Giants books in order

The Giants series by James P. Hogan begins with Inherit the Stars (1977), in which a 50,000-year-old human corpse is discovered on the Moon, triggering a scientific mystery that spans five novels.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Against the Giants 1980 James P. Hogan N/A
2 Inherit the Stars 1977 James P. Hogan Buy
3 Giants 2018 James P. Hogan N/A
4 The Gentle Giants of Ganymede 1978 James P. Hogan Buy
5 甘尼米德的溫柔巨人 1978 James P. Hogan N/A
6 Giants’ Star 1981 James P. Hogan Buy
7 Entoverse 1991 James P. Hogan Buy
8 Mission to Minerva 2005 James P. Hogan Buy

The Giants series began in 1977 with Inherit the Stars, a novel built around a single striking premise: a human body in a spacesuit is found on the Moon, but tests show it has been there for 50,000 years. The book follows a team of scientists as they try to figure out who the man was and how he got there. Rather than relying on action sequences, the plot moves forward through scientific reasoning and debate.

The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (1978) expands the story when a wrecked alien spacecraft is found on Jupiter’s moon, and living members of the alien race turn up soon after. Giants’ Star (1981) shifts into a larger conflict involving multiple alien civilizations and Earth’s place among them. Entoverse (1991) and Mission to Minerva (2005) continue the story with increasingly ambitious scope, tying back to the ancient mystery that started the series. The books have remained in print for decades and are often cited as prime examples of hard science fiction that treats the scientific puzzle as the real main character.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Giants series?

There are eight books in the Giants series, published between 1977 and 2018.

What is the first book in the Giants series?

The first book in the Giants series is Against the Giants, published in 1980.

What order should the Giants series be read in?

The five core Giants novels should be read in publication order: Inherit the Stars (1977), The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (1978), Giants’ Star (1981), Entoverse (1991), and Mission to Minerva (2005). Each book builds directly on the revelations of the previous one, so reading out of order would spoil major plot points. The other entries in the list are omnibus editions and foreign-language versions of books already in the sequence.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We may receive commissions for purchases made through links on this site.

Privacy Policy