John Scalzi Books In Publication & Chronological Order - BookSeries.org (2025)

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John Scalzi is an American science fiction author and popular blogger living in Ohio.

Scalzi was already a successful published non-fiction author and movie critic when he launched his career as a novelist by publishing his first book, Old Man’s War, as a series of online chapters on his personal website starting in 2002. The novel was a hit almost immediately and was subsequently picked up by science fiction imprint Tor Books. His second published novel Agent to the Stars was likewise first released on his website on a donation based model before being published by Subterranean Press.

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John Scalzi graduated from the University of Chicago in 1991 with a degree in philosophy. During his time in college he was the editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon, and also did freelance writing for the Chicago Sun-Times while still a student. After graduation he would move back to California where he would work for the Fresno Bee. He wrote opinion columns and film reviews before eventually being hired as an in-house writer and editor for AOL. He was laid off in 1998 and went to full-time freelance work after that experience.

Since becoming a full time novelist Scalzi has continued to maintain his popular blog, Whatever, where he published his popular 2005 essay “Being Poor” which was later republished in newspapers across the country. He is also active on social media, often being asked to weigh in on controversial topics and using his site as a place to promote other authors and creatives through his Big Idea series of promotional posts as well as for regular blog entries on his life and family, and even cat pictures such as his now infamous “bacon cat” meme.

Scalzi’s first book, Agent to the Stars was written in 1997 and published free to read on his website in 1999. Instead of charging, he asked readers to donate whatever they would like if they enjoyed the book and he ended up making about $4,000 from the book. The book was later released in paperback by Tor.

After this, his first published novel was Old Man’s War which was released one chapter a day in December of of 2002 before being scooped up by Tor Books for publication.

In 2015 he signed a multi-million dollar deal with Tor Books which will cover his next 13 books, making him one of the best paid authors in the science fiction genre. The deal includes the sequel to “Lock In”, titled “Head On” which was released in 2018.

John Scalzi Awards

Scalzi’s work has been well received by critics and readers alike. He picked up the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer at the 2005 World Science Fiction convention and since then has also taken home several more Hugos across a range of categories as well as the Nebula, Locus, Seiun, and Kurd Lasswitz awards. He regularly appears as a guest at science fiction conventions and other literary events.

In 2016, he was awarded the Ohio Governor’s Award by the Ohio Arts Council in the Individual Artists category. Scalzi currently resides in Bradford, Ohio as his family moved there to be closer to his wife’s family.

Also in 2016, he was named as a Critic-at-Large by the Los Angeles Times and would begin contributing to the paper as a columnist covering culture and literature.

John Scalzi Books Turned Into Movies/TV

Scalzi worked as a consultant for the television series Stargate Atlantis and currently three of his books are under development for the small screen as well.

Legendary Television is working on an adaptation of his thriller Lock In, while FX is adapting the bestselling comic novel Redshirts into a miniseries. Meanwhile Syfy has tapped Wolfgang Petersen to create a series set in the Old Man’s War universe, entitled Ghost Brigades after the second book in that series.

Best John Scalzi Books

Old Man’s War: Scalzi’s first novel launched what is still his most popular series of books, which now includes six novels and multiple short stories. The books consistently tops readers polls of the best science fiction books of the past few decades.

The novel is set in a space-faring future in which wars a fought by volunteers recruited from people past retirement age. These volunteers are given new bodies in exchange for their military service off-planet defending the human Colonial Defense Forces from alien threats.

John Perry is one such volunteer who joins up at the age of 75 after the sudden death of his wife. As he navigates this strange new life he finds the universe is far bigger and scarier than he could have imagined before joining up and he will need every bit of his lifelong experience and wisdom to get him through this second shot at life.

Lock In: This near future thriller follows the aftermath of a new viral epidemic that leaves a small percentage of those exposed with a debilitating condition known as Haden’s Syndrome. Those affected by it are in a state of paralysis and can only interact with the outside world by using sophisticated robotic interfaces. Decades after the epidemic a series of possibly Haden-related murders baffle the FBI and a team of agents, one of whom is a Haden herself, must figure out who the killer really is before it’s too late.

Redshirts: This comic novel follows the misadventures of five new ensigns serving on a disaster prone starship whose crew seems to be dropping life flies. They slowly become aware of a strange pattern; the command staff seem to be immune to the incredibly high death rate among the enlisted crew. As they dig into this strange statistical anomaly they discover the shocking truth, which is that the universe they inhabit is absurd in a way that can only be explained by one thing; they are the fictional creations of bad television writers!

When Does The Next John Scalzi book come out?

The next book by John Scalzi is When the Moon Hits Your Eye and will be released on March, 25th 2025.

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