David Carrico Books in Order

Recommended Reading Paths: Where to Start?

David Carrico is a versatile speculative fiction author whose work spans alternate history, military space opera, traditional sword-and-sorcery, and urban fantasy. Because much of his writing is set in collaborative, shared-world universes, deciding where to begin depends entirely on your genre preference:

• For Alternate History & Police Procedurals: Start with 1635: Music and Murder. This collection brings together Carrico's early short stories and novellas from the 1632 (Ring of Fire) universe, introducing both his musical alternate-history thread and his fan-favorite police procedural series.
• For Space Opera Fans: Start at the very beginning of the Jao Empire series with The Course of Empire (written by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth). While Carrico only co-authored the third book, The Span of Empire, the trilogy is a continuous narrative that cannot be read out of order.
• For Classic Fantasy Readers: Start with The Dragon's Boy, the opening novel of his YA-accessible Dragon Wizard duology.
• For Sword & Sorcery Enthusiasts: Begin with Blood's Call, the first book of his Highland-inspired Fire, Salt, and Blood duology.
• For a Unique Standalone: Pick up The Blood Is the Life, a highly original urban fantasy about an Orthodox Jewish man adjusting to life as a vampire.

The Ring of Fire (1632) Universe

David Carrico's most prolific work is in Eric Flint's massive collaborative alternate-history project, the 1632 series (often called the Ring of Fire). In this universe, a modern West Virginia town is transported to 17th-century Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. Carrico established two major subseries within this universe:

The Byron Chieske & Gotthilf Hoch Police Procedurals

This subseries follows Byron Chieske (an up-timer American police officer) and Gotthilf Hoch (a down-timer German investigator) as they establish a modern-style police force in the war-torn Holy Roman Empire. Their stories are a mix of historical crime-solving and cultural adaptation.

The Grantville Music Thread

Carrico's academic background in music theory shines in this thread, which details how the arrival of modern music (including jazz, classical masterpieces, and recording technology) impacts the 17th-century musical landscape and historical composers like Heinrich Schütz and Francesca Caccini.

Reading Order for Carrico's 1632 Works

To experience Carrico's contributions to the Ring of Fire, it is recommended to read them in the following order. While you do not need to read all dozens of other 1632 books to follow his stories, reading the original foundational novel 1632 by Eric Flint is highly recommended to understand the setting.

1. 1635: Music and Murder (2013) – A collection that brings together his initial stories from the Grantville Gazette, establishing both the Hoch/Chieske detective partnership and the early musical developments.
2. 1636: The Devil's Opera (2013) – A full-length novel co-authored with Eric Flint. It merges the police procedural and musical threads as Hoch and Chieske investigate a conspiracy centered around a grand opera in Magdeburg.
3. Letters From Gronow (2018) – Initially serialized in the Grantville Gazette, this follows Johann Gronow, a 17th-century publisher who begins printing up-time literature (such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft) under the title Der Schwarze Kater.
4. 1636: Flight of the Nightingale (2019) – A volume containing two novellas focusing heavily on the musical thread, charting the careers of historical composers adjusting to the new musical reality.

The Jao Empire Series

The Jao Empire series is a military science fiction space opera co-created by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth. It depicts a future where humanity has been conquered by the Jao—an alien species with a highly rigid, associative social structure—and must work together with their conquerors to face a mutual, genocidal threat known as the Ekhat. Following Wentworth's passing, Carrico co-wrote the final volume with Flint. You must read this series in chronological order:

1. The Course of Empire (2003) – Written by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth.
2. The Crucible of Empire (2010) – Written by Eric Flint and K.D. Wentworth.
3. The Span of Empire (2016) – Written by Eric Flint and David Carrico.

The Dragon Wizard Series

For readers looking for traditional coming-of-age fantasy, Carrico's Dragon Wizard series is a self-contained duology. It follows Evann, a young boy who develops an unexpected bond with a dragon named Rufous, and his journey to master wizardry. Read them in publication order:

1. The Dragon's Boy (2020)
2. The Dragon's Apprentice (2020)

The Blood's Call Duology

Also known as the Fire, Salt, and Blood series, this Highland-themed sword-and-sorcery duology focuses on Duncan corNial, the exiled son of a clan leader who becomes a bounty hunter. Read them in order:

1. Blood's Call (2020)
2. Blood's Cost (2020)

Standalone Novels & Short Works

• A Song of Passing (2020) – A standalone sword-and-sorcery fantasy novel.
• The Blood Is the Life (2022) – A standalone modern urban fantasy published by Baen Books. The story centers on Chaim Caan, an Orthodox Jew who is turned into a vampire. The book is highly praised for its meticulous handling of how the protagonist navigates kosher laws, Jewish theology, and his new undead nature.
• The Evening of the Day (2013) – A standalone fantasy short story/novella.

What to Know Before You Start

Carrico's bibliography is deeply collaborative. If you are diving into his 1632 work, remember that these stories are part of a massive shared universe. While Carrico's threads are self-contained enough to be enjoyed on their own, they frequently reference events from the main-line novels. Reading Flint's 1632 first will ground you in the timeline. If you are starting the Jao Empire series, keep in mind that Carrico only steps in for the final book, but he maintains the stylistic continuity established by Flint and Wentworth, leading to a Dragon Award nomination for The Span of Empire in 2017.