Author

S. M. Stirling

Q: What should I read first by S. M. Stirling?

Start with the The Brainship Series series, since it is the first on file, then read it in publication order.

S. M. Stirling has 3 known credited books (3 published) across 2 series. Start with The Brainship Series. S. M. Stirling also writes The Brainship Series (created by Anne McCaffrey) and Legends of the Riftwar (created by Raymond E. Feist).

S. M. Stirling is a Canadian-American science-fiction and fantasy author, best known for his own Emberverse and Draka alternate-history series, who co-wrote Jimmy the Hand with Raymond E. Feist as part of the Legends of the Riftwar trilogy. Jimmy the Hand sends a young Jimmy the Hand — not yet the polished courtier of Feist's later Riftwar novels — on a rescue mission through the criminal underworld of the city of Krondor, one of three standalone side-adventures in the trilogy, each co-written by Feist with a different collaborator and following a different cast of soldiers and mercenaries caught up in the war's margins. Stirling's own fiction is known for unusually detailed, plausible worldbuilding grounded in real historical and technical research, whether reimagining a world after an alternate American Civil War outcome in the Draka books or depicting a post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest rebuilding itself without modern technology in the Emberverse series. That same grounded, street-level attention to how a criminal underworld and a city's power structures actually function carries through Jimmy the Hand, giving Krondor's thieves' guild and back alleys a texture consistent with Stirling's broader reputation for meticulous worldbuilding across his solo career.

Series: 2
Credited books: 3
Published: 3
Latest published book: Jimmy the Hand July 2003
Active: 1993–present
Best known for: The Brainship Series

Key facts about S. M. Stirling

S. M. Stirling has 3 books on our list. Since all 3 are out now, every book here is ready to read. Their series sit on our science fiction and fantasy shelves.

S. M. Stirling has 2 series on file. The Brainship Series has 7 books, while Legends of the Riftwar has 3 books. In particular, The Brainship Series is the longest series on file.

The Brainship Series began with Anne McCaffrey, while S. M. Stirling has books in it too. The Brainship Series starts with The Ship Who Sang, while Legends of the Riftwar starts with Honoured Enemy.

Since The Brainship Series is the first series on file, it is the place to start. Their first published book on file came out in 1993. Meanwhile, Jimmy the Hand is the latest published book, out in July 2003.

Jimmy the Hand came out in 2003 and runs to 384 pages. The Ship Avenged came out in 1997 and runs to 364 pages. The City Who Fought came out in 1993 and runs to 448 pages.