Craig Alanson Books in Order
Craig Alanson has written 34 books, published between 2016 and 2026. The first book is Aces (2016) and the newest is Last Ride (2026). Publication order is the reading order below. 22 of the 34 books listed here are in the Expeditionary Force series, which has its own page: Expeditionary Force books in order.
- Books
- 34
- Published
- 2016–2026
- Confirmed
- 34 of 34 titles
- Pages on record
- 3,278 in 12 of 34 books
Craig Alanson is the pen name of Craig Odell, an American author and audio playwright working in science fiction and fantasy. Expeditionary Force is the series most associated with the Alanson name. The catalogue holds 34 books published between 2016 and 2026, from Aces (2016) to Last Ride (2026), and also lists the Ascendant and Expeditionary Force Mavericks sequences. Subjects include space warfare, interstellar travel, extraterrestrial beings and human-alien encounters.
In the Expeditionary Force series, soldier Joe Bishop meets an ancient AI named Skippy, and the crew of the stolen starship Flying Dutchman works to defend Earth against more powerful alien races. Skippy refers to humans as "monkeys" while gradually coming to respect them.
How many Craig Alanson books are there?
Craig Alanson has 34 books, released between 2016 and 2026. They include 3 separate series.
Craig Alanson Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 34 Craig Alanson books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 12016–3/4
- 220161793/4
- 320163034/4
- 420162754/4
- 520162643/4
- 620162834/4
- 72017984/4
- 820172764/4
- 92017–4/4
- 1020182353/4
- 1120182894/4
- 1220183144/4
- 132019–3/4
- 142019–4/4
- 1520193664/4
- 1620193964/4
- 172020–3/4
- 182020–4/4
- 192020–4/4
- 202021–4/4
- 212021–4/4
- 222022–3/4
- 232022–3/4
- 242022–4/4
- 252023–3/4
- 262023–3/4
- 272023–4/4
- 282024–3/4
- 292024–3/4
- 302025–3/4
- 312025–4/4
- 322026–3/4
- 332026–3/4
- 342026–3/4
Craig Alanson series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Expeditionary Force books in order 24 books
Craig Alanson books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Expeditionary Force books in order
22 books by Craig Alanson- 1. Columbus Day
- 2. SpecOps
- 3. Paradise
- 4. Trouble on Paradise
- 5. Black Ops
- 6. Zero Hour
- 7. Mavericks
- 8. Renegades
- 9. Homefront
- 10. Armageddon
- 11. Valkyrie
- 12. Critical Mass
- and 10 more in the table above
Convergence in order
6 books- 1. Convergence
- 2. Dragonslayer
- 3. First Strike
- 4. Recon
- 5. Desperate Measures
- 6. Dead World
Ascendant in order
3 books- 1. Ascendant
- 2. Transcendent
- 3. Deceptions
Expeditionary Force Mavericks in order
2 booksAces in order
1 book- 1. Aces
Do you have to read Craig Alanson books in order?
You only need to read Craig Alanson books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Craig Alanson
Start with Columbus Day (2016), the first Expeditionary Force book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Aces (2016).
What is the newest Craig Alanson book?
Last Ride (2026) is the newest Craig Alanson book released so far.
Is there a new Craig Alanson book coming?
No next Craig Alanson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Craig Alanson at a glance
- Still publishing
- Craig Alanson published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Craig Alanson books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 3,278 pages across the 12 of 34 books with a recorded length, a median of 280 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Craig Alanson books, 18 of 34, were published in the 2020s.
- Corroboration
- 18 of the 34 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Craig Alanson books are about
10 of the 34 Craig Alanson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: series:expeditionary force is tagged on 10 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Series:Expeditionary Force 10 of 10 books
- Extraterrestrial beings 2 of 10 books
- Guerre spatiale 2 of 10 books
- Human-computer interaction 2 of 10 books
- Romans, nouvelles 2 of 10 books
- Space warfare 2 of 10 books