Reading order
Lonesome Dove series reading order
1
2
3
4- 4 volumes
- Volumes
- 1985–1997
- Published
- about 50 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
Quick answer
Publication order
4 volumes1985–1997Completed
- Start with Lonesome Dove — McMurtry wrote it first and won the Pulitzer for it.
- The rest came later: Streets of Laredo continues it, and the last two volumes are prequels about a young Call and Gus.
- They come first in time and make a weaker entry.
A plan for the whole series
4 volumes, 2,732 pages, about 50 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 10 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: low
- The thickest volume runs 945 pages. One volume is one stage: a break after it, not the next volume.
- Readers scored volume 2, “Streets of Laredo”, below its predecessor (8.3 after 9.1). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.
Stages
3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 17, 2027, 13 days later than in one go.
- Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 21, 2026
- BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.0
- Stage 219 habout 4 weeksby December 26, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 314 h18 daysby January 17, 2027
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: best at the start. Readers scored the first volumes (9.1) above the last ones (8.3).
Best volume: Lonesome Dove (9.1, 631 ratings). Weakest: Dead Man's Walk (8.2). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.3) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Lonesome Dove in chronological order
The order the story happens in — not the order the books came out.
- Dead Man's Walk (1995)
- Comanche Moon (1997)
- Lonesome Dove (1985)
- Streets of Laredo (1993)
Lonesome Dove books ranked, best to worst
- 1.Lonesome DoveBook 1 · 19859.1
- 2.Comanche MoonBook 4 · 19978.3
- 2.Streets of LaredoBook 2 · 19938.3
- 4.Dead Man's WalkBook 3 · 19958.2
Frequently asked questions
Which Lonesome Dove book is the best?
By reader score, Lonesome Dove (9.1/10). The lowest-rated is Dead Man's Walk (8.2/10).
Which Lonesome Dove series book is the longest?
“Lonesome Dove” is the longest at 945 pages; the shortest is “Dead Man's Walk” with 488 pages.
What should I read after Lonesome Dove series?
Other series by Larry McMurtry: The Berrybender Narratives.