Robert Ludlum books in order
American novelist
- Lived
- 1927–2001
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 55
- Series
- 2
- Also writes as
- Michael Shepherd, Jonathan Ryder
Robert Ludlum published 51 novels and 4 other books, beginning with The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971). The 2 series include Covert-One (12 books, starting with The Hades Factor) and Bourne (10 books, starting with The Bourne Identity). The best-known is The Bourne Supremacy (1986).
Updated September 2026
Covert-One books in order (12)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Hades Factor (2000) · 2 The Cassandra Compact (2001) · 3 The Paris Option (1978) · 4 The Altman Code (2003) · 5 The Lazarus Vendetta (2004) · 6 The Moscow Vector (2005) · 7 The Arctic Event (2007) · 8 The Ares Decision (2011) · 9 The Janus Reprisal (2012) · 10 The Utopia Experiment (2013) · … all 12 below
- 1.
The Hades Factor (2000)
- 2.
The Cassandra Compact (2001)
- 3.
The Paris Option (1978)
- 4.
The Altman Code (2003)
- 5.
The Lazarus Vendetta (2004)
- 6.
The Moscow Vector (2005)
- 7.
The Arctic Event (2007)
- 8.
The Ares Decision (2011)
- 9.
The Janus Reprisal (2012)
- 10.
The Utopia Experiment (2013)
- 11.
The Geneva Strategy (2015)
- 12.
The Patriot Attack (2015)
Bourne books in order (10)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Bourne Identity (1980) · 2 The Bourne Supremacy (1986) · 3 The Bourne Ultimatum (1990) · 4 The Bourne Legacy (2004) · 5 The Bourne Betrayal (2007) · 6 The Bourne Sanction (2008) · 7 The Bourne Deception (2009) · 8 The Bourne Objective (2010) · 9 The Bourne Dominion (2011) · Robert Ludlums The Bourne Retribution (2014)
- 1.
The Bourne Identity (Feb 1980)
- 2.
The Bourne Supremacy (Feb 1986)
- 3.
The Bourne Ultimatum (Feb 1990)
- 4.
The Bourne Legacy (Jun 2004), with Eric Van Lustbader
- 5.
The Bourne Betrayal (Jun 2007), with Eric Van Lustbader
- 6.
The Bourne Sanction (Jul 2008), with Eric Van Lustbader
- 7.
The Bourne Deception (Jun 2009), with Eric Van Lustbader
- 8.
The Bourne Objective (Jun 2010), with Eric Van Lustbader
- 9.
The Bourne Dominion (Jul 2011), with Eric Van Lustbader
Robert Ludlums The Bourne Retribution (2014)
Where to start with Robert Ludlum
Start here
The Bourne Identity
Book 1 of Bourne, the series that includes The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum's most-read book.
Highest rated
The Bourne Supremacy
Rated 4.0 out of 5 by 26 readers.
Shortest way in
The Scarlatti Inheritance
One of the most-read, at about 363 pages.
Standalone novels in order
The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971)
The Osterman Weekend (1972)
Trevayne (1973)
The Matlock Paper (Apr 1973)
The Cry of the Halidon (1974)
The Rhinemann Exchange (1974)
The Road to Gandolfo (Jan 1975)
The Gemini Contenders (1976)
The Chancellor Manuscript (Jun 1977)
The Holcroft Covenant (Jul 1978)
The Matarese Circle (1979)
Road to Gandolfo,the (1982)
The Parsifal Mosaic (Feb 1982)
Bourne Identity,the (1984)
The Aquitaine Progression (Feb 1984)
The Icarus Agenda (Feb 1988)
The Ludlum Triad (1989)
The Road to Omaha (Feb 1992)
The Scorpio Illusion (Apr 1993)
The Apocalypse Watch (Apr 1995)
The Matarese Countdown (Oct 1997)
The Prometheus Deception (Oct 2000)
The Sigma Protocol (Oct 2001)
The Janson Directive (Oct 2002)
The Tristan Betrayal (Oct 2003)
The Ambler Warning (Oct 2005)
The Bancroft Strategy (Oct 2006)
Robert Ludlums The Janson Option (2014)
the Janson Equation (2015)
Other books in order
Osterman Weekend,the (1983)
Robert Ludlum (1988)
The Icarus Agenda Part 1 of 2 (1988)
Apocalypsis (1996)
Film and TV adaptations
- The Osterman Weekend (1983)Film · from The Osterman Weekend
- The Holcroft Covenant (1985)Film · from The Holcroft Covenant
- The Bourne Identity (1988)TV · from The Bourne Identity
- The Bourne Identity (2002)Film · from The Bourne Identity
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004)Film · from The Bourne Supremacy
- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)Film · from The Bourne Ultimatum
About Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Robert Ludlum FAQ
- How many books has Robert Ludlum written?
- Robert Ludlum published 51 novels and 4 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Robert Ludlum's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Covert-One with The Hades Factor and Bourne with The Bourne Identity. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Robert Ludlum's last book?
- The Tristan Betrayal (2003).
- What is Robert Ludlum's most famous book?
- The Bourne Supremacy (1986) is Robert Ludlum's most widely read book.
- Are Robert Ludlum's books connected?
- 22 books belong to 2 series (Covert-One and Bourne); the other 33 books stand alone.
- Does Robert Ludlum write under a pen name?
- Yes: Robert Ludlum has also published as Michael Shepherd and Jonathan Ryder.
- Which Robert Ludlum books have been adapted?
- 5 books have been adapted for film or TV, including The Osterman Weekend (film, 1983), The Holcroft Covenant (film, 1985), The Bourne Identity (TV, 1988) and The Bourne Supremacy (film, 2004).
Authors like Robert Ludlum
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.