Reading order
Rifters reading order
1
2
3- 7.87.8 / 10191 ratings
- Score
- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 1999–2004
- Published
- about 20 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Science fiction#73
- Genre
Quick answer
Publication order
3 volumes1999–2004Completed
- Peter Watts’ first novels: in Starfish, a crew of damaged, deliberately chosen misfits is surgically adapted to live on the sea floor and run a geothermal power station at a deep-ocean rift.
- Bleak, scientifically rigorous and strange; the story grows into a global catastrophe in Maelstrom and Behemoth.
- Starfish is the most read and rates highest; read in order.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,084 pages, about 20 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium
Stages
This series fits in one stage. You finish around November 30, 2026.
- Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 30, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
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 31, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Which Rifters book is the best?
By reader score, Starfish (7.9/10). The lowest-rated is Maelstrom (7.8/10).
Which Rifters book is the longest?
“Starfish” is the longest at 384 pages; the shortest is “Behemoth” with 316 pages.
What should I read after Rifters?
Other series by Peter Watts: Firefall, Sunflower Cycle.
