Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | So You Want to Be a Wizard | 1983 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 2 | Deep Wizardry | 1985 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 3 | High Wizardry | 1990 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 4 | A Wizard Abroad | 1993 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 5 | The Wizard’s Dilemma | 2001 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 6 | A Wizard Alone | 2002 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 7 | Wizard’s Holiday | 2003 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 8 | Wizards at War | 2005 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 9 | A Wizard of Mars | 2010 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 10 | How Lovely Are Thy Branches | 2015 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 11 | Lifeboats | 2015 | Diane Duane | Buy |
| 12 | Games Wizards Play | 2016 | Diane Duane | Buy |
The Young Wizards series follows Nita Callahan and Kit Rodriguez, two teenagers who discover that wizardry is real after Nita finds a library book titled So You Want to Be a Wizard. In this world, magic operates through the Speech, a language that describes reality itself, and wizards work to preserve the universe against entropy personified as the Lone Power. The series blends fantasy elements with science fiction concepts, featuring adventures across dimensions, underwater worlds, and distant planets.
Diane Duane began the series in 1983, and it has continued for over three decades with 12 books. The protagonists age in real time relative to the publishing schedule, growing from 13-year-olds to adults over the course of the series. Duane has also released updated “New Millennium” editions of the earlier books that modernize technology references and align the internal timeline. The series has developed a dedicated following for its thoughtful worldbuilding and treatment of themes like death, sacrifice, and the nature of evil.