Torchwood books in order

Torchwood is a 27-book series collecting the BBC Books Torchwood novel line and related comics, following Captain Jack Harkness and his alien-hunting team in Cardiff, published between 2007 and 2017.

Reading order


Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Torchwood: Another Life 2007 Dan Abnett Buy
2 Torchwood, Vol. 1 2017 Dan Abnett N/A
3 Border Princes 2007 Dan Abnett Buy
4 Slow Decay 2007 Dan Abnett Buy
5 Something in the Water 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
6 Trace Memory 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
7 The Twilight Streets 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
8 The Torchwood Archives 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
9 Pack Animals 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
10 SkyPoint 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
11 Almost Perfect 2008 Dan Abnett Buy
12 The Torchwood Encyclopedia 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
13 Into the Silence 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
14 The House That Jack Built 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
15 Bay of the Dead 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
16 Torchwood: The Undertaker’s Gift 2009 Dan Abnett N/A
17 Risk Assessment 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
18 The Undertaker’s Gift 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
19 Torchwood: First Born 2011 Dan Abnett N/A
20 Consequences 2009 Dan Abnett Buy
21 Torchwood: Long Time Dead 2011 Dan Abnett N/A
22 First Born 2011 Dan Abnett Buy
23 Torchwood: The Men Who Sold The World 2011 Dan Abnett N/A
24 Long Time Dead 2011 Dan Abnett Buy
25 The Men Who Sold the World 2011 Dan Abnett Buy
26 Mr. Invincible 2012 Dan Abnett Buy
27 Exodus Code 2012 Dan Abnett Buy

Torchwood ran on BBC Wales from 2006 to 2011 as a spin-off from Doctor Who, centred on the Torchwood Institute, a secret organisation that investigates and contains alien threats. Captain Jack Harkness leads a small team based in Cardiff, and the show was notable for a darker, more adult tone than its parent series. BBC Books launched a tie-in novel line in 2007, running alongside the show’s first two series, with titles written by various authors.

The novel line produced 14 books between 2007 and 2009, covering the full team including Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones. The books vary in focus, with some centred on individual characters and others dealing with new alien threats facing the whole team. BBC Books also published a Torchwood Archives reference book and a Torchwood Encyclopedia. A second wave of novels appeared in 2011, set after the events of series three (Children of Earth), followed by a comics volume in 2017.

Dan Abnett contributed to the Torchwood publishing programme, and his work sits within the broader 27-volume line. Readers new to Torchwood should watch at least the first series of the television show before approaching the novels, as the books assume familiarity with the main cast. The 2007 novels make the best entry point if approaching the line in publication order.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Torchwood series?

There are 27 books in the Torchwood series, published between 2007 and 2017.

What is the first book in the Torchwood series?

The first book in the Torchwood series is Torchwood: Another Life, published in 2007.

Do the Torchwood novels follow the TV series continuity?

The BBC Books Torchwood novels are licensed tie-ins set in the same continuity as the TV series, slotting into gaps between episodes or exploring storylines parallel to the show. They are generally written to be accessible without having seen every episode, though familiarity with the main characters from the television series helps.

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