Larry Niven is a well-known American sci-fi author who has been writing for the last 50 or so years and is best known for his Ringworld science-fiction series which has received several awards, including the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. Reading the Larry Niven books in order involves, however, picking up his Fleet of Worlds, Heorot, and Man-Kzin Wars book series as well.
Here are all the Larry Niven books in reading order for his work over the last 50 or so years. Since the author has several series published, they are listed in the order of publication, starting from Known Space, a series written between 1966-1980.
New Larry Niven Books

Glorious (Bowl Of Heaven #3), 2020

Starborn and Godsons (Heorot #4), 2024
Known Space Books In Order
with Rick Sternbach, Edward M. Lerner
- World Of The Ptavvs, 1966
- A Gift from Earth, 1968
- Protector, 1973
- The Patchwork Girl, 1980
Known Space Short Story Collections
- Neutron Star, 1968
- The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton, 1969
- Tales of Known Space, 1975
- Crashlander, 1994
- Flatlander: The Collected Tales of Gil “The Arm” Hamilton, 1995
Ringworld Books In Order
with Edward M. Lerner
- Ringworld, 1970
- The Ringworld Engineers, 1980
- The Ringworld Throne, 1996
- Ringworld’s Children, 2004
- Fate of Worlds, 2012
Ringworld Graphic Novels in Order
Fleet of Worlds Books In Order
Ringworld prequel series
- Fleet of Worlds, 2007
- Juggler of Worlds, 2008
- Destroyer of Worlds, 2009
- Betrayer of Worlds, 2010
Fate of Worlds is the last book in both the Ringworld and Fleet of Worlds series.
Heorot Books In Publication Order
- The Legacy of Heorot, 1987
- Beowulf’s Children, 1995
- The Secret of Black Ship Island, 2012 (novella)
- Starborn and Godsons, 2020
Heorot Books in Chronological Order
- The Legacy of Heorot, 1987
- The Secret of Black Ship Island, 2012 (novella)
- Beowulf’s Children, 1995
- Starborn and Godsons, 2020
Man-Kzin Wars Books In Order
- The Man-Kzin Wars, 1988
- Man-Kzin Wars II, 1989
- Man-Kzin Wars III, 1990
- Man-Kzin Wars IV, 1991
- Man-Kzin Wars V, 1992
- Man-Kzin Wars VI, 1994
- Man-Kzin Wars VII, 1995
- Man-Kzin Wars VIII, 1998
- Man-Kzin Wars IX, 2002
- Man-Kzin Wars X, 2003
- Man-Kzin Wars XI, 2005
- Man-Kzin Wars XII, 2009
- Man-Kzin Wars XIII, 2012
- Man-Kzin Wars XIV, 2013
- Man-Kzin Wars XV, 2019
Mote Books In Order
with Jerry Pournelle, Jennifer R. Pournelle
- The Mote in God’s Eye, 1974
- The Gripping Hand, 1993
- Outies, 2010
Dante/Inferno Books In Order
with Jerry Pournelle
- Inferno, 1976
- Escape from Hell, 2009
Golden Road Books In Order
- The Burning City, 2000
- Burning Tower, 2005
Dream Park Books In Order
- Dream Park, 1981
- The Barsoom Project, 1989
- The California Voodoo Game, 1992
- The Moon Maze Game, 2011
The State Books In Order
- A World Out of Time, 1976
- The Integral Trees, 1984
- The Smoke Ring, 1987
Magic Goes Away Books In Order
- Not Long Before the End, 1969 (prequel short story)
- What Good Is a Glass Dagger?, 1972 (short story included in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1972)
- The Magic Goes Away, 1978
- The Magic May Return, 1981
- More Magic, 1984
- The Seascape Tattoo, 2016
Bowl Of Heaven Books In Order
with Gregory Benford
- Bowl of Heaven, 2012
- Shipstar, 2014
- Glorious, 2020
Standalone Larry Niven Books in Publication Order
- The Flying Sorcerers (with David Gerrold), 1971
- Lucifer’s Hammer (with Jerry Pournelle), 1977
- Oath of Fealty (with Jerry Pournelle), 1981
- The Descent of Anansi (with Steven Barnes), 1982
- Footfall (with Jerry Pournelle), 1985
- Fallen Angels (with Jerry Pournelle, Michael Flynn), 1991
- Achilles’ Choice (with Steven Barnes), 1991
- Destiny’s Road, 1997
- Rainbow Mars, 1999
- Saturn’s Race (with Steven Barnes), 2001
- Building Harlequin’s Moon (with Brenda Cooper), 2005
- The Goliath Stone (with Matthew Joseph Harrington), 2013
Short Stories and Novellas in Publication Order
- A Relic of the Empire, 1966
- The Locusts, 1979 (with Steven Barnes)
- The Return of William Proxmire, 1989
Short Story Collections in Publication Order
- Green Lantern: Ganthet’s Tale (with John Byrne, Matt Webb)
- All the Myriad Ways, 1968
- The Shape of Space, 1969
- Inconstant Moon, 1971
- The Flight of the Horse, 1973
- A Hole in Space, 1974
- Convergent Series, 1979
- Limits, 1985
- N-Space, 1990
- Playgrounds of the Mind, 1991
- Three Books of Known Space, 1996
- Scatterbrain, 2003
- The Magic Goes Away Collection, 2005
- The Draco Tavern, 2006
- Stars and Gods, 2010
- Madness from the Inconstant Moon, 2017
Anthologies in Publication Order
- Nebula Award Stories 1, 1966, edited by Damon Knight
- Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1966
- Dangerous Visions, 1967, edited by Harlan Ellison
- World’s Best Science Fiction 1966, 1966, edited by Donald A Wollheim
- Seven Trips Through Time and Space, 1968, edited by Groff Conklin
- World’s Best Science Fiction 1968, 1968, edited by Terry Carr and Donald A Wollheim
- Nebula Award Stories 5, 1970, edited by James Blish
- World’s Best Science Fiction 1970, 1970, edited by Terry Carr and Donald A Wollheim
- Voyagers in Time, 1970, edited by Robert Silverberg
- Twenty Years of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1970, edited by Edward L Ferman and Robert P Mills
- Worlds of Maybe, 1970, edited by Robert Silverberg
- Quark/4, 1971, edited by Samuel R Delany and Marilyn Hacker
- The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction 19th Series, 1971, edited by Edward L Ferman
- World’s Best Science Fiction 1971, 1971, edited by Terry Carr and Donald A Wollheim
- Where Do We Go from Here?, 1971, edited by Isaac Asimov
- A Science Fiction Argosy, 1972, edited by Damon Knight
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year, 1972, edited by Terry Carr
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1972, edited by Edward L. Ferman
- The 1972 Annual World’s Best SF, 1972, edited by Terry Carr and Donald A Wollheim
- The Hugo Winners: Volume 2, Part 1, 1973, edited by Isaac Asimov
- The Golden Road, 1973, edited by Damon Knight
- Zoo 2000, 1973, edited by Jane Yolen
- Ten Tomorrows, 1973, edited by Roger Elwood
- 2020 Vision, 1974, edited by Jerry Pournelle
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year 4, 1975, edited by Terry Carr
- Antigrav, 1975
- The Best from Galaxy, Volume IV, 1976, edited by Jim Baen
- The Best from If, Volume III, 1976, edited by Jim Baen
- Stellar #2, 1976
- Alpha 8, 1977, edited by Robert Silverberg
- The Hugo Winners, Volume 3, 1977, edited by Isaac Asimov
- The Road to Science Fiction 3, 1979, edited by James Gunn
- The Endless Frontier, 1979, edited by Jerry Pournelle
- The Science Fictional Solar System, 1979, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- The Best of Analog, 1978, edited by Ben Bova
- Asimov’s Choice: Extraterrestrials and Eclipses, 1978, edited by Isaac Asimov
- Andromeda 3, 1978, edited by Peter Weston
- Black Holes, 1978, edited by Jerry Pournelle
- 100 Great Science Fiction Stories, 1978, edited by Isaac Asimov
- 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories, 1978, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Joseph Olander
- The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction, 1979, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction, 1980
- Microcosmic Tales, 1980, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Joseph Olander
- Aliens!, 1980, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
- The Best of All Possible Worlds, 1980, edited by Spider Robinson
- The 1980 Annual World’s Best SF, 1980, edited by Donald A Wollheim
- Catastrophes!, 1981, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Stellar 7, 1981, edited by Judy-Lynn del Rey
- The Survival of Freedom, 1981, edited by John F Carr and Jerry Pournelle
- The Magic May Return, 1981, edited by Larry Niven
- Galaxy, 1980, edited by Martin H Greenberg, Joseph Olander and Frederik Pohl
- Galaxy 2, 1981, edited by Martin H Greenberg, Joseph Olander and Frederik Pohl
- There Will Be War, 1982, edited by Jerry Pournelle
- TV: 2000, 1982, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Unicorns!, 1982, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
- Wizards, 1983, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Asimov, Aliens and Outworlders, 1983, edited by Shawna McCarthy
- The Mammoth Book of Fantastic Science Fiction, 1984, edited by Isaac Asimov
- Top Science Fiction, 1984, edited by Josh Pachter
- More Magic, 1984, edited by Larry Niven
- Sci-Fi Private Eye, 1984, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Supermen, 1984, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Light Years and Dark, 1984, edited by Michael Bishop
- Far Frontiers, 1985, edited by Jim Baen and Jerry Pournelle
- Berserker Base, 1985
- The Hugo Winners: Volume 4, 1985, edited by Isaac Asimov
- Great Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1985
- Medea, 1985, edited by Harlan Ellison
- Project Solar Sail, 1986, edited by David Brin and Arthur C Clarke
- Barbarians, 1986, edited by Robert Adams, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Tin Stars, 1986, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- Worlds of If, 1986, edited by Martin H Greenberg, Joseph Olander and Frederik Pohl
- L Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume II, 1986, edited by L Ron Hubbard
- Mathenauts, 1987, edited by Rudy Rucker
- The Wizards of Odd, 1987, edited by Peter Haining
- Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century, 1987, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Robert Silverberg
- Robert Adams’ Book of Alternate Worlds, 1987, edited by Pamela Crippen Adams, Robert Adams and Martin H Greenberg
- Tales from the Spaceport Bar, 1987, edited by Darrell Schweitzer and George Scithers
- The Drabble Project, 1988, edited by Rob Meades and David B Wake
- Arabesques, 1988, edited by Susan Shwartz
- Robert Adams’ Book of Soldiers, 1988, edited by Pamela Crippen Adams, Robert Adams and Martin H Greenberg
- Another Round at the Spaceport Bar, 1989, edited by Darrell Schweitzer and George Scithers
- The World Treasury of Science Fiction, 1989, edited by David G Hartwell
- Alternate Empires, 1989, edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H Greenberg
- Breakthrough, 1989, edited by David Drake and Bill Fawcett
- A Century of Fantasy 1980-1989, 1990, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Robert Silverberg
- Cosmic Critiques, 1990, edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H Greenberg
- Sworn Allies, 1990, edited by David Drake and Bill Fawcett
- Phantom Regiments, 1990, edited by Robert Adams and Martin H Greenberg
- The Ultimate Werewolf, 1991, edited by Byron Preiss
- Great Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1992, edited by unlisted
- Futurecrime, 1992, edited by Charles Ardai and Cynthia Manson
- Isaac Asimov’s War, 1993, edited by Gardner Dozois
- Aliens and UFO’s, 1993, edited by Charles Ardai and Cynthia Manson
- How to Save the World, 1995, edited by Charles Sheffield
- Sisters of the Night, 1995, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Barbara Hambly
- Tomorrow Bites, 1995, edited by Greg Cox and T K F Weisskopf
- The Wizards of Odd, 1996, edited by Peter Haining
- Supernatural Sleuths, 1996, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh
- The Way It Wasn’t, 1996, edited by Martin H Greenberg
- Treasures of Fantasy, 1997, edited by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis
- Time Machines, 1997, edited by Bill Adler Jr
- Cyber-Killers, 1997, edited by Ric Alexander (Peter Haining)
- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction, 1998, edited by Alice K Turner
- A Magic-Lover’s Treasury of the Fantastic, 1998, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Margaret Weis
- The Best of All Possible Wars (Man-Kzin), 1998, edited by Larry Niven
- Armageddons, 1999, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
- We Could Do Worse, 1999, edited by Martin H Greenberg
- Explorers, 2000, edited by Gardner Dozois
- Redshift, 2001, edited by Al Sarrantonio
- Masterpieces, 2001, edited by Orson Scott Card
- The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century (Best of the 20th Century), 2001, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Harry Turtledove
- Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown (Phobos Science Fiction Anthology, Volume 2), 2003, edited by Orson Scott Card, Christian O’Toole and Keith Olexa
- The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century (Best of the 20th Century), 2004, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Harry Turtledove
- Flights, 2004, edited by Al Sarrantonio
- Space Cadets, 2006, edited by Mike Resnick
- Elemental (The Tsunami Relief Anthology), 2006, edited by Alethis Kontis and Steven Savile
- This Is My Funniest 2, 2007, edited by Mike Resnick
- Under Cover of Darkness, 2007, edited by Julie E Czerneda and Jana Paniccia
- Fast Forward 1 (Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge, Fast Forward, book 1), 2007, edited by Lou Anders
- Thrilling Wonder Stories, Volume 2, 2009, edited by Winston Engle
- Before They Were Giants (First Works from Science Fiction Greats), 2010, edited by James L Sutter
- Assassin and Other Stories, 2010
- Gateways (A Feast of Great New Science Fiction Honoring Grand Master Frederik Pohl), 2010, edited by Elizabeth Anne Hull
- Unnatural Creatures, 2013, edited by Neil Gaiman
- Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 5, 2013, edited by Mike Resnick
- Unicorns I, 2014, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
- Multiverse (Exploring Poul Anderson’s Worlds), 2014, edited by Greg Bear and Gardner Dozois
- Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 10, 2014, edited by Mike Resnick
- The Best of Galaxy’s Edge 2013-2014, 2014, edited by Mike Resnick
- Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 14, 2015, edited by Mike Resnick
- L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 31 (Writers of the Future, book 31), 2015, edited by David Farland and L Ron Hubbard
- Worst Contact, 2015, edited by Hank Davis
- There Will Be War Volume X (There Will Be War, book 10), 2015, edited by Jerry Pournelle
- Bridging Infinity (Infinity Project, book 5), 2016, edited by Jonathan Strahan
- Ad Astra and Beyond (The Forry Award Anthology), 2016, edited by Forrest J Ackerman and Fred Patten
- Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 26, 2017, edited by Mike Resnick
- Infinite Stars, 2017, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
- The Best of Galaxy’s Edge: 2015-2017, 2018, edited by Mike Resnick
- Space Pioneers, 2018, edited by Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio
- Conversations From the Edge: The Galaxy’s Edge Interviews, 2019
- Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers, 2019, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
- Born of the Sun (Adventures in Our Solar System), 2020, edited by Mike Ashley
- Cosmic Corsairs, 2020, edited by Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio
- Overruled!, 2020, edited by Hank Davis and Christopher Ruocchio
- 2020 Vision 50th Anniversary Edition, 2020, edited by Diane Girard, Jerry Pournelle and AE Voyt
- Black Cat Weekly #28 (Black Cat Weekly, book 28), 2022
- They’re Here!, 2023, edited by Hank Davis and Sean C W Korsgaard
- Sense of Wonder, 2023
Larry Niven Biography
Born in 1938 in Los Angeles, California, Laurence van Cott Niven spent most of his childhood in Beverly Hills.
In 1956, he enrolled at the California Institute of Technology, however, after 1.5 years he left school. Eventually, he returned to his studies, this time attending Washburn University, Kansas, from where he graduated in 1962 with a B.A. in Mathematics and a minor in psychology.
Next, he went to UCLA where he studied for one year as a graduate student in Mathematics, before once again, dropping out of his studies due to science-fiction. This time it was not because he liked to read, but because he wanted to write his own books.
In 1964 he sold a short story he wrote under the title The Coldest Place, for $25. The same year, the story appeared in the December issue of Worlds of If. Two years later, in 1966, he published World Of The Ptavvs, which would become the first novel in the Known Space series.
The author received numerous awards for his books, including the so-much coveted Nebula Award, the Hugo and Locus awards.
Besides writing books, short stories, and anthologies, he has also written several scripts for a few TV shows, such as Land of the Lost series; Star Trek: The Animated Series. In addition, he is known for writing the Green Lantern character for the DC Comics.
Someone sent me an email asking me, “Is Larry Niven still alive?” Well, yes, the author is still alive and kicking and hopefully working on his next Known Space book.
Tales of the Known Space includes not only the four books in the Known Space series but also several other books in related series that are set in the same world. These combine Ringworld, Fleet of Worlds, Man-Kzin, along with several short stories and standalone novels as well.
The Known Space is an entire universe set across a thousand years in the future where humans live next to incredible alien species, all spawning across various habitable star systems. It starts from the initial human explorations of the Solar System and spawns the colonization of several near systems.
The Coldest Place describes the darkest side of Mercury. The Larry Niven Ringworld stories start on Earth, sometimes in the future when humans can live up to 200 years. They set on a course to the Ringworld, a huge artificial ring with a habitable inner surface.
Some of the locations visited during the Known Space stories are the Moon, Mars, the Sol Belt, Jinx, Down, Canyon, Fafnir, Hearth, Kzin, Ringworld, and Silvereyes, among others. So far the last book in the Known Space is Fate of Worlds, which is also the last book in the Ringworld and the Fleet of Worlds series.
So far among the latest books by Larry Niven is a short story titled By the Red Giant’s Light, which was published in the 11-12 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, published November 1 in 2017. It is a short story about two characters, one a human and one a robot, who are involved in stopping an asteroid from destroying the planet Pluto. It is a fun story which reminds us just how great the author is.
It is interesting that Larry has written often about Pluto in several works. For example, in World Of The Ptavvs, he virtually set Pluto on fire. The 1968 short story Wait It Out, the story features an astronaut who landed on Pluto. In another short story, The Borderland of Sol, the author theorized that Pluto is an escaped moon of Neptune.
Praise for Larry Niven
Larry Niven’s RINGWORLD remains one of the all-time classic travelogues of science fiction — a new and amazing world and fantastic companions. (Greg Bear)
If there isn’t a Ringworld out there somewhere, we ought to build one someday. Until then we have Larry Niven’s. A rich and fantastic story.” (Fred Saberhagen)
The scope of Larry Niven’s work is so vast that only a writer of supreme talent could disguise the fact as well as he can. (Tom Clancy)
Niven is a true master. (Frederik Pohl)
Great storytelling is alive in science fiction because of Larry Niven (Orson Scott Card)
Another fine masterpiece from a master of science fiction (Jack Williamson)
References
Books Reading Order » Science Fiction Authors »
8gjpjc
love his books, hard to set down once you start one. But when as some of the books going to be available for reading with a Kindle? I can’t seem to find book 3 or 4 of the ring world series.
You have a typo, duplicated text at the end of the page. Just search for “an escaped moon of Neptune” and you will see.
Thank you for the heads-up, Gabriel, fixed it.