The Survivalist is a series of action-adventure pulp fiction novels by American author Jerry Ahern. The central character is John Thomas Rourke, a doctor, weapons expect and survivalist who was in the CIA as a paramilitary ops officer. His eyesight is so good that he is sensitive to bright lights and often needs to wear sunglasses. While the novels were not the first survivalist novels out, they were the first to capture the true nature of survivalism and inspired authors such as David L. Robbins.

Jerry Ahern began his Survivalist series in 1981 with Total War. He wrote 27 numbered novels plus two other unnumbered novels (Mid-Wake and The Legend). The novels contain lengthy recaps, the reading order is not essential. In 2013, his widow Sharon Ahern revived the series, along with co-author Bob Anderson. The series is currently ongoing. Below is a list of Jerry Ahern’s Survivalist novels in order of when they were originally published (which is also their chronological order):

Publication Order of Survivalist Books

Total War(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Nightmare Begins(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Quest(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Doomsayer(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Web(1983)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Savage Horde(1983)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Prophet(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The End is Coming(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Earth Fire(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Awakening(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Reprisal(1985)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Rebellion(1985)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Pursuit(1986)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Terror(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Overlord(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Arsenal(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Ordeal(1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Mid-Wake(1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Struggle(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Final Rain(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Firestorm(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
To End All War(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Legend(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Brutal Conquest(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Call to Battle(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blood Assassins(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
War Mountain(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Countdown(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death Watch(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Inheritors of Earth(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Earth Shine(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Quisling Covenant(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Deep Star(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Lodestar(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blood Moon(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Operation Phoenix(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Chronological Order of Survivalist Books

Total War(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Nightmare Begins(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Quest(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Doomsayer(1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Web(1983)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Savage Horde(1983)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Prophet(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The End is Coming(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Earth Fire(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Awakening(1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Reprisal(1985)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Rebellion(1985)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Pursuit(1986)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Terror(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Overlord(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Arsenal(1987)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Ordeal(1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Struggle(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Final Rain(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Firestorm(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
To End All War(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Brutal Conquest(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Call to Battle(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blood Assassins(1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
War Mountain(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Countdown(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death Watch(1993)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Mid-Wake(1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Legend(1991)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Inheritors of Earth(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Earth Shine(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Quisling Covenant(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Deep Star(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Lodestar(2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blood Moon(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Operation Phoenix(2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Survivalist Collections

(By: Jerry Ahern, Sharon Ahern, Bob Anderson)

Shades of Love(2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Once Upon a Time(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Light Dreams The Survivalist Short Story Collection Book 3(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Note: Starting in 2013, the series is written by Sharon Ahern and Bob Anderson, based on the work of Jerry Ahern.

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Order of Books » Characters » Order of Survivalist Books

One Response to “Order of Survivalist Books”

  1. Christopher O'Reilly: 2 years ago

    Absolutely excellent set of books…its such a shame that after ‘OPERATION PHOENIX (36)’I have been unable to get any more… did it all end when J.T.Rourke,Ragulin left the Chinese 3rd city?…what happened to Emma?…why the hell did the series stop when there was no resolution to the story?
    It seems I just wasted my time and money

    Reply

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