Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Christopher Rowley Books in Order

Explore Christopher Rowley books in order, with concise summaries, series background, and easy where-to-start advice for new readers.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

View

Christopher Rowley books in publication order

Sort:

23 books

The War for Eternity

by Christopher Rowley

1983

Centuries after Fenrille's settlement, humans and the native Fein profit from a drug that grants near immortality. When Earth sends a starfleet to claim it, soldier Lavin Fundin and the Fein must defend their world.

The Black Ship

by Christopher Rowley

1985

Fifty years after the war for Fenrille, an invading ship arrives to seize the planet's longevity wealth. As conflict spreads, Chosen Fundan is called into a distant struggle to rescue one of Fenrille's mysterious ancient powers.

Starhammer

by Christopher Rowley

1986

A miner's discovery awakens the legacy of an ancient war between the parasitic Vang and the beings who created the Starhammer. In human space, former slave Jon Iehard is drawn into a rebellion against the Laowon Imperium.

Golden Sunlands

by Christopher Rowley

1987

Aliens abduct the entire population of the frontier world Calabel and transport them to a strange artificial universe. Federal Ranger Cracka Buckshaw and a small group of survivors must find a way to protect their people and escape.

The Military Form

by Christopher Rowley

1988

A dormant Vang is discovered near the human world of Saskatch and quickly begins converting hosts into weapons. As the parasite spreads, the people fighting it face a terrifying question: can their planet be saved without destroying it?

The Founder

by Christopher Rowley

1989

Dane Fundan completes a colony ship meant to carry his clan beyond Earth's control. But his alliance with the ruthless Khalifi turns the voyage to Fenrille into a struggle against treachery, greed, and a hostile new world.

The Battlemaster

by Christopher Rowley

1990

On the divided planet Wexel, an ambitious count finds an ancient alien artifact buried on his land. Its awakening brings back the Vang, a deadly parasite whose plans could turn local corruption into a threat to all humanity.

Bazil Broketail

by Christopher Rowley

1992

Bazil and his orphan dragonboy, Relkin, seek a place in the Dragon Legions of Marneri. After Bazil's tail is injured and a young queen is kidnapped, the pair are swept into a dangerous pursuit of the Masters of Padmasa.

A Sword for a Dragon

by Christopher Rowley

1993

Bazil receives Ecator, an ancient elf-made dragonsword, before joining an expedition to the troubled land of Ourdh. When the army is trapped in a siege, Bazil and Relkin must face the sorcery behind the uprising.

To A Highland Nation

by Christopher Rowley

1993

A century after Fenrille's settlement, Fair Fundan confronts raiders, new colonists, and a fight over the chitin drug that grants long life. To protect the highlands, she must unite fiercely independent clans and their Fein allies.

Dragons of War

by Christopher Rowley

1994

The 109th Marneri Dragons race across the mountains after the Masters launch a devastating invasion of Kenor. Bazil and Relkin must help hold the line at Sprian's Ridge until the Argonathi army can arrive.

Battledragon

by Christopher Rowley

1995

Bazil and Relkin join a huge expedition into the dark continent of Eigo, where the Masters are building cannon that could end the dragons' military advantage. Their mission becomes a costly fight through enemy armies, volcanoes, and betrayal.

The Wizard and the Floating City

by Christopher Rowley

1996

Prince Evander flees his homeland and seeks help in Monjon, a city held aloft by ancient magic. A wizard's attack sends Evander and Princess Serena to another world, where they must survive before confronting their enemy.

A Dragon at Worlds' End

by Christopher Rowley

1997

Stranded in the wild continent of Eigo, Bazil and Relkin aid the forest-dwelling Ardu against slavers. When Relkin is carried to the hidden city of the Elf Lords, Bazil must lead a desperate rescue through magic and tyranny.

Dragons of Argonath

by Christopher Rowley

1998

Rebellion and plague weaken the Argonath just as Waakzaam the Great moves to seize Ryetelth. Bazil, Relkin, and the 109th Dragons are drawn into the crucial battles needed to stop an enemy far more dangerous than local revolt.

Dragon Ultimate

by Christopher Rowley

1999

Waakzaam the Great returns to threaten Ryetelth and the Sinni, golden beings who have resisted him across worlds. Bazil and Relkin must cross space and time to confront a vast golem built to finish Waakzaam's war.

Ancient Enemy

by Christopher Rowley

2000

Young watermot Thru Gillo leaves farm life to study with the scholar Assenzi. There he learns that humanity's destructive past may not be over, and that the legendary Man the Cruel could be a danger once again.

The Shasht War

by Christopher Rowley

2001

Thru Gillo has already faced the return of an ancient evil, but Arna's danger grows into open conflict. As the human powers of Shasht threaten his homeland, he must help defend a world divided by history and fear.

Doom's Break

by Christopher Rowley

2002

As war continues across Arna, Thru Gillo faces an ever-harder fight against the ancient sorcerer Karnemin. The fate of his people depends on alliances, courage, and whether old enemies can resist a threat bent on remaking their world.

Arkham Woods

by Christopher Rowley

2009

L.A. teenager Kirsti Rivers moves with her mother to a small New England town to clear out an inherited house. Hidden inside is an ancient evil, and Kirsti and her friends must stop it before it reaches the wider world.

Money Shot

by Christopher Rowley

2010

Rook and Plesur follow coordinates hidden in her brain to an isolated mountain complex. Hunted by robotic troops and powerful conspirators, they must expose Operation Taste Imperative before the secret behind Plesur destroys any chance of escape.

Pleasure Model

by Christopher Rowley

2010

Homicide detective Rook Venner finds Plesur, a gene-grown pleasure model, at the scene of a murdered general. When killers target the only witness, Rook takes her into hiding and uncovers a conspiracy that reaches far beyond one case.

The Bloodstained Man

by Christopher Rowley

2010

Rook Venner and Plesur remain on the run from forces determined to reclaim the secret in her mind. A meeting that may reveal the truth goes wrong, leaving Rook trapped in brutal gladiatorial fights while their enemies close in.

Where to start with Christopher Rowley

For dragon-led epic fantasy: Bazil BroketailA Sword for a DragonDragons of WarBattledragon
For a complete science fiction saga: The FounderTo A Highland NationThe War for EternityThe Black Ship
For alien-invasion space opera: StarhammerThe Military FormThe Battlemaster
For dark future noir: Pleasure ModelThe Bloodstained ManMoney Shot

Battle Dragons (Christopher Rowley) books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Bazil Broketail"

    Bazil Broketail

    by Christopher Rowley

    1992Battle Dragons, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Sword for a Dragon"

    A Sword for a Dragon

    by Christopher Rowley

    1993Battle Dragons, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Dragons of War"

    Dragons of War

    by Christopher Rowley

    1994Battle Dragons, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Battledragon"

    Battledragon

    by Christopher Rowley

    1995Battle Dragons, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "A Dragon at Worlds' End"

    A Dragon at Worlds' End

    by Christopher Rowley

    1997Battle Dragons, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Dragons of Argonath"

    Dragons of Argonath

    by Christopher Rowley

    1998Battle Dragons, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Dragon Ultimate"

    Dragon Ultimate

    by Christopher Rowley

    1999Battle Dragons, Book 7

Battle Dragons (Christopher Rowley) books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Bazil Broketail"

    Bazil Broketail

    by Christopher Rowley

    1992Battle Dragons, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Sword for a Dragon"

    A Sword for a Dragon

    by Christopher Rowley

    1993Battle Dragons, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Dragons of War"

    Dragons of War

    by Christopher Rowley

    1994Battle Dragons, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Battledragon"

    Battledragon

    by Christopher Rowley

    1995Battle Dragons, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "A Dragon at Worlds' End"

    A Dragon at Worlds' End

    by Christopher Rowley

    1997Battle Dragons, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Dragons of Argonath"

    Dragons of Argonath

    by Christopher Rowley

    1998Battle Dragons, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Dragon Ultimate"

    Dragon Ultimate

    by Christopher Rowley

    1999Battle Dragons, Book 7

Books of Arna books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Ancient Enemy"

    Ancient Enemy

    by Christopher Rowley

    2000Books of Arna, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Shasht War"

    The Shasht War

    by Christopher Rowley

    2001Books of Arna, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Doom's Break"

    Doom's Break

    by Christopher Rowley

    2002Books of Arna, Book 3

Books of Arna books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Ancient Enemy"

    Ancient Enemy

    by Christopher Rowley

    2000Books of Arna, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Shasht War"

    The Shasht War

    by Christopher Rowley

    2001Books of Arna, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Doom's Break"

    Doom's Break

    by Christopher Rowley

    2002Books of Arna, Book 3

Fenrille books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "The War for Eternity"

    The War for Eternity

    by Christopher Rowley

    1983Fenrille, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Black Ship"

    The Black Ship

    by Christopher Rowley

    1985Fenrille, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Founder"

    The Founder

    by Christopher Rowley

    1989Fenrille, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "To A Highland Nation"

    To A Highland Nation

    by Christopher Rowley

    1993Fenrille, Book 4

Fenrille books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The War for Eternity"

    The War for Eternity

    by Christopher Rowley

    1983Fenrille, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Black Ship"

    The Black Ship

    by Christopher Rowley

    1985Fenrille, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Founder"

    The Founder

    by Christopher Rowley

    1989Fenrille, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "To A Highland Nation"

    To A Highland Nation

    by Christopher Rowley

    1993Fenrille, Book 4

Netherworld books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Money Shot"

    Money Shot

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 3
  2. Book cover for "Pleasure Model"

    Pleasure Model

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 1
  3. Book cover for "The Bloodstained Man"

    The Bloodstained Man

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 2

Netherworld books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Pleasure Model"

    Pleasure Model

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Bloodstained Man"

    The Bloodstained Man

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Money Shot"

    Money Shot

    by Christopher Rowley

    2010Netherworld, Book 3

The Vang books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Starhammer"

    Starhammer

    by Christopher Rowley

    1986The Vang, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Military Form"

    The Military Form

    by Christopher Rowley

    1988The Vang, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Battlemaster"

    The Battlemaster

    by Christopher Rowley

    1990The Vang, Book 3

The Vang books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Starhammer"

    Starhammer

    by Christopher Rowley

    1986The Vang, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Military Form"

    The Military Form

    by Christopher Rowley

    1988The Vang, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Battlemaster"

    The Battlemaster

    by Christopher Rowley

    1990The Vang, Book 3

Standalone Christopher Rowley books

  1. Book cover for "Golden Sunlands"

    Golden Sunlands

    by Christopher Rowley

    1987
  2. Book cover for "The Wizard and the Floating City"

    The Wizard and the Floating City

    by Christopher Rowley

    1996
  3. Book cover for "Arkham Woods"

    Arkham Woods

    by Christopher Rowley

    2009

Author bio

Christopher Rowley was born in 1948 in Lynn, Massachusetts, to an American mother and an English father. Much of his schooling took place in England, including at Brentwood School in Essex. That mix of American and English life stayed with him, and his fiction often has the restless feel of people crossing borders, worlds, or social lines.

He was a science fiction reader from an early age. He has written about growing up on the adventure stories and paperbacks of the 1950s and 1960s, then later finding Victorian tales of exploration and danger. You can see those interests in his books: strange planets, vast journeys, old powers, monsters, hard choices, and people trying to stay decent when the stakes get ugly.

Before publishing novels, Rowley worked as a London journalist in the 1970s. He moved to New York City in 1977 and continued writing freelance pieces, including work connected to popular culture and film. At the same time, he was trying to turn a growing pile of ideas into his first science fiction novel.

It took persistence.

That novel became The War for Eternity, published in 1983. Set on the dangerous colony world of Fenrille, it follows humans and the native Fein as a longevity drug turns their home into a target. The book won the Compton Crook Award for best first novel, and Rowley returned to Fenrille in The Black Ship, The Founder, and To A Highland Nation.

He likes worlds where resources can ruin everything.

Rowley also wrote the loosely linked Vang novels, beginning with Starhammer. Those books pit human societies against an ancient parasitic species built for war, mixing big-scale space opera with creature horror. Golden Sunlands takes another route into far-future science fiction, following people torn from their colony world and dropped into an artificial realm ruled by aliens.

For many readers, though, the place to start is the Battle Dragons sequence. Bazil Broketail introduces Bazil, a huge battledragon, and Relkin, the orphan boy paired with him in the Dragon Legions. Their friendship is the heart of a long fantasy campaign full of military marches, witches, rival powers, hungry monsters, and dragons who are very much people in their own right. The later books, including A Sword for a Dragon, Dragons of War, and Battledragon, expand the map without losing sight of that partnership.

His other work ranges widely. The Books of Arna trilogy imagines a distant world shaped by humanity's old environmental failures, while the Netherworld books follow detective Rook Venner through a grim future conspiracy. Arkham Woods, created with artist Jhomar Soriano, moves into illustrated supernatural horror.

Rowley has lived in New York's Hudson Valley. Across science fiction, fantasy, noir, and horror, he keeps returning to one useful question: what happens when ordinary people meet something much bigger, stranger, and more dangerous than they expected?

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.