Reading Order List — Book Series Reading Order Guide
Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang Reading Order

4 series · 54 books · Born 1967

Non-FictionScience Fiction

Ted Chiang is a science fiction author renowned for exploring philosophical and scientific concepts through intellectually rigorous short fiction. His carefully crafted stories, which have appeared in prestigious anthologies and award-winning collections since 1990, examine the intersection of language, consciousness, and human understanding with remarkable depth and precision. Though he publishes sparingly, Chiang's work has earned him recognition as one of contemporary science fiction's most influential voices, with his ideas frequently adapted and referenced across multiple media.

Anthologies Series

Ongoing

22 books (1991–2026)

Start with Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, August 1991, the first of 22 books in the Anthologies series.

Start this series with Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, August 1991

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
#Title
1
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, August 1991
1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2
Cover of Starlight 2
3
Cover of Year's Best SF 4
Year's Best SF 4
1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4
Cover of Vanishing Acts
Vanishing Acts
2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5
Cover of Nebula Awards 35 (2001)
Nebula Awards 35 (2001)
2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6
Cover of Starlight 3
7
8
Cover of I premi Hugo 2002
I premi Hugo 2002
2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9
The Hard SF Renaissance
2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10
Cover of The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels
The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels
2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11
Feeling Very Strange
2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12
Cover of Year's Best SF 11
Year's Best SF 11
2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13
The WisCon Chronicles, Volume 1
2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14
Cover of The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21
The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21
2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy
2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16
Cover of Twenty-First Annual Collection
Twenty-First Annual Collection
2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17
Cover of The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities
2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18
Lightspeed Magazine, December 2012
2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19
Lightspeed Magazine, July 2016
2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction May/June 2016
2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21
22
Cover of The Penguin Book of the International Short Story
The Penguin Book of the International Short Story
2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Short Stories/Novellas Series

Complete

12 books (1990–2019)

Start with Tower of Babylon, the first of 11 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

Start this series with Tower of Babylon

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
#Title
1
Tower of Babylon
1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2
Understand (in Asimov's)
1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3
Cover of Story of Your Life (in Stories of Your Life and Others)
Story of Your Life (in Stories of Your Life and Others)
1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4
Cover of Seventy-Two Letters (in Vanishing Acts)
Seventy-Two Letters (in Vanishing Acts)
2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5
Cover of Hell Is the Absence of God
Hell Is the Absence of God
2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6
What's Expected of Us
2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7
Cover of The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8
Cover of The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Lifecycle of Software Objects
2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9
Cover of The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling
The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling
2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10
The Great Silence
2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11
Cover of Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom
Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom
2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12
Cover of Omphalos

Short Story Collections Series

Complete

2 books (2002–2019)

Start with Stories of Your Life and Others / Arrival and read in order.

Start this series with Stories of Your Life and Others / Arrival

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
#Title
1
Cover of Stories of Your Life and Others / Arrival
Stories of Your Life and Others / Arrival
2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2
Cover of Exhalation

Year's Best SF Anthology Series

Complete

18 books (1996–2013)

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

Start this series with Year's Best SF

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Ted Chiang written?
Ted Chiang has written 54 books across 4 series. Their published works span from 1990 to 2026.
What is the first book in each Ted Chiang series?
Here are the first books in Ted Chiang's series: Anthologies: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, August 1991; Short Stories/Novellas: Tower of Babylon; Short Story Collections: Stories of Your Life and Others / Arrival; Year's Best SF Anthology: Year's Best SF.
What order should I read Ted Chiang's books?
We recommend reading Ted Chiang's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
Is Ted Chiang still writing new books?
Yes, Ted Chiang has 1 ongoing series: Anthologies.

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