The Walking Dead Novel Series Reading Order

The Walking Dead is one of the most successful independent comic book franchises of all-time. The comic series, first launched in 2003, has spawned many television shows, video games and even a novel series.

The novels, which follows parallel with the comic and television series, released from 2011 until the final installment in 2017. The first four books were co-written by The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman and author Jay Bonansinga. The last four books were in the hands of Bonansinga.

With a total of eight books, we take a look at what the reading order should be and a little about each title.

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1

RISE OF THE GOVERNOR (2011)

In the Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of justice: whether it’s forcing prisoners to battle zombies in an arena for the townspeople’s amusement, or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. The Governor was voted “Villain of the Year” by Wizard magazine the year he debuted, and his story arc was the most controversial in the history of the Walking Dead comic book series. Now, for the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes.

2

THE ROAD TO WOODBURY (2012)

The book focuses on Lilly and her path to Woodbury, Georgia, a rural town that is barricaded and walled off to separate the living from the undead. It seems to be the perfect sanctuary. Life appears idyllic, with plenty of food, shelter and security provided to its residents. The town expands and grows stronger every day, and its leader, The Governor (Philip Blake), keeps the citizens in line.

Lilly begins to suspect all is not as it seems. Blake, who relishes his title as The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order. Lilly and a group of rebels band together to fight The Governor. Mayhem and destruction result when they challenge his reign.

3

THE FALL OF THE GOVERNOR: PART I (2013)

In The Fall of the Governor – Part One, the Governor’s descent into madness finally erupts in a tour de force of action and horror. Beloved characters from the comic book, including Rick, Michonne and Glenn, finally make their entrance onto this nightmarish stage, and fans of The Walking Dead will see these characters in a whole new light. Simmering grudges boil over into unthinkable confrontations, battle lines are drawn, and unexpected twists seal the fates of the innocent and guilty alike.

4

THE FALL OF THE GOVERNOR: PART II (2014)

The Walking Dead series of original novels, set in the universe of Robert Kirkman’s iconic comic, reaches its crescendo in The Fall of the Governor, Part Two. From coauthors Robert Kirkman, creator of the Eisner Award winning comic book and executive producer of AMC’s blockbuster TV series, and Jay Bonansinga, Stoker award finalist and internationally acclaimed author, comes the gripping fourth and final novel in this richly woven literary saga, which began with The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

5

DESCENT (2014)

Lilly Caul struggles to rebuild Woodbury after the Governor’s shocking demise in a stunning and horrifying last act.

Out of the ashes of its dark past, Woodbury, Georgia, becomes an oasis of safety amidst the plague of the walking dead, a town reborn in the wake of its former tyrannical leader, Philip Blake, aka The Governor. Blake’s legacy of madness still haunts this little walled community but Lilly Caul and a small ragtag band of survivors are determined to overcome their traumatic past…even as a vast stampede of zombies is closing in on them. Soon Lilly and the beleaguered townspeople must join forces with a mysterious religious sect fresh from the wilderness.

Led by an enigmatic preacher named Jeremiah, this rogue church group seems tailor-made for Woodbury and Lilly’s dream of a democratic, family-friendly future. But Jeremiah and his followers harbor a dark secret, the evidence of which very gradually begins to unravel. Now Lilly is caught in the dark center of a growing conflict…and it will take all of her instincts and skills to survive both the living and the dead.

6

INVASION (2015)

Out of the ashes of the devastated Woodbury, Georgia, two opposing camps of survivors develop – each one on a collision course with the other. Underground, in the labyrinth of ancient tunnels and mine shafts, Lilly Caul and her crew of senior citizens, misfits, and children struggle to build a new life. However, Caul wants her town of Woodbury back from the undead, and now the only thing that stands in her way roams in the backwaters of Georgia. In the backwaters, the psychotic Reverend Jeremiah Garlitz rebuilds his army of followers with a secret weapon. He wants to destroy Lilly and her crew – the people who vanquished his church cult – and he has the means to bring hell down upon the tunnel dwellers.

The confrontation between these two factions unleashes an unthinkable weapon – forged from the hordes of undead, perfected by a madman, and soaked in the blood of the weak.

7

SEARCH AND DESTROY (2016)

One year after defeating Garlitz’s cult, Lilly and her band of survivors start a friendly alliance with other small town settlements and begin a project to refurbish the railroad between Woodbury and Atlanta to create a safer travel method.

While repairing on the railroad, a brutal group attacks Woodbury by burning the walls and killing the adults, then kidnapping the children. Lilly Caul and her group attempt to rescue the children.

8

RETURN TO WOODBURY (2017)

Lilly Caul has lived through over four years of The Walking Dead. She has staked a claim in the walker-ravaged city of Atlanta, but Lilly wants to go back to her home of Woodbury. Some of Lily’s followers do not go, but a small group follows her through walker swarms, bands of murderers, and other dangers in order to return to Woodbury.

Jay Bonansinga is a guest on the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 93. He will discuss the entire series and what went into there creations and more! Be sure to subscribe today!

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