KB Wagers Books in Order

If you want royal intrigue and palace politics: Behind the Throne → After the Crown → Beyond the Empire
If you want bigger alien diplomacy and war: There Before the Chaos → Down Among the Dead → Out Past the Stars
If you want a crew-based military adventure: A Pale Light in the Black → Hold Fast Through the Fire

KB Wagers is a Colorado writer whose science fiction is full of stubborn people, dangerous jobs, and the kind of loyalty that only shows up under pressure. They grew up on a farm on the eastern plains of Colorado, in a family that encouraged reading, curiosity, and asking questions. That mix still shows in the books, which care as much about how a world works as they do about explosions.

They've been writing for a very long time.

Wagers has said they started taking fiction seriously in high school, and they spent years learning the craft before publishing a novel. While working office jobs, they kept writing anyway, eventually finishing thirteen novels before landing an agent and selling the books that became The Indranan War. It was a long road, and it helps explain the practical streak that runs through their fiction.

One key turning point came in December 2009. Wagers spotted a Christmas ornament from their grandmother, and the image sparked the opening of what would become Behind the Throne. That book introduced Hail Bristol, a runaway princess turned gunrunner who gets hauled home to save the Indranan Empire. It was published in 2016 and became the start of the series that first brought Wagers to a lot of readers.

Hail Bristol is a good guide to what Wagers does well. In Behind the Throne, After the Crown, and Beyond the Empire, the action is fast, but the real pull comes from watching Hail fight her way through court politics, old loyalties, grief, and a job she never wanted. The books mix palace intrigue with shipboard danger, and readers who like sharp banter, messy alliances, and a hero who would rather punch a problem than smile through it usually find a lot to enjoy there.

Then Wagers widened the lens.

With There Before the Chaos, Down Among the Dead, and Out Past the Stars, Wagers kept Hail at the center but pushed the story deeper into alien politics and interstellar war. Those books still have the same restless energy, but they spend more time on diplomacy, belief, and the cost of leadership when every choice can hurt somebody. Across both trilogies, Wagers returns again and again to duty, survival, and the question of what a person owes to their people, their crew, and themselves.

The NeoG books head in a different direction. A Pale Light in the Black and Hold Fast Through the Fire trade imperial drama for the Near-Earth Orbital Guard, a spacefaring service built around patrol, rescue, and keeping the solar system running. The scale is different, but the appeal is familiar: capable people under stress, strong crew dynamics, queer and varied casts, and a lot of affection for found family. Wagers has described A Pale Light in the Black as a story about hope, and that hopeful streak helps set the series apart.

Outside the novels, Wagers has a bachelor's degree in Russian Studies, has won recognition for nonfiction writing, and holds a second-degree black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu. They have also spoken publicly about burnout, rest, and the damage done by toxic productivity. That concern with what strength costs shows up in the fiction too. Even in the middle of all the action, the books make room for recovery, trust, and care.

These days, Wagers lives in northern Colorado with their partner, cats, and plenty of plants. They like coffee, whiskey, hiking, video games, and hockey, and that grounded, slightly wry energy carries over into the work. The stories may stretch into deep space, but they never lose sight of the people inside the suits and uniforms.