Anna Strong Chronicles
#9763.81 adjusted 3.81 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 10 books Status Unfinished 2006–2019 Reading commitment High Jeanne C. Stein Last reviewed 2026-11-04
Overview
Jeanne C. Stein's Anna Strong novels, published by Ace from 2006, are set in San Diego. Anna Strong is a bounty hunter who is attacked and changed into a vampire, and she has to hold on to her humanity while living between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Over the series she deals with her maker's legacy, werewolves, an old enforcement group of vampires and her own growing powers. Recurring characters include her friend Daniel Frey, her ex Max, a DEA agent, and the shape-shifter Culebra. Ten novels have appeared, the first nine from 2006 to 2013 and the tenth, Paradox, in 2019.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (10 works) counts toward ranking
Anna Strong Chronicles Jeanne C. Stein
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Becoming; Published by Ace on 28 November 2006; some catalogues list 2004. | 2006 | 1 | core | 3.54 (6,127 ratings) |
 | Blood Drive | 2007 | 2 | core | 3.81 (3,730 ratings) |
 | The Watcher; Published by Ace on 27 November 2007. | 2007 | 3 | core | 3.81 (3,176 ratings) |
 | Legacy; Published by Ace on 26 August 2008. | 2008 | 4 | core | 3.84 (2,634 ratings) |
 | Retribution; Published by Ace on 25 August 2009. | 2009 | 5 | core | 3.91 (2,316 ratings) |
 | Chosen; Published by Ace on 31 August 2010. | 2010 | 6 | core | 3.98 (2,146 ratings) |
 | Crossroads; Published by Ace on 30 August 2011. | 2011 | 7 | core | 4.03 (1,648 ratings) |
| Haunted; Published by Ace on 28 August 2012. | 2012 | 8 | core | 4.09 (1,350 ratings) | |
| Blood Bond; Published by Ace on 27 August 2013. | 2013 | 9 | core | 3.96 (912 ratings) | |
| Paradox; Tenth novel in the series; published in 2019. | 2019 | 10 | core | 4.05 (97 ratings) |
Ten urban fantasy novels about Anna Strong, a San Diego bounty hunter turned vampire.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Anna Strong Chronicles? Anna Strong Chronicles's Core Canon is 10 books.
- What is the reading order for Anna Strong Chronicles? Publication order, starting with The Becoming. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Anna Strong Chronicles finished? Unfinished (2006–2019).
- How much reading does Anna Strong Chronicles take? High reading commitment (estimated from 10 Core Canon books).
- How is Anna Strong Chronicles ranked? #976 in this site's official ranking, based on 24,136 reader ratings across 10 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #976?
Ranked #976 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.81 across 10 core books.
- A smaller readership (24,136 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.54 to 4.09.
- Less than 0.01 behind #975, The Merman's Children (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 10 books · Unfinished · 24k ratings · Ranks #976 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe.
Reading order
Publication order (10 Core Canon books)
- The Becoming (2006)
- Blood Drive (2007)
- The Watcher (2007)
- Legacy (2008)
- Retribution (2009)
- Chosen (2010)
- Crossroads (2011)
- Haunted (2012)
- Blood Bond (2013)
- Paradox (2019)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Anna Strong Chronicles and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Tales of David Sullivan (Windmaster's Bane) Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.95
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- The Novels of Charles Williams Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.84
- Greywalker Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.75
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.81 across 24,136 ratings on 10 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 20 universes from the candidate register; 2 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-04
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Jeanne C. Stein Tier 2
- Author site Tier 2
- Penguin Random House series page Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04
Rule: Core Canon = the ten Anna Strong novels, The Becoming (2006) to Paradox (2019); novellas and anthology stories are excluded.