Barbara Hambly Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Barbara Hambly

Because Barbara Hambly is incredibly versatile, the best place to start depends heavily on your preferred genre. There are four standout entry points:

• For Historical Mystery Lovers: Start with A Free Man of Color (1997), the first book in the Benjamin January series. Set in 1830s New Orleans, it features a free Black surgeon and classical musician who solves crimes. It is widely considered her masterpiece series.
• For Classic Fantasy Fans: Start with Dragonsbane (1985). This novel subverts traditional high fantasy tropes by centering a middle-aged witch and a pragmatic librarian/dragon-slayer who grapple with mature questions of duty, love, and ambition.
• For Gothic Detective Fans: Start with Those Who Hunt the Night (1988) (published in the UK as Immortal Blood). It introduces former spy James Asher, who is blackmailed by a centuries-old vampire into investigating a series of vampire murders in Edwardian London.
• For Portal Fantasy Fans: Start with The Time of the Dark (1982), Hambly's debut novel. It follows a PhD student and a motorcycle mechanic transported to a medieval fantasy world under siege by Lovecraftian horrors.

The Benjamin January Historical Mysteries

This historical mystery series is celebrated for its meticulous research, rich atmospheric detail, and exploration of race, class, and politics in antebellum America. You should read these books strictly in order of publication, which mirrors the chronological progression of January's life and the history of New Orleans.

1. A Free Man of Color (1997)
2. Fever Season (1998)
3. Graveyard Dust (1999)
4. Sold Down the River (2000)
5. Die Upon a Kiss (2001)
6. Wet Grave (2002)
7. Days of the Dead (2003)
8. Dead Water (2004)
9. Dead and Buried (2010)
10. The Shirt On His Back (2011)
11. Ran Away (2011)
12. Good Man Friday (2013)
13. Crimson Angel (2014)
14. Drinking Gourd (2016)
15. Murder in July (2017)
16. Cold Bayou (2018)
17. Lady of Perdition (2019)
18. House of the Patriarch (2020)
19. Death and Hard Cider (2022)
20. The Nubian’s Curse (2024)

Note: Several self-published or anthology short stories like Hagar (2015), Libre (2015), There Shall Your Heart Be Also (2015), A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven (2015), and Death on the Moon (2016) provide optional side-stories filling in character gaps.

The Darwath Series (Portal Fantasy)

The Darwath series follows modern earthlings transported to a freezing world where humanity has been forced into a single massive keep to survive ancient creatures called the Dark. The series is best read in publication order. Be aware that a significant gap exists between the original trilogy and the later novels, which shift focus slightly.

1. The Time of the Dark (1982)
2. The Walls of Air (1983)
3. The Armies of Daylight (1983)
4. Mother of Winter (1996)
5. Icefalcon's Quest (1998)

Related self-published short stories include Pretty Polly (2015), Whisper (2015), and Elsewhere (2017).

The Winterlands (Dragonsbane) Series

While Dragonsbane works beautifully as a standalone novel, Hambly returned to the characters and world over a decade later. Readers should note that the sequels are significantly darker in tone, dealing with trauma, aging, and the heavy consequences of magical pacts.

1. Dragonsbane (1985)
2. Dragonshadow (1999)
3. Knight of the Demon Queen (2000)
4. Dragonstar (2002)

Hambly has also published several companion short stories set in the Winterlands, including Shadowbaby (2015), Princess (2015), Damselblossom (2015), and Hag in the Water (2017).

The James Asher Vampire Novels

This series offers a grounded, investigative, and non-romanticized take on vampires, combining historical espionage with gothic horror. Read these in publication order to track the changing geopolitical landscape leading up to World War I.

1. Those Who Hunt the Night (1988)
2. Traveling with the Dead (1995)
3. Blood Maidens (2010)
4. Magistrates of Hell (2012)
5. The Kindred of Darkness (2013)
6. Darkness on his Bones (2015)
7. Pale Guardian (2016)
8. Prisoner of Midnight (2019)
9. Gravemould and Ectoplasm (2019)

Other Notable Fantasy Series

Sun Wolf and Starhawk

A classic fantasy trilogy following a mercenary captain who discovers he has latent magical powers and his warrior partner. Read them in this order:

1. The Ladies of Mandrigyn (1984)
2. The Witches of Wenshar (1987)
3. The Dark Hand of Magic (1990)

Hambly later added short stories like A Night With the Girls (2015) and Hazard (2017) to expand their adventures.

Windrose Chronicles

A series blending portal fantasy, computational magic, and gothic romance. Note that the fourth book, Stranger at the Wedding, was published in some territories under the title Sorcerer's Ward.

1. The Silent Tower (1986)
2. The Silicon Mage (1988)
3. Dog Wizard (1992)
4. Stranger at the Wedding (1994)
5. Just Like Real People (2019)

Media Tie-Ins and Graphic Novels

Hambly has lent her voice to major science fiction franchises. Her contributions include the Star Trek: The Original Series novels Ishmael (1985) and Crossroad (1994), and the Star Wars Legends novels Children of the Jedi (1995) and Planet of Twilight (1997).

For graphic novel fans, Hambly wrote the Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness trilogy (consisting of An Honorary Man, The Gate of Dreams and Starlight, and A Thousand Waters), which follows an Edwardian lady archaeologist seeking independence in Mesopotamia.