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete17 books (1984–2001)
Start with Cardiac Arrest, the first of 17 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Cardiac Arrest 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Intruder 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Shootout at Joe's 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Caller 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Guts 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Last Hand 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Live Bait 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Lonely One 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Marathon 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Night Games 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Night Ride 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  The Cobra 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Hearse 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Beginner's Luck 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Halloween Hunt 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  The Return 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | The Halloween Mouse 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
Short Story Collections Series
Complete6 books (1992–2014)
Start with A Good, Secret Place, the first of 6 books in the Short Story Collections series.
Standalone Novels Series
Complete39 books (1980–2005)
Start with Your Secret Admirer(As: Carl Laymon), the first of 39 books in the Standalone Novels series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your Secret Admirer(As: Carl Laymon) 1980Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  The Woods Are Dark 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Out Are the Lights 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Nightmare Lake(As: Carl Laymon) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Dawson's City 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Night Show 1984Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Allhallow's Eve 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Beware 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Night Creature 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Dark Mountain / Tread Softly(As: Richard Kelly) 1987Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Flesh 1987Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Thin Air 1987Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  Midnight's Lair(As: Richard Kelly) 1988Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  Resurrection Dreams 1988Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Funland 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  One Rainy Night 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  The Stake 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  Darkness, Tell Us 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Island 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Alarums 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  Blood Games 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 |  Endless Night 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  Savage 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | In the Dark 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  Quake 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  Bite 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  Body Rides 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | After Midnight 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 |  The Wilds 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 |  Among the Missing 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 |  Come Out Tonight 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 | Cuts 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 33 |  Once Upon a Halloween 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 34 |  The Traveling Vampire Show 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 35 |  Night in the Lonesome October 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 36 |  No Sanctuary 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 37 |  Amara / To Wake The Dead 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 38 |  The Lake 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 39 |  The Glory Bus / Into the Fire 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
Women Who Won The West Series
Complete8 books (1982–1982)
Start with Angel of Hangtown, the first of 8 books in the Women Who Won The West series.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has Richard Laymon written?
- Richard Laymon has written 154 books across 8 series. Their published works span from 1979 to 2014.
- What is the first book in each Richard Laymon series?
- Here are the first books in Richard Laymon's series: Anthologies: The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XI; Beast House Chronicles: The Cellar; Making Of America: Hearts Divided(By: Paula Moore,Fancy Dewitt); Making Of The Cities: Baton Rouge; Short Stories/Novellas: Cardiac Arrest.
- What order should I read Richard Laymon's books?
- We recommend reading Richard Laymon's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Are Richard Laymon's series complete?
- Richard Laymon has 8 completed series.