Chris Bradford Books in Order
Explore Chris Bradford books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, and where to start across Young Samurai, Bodyguard, Soul Hunters, and more.
Last updated: July 13, 2026
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Chris Bradford books in publication order
40 books
Heart and Soul
by Chris Bradford
2005
Blending advice, anecdotes, and insights from working songwriters, this book looks at how songs come together. It is part craft guide, part behind-the-scenes look at what makes writing music work.
Artist Management Out Loud
by Chris Bradford
2006
Chris Bradford turns artist management into a clear, quick read for musicians. It looks at the people behind a music career and the choices that help an act grow.
Record Deals Out Loud
by Chris Bradford
2006
A compact guide to the label side of the music industry, this book explains record deals in simple terms. It is aimed at musicians who want to understand the fine print before signing anything.
Crash Course Songwriting
by Chris Bradford
2007
A practical guide for aspiring songwriters, this book breaks the craft into manageable steps. Chris Bradford focuses on how songs are built, helping readers move from raw ideas to finished work.
Music Publishing Out Loud
by Chris Bradford
2007
This short, illustrated guide explains the business side of songs in plain language. It helps musicians understand publishing, ownership, and how music rights can shape a career.
The Way of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2008
Shipwrecked in Japan after pirates kill his father and crew, Jack Fletcher is rescued by a master swordsman. To survive in a hostile land, he must begin the long path to becoming a samurai.
The Way of the Sword
by Chris Bradford
2009
One year into samurai training, Jack faces the brutal Circle of Three and constant pressure from rivals. Worse, the ninja Dragon Eye is still hunting the object Jack cannot afford to lose.
The Ring of Earth
by Chris Bradford
2010
On the road to Nagasaki, Jack is hunted by samurai, trapped by enemies, and dragged deep into ninja territory. With no teacher beside him, survival depends on nerve, skill, and quick thinking.
The Way of the Dragon
by Chris Bradford
2010
Japan is sliding toward war, and Jack needs to recover his father's precious rutter from the ninja Dragon Eye. To win, he must master a secret sword technique and survive his fiercest battle yet.
Ninja: First Mission
by Chris Bradford
2011
Taka has already failed the grandmaster's test twice and is running out of chances. When an enemy samurai steals the clan scrolls, he gets a mission that could finally prove his worth.
The Ring of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2011
Caught in winter and far from help, Jack finds a village threatened by mountain bandits. Staying to fight means risking everything, but walking away may cost even more.
The Ring of Water
by Chris Bradford
2011
Jack wakes bruised, half dressed, and without his memory after being left for dead. To recover what he has lost, he must follow broken clues and trust skills that remain when everything else is gone.
Gamer
by Chris Bradford
2012
Street kid Scott is chosen to test the most realistic fighting game ever made. Inside Virtual Kombat, pain is real, the rules are brutal, and one missing player suggests the game is deadly in more ways than one.
The Ring of Sky
by Chris Bradford
2012
Nagasaki is close, but every road to safety is closing around Jack Fletcher. Hunted by the Shogun's men and old enemies, he makes one last desperate run for freedom.
The Ring of Wind
by Chris Bradford
2012
Jack and his friends flee across the Seto Sea with samurai, storms, sharks, and ninja pirates closing in. To stay alive, he must master the element that gives this chapter its name.
The Way of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2012
In this short Young Samurai adventure, Jack heads to warrior camp to sharpen his skills. There he faces the terrifying Way of Fire, a trial meant to burn fear and weakness away.
Hostage
by Chris Bradford
2013
Connor is the First Daughter's hidden shield, even though she does not know it. As the kidnapping plot tightens around Alicia, he must keep her alive long enough to stop the strike.
Ninja: Death Touch
by Chris Bradford
2013
Lord Oda has declared war on the ninja, and Taka's village stands in the path of his army. Outnumbered and under siege, Taka must fight for his home and the people in it.
Ninja: Assassin
by Chris Bradford
2014
Taka's clan is scattered, his losses are personal, and vengeance is pulling him forward. To reach Lord Oda, he must finish his training and decide what kind of killer he is willing to become.
Ransom
by Chris Bradford
2014
Connor and his young charges are stranded at sea with pirates demanding millions. The captors think they control the yacht, but they have badly underestimated the bodyguard on board.
Ambush
by Chris Bradford
2015
A safari assignment in Africa looks like a routine protection job until gunmen attack the convoy. Connor has to keep his clients moving while the bush becomes a hunting ground.
Bulletcatcher
by Chris Bradford
2015
Troy survives a terrorist attack without a scratch and discovers bullets cannot hurt him. That impossible gift pulls him into S.P.E.A.R., a secret team fighting violent threats across Terminus City.
Shadow Warriors
by Chris Bradford
2016
This collected Ninja volume brings Taka's world of secret missions, clan loyalty, and samurai conflict into one fast-moving read. It is a compact historical action story full of stealth, danger, and hard choices.
Sniper
by Chris Bradford
2016
A killer is picking off people across Terminus City, and panic spreads with every shot. To stop the sniper, Troy and the SPEAR team must uncover the truth before the body count climbs higher.
Target
by Chris Bradford
2016
Surf champion Charley Hunter is assigned to protect teen rock star Ash Wild on tour. Fame makes a perfect cover for a killer, and Charley must spot the threat before the next crowd does.
Assassin
by Chris Bradford
2017
Connor's most dangerous mission yet takes him to Russia, where he must protect the son of a reform-minded billionaire under threat from the mafia. Every alliance feels shaky, and a killer is already in play.
Blowback
by Chris Bradford
2017
Judgement Day hits Terminus City as powers, gunfire, and betrayal collide. With SPEAR under pressure and his own abilities failing, Troy has to stop the chaos before everything breaks.
Hijack
by Chris Bradford
2017
Connor's new mission, protecting twin daughters aboard a luxury yacht, sounds almost easy. Then armed pirates hit the ship, and the open sea turns into a trap.
Jake and Jen in the Tomb of Ice
by Chris Bradford
2017
Jake and Jen race through an adventure that feels like a jungle expedition full of animals and obstacles. It is a lively early-reader story powered by imagination and motion.
Recruit
by Chris Bradford
2017
Connor Reeves joins a secret teen bodyguard unit and trains for the kind of missions adults do not expect kids to handle. Then his first assignment lands him beside the US president's daughter as danger builds.
Survival
by Chris Bradford
2017
Connor and the diplomat's family are still alive, but now they must cross dangerous ground with rebels and predators on their heels. Every skill he has learned is tested in the African wild.
Fugitive
by Chris Bradford
2018
After disaster strikes, Connor returns to find his world under attack and his fellow recruits missing. The trail leads to Shanghai, where he becomes the target and has to fight back hard.
Traitor
by Chris Bradford
2018
Charley Hunter is still protecting Ash Wild, but the danger has only grown sharper and more personal. To stop a stalker with deadly intent, she must read the chaos of celebrity life faster than the killer does.
Virus
by Chris Bradford
2018
Scott has escaped the deadly game, but Virtual Kombat is still out there. To destroy it, he joins a group of hackers and heads back into the arena he barely survived once.
Cyborg
by Chris Bradford
2019
Scott and his hacker allies thought they had beaten Virtual Kombat. But when the game spills into the real world, he faces a new kind of fight where tech skills alone will not save him.
The Return of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2019
After fighting across Japan and finally reaching home, Jack Fletcher finds England feels strangely foreign. To find his missing sister, he must begin one last dangerous quest with old friends beside him.
Jake and Jen and the Mission to Mars
by Chris Bradford
2020
Jake and Jen blast off on an imaginative early-reader trip to Mars. The adventure is playful, fast, and full of just enough danger to keep young explorers turning pages.
The Soul Hunters
by Chris Bradford
2021
When Genna Adams is attacked twice, a mysterious boy named Phoenix tells her an impossible truth: an enemy has tracked her across lifetimes. What follows is a fast, time-bending race to save her soul and much more.
The Soul Prophecy
by Chris Bradford
2022
After a violent tragedy, Genna Adams knows the Soul Hunters are back. She flees to America to find Phoenix, but old enemies keep closing in, and her past lives may be the only key to surviving.
Lunar
by Chris Bradford
2023
Luna loves life on the moon until a meteor strike destroys her base and leaves her alone. With rescue days away and oxygen running low, survival becomes a race against time.
Where to start with Chris Bradford
If you want historical action: The Way of the Warrior → The Way of the Sword → The Way of the Dragon
If you want fast-paced thrillers: Recruit → Hostage → Hijack → Ransom
If you want sci-fi and gaming: Gamer → Virus → Cyborg
If you want fantasy with past lives: The Soul Hunters → The Soul Prophecy
For younger readers: Jake and Jen in the Tomb of Ice → Jake and Jen and the Mission to Mars
Chris Bradford sub-series and character series
Bodyguard (Chris Bradford) books in order
Explore this series
Hostage
by Chris Bradford
2013Bodyguard, Book 2
Ransom
by Chris Bradford
2014Bodyguard, Book 4
Ambush
by Chris Bradford
2015Bodyguard, Book 5
Target
by Chris Bradford
2016Bodyguard, Book 7
Hijack
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 3
Recruit
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 1
Survival
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 6
Traitor
by Chris Bradford
2018Bodyguard, Book 8
Bodyguard (Chris Bradford) books in chronological order

Recruit
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 1
Hostage
by Chris Bradford
2013Bodyguard, Book 2
Hijack
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 3
Ransom
by Chris Bradford
2014Bodyguard, Book 4
Ambush
by Chris Bradford
2015Bodyguard, Book 5
Survival
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard, Book 6
Target
by Chris Bradford
2016Bodyguard, Book 7
Traitor
by Chris Bradford
2018Bodyguard, Book 8
Bodyguard Original books in order
Explore this series
Hostage
by Chris Bradford
2013Bodyguard, Book 2
Ransom
by Chris Bradford
2014Bodyguard, Book 4
Ambush
by Chris Bradford
2015Bodyguard, Book 5
Target
by Chris Bradford
2016Bodyguard, Book 7
Assassin
by Chris Bradford
2017Bodyguard Original, Book 5
Fugitive
by Chris Bradford
2018Bodyguard Original, Book 6
Bodyguard Original books in chronological order
Bulletcatcher books in order
Explore this seriesJake & Jen Adventures books in order
Explore this seriesNinja (Chris Bradford) books in order
Explore this seriesSoul Hunters books in order
Explore this seriesVirtual Kombat books in order
Explore this seriesYoung Samurai books in order
Explore this series
The Way of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2008Young Samurai, Book 1
The Way of the Sword
by Chris Bradford
2009Young Samurai, Book 2
The Ring of Earth
by Chris Bradford
2010Young Samurai, Book 4
The Way of the Dragon
by Chris Bradford
2010Young Samurai, Book 3
The Ring of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2011Young Samurai, Book 6
The Ring of Water
by Chris Bradford
2011Young Samurai, Book 5
The Ring of Sky
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 9
The Ring of Wind
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 7
The Way of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 8
The Return of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2019Young Samurai, Book 10
Young Samurai books in chronological order

The Way of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2008Young Samurai, Book 1
The Way of the Sword
by Chris Bradford
2009Young Samurai, Book 2
The Way of the Dragon
by Chris Bradford
2010Young Samurai, Book 3
The Ring of Earth
by Chris Bradford
2010Young Samurai, Book 4
The Ring of Water
by Chris Bradford
2011Young Samurai, Book 5
The Ring of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2011Young Samurai, Book 6
The Ring of Wind
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 7
The Way of Fire
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 8
The Ring of Sky
by Chris Bradford
2012Young Samurai, Book 9
The Return of the Warrior
by Chris Bradford
2019Young Samurai, Book 10
Chris Bradford collections, short stories, and related book types
Author bio
Chris Bradford writes the kind of stories that move fast, train hard, and throw young heroes into serious danger. He is best known for action-led series such as Young Samurai, Bodyguard, and Soul Hunters, but his road to fiction did not start in publishing. It started in music, performance, and a long fascination with craft, discipline, and how people learn under pressure.
Music came first.
Before he became a full-time author, Bradford worked as a professional musician, songwriter, and music teacher. He even performed for Queen Elizabeth II. That part of his career led to several nonfiction books about the music world, including Heart and Soul and Crash Course Songwriting. In interviews, he has said that writing a book about songwriting helped launch his career as an author.
Then martial arts pulled him toward fiction. Bradford has trained in judo, kickboxing, muay thai, karate, iaido, and ninjutsu, and he earned a black belt in Zen Kyu Shin Taijutsu. He often describes his approach as method writing. Instead of only researching on paper, he tries to learn the skills his characters use in real life.
That approach shaped Young Samurai, his first fiction series and still one of the works most closely linked to his name. Beginning with The Way of the Warrior in 2008, the books follow Jack Fletcher, an English boy trying to survive and train in seventeenth-century Japan. Readers usually come for the sword fights and cliffhangers, then stay for the school rivalries, codes of honor, and the feeling that Jack has to earn every step forward.
Training matters in a Chris Bradford book.
For Bodyguard, Bradford took an intensive close protection course and qualified as a professional bodyguard. That hands-on work feeds straight into the Connor Reeves novels, which mix surveillance, anti-ambush drills, defensive driving, and high-stakes rescue missions. Later books in the same world widen the focus to other young protectors, including Charley Hunter. Readers who like modern thrillers usually find a lot to enjoy here.
Soul Hunters shows another side of his work. It begins with Genna Adams discovering that the danger around her reaches across lifetimes, then builds into a bigger fantasy adventure with reincarnation, history, and global stakes. Bradford also moves easily between formats and age groups. Gamer and its sequels lean into dystopian gaming and virtual danger, Lunar turns space survival into quick, tense fiction, and Jake and Jen is made for much younger readers.
Across all of these books, certain patterns keep returning. Outsiders have to prove themselves. Skills matter. Friendship matters even more. Whether he is writing about samurai schools, secret bodyguard units, deadly game arenas, or young adventurers with huge imaginations, Bradford likes momentum, clear stakes, and chapters that end with one more reason to keep going.
He still spends a lot of time meeting readers. His school and festival events often include martial arts demonstrations, sword displays, and bodyguard style challenges, which fits the way he writes. Bradford lives in England with his wife and two sons, and he still seems happiest when a book can teach a few real skills while telling a very lively story.
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