Book Series Guide
John Scalzi

Author guide

John Scalzi Books in Order

John Michael Scalzi is an American science-fiction author, blogger, and nonfiction writer. His fiction includes the Old Man's War, Lock In, Interdependency, and Dispatcher series, as well as standalone novels, novellas, short-fiction collections, and a graphic work. He has also written reference books, essays, and collections drawn from his blog Whatever.

science fictionspeculative fictionhumornonfiction

Catalog record updated .

John Scalzi's Newest Book

Cover of The Shattering Peace

The Shattering Peace

novel · First published 2025

After a decade, acclaimed science fiction master John Scalzi returns to the galaxy of the Old Man's War series with the long awaited seventh book, The Shattering Peace THE PEACE IS SHATTERING For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartate agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed. But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions... but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them. The Colonial Union, the Earth and the Conclave are all at risk of being dragged into the conflict, whether they want to be involved or not. Gretchen Trujillo is a former Colonial Union diplomat, trying to forge a new life away from the conflicts of nations, human and alien. But when she is called to take part in a secret mission involving representatives from every powerful faction in space, what she finds there has the chance to redefine the destinies of each... or destroy them forever.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Old Man's War

Old Man's War

The author's breakthrough novel and the entry point to his largest series.

Cover of Lock In

Lock In

A self-contained mystery and the first full novel in the Lock In setting.

Cover of The Kaiju Preservation Society

The Kaiju Preservation Society

An accessible standalone science-fiction novel.

Cover of Agent to the Stars

Agent to the Stars

A concise, comic first-contact standalone.

Read in order

Books by series

novel-series · ongoing

Old Man's War

A military-science-fiction series about humanity's interstellar expansion, the Colonial Defense Forces, and the ethics of engineered soldiers and consciousness.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Old Man's War

    Book 1 · novel · 2005

    John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce--…

  2. 2
    The Ghost Brigades

    Book 2 · novel · 2006

    The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and…

  3. 3
    The Sagan Diary

    Book 2.5 · novella · 2007

    In John Scalzi's best-selling Old Man's War series of science-fiction novels, we see this warrior woman as the other characters see her: silent and strong, from the outside. But now The Sagan Diary shows us Sagan from another point of…

  4. 4
    The Last Colony

    Book 3 · novel · 2007

    Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys…

  5. 5
    Zoe's Tale

    Book 4 · novel · 2008

    How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history? I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar…

  6. 6
    The Human Division

    Book 5 · novel · 2013

    The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater…

  7. 7
    The End of All Things

    Book 6 · fixup · 2015

    Hugo-award winning author, John Scalzi returns to his best-selling Old Man's War universe with The End of All Things, the direct sequel to 2013's The Human Division Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with…

  8. 8
    The Shattering Peace

    Book 7 · novel · 2025

    After a decade, acclaimed science fiction master John Scalzi returns to the galaxy of the Old Man's War series with the long awaited seventh book, The Shattering Peace THE PEACE IS SHATTERING For a decade, peace has reigned in…

novel-series · ongoing

Lock In

A near-future science-fiction mystery series involving Haden's syndrome, neural interfaces, and investigators who operate through robotic bodies.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome

    Book 0 · novella · 2014 Optional

    In the near future--and sooner than you think--a new virus will sweep the globe. At first it will look like the flu, but then we will discover there is something else about it...something we weren't expecting. It will change society…

  2. 2
    Lock In

    Book 1 · novel · 2014

    Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the…

  3. 3
    Head On

    Book 2 · novel · 2018

    John Scalzi's Head On, is a chilling near-future SF with the thrills of a gritty cop procedural. Head On brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports. To some left with nothing,…

novel-series · complete

The Interdependency

A space-opera trilogy about a human civilization whose interstellar flow network is collapsing.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    The Collapsing Empire

    Book 1 · novel · 2017

    Our universe is ruled by physics. Faster than light travel is impossible—until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field available at certain points in space-time, which can take us to other planets around other stars. Riding…

  2. 2
    The Consuming Fire

    Book 2 · novel · 2018

    The Interdependency—humanity’s interstellar empire—is on the verge of collapse. The extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible is disappearing, leaving entire systems and human civilizations stranded. Emperox…

  3. 3
    The Last Emperox

    Book 3 · novel · 2020

    The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems—and billions of people—are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was…

novella-series · ongoing

The Dispatcher

A science-fiction crime series set in a world where licensed dispatchers kill people who would otherwise die violently, causing them to revive shortly afterward.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    The Dispatcher

    Book 1 · novella · 2016

    One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know. But it changes everything: war, crime, daily life. Tony Valdez is a…

  2. 2
    Murder by Other Means

    Book 2 · novella · 2020

    Welcome to the new world, in which murder is all but a thing of the past. When someone kills you, 999 times out of 1,000, you instantly come back to life. In this world, there are dispatchers—licensed killers who step in when you’re at…

  3. 3
    Travel by Bullet

    Book 3 · novella · 2022

    The world has changed. Now, when someone is murdered, they almost always come back to life—and there are professionals, called “dispatchers”, who kill in order to save lives, to give those near the end a second chance. Tony Valdez is a…

novella-series · ongoing

Third District

A related science-fiction novella series centered on emergency constituent service in a future society.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Constituent Service

    Book 1 · novella · 2024

    It's a close encounter of the municipal kind! The aliens have come to earth...and a lot of them live in the Third District, the city's only alien-majority neighborhood. They work, live, shop and sing karaoke here, just like anyone else…

reference-series · complete

Rough Guides

Reference works written by Scalzi for the Rough Guides series.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    The Rough Guide to Money Online

    Book 1 · nonfiction · 2000

    Author John Scalzi demystifies the world of online money by walking readers through the basic steps of setting up online banking and brokerage accounts and making their first online transactions and trades.The guide deals with both simple…

  2. 2
    The Rough Guide to the Universe

    Book 2 · nonfiction · 2003

    Whether you're a novice or an experienced amateur astronomer, The Rough Guide to the Universe is an indispensable book. Giving both a guide to the universe and an accessible overview of the science of astronomy, the Rough Guide features:…

  3. 3
    The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies

    Book 3 · nonfiction · 2005

    This guide explores cinema's fascination with space exploration, time travel, and fantastical worlds and tells the stories behind the movies that have been expanding our universe since film began.

nonfiction-series · complete

The Book of the Dumb

A humor and trivia series collecting examples of foolishness and absurdity.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    The Book of the Dumb

    Book 1 · nonfiction · 2003

  2. 2
    The Book of the Dumb 2

    Book 2 · nonfiction · 2004

fiction-series · ongoing

The Shadow War of the Night Dragons

A fantasy parody series begun with a deliberately overblown epic-fantasy chapbook.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    The Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City

    Book 1 · chapbook · 2011

    An over-the-top, humorous short story representing the prologue for a "future" book (written as an April Fool's Joke) published on Tor.com. The title of the series and book was created from an amalgamation of the most commonly used words…

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (9)
  1. Agent to the Stars

    novel · 2005

    From New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award-winner, John Scalzi, a gleeful mash-up of science fiction and Hollywood satire The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship.…

  2. The Android's Dream

    novel · 2006

    Science-fiction roman.

  3. Fuzzy Nation

    novel · 2011

    Discovering a gem node on a distant planet, contractor Jack Holloway believes he has become a wealthy man before encountering an indigenous race of small, furry, sentient beings who his corporate partners are determined to eliminate in…

  4. Redshirts: A Novel With Three Codas

    novel · 2012

    Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s…

  5. The Kaiju Preservation Society

    novel · 2022

    When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.”…

  6. Starter Villain

    novel · 2023

    Following the bestselling The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi returns with another unique sci-fi caper set in the strangest of all worlds, present-day Earth. Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more…

  7. When the Moon Hits Your Eye

    novel · 2025

    Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And…

  8. The God Engines

    novella · 2009

    Devoted to the Bishopry Militant and to his crew, ship captain Ean Tephe is given a secret mission to a hidden land.

Short fiction (2)
  1. Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi

    short_story_collection · 2016

  2. A Very Scalzi Christmas

    short_story_collection · 2019

Essays and speeches (5)
  1. Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008

    essay_collection · 2008

    A compilation of some of the writings from the author's popular blog, Whatever, from 1998 to 2008.

  2. 24 Frames into the Future: Scalzi on Science Fiction Films

    essay_collection · 2012

    Slipcased state

  3. Don't Live for Your Obituary: Advice, Commentary and Personal Observations on Writing

    essay_collection · 2017

    Between 2008 and 2017, author John Scalzi wrote fifteen books, became a New York Times bestselling author, and won numerous awards, including the Hugo, the Locus and the Governor's Award for the Arts in Ohio. He also had book deals…

Other (7)
  1. Questions for a Soldier

    chapbook · 2005

    A tale set in the world of his debut novel, OLD MAN'S WAR. Published as a signed limited edition chapbook.

  2. Judge Sn Goes Golfing

    chapbook · 2009

  3. After the Coup

    chapbook · 2008

    In a universe of harsh interstellar conflict, the practice of interspecies diplomacy—when possible—is important. So being a Colonial Union officer attached to an interplanetary diplomatic mission sometimes means taking a fall. Literally.…

  4. The President's Brain Is Missing

    chapbook · 2010

    The question is, how can you tell the President's brain is missing? And are we sure we need it back?

  5. Slow Time Between the Stars

    chapbook · 2023

    An artificial intelligence on a star-spanning mission explores the farthest horizons of human potential—and its own purpose—in a mind-bending short story by New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi. Equipped with the entirety of…

  6. Midnight Rises

    graphic_work · 2015

Frequently asked questions about John Scalzi

Who is John Scalzi, and where was he born?

John Scalzi is an American science-fiction author, blogger, and nonfiction writer. He was born on May 10, 1969, in Fairfield, California, and studied philosophy at the University of Chicago.

Source: whatever.scalzi.com (opens in a new tab)

What did John Scalzi do before becoming a novelist?

He worked as a film critic and columnist for The Fresno Bee, then as a writer and editor for America Online before becoming a full-time freelancer. His first novel was published in 2005.

Sources: sfwa.org (opens in a new tab)whatever.scalzi.com (opens in a new tab)

Who influenced John Scalzi’s writing?

Scalzi has cited Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, and Sheri S. Tepper among his influences. His experience as a film critic also shaped his interest in accessible, audience-focused storytelling.

Sources: lightspeedmagazine.com (opens in a new tab)scalzi.com (opens in a new tab)

What awards has John Scalzi won?

His honors include the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and multiple Hugo Awards; Redshirts won the 2013 Hugo for Best Novel. He also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award in 2023.

Sources: sfwa.org (opens in a new tab)thehugoawards.org (opens in a new tab)heinleinsociety.org (opens in a new tab)

What is John Scalzi’s legacy in science fiction?

Scalzi’s impact extends beyond fiction through Whatever, his long-running blog, and his service as president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 2010 to 2013. His blog helped establish him as a prominent online voice and won the 2008 Hugo for Best Fan Writer.

Sources: whatever.scalzi.com (opens in a new tab)sfwa.org (opens in a new tab)thehugoawards.org (opens in a new tab)