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Standalone Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Standalone books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Standalone series? Start with "Vault of the Ages" (1952) and follow publication order through all 42 books.
The complete Standalone reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
Vault of the Ages
1952
The War of Two Worlds
1953
Brainwave
1954
The Broken Sword
1954
No World of Their Own / The Long Way Home
1955
Planet of No Return / Question and Answer
1956
The Enemy Stars / We Have Fed Our Seas
1958
Rogue Sword
1960
The High Crusade
1960
The Golden Slave
1960
Twilight World
1961
The Makeshift Rocket
1962
After Doomsday
1962
Shield
1963
Let the Spacemen Beware! / The Night Face
1963
Three Worlds To Conquer
1964
The Star Fox
1965
The Corridors of Time
1965
World Without Stars
1967
Tau Zero
1970
The Dancer From Atlantis
1971
The Byworlder
1971
Hrolf Kraki's Saga
1973
Inheritors of Earth (With: Gordon Eklund)
1974
Fire Time
1974
Homeward and Beyond
1975
The Winter of the World
1975
Two Worlds
1978
The Avatar
1978
The Merman's Children
1979
The Demon of Scattery (With: Mildred Downey Broxon)
1979
The Devil's Game
1980
The Gods Laughed
1982
New America
1982
No Truce with Kings & Ship of Shadows (With: Fritz Leiber)
1989
The Boat of a Million Years
1989
Inconstant Star
1990
Alight in the Void
1991
Genesis
1995
Starfarers
1998
Mother of Kings
2001
For Love and Glory
2003
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