Kevin Emerson Books in Order
Explore Kevin Emerson books in order, with series guides, short summaries, and easy starting points for Oliver Nocturne, Dark Star, Exile, and more.
Last updated: July 12, 2026
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Kevin Emerson books in publication order
21 books
Blood Ties
by Kevin Emerson
2008
Summer vacation sends Oliver and his family toward a luxury vampire resort, with a stop to visit old-world relatives first. In Morosia and the ruins of Rome, Oliver, Emalie, and Dean uncover new clues about his prophecy and fate.
Carlos is Gonna Get It
by Kevin Emerson
2008
Seventh grader Trina joins a plan to prank Carlos, the class outcast everyone blames for trouble. But as she gets to know him better, guilt and peer pressure make the joke feel a lot more dangerous.
The Sunlight Slayings
by Kevin Emerson
2008
Oliver should be a hero after Dean's death, but he feels more alone than ever. When Dean returns as a zombie and vampire kids start turning to dust, Oliver races through Seattle's underworld to clear Emalie's name.
The Vampire's Photograph
by Kevin Emerson
2008
Oliver Nocturne looks like a normal middle schooler, except he sleeps in a coffin and drinks blood for breakfast. When a human girl snaps his picture, he breaks vampire law to find her and uncovers dangerous truths about his past.
The Demon Hunter
by Kevin Emerson
2009
On the last night of summer, Oliver hopes for one normal adventure with Emalie and Dean. Instead, gruesome attacks point to his brother Bane, and the search for the truth pulls Oliver closer to the prophecy he dreads.
The Eternal Tomb
by Kevin Emerson
2009
Oliver's Anointment is near, and with it the power meant to send him to Nexia and fulfill a terrible destiny. As enemies close in, he must choose between loyalty to his family and the friends trying to save him.
The Triad of Finity
by Kevin Emerson
2011
With the Anointment complete and Emalie gone, Oliver seems trapped on the path toward the Nexia Gate. One final mystery, the Triad of Finity, may offer a way to change the future before time runs out.
The Lost Code
by Kevin Emerson
2012
In a climate-ravaged future, awkward teen Owen Parker wins a spot at the domed Camp Eden and nearly drowns, only to grow gills. His strange change leads him into a conspiracy tied to Atlantis, the dying planet, and his own past.
The Dark Shore
by Kevin Emerson
2013
Owen, Lilly, and their allies are on the run across a ruined world, trying to reach the climate-altering power known as the Paintbrush of the Gods first. Hungry, hunted, and unsure whom to trust, they head toward the city of Desenna.
The Fellowship for Alien Detection
by Kevin Emerson
2013
Overachiever Haley wants an adventure, misfit Dodger wants somewhere to belong, and both end up chasing evidence of extraterrestrial life. Their odd little research project turns into a conspiracy that could leave Earth as an alien zoo.
Exile
by Kevin Emerson
2014
Summer Carlson knows how to manage bands, but falling for singer Caleb Daniels is bad business. When Caleb learns he is the son of a dead rock legend, Dangerheart gets pulled into a mystery of lost songs and buried family secrets.
The Far Dawn
by Kevin Emerson
2014
With time running short, Owen and Lilly push toward Atlantis while Paul and Project Elysium close in. The final book raises the stakes from survival to the fate of the planet, forcing Owen to choose between the world and the people he loves.
Breakout
by Kevin Emerson
2015
After a miserable day, Anthony Castillo writes a furious song that suddenly turns him into the voice of school rebellion. Now he has to decide whether to perform it, and what he actually wants to fight for.
Encore to an Empty Room
by Kevin Emerson
2015
Now that the world knows Caleb is Eli White's son, Dangerheart is suddenly surrounded by attention and pressure. As the band chases clues to Eli's missing songs on tour, old resentments and industry greed threaten to tear them apart.
Finding Abbey Road
by Kevin Emerson
2016
After a bruising tour and another twist in Eli White's story, Summer, Caleb, and Val are left with more questions than answers. Their search for the final song sends them to London, where the truth could change everything.
Last Day on Mars
by Kevin Emerson
2017
Mars is about to die, and Liam Saunders-Chang thinks he and his friend Phoebe will be on the last ship out. Instead, sabotage, strange technology, and a race against time leave them stranded in a much bigger interstellar conflict.
Any Second
by Kevin Emerson
2018
A year after a failed mall bombing, Maya and Eli are both carrying heavy trauma and trying to stay invisible. Meeting again at school draws them together, but healing is messy, and the danger around them may not be over.
The Oceans Between Stars
by Kevin Emerson
2018
With Earth and the solar system gone, Liam and Phoebe drift toward the rogue planet Delphi carrying injured parents and dangerous knowledge. But Phoebe is hiding a secret that could reshape their friendship and the future of more than one species.
Lost in Space
by Kevin Emerson
2019
Stranded far from home, Will Robinson discovers a strange portal that leads back to Earth before his family's mission began. Trying to change the past might save the colonists, or unravel their future completely.
The Shores Beyond Time
by Kevin Emerson
2019
Mina searches the Centauri system for Liam and Phoebe as a supernova threatens everyone left alive. Meanwhile, the two friends awaken on a ghostly ship beside an ancient machine that may hold the key to the universe's fate.
Drifters
by Kevin Emerson
2022
Jovie cannot let go of her missing friend Micah, especially when it seems the whole town has forgotten her. As storms gather over Far Haven, Jovie and Sylvan uncover a mystery of lost people, buried history, and time itself.
Where to start with Kevin Emerson
If you want big middle grade sci-fi: Last Day on Mars → The Oceans Between Stars → The Shores Beyond Time
If you want spooky fantasy with heart: The Vampire's Photograph → The Sunlight Slayings → Blood Ties
If you want post-apocalyptic YA adventure: The Lost Code → The Dark Shore → The Far Dawn
If you want music-heavy YA drama: Exile → Encore to an Empty Room → Finding Abbey Road
If you want grounded standalones: Carlos is Gonna Get It → Breakout → Any Second
Kevin Emerson sub-series and character series
Chronicle Of The Dark Star books in order
Explore this seriesExile (Kevin Emerson) books in order
Explore this seriesLost In Space (Kevin Emerson) books in order
Explore this seriesOliver Nocturne books in order
Explore this series
Blood Ties
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 3
The Sunlight Slayings
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 2
The Vampire's Photograph
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 1
The Demon Hunter
by Kevin Emerson
2009Oliver Nocturne, Book 4
The Eternal Tomb
by Kevin Emerson
2009Oliver Nocturne, Book 5
The Triad of Finity
by Kevin Emerson
2011Oliver Nocturne, Book 6
Oliver Nocturne books in chronological order

The Vampire's Photograph
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 1
The Sunlight Slayings
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 2
Blood Ties
by Kevin Emerson
2008Oliver Nocturne, Book 3
The Demon Hunter
by Kevin Emerson
2009Oliver Nocturne, Book 4
The Eternal Tomb
by Kevin Emerson
2009Oliver Nocturne, Book 5
The Triad of Finity
by Kevin Emerson
2011Oliver Nocturne, Book 6
The Atlanteans books in order
Explore this seriesStandalone Kevin Emerson books
Author bio
Kevin Emerson grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut, and started making stories early. In elementary school he wrote new adventures for movie heroes like Indiana Jones and James Bond, long before anyone around him would have called that fan fiction. He also loved comic books and Choose Your Own Adventure books, which helps explain why so many of his novels move fast, mix genres, and put young characters in situations where every choice matters.
Music was there from the start, too.
By middle school and high school, Emerson was writing spy stories and horror stories while also getting deeper into drums, bands, and live performance. He kept writing through college, mostly on his own, and studied biology and environmental science instead of following a formal creative writing path. That background stayed with him. Even in his most fantastical books, there is often a practical, curious, systems-minded streak underneath the adventure.
After college he moved to Boston to play in a band and worked for a time as a bank teller. Then a summer nature-camp job changed everything. Through that work he met families connected to a school in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and ended up teaching a hands-on science program there for five years. Once he also started leading reading circles, children's books pulled him back toward fiction in a serious way, and he began to imagine stories for younger readers instead of only writing for himself.
That was the turn.
On New Year's Day 2000, at age twenty-five, he sat down to write his first middle grade novel. A few years later he left science teaching to focus on writing full time. After plenty of rejection, he sold Carlos is Gonna Get It, a sharp and emotionally tricky middle grade novel about bullying, peer pressure, and the cost of going along with a cruel joke. It was a strong beginning, and it pointed toward what Emerson does well: believable kids, messy loyalties, and stories that take young readers seriously.
From there he built a body of work that moves easily between middle grade and YA. The Lost Code opens the Atlanteans trilogy with a climate-ravaged future, a summer camp under a dome, and a boy who discovers he may be tied to something ancient and world-changing. Exile and its sequels bring in Emerson's music background through Summer Carlson and the band Dangerheart, mixing romance, ambition, and a family mystery tied to a dead rock star's lost songs. Last Day on Mars kicks off the Chronicle of the Dark Star trilogy, a big science fiction adventure that still feels personal because it stays so close to friendship, fear, and the ache of leaving home. And Any Second shows another side of his range, following two teens shaped by violence and trauma as they try to rebuild their lives.
Across all of these books, certain patterns keep showing up. Emerson writes about outsiders, about kids trying to find their place inside systems that do not quite fit them, and about friendship under pressure. Sometimes the pressure comes from vampires, alien mysteries, or collapsing worlds. Sometimes it comes from school, family, or the simple terror of being seen clearly by another person. Either way, his stories tend to care as much about emotion as they do about plot.
Now based in Seattle, Emerson still keeps music close. He has taught creative writing to children and teens, continues to sing and play drums, and is still writing new work, including another story connected to the Dark Star universe. That mix of classroom experience, science curiosity, and band-life energy goes a long way toward explaining why his books often feel both grounded and adventurous at the same time.
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