Marlon James Books in Order: Every Novel, 2005 to 2026
Marlon James has published six novels, and the order of publication is also a sound reading order: John Crow’s Devil (2005), The Book of Night Women (2009), A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014), Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019), Moon Witch, Spider King (2022) and The Disappearers (2026). Only two of them, the first two Dark Star books, form a series that must be read in sequence. Everything else stands alone, so you can enter anywhere. This guide gives the full list, what each book is about, and where to begin depending on what you like to read.
TL;DR
- Publication order: John Crow’s Devil, The Book of Night Women, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Moon Witch, Spider King, The Disappearers.
- The Dark Star trilogy (books 1 and 2 so far) should be read in order. The other four novels are standalone.
- New to James? Start with A Brief History of Seven Killings for Jamaican realism, or Black Leopard, Red Wolf for myth and fantasy.
- The third Dark Star book, tentatively titled White Wing, Dark Star, has been announced but is not yet available to buy.
- If you finish James and want more Jamaican and Caribbean fiction, the reading lists below point the way.
Table of Contents
- The complete list at a glance
- Each novel in order
- Which books are a series and which stand alone
- Three ways to read him
- Short stories and other writing
- What comes next
- Where to go after Marlon James
- Explore Maroon House Press
- FAQ
- Sources
The complete list at a glance
The publication details below come from the author’s catalogue at Penguin Random House and from a reference entry on the author for the earliest and latest titles.
| # | Book | Year | Original publisher | Series? | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Crow’s Devil | 2005 | Akashic Books | Standalone | Debut novel set in a Jamaican village |
| 2 | The Book of Night Women | 2009 | Riverhead Books | Standalone | Slavery and rebellion on a Jamaican plantation |
| 3 | A Brief History of Seven Killings | 2014 | Riverhead Books | Standalone | Booker Prize winner, 1970s Jamaica and beyond |
| 4 | Black Leopard, Red Wolf | 2019 | Riverhead Books | Dark Star, book 1 | Mythic fantasy quest |
| 5 | Moon Witch, Spider King | 2022 | Riverhead Books | Dark Star, book 2 | The same story, told by Sogolon |
| 6 | The Disappearers | 2026 | Penguin Books | Standalone | 1988 Kingston, a play and an attack |
Penguin Random House’s official author page lists the first five of these as his novels. The Disappearers is the newest.
Each novel in order
1. John Crow’s Devil (2005)
James’s debut was published in 2005 by Akashic Books, according to the reference entry. It is the smallest in scale of the six: a compact, claustrophobic novel about a Jamaican village and the clash of religious authority and fear. Readers who come to it after the later books will notice the themes James keeps returning to: faith, violence, secrecy and what a community will do to protect its story about itself.
Read it first if you like to follow an author from the beginning. Skip ahead if you want the large canvas he is best known for.
2. The Book of Night Women (2009)
Published by Riverhead Books in 2009, this is the novel about Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation, and the Night Women’s planned revolt. Penguin Random House lists the paperback at $18.00, 448 pages, with an ebook and an audiobook of 15 hours 46 minutes.
It is a hard, unsparing book, and place does a great deal of the work. The plantation is not a backdrop but a system that shapes every choice a character can make. If you are reading it for a class or a book club, this student’s guide to the role of setting in literature gives you a useful frame for talking about how a place can act almost like a character.
For more novels that deal with the rebel communities that grew out of the same history, see our list of Jamaican Maroon novels.
3. A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014)
The book that made James’s name worldwide, and the winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize according to the reference entry. It follows the attempted 1976 assassination of Bob Marley and its consequences across Jamaica, New York and, later, Jamaica again. Penguin Random House lists the US paperback at $19.00, 704 pages, published September 8, 2015, with the ebook out since October 2, 2014.
It is long, polyphonic and written in many voices, including Jamaican patois. That makes it demanding on page one and rewarding by page fifty. Many readers say the audiobook helps with the voices, but do pick whichever format keeps you reading.
4. Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019)
The first of the Dark Star trilogy is a mythic-fantasy search for a missing child, narrated by a tracker. Penguin Random House lists the paperback at $19.00, 640 pages, published February 4, 2020. The hardcover came out February 5, 2019, at $30.00, and the ebook the same day.
James has described the first book as picaresque and adventurous, the second as historical and magical realist, and the third as mostly horror, as summarized here. If you only know him through the Jamaican novels, expect a different register: more myth, more invention, a wider geography.
5. Moon Witch, Spider King (2022)
Book 2 retells the missing-child story through Sogolon, the Moon Witch. Penguin Random House lists the paperback at $19.00, 672 pages, published February 14, 2023, and an ebook of 656 pages that came out February 15, 2022.
James told The Guardian that each novel in the trilogy tells the same story from a different perspective, and that writing it was great fun. Read book 1 first. The second book works best as an answer to the first.
6. The Disappearers (2026)
James’s newest novel, published by Penguin Books in 2026, returns to Jamaica. It is about eight gay men rehearsing a play in 1988 Kingston, followed by a violent attack, a murder and the survivors’ very different responses, as his official site describes it. The site also calls it an instant New York Times bestseller. The Seattle Times, in a fall books roundup, notes that the novel goes back to the murderous reality of A Brief History of Seven Killings.
It stands alone. You do not need the earlier books, though readers of Seven Killings will recognize the territory.
Which books are a series and which stand alone
The distinction matters for the order you read in.
- Series: the Dark Star trilogy. Penguin Random House’s series page lists Black Leopard, Red Wolf as book 1 and Moon Witch, Spider King as book 2, and presents the trilogy as a merging of myth, fantasy and history told through the Tracker, the Moon Witch and the Boy.
- Standalone: John Crow’s Devil, The Book of Night Women, A Brief History of Seven Killings and The Disappearers, per the reference entry.
So “in order” means two different things. For the Dark Star books, order is essential. For the rest, it is a matter of taste and curiosity.
Three ways to read him
Chronologically
Go from 2005 to 2026. You see a writer move from a tight village novel to historical epic, then to mythic fantasy, then back to Kingston. This is the best route for students and anyone writing about his development.
By theme
If you care most about Jamaica, read John Crow’s Devil, The Book of Night Women, A Brief History of Seven Killings and The Disappearers, then the trilogy last. If you want myth and speculative fiction, begin with Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
By difficulty
None of James’s novels is a quick read. Night Women is the most direct in plot. Seven Killings has the most voices. The Dark Star books ask you to accept a dense invented world without much hand-holding. For a first James novel, many readers pick Night Women or Black Leopard, Red Wolf, depending on whether they lean toward history or fantasy.
Short stories and other writing
James has also written short fiction for magazines and anthologies. According to his faculty profile at Macalester College, these include “How To Be A Man” in Esquire (2013), “Immaculate” in Kingston Noir (2012), “Look What Love Is Doing To Me” in Bronx Noir (2007) and “The Last Jamaican Lion” in Iron Balloons (2006). They are worth tracking down if you want to see him work at short length, but they are not a separate book to read in sequence.
What comes next
The third Dark Star book, tentatively titled White Wing, Dark Star, has been announced, per the reference entry. Penguin Random House’s catalogue does not yet carry a US product page for it, so check the publisher’s author page for a release date before you plan around it.
Our perspective: why James belongs in a bigger reading list
We publish Caribbean and Black diaspora fiction, and we think of Marlon James as a doorway rather than a destination. Readers arrive at his books for Seven Killings or the Dark Star novels and discover how much more is out there: Jamaican historical fiction, Kingston novels, crime written from inside the islands, folklore-driven stories, queer Caribbean writing.
What he shows is that these stories do not need to be softened, translated or explained for an outside audience. They can be long, violent, funny, mythic and strange, and they can be told on their own terms. That is the belief behind our press. We publish the stories the record left out, across literary fiction, crime and thrillers, folklore-inspired work, paranormal romance, women’s fiction and nonfiction.
If a James novel has left you wanting more of that voice, there is a lot of it waiting. Read him in order, then keep going.
Nikki
Where to go after Marlon James
Pick the thread that pulled you in:
- You loved The Disappearers: try our list of queer Caribbean fiction to read after it.
- You loved the Kingston of Seven Killings: see nine novels set in Kingston.
- You want Jamaican fiction beyond James: begin with eight Jamaican novels worth reading first.
- You like the violence and moral weight of his crime plotting: see Caribbean crime fiction, with novels from the islands and the diaspora.
- You are curious about how the voices work on the page: read about language, power and accent in Caribbean fiction.
- You are not sure whether a book counts as Caribbean or diaspora fiction: this comparison explains the difference.
Explore Maroon House Press
Maroon House Press is an independent literary press for fiction and nonfiction rooted in Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and the Black diaspora. Our catalogue spans Caribbean fiction, literary fiction, crime and thrillers, paranormal romance, erotica and erotic romance, women’s fiction and our Reinvention House nonfiction line, and we are committed to keeping every title in print.
Start with our Caribbean fiction collection, browse Black literary fiction, or see everything on the Maroon House Press homepage. Book clubs and classrooms will find the thematic reading lists above a good place to build a syllabus or a year of meetings.
For more novels set on the island, from The Long Song to The Disappearers, see our guide to novels set in Jamaica.
FAQ
What is the first Marlon James book?
John Crow’s Devil, published in 2005 by Akashic Books. It is his debut novel and a standalone, so you can read it first or come back to it after his better-known books.
Do I have to read the Marlon James books in order?
Only the Dark Star books. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is book 1 and Moon Witch, Spider King is book 2, and the second retells the first story from another point of view. His other four novels each stand alone.
Which Marlon James book should I read first?
It depends on your taste. A Brief History of Seven Killings is the Booker winner and the best entry for realist Jamaican fiction. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the one to start with if you prefer myth and fantasy. The Book of Night Women is a strong choice for historical fiction.
What is Marlon James’s newest book?
The Disappearers (2026), set in 1988 Kingston and built around a group of men rehearsing a play. The third Dark Star novel, tentatively titled White Wing, Dark Star, has been announced but is not yet available from the publisher’s catalogue.
How many books has Marlon James written?
Six novels so far: three standalones before the trilogy started, the two published Dark Star books, and The Disappearers. He has also contributed short stories to magazines and anthologies such as Esquire and Kingston Noir.
Sources
- Marlon James (novelist), reference entry
- Marlon James, Penguin Random House author page
- The Dark Star Trilogy, Penguin Random House
- Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Penguin Random House
- Moon Witch, Spider King, Penguin Random House
- The Book of Night Women, Penguin Random House
- A Brief History of Seven Killings, Penguin Random House
- Black Leopard, Red Wolf, reference entry
- The Guardian: Marlon James interview, 2022
- Marlon James, official website
- Seattle Times: 5 books to read this fall
- Marlon James, Macalester College faculty profile
