Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fire Eater | 1970 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
| 2 | Clockwork’s Pirates | 1971 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
| 3 | Shaggy Planet | 1973 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
| 4 | Space Hawk, Inc. | 1974 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
| 5 | Il perfido Cyborg | 1978 | Ron Goulart | N/A |
| 6 | The Wicked Cyborg | 1978 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
| 7 | Dr. Scofflaw | 1979 | Ron Goulart | Buy |
The Barnum System is Ron Goulart’s science fiction series spanning seven books from 1970 to 1979. It opens with The Fire Eater, moves through Clockwork’s Pirates (1971), Shaggy Planet (1973), and Space Hawk, Inc. (1974), then picks up again with Il perfido Cyborg and The Wicked Cyborg in 1978 before closing with Dr. Scofflaw in 1979.
The core sequence here feeds into the broader Barnum System universe, which also includes character-focused sub-series for Ben Jolsen, Jack Summer, and Star Hawks. New readers can start with The Fire Eater (1970) and follow the main series in publication order, then branch into the character sub-series from there.