Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 5 |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2011 |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012 |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2014 |
2013 |
Buy |
| The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Nine |
2014 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2015 |
2015 |
Buy |
| The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016 |
2016 |
Buy |
| Tor.com Collection: Season 1 |
2016 |
Buy |
| The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Online Magazine, Year Seven |
2016 |
Buy |
| The Book of Swords: Part 1 |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Book of Magic: A Collection of Stories |
2018 |
Buy |
Corax Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead |
2023 |
Buy |
| Saevus Corax Captures the Castle |
2023 |
Buy |
| Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder |
2023 |
Buy |
Engineer Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Devices and Desires |
2005 |
Buy |
| Evil for Evil |
2006 |
Buy |
| The Escapement |
2007 |
Buy |
Fencer Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Colours in the Steel |
1998 |
Buy |
| The Belly of the Bow |
1999 |
Buy |
| The Proof House |
2000 |
Buy |
Five Stories High Books Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Five Stories High |
2016 |
N/A |
| The Best Story I Can Manage Under the Circumstances |
2016 |
Buy |
| Priest’s Hole |
2016 |
Buy |
| Gnaw |
2016 |
Buy |
| Maggots |
2016 |
Buy |
| Skin Deep |
2016 |
Buy |
Prosper’s Demon Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Prosper’s Demon |
2020 |
Buy |
| Inside Man |
2021 |
Buy |
Saloninus Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Blue and Gold |
2010 |
Buy |
| The Devil You Know |
2016 |
Buy |
| The Big Score |
2021 |
N/A |
Scavenger Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Shadow |
2001 |
Buy |
| Pattern |
2002 |
Buy |
| Memory |
2003 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Purple and Black |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Sun and I |
2013 |
N/A |
| Academic Exercises |
2014 |
Buy |
| The Last Witness |
2015 |
Buy |
| Downfall of the Gods |
2016 |
Buy |
| Mightier than the Sword |
2017 |
Buy |
| My Beautiful Life |
2019 |
Buy |
| Burning Books for Pleasure and Profit |
2022 |
Buy |
| Set in Stone |
2024 |
Buy |
| Making History |
2025 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Father of Lies |
2018 |
Buy |
| Under My Skin |
2023 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Company |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Folding Knife |
2010 |
Buy |
| The Hammer |
2011 |
Buy |
| Sharps |
2012 |
Buy |
| Savages |
2015 |
Buy |
| The Big Score |
2021 |
Buy |
| The Long Game |
2022 |
Buy |
| Pulling the Wings Off Angels |
2022 |
Buy |
The Loyal Opposition Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead |
2026 |
Buy |
| Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know |
2026 |
Buy |
The Siege Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| L’assedio |
2001 |
N/A |
| Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City |
2019 |
Buy |
| The Betrayal |
2010 |
N/A |
| How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It |
2020 |
Buy |
| A Practical Guide to Conquering the World |
2022 |
Buy |
The Two of Swords Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Two of Swords: Part 1 |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords, Volume Two |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Two of Swords, Volume Three |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Two of Swords: Part Four |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Five |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Six |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Seven |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Eight |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Eleven |
2015 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part 12 |
2016 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part 13 |
2016 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part 14 |
2016 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part 15 |
2016 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Sixteen |
2017 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Seventeen |
2017 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Eighteen |
2017 |
N/A |
| The Two of Swords: Part Nineteen |
2017 |
N/A |
K.J. Parker has been publishing fiction since 1998, beginning with Colours in the Steel and the Fencer Trilogy. The name turned out to be a pseudonym for Tom Holt, a British author already well known for comic fantasy, but the Parker novels could not be more different in tone. Where Holt’s own-name work is light and funny, Parker’s fiction is dry, dark, and obsessed with the mechanics of how things work, whether that means forging a sword, building a siege engine, or running a con.
Parker’s output is enormous, spanning multiple trilogies, standalone novels, and a steady stream of novellas and short stories. The Fencer, Scavenger, and Engineer trilogies established his reputation, while more recent work like the Siege series (beginning with Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City) and the Corax Trilogy have brought him a wider audience. His novellas, many published through Tor.com and Subterranean Press, are frequently nominated for awards and often rank among his best work. Readers who enjoy fiction where characters think their way through problems, often with a body count, will find decades of material here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has K.J. Parker written?
K.J. Parker has written 80 books across fourteen series.
What was K.J. Parker's first book?
K.J. Parker’s first book is Colours in the Steel, published in 1998.
Is K.J. Parker the same person as Tom Holt?
Yes. K.J. Parker was revealed to be the pen name of British novelist Tom Holt in 2015. Holt writes comic fantasy under his own name, while the Parker pseudonym is reserved for his darker, more cynical work. The two bodies of work have very different tones despite sharing an author.