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ⓘ About Philip José Farmer
Philip Jose Farmer was a prolific American novelist well known for writing fantasy and science fiction books and short stories. He had written several mind-blowing book series in his career and is best remembered for the Riverworld and World of Tiers series. Farmer is regarded as one of the pioneers of using religious and sexual themes in his stories. He is noted for the reworking of, and for being fascinated towards the mythology of celebrated pulp heroes as well as his tongue-in-cheek works written using pseudonyms that appear to have been written by the fictional characters. He was believed to have used over a dozen pen names. Author Farmer was known for mixing classical and real worlds and fictional characters and fake and real authors.
All Book Series by Philip José Farmer
Human Spirit, Beetle Spirit
Book 7 of 8 · published 1992 Anthology · John Gregory Betancourt
The Merry Men of the Riverworld
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 1992 Anthology · John Gregory Betancourt
Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 1999
Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon
Series opener · book 1 of 9 · published 1988 Anthology · Richard A. Lupoff
Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon Vol. 6, The Final Battle
Latest in the series · book 9 of 9 · published 2017 Anthology · Richard A. Lupoff
The Adventure of the Peerless Peer
Series opener · book 1 of 38 · published 1974
War of the Worlds
Book 2 of 38 · published 1975 Anthology · Manly Wade Wellman,Wade Wellman
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Book 3 of 38 · published 1976 Anthology · Richard L. Boyer
The Stalwart Companions
Book 5 of 38 · published 1978 Anthology · H. Paul Jeffers
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes
Book 6 of 38 · published 1979 Anthology · Loren D. Estleman
The Whitechapel Horrors
Book 8 of 38 · published 1992 Anthology · Edward B. Hanna
Seance for a Vampire
Book 10 of 38 · published 1994 Anthology · Fred Saberhagen
Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac
Book 11 of 38 · published 1994 Anthology · Barrie Roberts
The Angel of the Opera
Book 12 of 38 · published 1994 Anthology · Sam Siciliano
The Haunting of Torre Abbey
Book 16 of 38 · published 2000 Anthology · Carole Buggé
The Veiled Detective
Book 17 of 38 · published 2004 Anthology · David Stuart Davies
Between the Thames and the Tiber
Book 18 of 38 · published 2011 Anthology · Ted Riccardi
The Devil's Promise
Book 21 of 38 · published 2014 Anthology · David Stuart Davies
The Albino's Treasure
Book 22 of 38 · published 2015 Anthology · Stuart Douglas
The Ripper Legacy
Book 24 of 38 · published 2016 Anthology · David Stuart Davies
Murder at Sorrow's Crown
Book 25 of 38 · published 2016 Anthology · Steven Savile,Robert Greenberger
The Counterfeit Detective
Book 26 of 38 · published 2016 Anthology · Stuart Douglas
Imagination Theatre's Sherlock Holmes of Scripts From The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Book 28 of 38 · published 2017 Anthology · David Marcum
The Improbable Prisoner
Book 29 of 38 · published 2018 Anthology · Stuart Douglas
The Devil and the Four
Book 30 of 38 · published 2018 Anthology · Sam Siciliano
The Instrument of Death
Book 31 of 38 · published 2019 Anthology · David Stuart Davies
Sherlock Holmes and the Four Kings of Sweden
Book 35 of 38 · published 2021 Anthology · Steven Savile
Revenge from the Grave
Book 36 of 38 · published 2022 Anthology · David Stuart Davies
The Gentleman Burglar
Latest in the series · book 38 of 38 · published 2024 Anthology · Sam Siciliano
Thieves' World
Series opener · book 1 of 19 · published 1979 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn
Book 2 of 19 · published 1980 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Shadows of Sanctuary
Book 3 of 19 · published 1981 Co-authored · John Brunner,Joe Haldeman,Robert Lynn Asprin
Storm Season
Book 4 of 19 · published 1982 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
The Face of Chaos
Book 5 of 19 · published 1983 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Wings of Omen
Book 6 of 19 · published 1984 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Soul of the City
Book 8 of 19 · published 1986 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Blood Ties
Book 9 of 19 · published 1986 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Aftermath
Book 11 of 19 · published 1987 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
Stealers' Sky
Book 13 of 19 · published 1989 Anthology · Lynn Abbey,Robert Lynn Asprin
The Shadow of Sorcery
Book 14 of 19 · published 1993 Anthology · Andrew J. Offutt
Turning Points
Book 16 of 19 · published 2002 Anthology · Dennis L. McKiernan,Mickey Zucker Reichert,Lynn Abbey,Raymond E. Feist,Diana Paxson
Enemies of Fortune
Book 17 of 19 · published 2004 Anthology · C.J. Cherryh,Jody Lynn Nye,Mickey Zucker Reichert,Lynn Abbey,Robin Wayne Bailey,Andrew J. Offutt,Jeff Grubb,Selina Rosen,Diana Paxson
Thieves' World: Player's Manual
Book 18 of 19 · published 2005 Anthology · James Ryman
The Secret of the Blue Star
Latest in the series · book 19 of 19 · published 2013 Anthology · Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Caterpillar's Question
Book 28 of 31 · published 1992 Co-authored · Piers Anthony
Up From The Bottomless Pit
Latest in the series · book 31 of 31 · published 2020
The Secret of Satan's Spine
Book 19 of 22 · published 2015 Anthology · Kenneth Robeson
Mr. Calamity
Latest in the series · book 22 of 22 · published 2018 Anthology · Kenneth Robeson
The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction / Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century
Book 18 of 26 · published 1980
The Worlds of Philip José Farmer: Protean Dimensions
Latest in the series · book 26 of 26 · published 2010
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Philip José Farmer?
Philip Jose Farmer was a prolific American novelist well known for writing fantasy and science fiction books and short stories. He had written several mind-blowing book series in his career and is best remembered for the Riverworld and World of Tiers series. Farmer is regarded as one of the pioneers of using religious and sexual themes in his stories.
Which Philip José Farmer series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Philip José Farmer Short Story Collections series, the earliest of Philip José Farmer's multi-book series: it opens with They Twinkled Like Jewels (1954) and runs to 21 books across 1954–2021, ending with The Man Who Met Tarzan (2021). Philip José Farmer's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Philip José Farmer written?
Philip José Farmer has 201 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1954 and 2024. 174 of them belong to 14 named series — the largest being The Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes series with 38 books — and 27 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Philip José Farmer's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Philip José Farmer's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Philip José Farmer Short Story Collections (1954–2021, 21 books), Philip José Farmer Short Stories/Novellas (1954–2021, 5 books) and Philip José Farmer Standalone Novels (1957–2020, 31 books), plus 10 more.
How are Philip José Farmer's books organised into series?
This guide splits Philip José Farmer's 201 books into 14 named series and 27 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: The Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes (38 books, 1974–2024); Philip José Farmer Standalone Novels (31 books, 1957–2020); Wild Adventures Of Doc Savage (22 books, 1991–2018); Philip José Farmer Short Story Collections (21 books, 1954–2021); Philip Jose Farmer's The Dungeon (9 books, 1988–2017), plus 9 further series.