Near Space Books in Order
Browse the Near Space books by Allen M Steele in order, with short summaries, series background, and where to start with these grounded space adventures.
Last updated: July 5, 2026
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Publication Order
5 books
Orbital Decay
by Allen M Steele
1989
Construction crews in Earth orbit think they are building a solar power satellite, until the job starts to look far darker. Steele's debut brings blue-collar grit and political anger to a very plausible near future.
Clarke County, Space
by Allen M Steele
1990
On a huge orbital colony, Sheriff John Bigthorn has to juggle mob violence, local politics, and separatist tension. It is a lively Near-Space story that mixes frontier law, crime, and orbital realism.
Lunar Descent
by Allen M Steele
1991
Life at a lunar mining station is already hard enough before trouble erupts far from help. Steele focuses on the workers, security staff, and fragile machinery that make a Moon settlement feel real.
Labyrinth of Night
by Allen M Steele
1992
An expedition to the Face on Mars uncovers a far older mystery beneath the dust. Steele turns one of science fiction's favorite Martian myths into an adventure about ruins, obsession, and what humans hope to find.
A King of Infinite Space
by Allen M Steele
1997
A man expecting death wakes more than a century later in a new body and a very different society. Steele uses that premise to ask who owns a life, and what freedom means when the future has already claimed you.
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