SeriesStack

The System Apocalypse Books in Order

by Tao WongScience Fiction & Fantasy

12 books and 1 novella from Life in the North (2018) to System Finale (2023). Rated 4.7 across 27,419 listener reviews.

Reading order

  1. Life in the North

    Book 1 2018 4.5 (6.4k)

    John wanted a vacation. He got an apocalypse. When John sets out for a weekend camping trip in the Yukon, he never could have imagined the world would be plunged into chaos by the System–a mystical energy wave that destroys electronics and…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  2. Redeemer of the Dead

    Book 2 2018 4.6 (5.1k)

    When all is lost, what makes you go on? His life a wasteland post-System integration, John Lee struggles to deal with the weight of a world irrevocably changed.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  3. The Cost of Survival

    Book 3 2018 4.7 (4.4k)

    What cost survival in a post-apocalyptic world? How much will you sacrifice to survive in a world turned game? When friends and family fall to monsters and aliens everyday, will you choose safety over freedom? These are the questions the…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  4. Cities in Chains

    Book 4 2018 4.8 (2.1k)

    It's been more than a year since the System came to Earth, bringing blood and monsters in equal measure. Faced with new challenges and new enemies, John steps up once more to set things right and teach a few aliens why you never put…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  5. Coast on Fire: An Apocalyptic LitRPG

    Book 5 2019 4.7 (1.9k)

    Reluctant ruler of the settlements in British Columbia, John and his friends must now face even greater dangers as they seek to free other human settlements from Galactic control in North America....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  6. World Unbound

    Book 6 2019 4.7 (1.7k)

    Finding his way back to Earth through a portal, John returns to a very changed world. The shackles of galactic control have bound Earth and humanity ever tighter to the system....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  7. Stars Awoken (A LitRPG Apocalypse)

    Book 7 2020 4.8 (1.4k)

    John Lee has left Earth behind him as he travels to the capital of the Galactic Council. Seeking rest and an answer to what the enigmatic System is, John plans to spend his time reading and researching on Irvina....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  8. Rebel Star

    Book 8 2020 4.8 (1.3k)

    Weary and tired from playing galactic bounty hunter and assassin, John and his crew of intrepid human survivors find themselves in Spaks after their latest escapade bring more heat than ever.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  9. Stars Asunder

    Book 9 2021 4.8 (1.1k)

    To gain his Master Class, John Lee made a deal with the Erethran Empire. Now, the empire has come to collect on the debt, forcing him to appear in their capital after his last fight....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  10. Broken Council

    Book 10 2021 4.8 (838)

    John Lee has come far from his time as a struggling survivor of the System Apocalypse. But now, his actions have gone too far, and he has drawn the ire of the Galactic Council.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  11. Adventures in Clothing

    Novella 10.5 2021 4.4 (55)

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  12. Forbidden Zone

    Book 11 2022 4.7 (722)

    After revealing the deception spread by the Galactic Council and the hidden aspects of the System, John Lee and his friends flee the council building on Irvina. Just escaping the capital planet will tax them to their utmost....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  13. System Finale

    Book 12 2023 4.5 (408)

    Not for John Lee. His search for answers for the System Quest has taken him deep into the Forbidden Zone, into the very arms of his enemies. He's betrayed family and friends and been betrayed in turn.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

Collections and companions

About this reading order

Books are listed in the series' own numbering, which for The System Apocalypse is also the best order to read them in. Novellas and short stories sit between the novels they follow, numbered the way the publisher numbers them (10.5 comes after book 10). They are optional — you can skip them without missing the main story. Years are first publication where we could confirm it, and otherwise the first audiobook release.

If you like The System Apocalypse