Urban fantasy series are notorious for scattering short stories and novellas across anthologies, making it nearly impossible to know what you've missed. Here are the best urban fantasy series with the quick reading order list and exactly where every piece of short fiction fits into the timeline.
Quick Reference: Best Urban Fantasy Series — Start Here
- The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher — Start: Storm Front (2000)
- The Dark Tower by Stephen King — Start: The Gunslinger (1982)
1. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Reading order complexity: High. The main series has 17+ novels, and there are 3 short story collections (Side Jobs, Brief Cases, A Few Bullets More) containing stories that are tightly integrated with the novel timeline.
Main series order (novels only):
- Storm Front (2000)
- Fool Moon (2001)
- Grave Peril (2001)
- Summer Knight (2002)
- Death Masks (2003)
- Blood Rites (2004)
- Dead Beat (2005)
- Proven Guilty (2006)
- White Night (2007)
- Small Favor (2008)
- Turn Coat (2009)
- Changes (2010)
- Ghost Story (2011)
- Cold Days (2012)
- Skin Game (2014)
- Peace Talks (2020)
- Battle Ground (2020)
Where do the short stories fit? Jim Butcher's short stories are not optional filler — several contain significant character moments. The recommended approach: read each short story collection at the point it was published, not all at once at the end.
- Side Jobs (2010) — Contains stories set between Books 1–11. Read after Turn Coat (Book 11). The final story, "Aftermath," is set immediately after Changes and is effectively essential.
- Brief Cases (2018) — Contains stories set between Books 4–16. Best read after Skin Game (Book 15).
View our complete Dresden Files reading order and Jim Butcher author page.
2. The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Reading order complexity: Very high. The Dark Tower is a multiverse series that weaves together characters and events from across King's entire 60+ novel bibliography. References to The Stand, It, Salem's Lot, and other King novels appear throughout.
Core Dark Tower reading order:
- The Gunslinger (1982, revised 2003)
- The Drawing of the Three (1987)
- The Waste Lands (1991)
- Wizard and Glass (1997)
- Wolves of the Calla (2003)
- Song of Susannah (2004)
- The Dark Tower (2004)
- The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) — read between Books 4 and 5
Where does The Wind Through the Keyhole fit? It slots between Wizard and Glass (Book 4) and Wolves of the Calla (Book 5) chronologically. Published in 2012, it is a later addition that should be inserted at that point in your reread, but can be read after Book 7 on a first read without missing plot. View our complete Dark Tower reading order and Stephen King author page.
The Verdict: Best Urban Fantasy for New Readers
For a modern, propulsive entry: The Dresden Files — Storm Front is one of the best opening novels in the genre. For something stranger and more ambitious: The Dark Tower — but commit to at least Book 3 before deciding if it is for you; the first book is significantly shorter and more spare than what follows. Browse our complete urban fantasy catalog for reading orders on every major series.