Chris Jordan / Rodman Philbrick Books In Order

Publication Order of Connie Kale Books

Publication Order of Freak The Mighty Books

Publication Order of House on Cherry Street Books

Publication Order of J.D. Hawkins Books

Publication Order of My Name Is America Books

Publication Order of Randall Shane Books

Publication Order of T.D. Stash Crime Adventure Books

Publication Order of Visitors Books

Publication Order of Werewolf Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Rodman Philbrick is a renowned American writer of young adult, science fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, and children’s books. He has written several successful trilogies in his writing career, including the House of Cherry Street series, Visitors series, and the Werewolf Chronicles series. Philbrick was born in 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts. As of today, he lives in Florida and Maine. Philbrick was married to Lynn Hamett from 1980 to 2012, the year she died. The couple had collaborated on several scary novels for young readers. All the books that they had written together were released under the banner of Scholastic, Inc. In addition to writing under his real name, Philbrick has used several pen names for writing his books. They include William R. Dantz, Chris Jordan, and W.R. Philbrick. Two of the most famous children’s books penned by Philbrick include Freak the Mighty and the sequel titled Max the Mighty. The first book was adapted into a Golden Globe-nominated film called The Mighty featuring Sharon Stone, James Gandolfini, Elden Hensen, Gillian Anderson, and Kieran Culkin in the lead roles.

Philbrick has also written the dystopian, cyberpunk novel called The Last Book in Universe. Also, he has penned the sci-fi fantasy book called REM World. His other works include The Young Man & the Sea, The Fire Pony, and The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P Figg. Philbrick has dedicated the former novel to his nieces Molly and Annie. The latter is set on the backdrop of Civil War in America and was named as 2010’s Newbery Honor Book. In 2012, the stage version of this book made its debut at Washington, D.C’s Kennedy Center. Author Philbrick has penned numerous thrillers and mysteries for adult readers. Many of his mysteries take place in Key West, Florida, and are written under the pseudonym of William R. Dantz. As Chris Jordan, he has written and published books mostly in the thriller genre. A popular mystery & thriller series under this pen name is the Randall Shane series, which features an ex-FBI special agent named Randall Shane as the lead protagonist. Randall Shane is seen investigating the cases of disappearance of children.

In 2011, Philbrick wrote the fourth Randall Shane book called Measure of Darkness, which takes place in Boston and shows Randall Shane entering the story’s first chapter after being accused in the murder of a client. Before writing on a full-time basis, Philbrick used to work as a boat builder and longshoreman. Author Philbrick was raised on the New England coast. It was here that he got involved in boat building. During the initial days of his writing career, he used to write only detective novels and mysteries. A couple of his earlier novels were nominated as best detective novels by the PEWA. In 1993, his novel, Brothers & Sinners, was selected as Best Novel.

When he took to writing under the name of William R. Dantz, he used to explore genetic engineering’s near future worlds and hi-tech brain control. Philbrick’s first children’s book was inspired by a small boy’s life, who lived several blocks away. The novel won many awards and has been translated into several languages all over the world. It is now used in the school curriculum in many schools in the world. Philbrick has spent some years of his life working as a screenwriter as well. Today, he divides his time between Maine and Florida and spends most of his time working on the development of his upcoming novels.

A successful book written by author Rodman Philbrick is entitled ‘Freak the Mighty’. It was released in 1993 and features the main characters in the roles of Maxwell Kane, Kevin Avery, Tony, Loretta Lee, Gwen Avery, Iggy Lee, Killer Kane, Annie Kane, etc. Maxwell Kane is shown as a slow, kind-hearted boy, while Kevin Avery is physically handicapped, but intelligent. Kevin suffers from Morquio syndrome and is referred to as Freak. Philbrick has set this novel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Initially, Maxwell Kane is introduced as a boy with less self-esteem. He resides with his grandparents and thinks that he is a butthead. The people around him are afraid of him because of his resemblance to his murderer father, Killer Kane. When Maxwell was in daycare, he had come across Kevin Avery and they had become good friends. But, he moved out of town with his parents and did not return for several years. When Maxwell joins a middle school, he learns that Kevin and his mother are going to move into the neighboring house.

When Kevin and Maxwell meet each other, they become friends again. They undergo many adventures and also face bullying from other kids. As Kevin Avery has Morquio syndrome, he keeps falling all the time. When Maxwell’s grandparents reveal to him that his father has come out of jail on parole, he becomes disappointed. Maxwell doesn’t want to be like his father and wishes to stay away from him. He also hates him because he killed his mother by strangling her. But, Killer Kane wants Maxwell to become his assistant and starts training him to become a criminal like him. When Maxwell shows hesitation, he warns him of dire consequences. Kevin comes to Maxwell’s rescue and saves him from his father. He also gets Killer Kane arrested by showing proof of his brutality of Maxwell. Later, Kevin gets a seizure attack on his birthday and dies in the hospital. Maxwell becomes completely disheartened after losing his dearest friend. On the suggestion of one of his neighbors, Maxwell starts writing down all the adventures that he had with Kevin to honor his best friend’s memory.

Another exciting children’s book penned by Philbrick is called ‘Max the Mighty’. It was published in 1998 and features the central characters in the form of Maxwell Kane, Rachel, Dippie Hippie, Frank, Joanie, Hobo Joe, Grim, etc. This book opens by mentioning that Maxwell helps Rachel run away from her abusive stepfather. When Rachel’s stepfather accuses Maxwell of kidnapping his daughter, he runs away with her. Along the way, Rachel and Maxwell many several con artists, who try to turn them in, but they manage to escape. Finally, they are caught by the police and Rachel is handed over to her parents. When the stepfather starts abusing Rachel again, her mother gathers courage and gets him arrested on the charges of domestic abuse. Maxwell recovers in the hospital after he injures himself while saving Rachel’s stepfather in a collapsing mine. In the end, Maxwell is seen living with his grandparents, Rachel, and her mother.