SeriesStack

Expeditionary Force Books in Order

by Craig AlansonScience Fiction & Fantasy

19 books so far (book 20 is due December 8, 2026) and 2 novellas. They run from Columbus Day (2016) to Ground State (2026). Rated 4.8 across 499,630 listener reviews.

Next Expeditionary Force book

Last Ride

Book 20 · out December 8, 2026 · preorder now

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Reading order

  1. Columbus Day

    Book 1 2016 4.7 (50.6k)

    Nominee, Audie Awards - Audiobook of the Year, 2018 We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day.

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  2. SpecOps

    Book 2 2017 4.7 (36.2k)

    Colonel Joe Bishop made a promise and he's going to keep it; taking the captured alien starship Flying Dutchman back out. He doesn't agree when the UN decides to send almost 70 elite Special Operations troops, hotshot pilots, and…

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  3. Paradise

    Book 3 2017 4.8 (49k)

    While the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman have been trying to assure that hostile aliens do not have access to Earth, the UN Expeditionary Force has been stranded on the planet they nicknamed "Paradise".

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  4. Trouble on Paradise

    Novella 3.5 2017 4.6 (21k)

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  5. Black Ops

    Book 4 2017 4.8 (41.9k)

    The elite crew of the pirate ship UNS Flying Dutchman had a simple mission: determining whether the Thuranin are sending another starship to Earth.

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  6. Zero Hour

    Book 5 2018 4.8 (41.6k)

    United Nations Special Operations Command sent an elite expeditionary force of soldiers and pilots out on a simple recon mission, and somehow along the way they sparked an alien civil war.

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  7. Mavericks

    Book 6 2018 4.7 (32.2k)

    The remnants of the Expeditionary Force stranded on the alien-controlled planet "Paradise" get a chance to prove themselves, in a simple off-world training mission with a ship full of teenage alien cadets.

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  8. Renegades

    Book 7 2019 4.8 (25.9k)

    The battle-scarred star carrier Flying Dutchman is finally on her way back to Earth, after an exceptionally successful series of missions that have once again saved the world.

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  9. Homefront: An Expeditionary Force Audio Drama Special

    Novella 7.5 2019 4.2 (16.5k)

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  10. Armageddon

    Book 8 2019 4.8 (23.7k)

    After the Renegade mission by the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman, the UN Expeditionary Force thought Earth was safe for hundreds of years, at least.

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  11. Valkyrie

    Book 9 2020 4.8 (22.8k)

    After saving the world many times, the Merry Band of Pirates have accepted the inevitable: Earth is doomed. All they can do is try to bring a few thousand people to safety, before vicious aliens arrive to destroy humanity's homeworld. No.

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  12. Critical Mass

    Book 10 2020 4.9 (25.4k)

    The Merry Band of Pirates are in desperate trouble after the end of their last mission, and the real danger to humanity is just getting started.

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  13. Brushfire

    Book 11 2020 4.8 (20.8k)

    Peacetime can be a rough adjustment for the battle-hardened Merry Band of Pirates. Especially when aliens don’t get the memo that the shooting is over...

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  14. Breakaway

    Book 12 2021 4.8 (12.6k)

    The Expeditionary Force saga continues with Breakaway, the eagerly awaited sequel to number-one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Brushfire, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game.

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  15. Fallout

    Book 13 2021 4.9 (19k)

    The Expeditionary Force saga continues with Fallout, the eagerly awaited sequel to number one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Breakaway, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game.

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  16. Match Game

    Book 14 2022 4.9 (13.3k)

    For years, the ancient alien AI known as Skippy (the Magnificent, don’t forget that part) has been able to do one impossible thing after another. What is his secret? It’s simple: 100 percent Grade-A extreme awesomeness.

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  17. Failure Mode

    Book 15 2022 4.8 (19.5k)

    When a mission ends in disaster—there is no way to achieve the objective, no way to regroup and try again, no plan B, no hope—all you can do is fall back into FAILURE MODE and try to salvage whatever you can.

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  18. Aftermath

    Book 16 2023 4.8 (6.9k)

    What happens in the wake of Failure Mode? The Aftermath of a stunning victory—especially an unexpected, complete, and final victory—should be high-fives all around, listening to politicians give boring congratulatory speeches, and a…

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  19. Task Force Hammer

    Book 17 2024 4.8 (8k)

    The Merry Band of Pirates stopped the enemy from stealing a Sentinel, and destroyed its Elder starship, so why weren’t the Pirates planning a victory party? The enemy was not what they thought it was. It was much, much worse.

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  20. Gateway

    Book 18 2025 4.8 (6.9k)

    Disaster. There was no other word to describe how Operation Olympic had changed in a flash from a triumph to the worst failure the Merry Band of Pirates had ever experienced. A failure that meant the fight was over.

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  21. Ground State

    Book 19 2026 4.8 (5.9k)

    The mission to destroy the enemy Gateway was literally a smashing success. Except the Pirates were too late, and now not one but two of the enemy are loose in the galaxy. And they are equipped with starships more powerful than Valkyrie.

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  22. Last Ride

    Book 20 Out December 8, 2026

    The Pirates destroyed the enemy, cut off their access to the Milky Way. Against all odds, Joe, Skippy, and the Merry Band of Pirates pulled off yet another impossible mission. They should be celebrating.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

About this reading order

Books are listed in the series' own numbering, which for Expeditionary Force is also the best order to read them in. Novellas and short stories sit between the novels they follow, numbered the way the publisher numbers them (3.5 comes after book 3). They are optional — you can skip them without missing the main story. Years are first publication where we could confirm it, and otherwise the first audiobook release.

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