🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Max Gladstone
Combining high-octane action and fantasy has been a field of expertise for the American author Max Gladstone for some time now. Creating exciting suspense fueled long-running series, he works at getting his readers invested in the characters and action and keeping them there. Pacing his stories out over a course of books as well, he has been able to master the serialized form of storytelling too, something which has gone a long way to securing his success as an award winning novelist. Early and Personal Life Born on the 28th of May in 1984, the future fantasy author to be Max Gladstone was born and raised in America. With a life-long affinity for the fantasy genre, he immersed himself in all the fantastical worlds that the form had to offer him.
All Book Series by Max Gladstone
A Sorcerer's Apprentice
Series opener · book 1 of 6 · published 2015 Anthology · Mur Lafferty
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Latest in the series · book 6 of 6 · published 2019 Co-authored · Amal El-Mohtar
The Truth About Owls
Series opener · book 1 of 7 · published 2014 Anthology · Amal El-Mohtar
Seasons of Glass and Iron
Book 3 of 7 · published 2016 Anthology · Amal El-Mohtar
This Is How You Lose the Time War
Book 5 of 7 · published 2019 Co-authored · Amal El-Mohtar
John Hollowback and the Witch
Book 6 of 7 · published 2023 Anthology · Amal El-Mohtar
The River Has Roots
Latest in the series · book 7 of 7 · published 2025 Anthology · Amal El-Mohtar
The Witch Who Came In From The Cold: Season One
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2016 Co-authored · Michael Swanwick,Ian Tregillis,Lindsay Smith,Cassandra Rose Clarke
The Witch Who Came In From The Cold: The Complete Season 2
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2023 Co-authored · Ian Tregillis,Fran Wilde,Lindsay Smith,Cassandra Rose Clarke
Wild Cards
Series opener · book 1 of 49 · published 1986 Anthology · George R.R. Martin
Jokertown Shuffle
Book 9 of 49 · published 1991 Anthology · Melinda M. Snodgrass
Double Solitaire
Book 10 of 49 · published 1992 Anthology · Melinda M. Snodgrass
Turn of the Cards
Book 12 of 49 · published 1993 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Victor Milán
Death Draws Five
Book 14 of 49 · published 2006 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,John J. Miller
Busted Flush
Book 15 of 49 · published 2008 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Melinda M. Snodgrass,Caroline Spector
Inside Straight
Book 16 of 49 · published 2008 Anthology · Melinda M. Snodgrass
Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan
Book 18 of 49 · published 2010 Anthology · Carrie Vaughn
Fort Freak
Book 19 of 49 · published 2011 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Melinda M. Snodgrass,David Anthony Durham
The Button Man and the Murder Tree
Book 20 of 49 · published 2013 Anthology · Cherie Priest
The Elephant in the Room
Book 21 of 49 · published 2013 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Paul Cornell
Lowball
Book 22 of 49 · published 2014 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Melinda M. Snodgrass,David Anthony Durham
Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza
Book 23 of 49 · published 2014 Anthology · Carrie Vaughn
Prompt. Professional. Pop!
Book 24 of 49 · published 2014 Anthology · Walter Jon Williams
The Thing about Growing Up in Jokertown
Book 27 of 49 · published 2016 Anthology · George R.R. Martin
When the Devil Drives
Book 29 of 49 · published 2017 Anthology · Melinda M. Snodgrass
The Flight of Morpho Girl
Book 31 of 49 · published 2018 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Caroline Spector
Knaves Over Queens
Book 32 of 49 · published 2018 Anthology · George R.R. Martin
The City That Never Sleeps
Book 34 of 49 · published 2019 Anthology · Walton Simons
Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed
Book 35 of 49 · published 2019 Anthology · Bradley Denton
Wild Cards X: Double Solitaire
Book 36 of 49 · published 2019 Anthology · Melinda M. Snodgrass
Three Kings
Book 38 of 49 · published 2020 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Melinda M. Snodgrass
Pairing Up
Book 45 of 49 · published 2023 Anthology · George R.R. Martin,Melinda M. Snodgrass,David Anthony Durham,Kevin Andrew Murphy,Gwenda Bond,Marko Kloos,Christopher Rowe,Bradley Denton,Peter Newman
Sleeper Straddle
Book 47 of 49 · published 2024 Co-authored · Carrie Vaughn,Stephen Leigh,Mary Anne Mohanraj,Cherie Priest,Walter Jon Williams,Christopher Rowe
House Rulesin Stories
Book 48 of 49 · published 2025 Anthology · George R.R. Martin
Ante Up
Latest in the series · book 49 of 49 · published 2025 Anthology · John Jos. Miller
George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Sleeper Straddle in Stories
Latest in the series · book 11 of 11 · published 2024
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Max Gladstone?
Combining high-octane action and fantasy has been a field of expertise for the American author Max Gladstone for some time now. Creating exciting suspense fueled long-running series, he works at getting his readers invested in the characters and action and keeping them there. Pacing his stories out over a course of books as well, he has been able to master the serialized form of storytelling too, something which has gone a long way to securing his success as an award winning novelist.
Which Max Gladstone series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Craft Sequence series, the earliest of Max Gladstone's multi-book series: it opens with Three Parts Dead (2012) and runs to 6 books across 2012–2017, ending with The Ruin of Angels (2017). Max Gladstone's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Max Gladstone written?
Max Gladstone has 93 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1986 and 2025. 73 of them belong to 6 named series — the largest being the Amal El-Mohtar Short Stories/Novellas series with 7 books — and 20 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Max Gladstone's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Max Gladstone's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Craft Sequence (2012–2017, 6 books), Amal El-Mohtar Short Stories/Novellas (2014–2025, 7 books) and Bookburners (2015–2016, 6 books), plus 2 more.
How are Max Gladstone's books organised into series?
This guide splits Max Gladstone's 93 books into 6 named series and 20 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Amal El-Mohtar Short Stories/Novellas (7 books, 2014–2025); Craft Sequence (6 books, 2012–2017); Bookburners (6 books, 2015–2016); Craft Wars (3 books, 2023–2025); The Witch Who Came In From The Cold (2 books, 2016–2023), plus 1 further series.