Reading Order
Unbound Series Reading Order: All 12 Nicoli Gonnella Books
Here is the Unbound series reading order: twelve books by Nicoli Gonnella, from Dissonance (May 4, 2022) to Ruin (June 24, 2026). The one-word titles give no hint of the order, so the table below lists each book's number with its Kindle date and page count, the Travis Baldree audiobook length and the ratings, checked on October 11, 2026. No spoilers past the book 1 blurb.
TL;DR: Read them in this order: Dissonance, Silence, Hunger, Fury, Threshold, Expanse, Abyss, Vault, Crown, Empire, Chains, Ruin. That is 9,848 Kindle pages or 305 hours 35 minutes of Travis Baldree on Audible. Every audiobook came out the same day as the ebook. Book 12 came out in June 2026, and it reads as the end of the series.
Key Takeaways
- 12 books, no numbers on the front: Audible, Goodreads and Amazon all list the same order; Amazon's Kindle subtitles add the number ("Unbound Book 1").
- One narrator, same-day audio: Travis Baldree reads all 12 for Mountaindale Press, and each audiobook came out the day the Kindle edition did.
- Long: 305 hours 35 minutes on Audible by our sum, about 25 and a half hours per book.
- Probably finished: Ruin (book 12, June 24, 2026) ends with "The final battle is upon us"; a book database lists 12 main books, ending with Ruin.
- The start splits readers: Silence, book 2, has the lowest Goodreads rating (4.21); books 5 to 12 sit between 4.50 and 4.66.
Overview
Unbound is a LitRPG series by Nicoli Gonnella, published in Kindle ebook, paperback and audio by Mountaindale Press. The book 1 blurb sets it up: "Felix's life on Earth had become a series of dead-end jobs, ruined relationships, and rotating apartments smaller than most postage stamps." Then, "Moments before his untimely demise, Felix was snatched from earth and thrust into a magical world known only as 'The Continent'", where, "Empowered by the 'System', he learns that he can strengthen himself through combat and dedication."
The author's site describes that world as having "an eerie, game-like System that grants stats, Skills, and who knows what else", and its FAQ gives his own definition of the genre: LitRPG is "any story that incorporates game imagery, stats, levels, or things of that nature into a literary framework." The story began on Royal Road, where Chapter One is dated February 19, 2020.
It is not one of the most-named series in the reader threads we save: 33 of the 4,433 comments in our data mention it. Several of the readers who do bring it up pitch it to fans of He Who Fights with Monsters.
Cover: Audible product page (Mountaindale Press)
Every Unbound Book in Order
"Kindle" is the publication date and print length on each book's Amazon Kindle page. Every audiobook came out on Audible the same day, so the table shows the Audible length only. Ratings were read on Audible and on the Goodreads series page on October 11, 2026, and will drift.
| # | Title | Kindle | Pages | Audible length | Audible rating | Goodreads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dissonance | May 4, 2022 | 778 | 26 h 44 m | 4.63 (5,332) | 4.36 (9,152) |
| 2 | Silence | Jun 22, 2022 | 444 | 13 h 10 m | 4.60 (3,728) | 4.21 (6,711) |
| 3 | Hunger | Jul 27, 2022 | 772 | 28 h 7 m | 4.74 (3,516) | 4.41 (5,901) |
| 4 | Fury | Sep 28, 2022 | 764 | 23 h 37 m | 4.73 (3,008) | 4.43 (4,979) |
| 5 | Threshold | Nov 30, 2022 | 750 | 24 h 26 m | 4.85 (2,778) | 4.61 (4,215) |
| 6 | Expanse | Feb 15, 2023 | 1,128 | 29 h 41 m | 4.87 (1,942) | 4.62 (3,823) |
| 7 | Abyss | May 3, 2023 | 774 | 28 h 36 m | 4.88 (1,865) | 4.63 (3,550) |
| 8 | Vault | Sep 27, 2023 | 768 | 25 h 34 m | 4.89 (1,732) | 4.65 (3,194) |
| 9 | Crown | Mar 13, 2024 | 766 | 22 h 6 m | 4.90 (2,155) | 4.66 (2,792) |
| 10 | Empire | Oct 9, 2024 | 752 | 21 h 36 m | 4.89 (1,810) | 4.64 (2,239) |
| 11 | Chains | Jun 30, 2025 | 762 | 27 h 12 m | 4.81 (1,309) | 4.50 (1,523) |
| 12 | Ruin | Jun 24, 2026 | 1,390 | 34 h 46 m | 4.90 (821) | 4.63 (794) |
The Kindle titles add a subtitle and the number, for example Dissonance: A LitRPG Adventure (Unbound Book 1); the audiobook covers print the number in a small badge under the title. Silence is the outlier at 444 pages and 13 hours 10 minutes; Ruin is the longest at 1,390 pages and 34 hours 46 minutes, with Expanse (1,128 pages) next. The twelve books add up to 9,848 Kindle pages.
Cover: Audible product page (Mountaindale Press)
Step-by-Step: How to Read Unbound
1. Start with Dissonance: 778 Kindle pages, or 26 hours 44 minutes on Audible. Amazon showed 10,439 ratings for it on October 11, 2026, more than any later book.
2. Read Silence next, even though it is short: it is book 2 on Audible's series page, on Goodreads and in its Kindle subtitle ("Unbound Book 2"). It is the shortest book by far and, on Goodreads, the lowest rated (4.21).
3. Go through books 3 to 12 by number: Hunger, Fury, Threshold, Expanse, Abyss, Vault, Crown, Empire, Chains, Ruin. Audible and Goodreads list no side stories or novellas in between: Goodreads counts 12 primary works and 12 total works.
4. Keep track on the series page: the Unbound series page has every book with a checklist for the ones you have finished.
The Audiobooks
Travis Baldree narrates all twelve for Mountaindale Press, and every audiobook came out on Audible the same day as the Kindle edition, from May 4, 2022 to June 24, 2026. By our sum of Audible's lengths, the series runs 305 hours 35 minutes, an average of about 25 hours 28 minutes per book.
The pace slowed over time. Books 1 to 5 all came out in 2022, between May 4 and November 30. After that the gaps grew: 147 days before Vault, 168 before Crown, 210 before Empire, 264 before Chains and 359 before Ruin.
The Audible ratings generally rise as the series goes on, from 4.63 for Dissonance and 4.60 for Silence to 4.90 for Crown and Ruin (as of October 11, 2026). Far fewer people rate the later books (821 ratings for Ruin against 5,332 for Dissonance), and the ones who do are listeners who stayed for eleven books, so read the rise with that in mind.
If you know Baldree from other series, Unbound adds a long run to the four series in our Travis Baldree audiobooks guide, which did not yet include it. At 305 hours it is longer than his 10-book Mark of the Fool run (206 hours 55 minutes, see our Mark of the Fool reading order).
Cover: Audible product page (Mountaindale Press)
Is Unbound Finished?
Here is what the sources said when we checked on October 16, 2026:
- Audible and Goodreads: 12 books, Ruin the latest, with nothing listed after it.
- Amazon: Ruin is "Book 12 of 12". That count only covers books already listed, so it does not prove an ending by itself.
- The Ruin blurb: it closes with "The final battle is upon us. Ruin has come."
- Risingshadow (a book database): the series page lists "12 main books", with Ruin as #12.
- The author's site: its progress bars still list "Unbound Book 12" at "First Draft" and 98%, next to a "New Secret Series Book 1" at 8%. The site says its books section is "updated once per quarter", and its "Available Now" banner stops at book 9, so it is out of date.
Readers treat it as done. On Audible, one listener review of Ruin begins "that's how you end a series...". On Amazon, a five-star Kindle review from July 28, 2026 calls it "a fantastic way to leave The Continent." We found no statement from Mountaindale Press or the author saying book 12 is the last, so read "finished" as very likely, not official.
Cover: Audible product page (Mountaindale Press)
Reading It on Royal Road
The Royal Road page (fiction 30321) is labeled "Original" and "STUB", tagged LitRPG and Portal Fantasy / Isekai. Its table of contents keeps 70 entries: the prologues, the opening chapters from February 2020 and a run of late chapters ending with Chapter 933, posted October 24, 2025. The description points readers to the books: "Dissonance, Unbound Book 1 is available now on Kindle for Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, Audible, or Paperback!"
The page showed 1,729,073 total views, 6,614 followers, 3,586 favorites and 2,993 ratings when we checked on October 11, 2026. The author's site says partial sections of his ongoing stories are free on Royal Road, with more on Patreon. For the whole story in order, use the books.
What Readers Say
The common advice is to push through the first two books. u/Randomlosername, in a March 2026 r/litrpg thread, wrote: "Book 1 is heavy world building and 100% is a slow burn but the MC is great and he only gets stronger and stronger in a meaningful way with a really great and clear power system." (comment, March 19, 2026).
Others point at book 2 instead. u/Helpful_Yam3471 said "Unbound book 2 is a bit of a slog to get through and kinda had the feel of the author doing a bit of a reset on his 'system' but it was still pretty solid" (comment, August 24, 2026). u/Saldar1234 put it in one line: "Unbound is so good after the second book." (comment, July 26, 2025).
The comparison readers make most is with He Who Fights with Monsters. Back in March 2023, u/Gabriels_Pies wrote that "it's very good, feels similar to HWFWM and as of now has a pretty likeable protagonist." (comment, March 29, 2023).
Tips Before You Start
- Write the order down. The audiobook covers show a small number badge, but the titles do not; the Kindle subtitles and this list do.
- Budget for book 1. At 26 hours 44 minutes it is the fifth longest of the twelve; book 2 is about half that.
- Do not skip Silence. It is short and divides readers, but it is book 2 in every listing.
- Spoilers: later blurbs give away earlier plot turns. Read only the blurb of the book you are about to start.
Our take
Based on the facts above, Unbound is one of the simplest long LitRPG series to plan: twelve books, one narrator, audio released the same day as every ebook, and a twelfth book that reads as the end. The only real catch is the titles, which do not tell you the order, so keep the list handy. The early books are where readers stall, and the ratings agree: Silence is the lowest rated on Goodreads, while books 5 to 12 hold steady between 4.50 and 4.66. If you liked the length and steady climb of the series in our LitRPG reading orders list and want something finished, this is a 305-hour commitment that does not leave you waiting for book 13. If you want a shorter finished series with the same narrator, Cradle is about 134 hours.
How we checked this
On October 11, 2026 we opened the Audible product data for all 12 audiobooks and the Audible series page; the Amazon Kindle pages for all 12 ebooks; the Goodreads series page; the Royal Road fiction page and its table of contents; the author's site (home page, books section and FAQ); Mountaindale Press's store page for the series; and the Risingshadow series page. Reader comments were copied from Reddit thread data saved on October 10, 2026. Totals, averages and day counts are our own arithmetic. A site-agent then compared every number in this article with our source table before publication. On October 16, 2026 we opened the Audible, Amazon, Goodreads, Mountaindale, Risingshadow and author pages again: dates, lengths and the 12-book count were unchanged, and no book 13 was listed.
Related Reading
- He Who Fights with Monsters reading order: the series several readers compare Unbound with.
- The Primal Hunter reading order: another long System series, still ongoing.
- Best LitRPG audiobooks: the series listeners name most, with narrators and book 1 ratings.
- All reading-order guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Unbound series reading order? Dissonance, Silence, Hunger, Fury, Threshold, Expanse, Abyss, Vault, Crown, Empire, Chains, Ruin.
How many Unbound books are there? Twelve, as of October 11, 2026.
Is the Unbound series finished? Very likely: Ruin (June 24, 2026) reads as the finale, though we found no official statement.
Who narrates the Unbound audiobooks? Travis Baldree, on all 12.
Can I read Unbound for free on Royal Road? Only a sample; the Royal Road page is a stub.
Is Unbound worth it if book 1 or 2 feels slow? Readers we quoted say it gets better after the first two books.
References
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The LevelUpShelf desk reads the store pages and the reader threads so you can pick book 1 with the numbers in front of you. Every count is dated and linked.
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About this article
LevelUpShelf is independent: no ads, no sponsored posts, and nobody pays to be on a list. Some store links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you buy through one, and it never decides what we list (affiliate links). Book counts, release dates, audiobook lengths and ratings are snapshots from the date we checked them; publishers and stores change listings, so check the store page before you buy. Recommendations come from cited reader discussions, not from reading we claim to have done. Articles are researched and written with AI tools, and every fact is checked against its source before publishing. See how the desk works and how we use AI.