Code of the Lifemaker books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Code of the Lifemaker series?"

"There are two books in the Code of the Lifemaker series, published between 1983 and 1995."

Q: "What is the first book in the Code of the Lifemaker series?"

"The first book in the Code of the Lifemaker series is Code of the Lifemaker, published in 1983."

Q: "What is the premise behind Code of the Lifemaker?"

"A million years before the story begins, an alien factory ship malfunctioned near Saturn and crash-landed on Titan. Its self-replicating machines kept operating, but copying errors accumulated over thousands of generations, producing an entire ecosystem of robots that evolved through something like natural selection. By the time humans arrive, Titan has a civilization of sentient machines with their own culture and society, unaware of their mechanical origins."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Code of the Lifemaker	1983	James P. Hogan	Buy
2	The Immortality Option	1995	James P. Hogan	Buy

Code of the Lifemaker (1983) is set in a near-future world where a con artist and fake psychic named Karl Zambendorf is sent to Titan as part of a corporate-funded space mission. On arrival, the expedition discovers that the moon is home to a civilization of sentient robots. These machines descended from an alien probe that crashed there a million years earlier, and their self-replicating systems accumulated errors over time, producing a form of mechanical evolution.

The Immortality Option (1995) picks up the story as humans and the Titan robots try to build a relationship. Political and corporate interests on Earth complicate things, while the robots face their own internal conflicts. Both books are typical Hogan: big ideas presented through character interaction and scientific speculation, with a skeptical eye toward authority and institutional groupthink.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Code of the Lifemaker series?

There are two books in the Code of the Lifemaker series, published between 1983 and 1995.

What is the first book in the Code of the Lifemaker series?

The first book in the Code of the Lifemaker series is Code of the Lifemaker, published in 1983.

What is the premise behind Code of the Lifemaker?

A million years before the story begins, an alien factory ship malfunctioned near Saturn and crash-landed on Titan. Its self-replicating machines kept operating, but copying errors accumulated over thousands of generations, producing an entire ecosystem of robots that evolved through something like natural selection. By the time humans arrive, Titan has a civilization of sentient machines with their own culture and society, unaware of their mechanical origins.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order