Vasily Mahanenko Books in Order

Sentenced to labor inside the virtual world of Barliona, Mahan struggles to survive as a shaman and jeweler. With the game attracting fortunes and exploiting prisoners, his choices carry consequences that extend far beyond ordinary play.

Players are offered a billion-pound prize for finding a unique object hidden on an unknown planet inside Galactogon. Starting from nothing, the competitors must develop the right skills and navigate a vast virtual galaxy to claim it.

Needing a stronghold for his clan, High Shaman Mahan accepts a mission to clear Altameda of its phantom army. The quest triggers events that place him in the sights of the continent's three most powerful clans.

Released from Barliona's prison mines into its wider world, Mahan could quietly serve the remainder of his sentence. Instead, he becomes a clan leader and takes fifty elite players into the dangerous mysteries of the Dark Forest.

Mahan has completed his prison sentence, but freedom from the virtual world proves elusive. As Barliona blurs the boundary between game and reality, he discovers that leaving his capsule may require finishing a path he cannot simply abandon.

This companion story revisits the climax of The Karmadont Chess Set through Anastaria's eyes. Her perspective offers another view of the events surrounding Mahan and the choices that shape their future in the virtual world of Barliona.

With Altameda secured and the Dark Forest's turmoil subsiding, Mahan refuses a predictable life. His search for new challenges brings unusual apprentices, ambitious plans and fresh dangers while enemies continue their schemes against the world of Barliona.

The Academy has taught Yaropolk that self-interest governs the Game, and an approaching Restart intensifies the struggle to survive. Facing increasingly ruthless players, the paladin must decide whether preserving his humanity is worth the danger it brings.

The Bard of Shadow can bring souls back from Barliona’s land of the dead, a feat beyond other players. That unusual power places her at the centre of a decision that could determine her entire race’s future.

The Corporation revives the Lord of Shadow and his forces, overturning Mahan's belief that his journey through Barliona was finished. Its chief executive makes him an offer that draws the shaman back into a renewed struggle.

Only a fifth of the Game’s players can survive the coming Restart, unleashing murder, bribery, and betrayal. As the Guide responsible for beginning the transition, Yaropolk faces a choice between his principles and the demands of survival.

A professional rock musician enters Barliona looking for creative inspiration and chooses a plantlike race with a bard’s abilities. Exploring an unfamiliar combination of identity and skills draws her into new adventures within the sprawling virtual world.

The chance to win a billion credits draws Alexis and Eunice back toward an elusive prize. They must locate its hidden planet across an entire galaxy while overcoming enemies and obstacles that repeatedly threaten to end their search.

Captain Surgeon wants to become a successful space pirate, but the mysterious Uldans keep drawing him into unanswered questions. An alien invasion threatens empires across Galactogon, making the pursuit of plunder increasingly difficult and dangerous.

Student Mark Derwin eagerly joins the prerelease of a revolutionary mobile game promoted around the world. As its official launch approaches, he has no idea how drastically its mysterious creators intend to change life on Earth.

In a world controlled by monstrous invaders and game systems, Mark Derwin searches for his kidnapped sister. Saving humanity must compete with his determination to find her unchanged, even if cooperation with the game becomes his only option.

After a game transforms Earth into a struggle between monsters and surviving players, Mark Derwin's advanced level becomes a liability. The alien power behind the system targets anyone who gains an advantage, while humans begin organizing resistance.

Physicist Artyom tries to escape a corrupt environment, only to be imprisoned and forced into restricted research. Deprived of his freedom and former laboratory, he holds onto his ambition to change the world and seeks a way to act.

After his family is executed on a false accusation, noble heir Maximilian is condemned to serve against monstrous creatures. Determined to reclaim his birthright and avenge his family, he must first survive the brutal training of a doomed soldier.

Stripped of his former position, Max endures hatred, exploitation, and attempts on his life while pursuing revenge. Surviving a world divided by light and darkness is only the beginning of his campaign against the duke who destroyed his family.

An act of heroism brings Max to the emperor’s attention and offers a chance to recover his name. Powerful figures surrounding the throne instead see an opportunity to control his abilities, forcing him to resist becoming their instrument.

A conspiracy against the emperor gives Maximilian an opening to strike the duke responsible for his family’s execution. When thousands become trapped by monsters, pursuing vengeance clashes with his responsibility to save people depending on him.

An imperial tournament gathers the finest mages, but its careful arrangements give way to disaster. Maximilian must defend the empire once again as forces more powerful than his previous enemies take an interest in his fate.

Maximilian hopes to devote himself to studying runecraft under Magister Meram. A summons from Padishah Bayazid interrupts that ambition, forcing the former doomed soldier into unfamiliar challenges where simply surviving may require extraordinary measures.

Rune magic gives Maximilian another chance to confront his enemies, but also creates a problem that vengeance alone cannot solve. Before dealing with the person who killed him, he must understand and remove the magic preventing a final reckoning.

In a world where cultivating Qi determines wealth and privilege, a young man from the neglected lowest zone seeks a path upward. Competing for scarce resources brings him into a struggle shaped by powerful humans, demons, and ancient forces.

The pursuit of ascension carries the Seekers into the demons’ lowest realm, where resources are scarce and law offers little protection. Conquering unfamiliar territory becomes a test of strength with no safe option for retreat.

Life at a school of ascension should finally be manageable for the bonded Seekers. When powerful clans compete for access to the Primordial Soul, their studies give way to another dangerous contest demanding far more than academic skill.

Zander refuses to surrender Vyllea when powerful enemies threaten her life. Together, the Seekers face the energy-rich First Tier, where cultists and rival schools offer new opportunities for ascension alongside dangers that could tear them apart.

The Seekers enter an imposing school in the First Tier, where authority and rigid rules govern aspiring cultivators. Their refusal to conform quickly brings conflict, and the institution’s walls offer little protection from the trouble following them.

With access to the human world’s Second Tier blocked, Zander and Vyllea turn toward an elite school in the demon realm. Their next stage of cultivation promises unfamiliar opponents and challenges that threaten the peace they recently secured.

Unfinished business in the human realm competes with opportunities at a prestigious demon school. Zander and Vyllea pursue advancement in the Second Circle, drawing formidable new enemies into their already complicated journey between the two worlds.

A strike by ancient powers seals passages between tiers and destabilizes the established order. As cultists exploit the chaos, the Seekers must adapt to a transformed world where old protections have vanished and survival requires confronting new enemies.

The Seekers intervene when the pursuit of ascension depends on sacrificing other people. Their campaign reveals the Bohao Cult’s deep influence across human and demon societies, turning resistance into a struggle against a far larger enemy.

Earth becomes a game world, but humanity is assigned the role of non-player characters. As outsiders exploit people for experience and resources, those unwilling to accept their place must find ways to challenge a system built against them.

With Earth absorbed into a game, most humans struggle to survive as non-player characters. Universal Combat Mage Michael refuses that fate and fights his way through a dungeon, determined to regain the right to be treated as human.

The Great Clans prepare their champions for a tournament among Earth’s Release Heroes, protecting allies and sabotaging rivals. Michael stands apart from their factions, while demons, dragons, and the presence of a Fallen One threaten to overturn everyone’s plans.

Two Universal Combat Mages face an enemy immune to magic, forcing them to rethink their greatest strength. To defeat the Lord of the Abyss and earn a more powerful place in the game, they must find another way to fight.

The independent city of Hearth offers a bridge between light and dark lands, along with new possibilities for growth. A fresh disaster threatens the planet, leaving Maximilian and his community responsible for confronting another overwhelming enemy.

Hearth’s hoped-for peace is threatened by servants of Chaos who want to control Maximilian. Refusing to become a puppet, the archduke prepares to defend his freedom even if resistance means challenging powers far beyond ordinary rulers.

Ancient powers demand that Maximilian undertake a mission designed to end in his death. Refusal would doom the people he loves, leaving him to search for a way through terms that appear to make every choice fatal.

Unable to reach the Bohao Cult’s protected leaders, the Seekers target its supply lines and sacrificial camps. Their strategy aims to force powerful enemies into the open, where disrupting the cult’s operations may finally offer a chance of victory.

Pursued after striking the Bohao Cult, the Seekers enter the demon realm to trace its operations to their source. Supply routes and captive caravans lead toward Holiton, where eliminating the cult means confronting the heart of its power.

The Bohao Cult’s leaders prove too powerful for a direct victory, forcing Zander and Vyllea to seek new techniques. With access to the Primordial Soul blocked and House Bao hunted, gaining strength becomes an increasingly urgent challenge.

The conflict with the Bohao Cult shifts toward its entrenched influence over the human world’s Phoenix Clan. To confront its strongest members, the Seekers must find and survive a source of power beyond anything they currently possess.

Zander and Vyllea approach a final confrontation involving cultivators, demons, and the Bohao Cult. With the survival of two worlds at stake, the Seekers must commit everything to a battle in which failure would reach far beyond themselves.

Betrayed after decades defending the Empire, a powerful chaos mage receives a second life. In an era that dismisses his element as weak, he sets out to rebuild his strength and restore the legacy of his destroyed clan.

Attending a magic academy gives the reborn chaos mage students to train and new skills to learn. Assassins infiltrating the school turn those ordinary ambitions into another struggle for survival, with enemies hidden among promising young mages.

Three Great Clans invade the dragons’ territory to reclaim a dungeon and its vital key, treating human lives as expendable. As the elves prepare their assault, those they regard as disposable servants begin challenging the order imposed on Earth.

A tournament for young mages approaches as Solo continues hunting those responsible for destroying his clan and attacking his teacher. Completing his first academy year does little to reduce the danger posed by the enemies still awaiting him.

The Empire, magical orders, and rival powers all want Solo destroyed before his strength grows further. While enemies prepare their moves, he concentrates on training his students and developing the power that could eventually hold those opponents accountable.

Restored status gives the Greymores a recognised home, but longstanding fear of chaos magic makes acceptance far harder. With their enemies now able to find them easily, Solo must defend his clan against threats that official rehabilitation cannot erase.

Returning from another continent, Solo discovers that old enemies have recovered and new ones have grown stronger. With the Chaos Clan driven into flight again, he must protect his people and confront those trying to undo their progress.

Kael dreams of leaving his family’s farming life to explore space and uncover ancient mysteries. Becoming the bearer of an ancient intelligence opens that opportunity, but reaching the stars means surviving dangers he could never have anticipated.

Kael enters the elite Imperial Military Academy, where aristocratic cadets resent his presence despite his honours. Prejudice becomes a secondary concern when his team receives an exceptionally dangerous mission that even experienced soldiers might not survive.

The Peewee mercenaries face old enemies as the Tiris Empire changes around them and former patrons lose their standing. A dangerous new mission against the Xorkhs offers work, but surviving imperial chaos remains their most pressing objective.

With their enemies believing Kael Golden dead, the Peewees hope for a break after Verask’s destruction. An irresistible contract from an anonymous client instead sends the independent mercenaries into another mission where survival seems almost impossible.

After securing a Forerunner wreck against extraordinary opposition, the Peewee squad must decide what to do with its prize. A revelation about the Empire's ruler gives their success unsettling implications for everyone caught in the struggle.

Now head of his own imperial house, Solo must shoulder duties beyond personal advancement. Stopping the spread of the Cursed Lands becomes his next objective, bringing him against entrenched enemies and the consequences of a decades-old mistake.