Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Free Space |
1997 |
Buy |
| The Best of Jim Baen’s Universe |
2007 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection |
2007 |
Buy |
| Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21 |
2008 |
Buy |
| The New Space Opera 2 |
2009 |
Buy |
| Timeless Time Travel Tales |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 4 |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012 |
2012 |
Buy |
| Galactic Empires |
2017 |
Buy |
Century Next Door Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Orbital Resonance |
1991 |
Buy |
| Kaleidoscope Century |
1995 |
Buy |
| Candle |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Century Next Door |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Sky So Big and Black |
2002 |
Buy |
Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Apostrophes & Apocalypses |
1998 |
Buy |
| An Ocean is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away |
2011 |
Buy |
| Rod Rapid and His Electric Chair |
2011 |
Buy |
Daybreak Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Directive 51 |
2010 |
Buy |
| Daybreak |
2011 |
N/A |
| Daybreak Zero |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Last President |
2012 |
Buy |
Giraut Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Million Open Doors |
1992 |
Buy |
| Earth Made of Glass |
1998 |
Buy |
| The Merchants of Souls |
2001 |
Buy |
| The Armies of Memory |
2006 |
Buy |
Jak Jinnaka Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Duke of Uranium |
2002 |
Buy |
| A Princess of the Aerie |
2003 |
Buy |
| In the Hall of the Martian King |
2003 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| My Advice to the Civilized |
1990 |
Buy |
| Upon Their Backs, to Bite ’em |
2000 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Poga |
2011 |
Buy |
| Every Hole is Outlined |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Lost Princess Man |
2011 |
Buy |
| Things Undone |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Quiet Guy It Always Was |
2011 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky |
1986 |
Buy |
| Sin of Origin |
1988 |
Buy |
| Mother of Storms |
1994 |
Buy |
| One for the Morning Glory |
1996 |
Buy |
| Encounter with Tiber |
1996 |
Buy |
| Payback City |
1998 |
Buy |
| Finity |
1999 |
Buy |
| The Return |
2000 |
Buy |
| Gaudeamus |
2004 |
Buy |
| Raise the Gipper! |
2012 |
Buy |
Teen & Young Adult Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Tales of the Madman Underground |
2009 |
Buy |
| Losers in Space |
2012 |
Buy |
Timeline Wars Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Patton’s Spaceship |
1997 |
Buy |
| Washington’s Dirigible |
1997 |
Buy |
| Caesar’s Bicycle |
1997 |
Buy |
Timeraider Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Wartide |
1992 |
Buy |
| Battlecry |
1992 |
Buy |
| Union Fires |
1992 |
Buy |
John Barnes began publishing science fiction in the mid-1980s and built a reputation for stories that take social and political ideas seriously. His debut, The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky, set the tone for a career spent examining how power, economics, and ideology shape human societies under pressure. He has remained a consistent presence in the genre across four decades, contributing to major anthologies and releasing work in both traditional and independent formats.
His series fiction covers a wide range, from the near-future sociological novels of the Century Next Door to the post-apocalyptic Daybreak trilogy, and from the far-future interstellar culture of the Giraut books to the young adult adventure of Jak Jinnaka. He also wrote the Timeraider series and the alternate history Timeline Wars trilogy. His standalone novels include Mother of Storms, widely regarded as one of the stronger hard SF climate-change novels of the 1990s.
Barnes has also been prolific in short fiction, releasing numerous collections and individual stories. His work appears in several of the major year’s-best anthologies, and he edited the original anthology Free Space in 1997.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has John Barnes written?
John Barnes has written 55 books across twelve series.
What was John Barnes's first book?
John Barnes’s first book is The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky, published in 1986.
What genre does John Barnes primarily write in?
John Barnes writes primarily in science fiction, with a particular focus on hard SF and politically charged futures. His work ranges from far-future sociological speculation in the Giraut series to near-future collapse scenarios in the Daybreak trilogy, as well as alternate history in the Timeline Wars series.