James Alan Gardner books

James Alan Gardner is a Canadian science fiction author known for the League of Peoples space opera series and the Dark/Spark superhero duology.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Northern Stars 1994 Buy
Tesseracts 5 1996 Buy
Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 1997 1997 Buy
More Amazing Stories 1998 Buy
What If…? 1998 Buy
Galileo’s Children 2005 Buy
Future Washington 2005 Buy
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, February 2008 2008 Buy
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 2008 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 22 2008 Buy
Campus Chills 2009 Buy
Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2011 edition 2012 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Gravity Wells 2004 Buy

Dark/Spark Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault 2017 Buy
They Promised Me The Gun Wasn’t Loaded 2018 Buy

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Tomb Raider Tech Manual 2001 Buy
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power 2003 N/A
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult 2004 N/A
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze 2004 N/A
The Man of Bronze 2004 Buy
The Amulet of Power 2003 Buy
The Lost Cult 2004 Buy

League of Peoples Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Gravity Wells: Speculative Fiction Stories 2004 N/A
Expendable 1997 Buy
Commitment Hour 1998 Buy
Vigilant 1999 Buy
Hunted 2000 Buy
Ascending 2001 Buy
Trapped 2002 Buy
Radiant 2004 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream 1997 Buy
The Ray-Gun: A Love Story 2008 Buy
The One With the Interstellar Group Consciousnesses 2009 N/A
A Clean Sweep With All the Trimmings 2011 Buy
Organisms: Selected Stories 2019 N/A

James Alan Gardner is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author who has been publishing since the mid-1990s. His League of Peoples series, beginning with Expendable (1997), established him as a writer of inventive space opera with a satirical edge. The series follows different protagonists in each book, all navigating a galaxy governed by an advanced alien league that has declared it a capital offense for sentient beings to kill.

Gardner later turned to superhero fiction with the Dark/Spark duology, starting with All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault (2017). He has also written Lara Croft: Tomb Raider tie-in novels and published short fiction that has won or been nominated for multiple Aurora and Nebula Awards. His work consistently blends hard science fiction concepts with humor and sharp social commentary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has James Alan Gardner written?

James Alan Gardner has written 35 books across 6 series.

What was James Alan Gardner's first book?

James Alan Gardner’s first book is Northern Stars, published in 1994.

What is James Alan Gardner best known for?

Gardner is best known for his League of Peoples series, an eight-book space opera that began with Expendable in 1997, and for the Dark/Spark superhero novels.

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