Order of Ada Palmer Books

Ada Palmer is an American author of science fiction and fantasy novels, best known for her Terra Ignota series. Her books are praised for their detailed world-building, interesting ideas, and thoughtful look at politics, history, and human nature. Palmer is also a historian and professor, and her background in history influences how she tells her stories.

Ada Palmer made her debut as a novelist in 2016 with Too Like the Lightning. Below is a list of Ada Palmer’s books in order of when they were first released:

Publication Order of Terra Ignota Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

If You Like Ada Palmer Books, You’ll Love…

• Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Gene Wolfe
• Christopher Ruocchio

Abigail Hing Wen Synopses: Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer is the first book in the Terra Ignota series. Mycroft Canner is a convict, sentenced in the 25th century to wander the world, offering his services wherever he can. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer – a spiritual counselor in a society that has outlawed public religion but cannot erase the human need for inner guidance.

The world they inhabit is as alien to us as ours would be to a person from the 1500s. It is a hard-won utopia of technological abundance, ruled by intricate systems of social labeling and governed by globe-spanning clans whose competition is meticulously managed. Gender distinctions that seem ordinary to us are taboo, and every word and public expression is carefully monitored. To outsiders, it is a bizarre mix of heaven and hell; to its citizens, it is simply life.

Into this meticulously balanced world comes Bridger, a boy who defies all rules – a wild card with the power to make his wishes reality, even to the point of bringing inanimate objects to life. Mycroft and Carlyle must navigate this strange society and protect the fragile order…before Bridger’s gifts reshape the world in ways no one can predict.

Seven Surrenders is book 2 in Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series. In a future of near-instant global travel and abundant provision for all, a long era of peace teeters on the brink of collapse.

Unknown to most, the leaders of the great Hives – nations without fixed borders – have long maintained stability through carefully orchestrated acts of violence. Secret murders, calculated to keep no faction dominant, have preserved the delicate balance. But now, that balance is beginning to falter.

Mycroft Canner, a convict sentenced to wander the globe in service to all, knows more about the conspiracy than he can ever reveal. Carlyle Foster, counselor and sensayer, carries secrets of his own, burdens that weigh heavily. And both hold knowledge of the greatest secret of all: Bridger, a child with the power to bring inanimate objects to life – and the potential to reshape the world forever.

The Will to Battle is the third book in Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series. The long years of near-utopia have ended.

Peace and order are now memories. Corruption, deception, and rebellion pulse through the once-unshakable leadership of the Hives – nations without fixed borders.

For decades, even centuries, the leaders of the great Hives maintained the world’s stability with a stream of secret, mathematically calculated murders, ensuring that no faction could dominate and that the balance would hold. But the truth is leaking, and the fragile illusion of order is slipping.

Just days ago, humanity stood at the pinnacle of civilization. Now, everyone – Hives and hiveless, Utopians and sensayers, emperors and the oppressed, warriors and saints – scrambles to prepare for the war they had long believed impossible.