Jerry Ahern Books in Order
103 books are credited to Jerry Ahern, published between 1980 and 2019; 15 of them appeared after Jerry Ahern's death in 2012. The first book is The Killer Genesis (1980) and the newest is Operation Phoenix (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.
Jerry Ahern also publishes as Axel Kilgore, Nick Carter, Red Mitchell.
- Books
- 103
- Published
- 1980–2019
- Pages on record
- 12,919 in 53 of 103 books
- Reading time
- 215–323 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,919 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 53 of 103 titles with a page count on record.
Jerry Ahern, full name Jerome Morrell Ahern (June 23, 1946 – July 24, 2012), was an American author of science fiction and action novels, non-fiction and articles for firearms publications. Ahern was regarded as a firearms expert, made a line of holsters and served as president of the firearms company Detonics. Series credited to Ahern include Survivalist, Track, Defender, Takers and They Call Me the Mercenary, and subjects list John Thomas Rourke, World War III and nuclear warfare. The Killer Genesis (1980) is the listed first book.
Source: Wikidata
How many Jerry Ahern books are there?
Jerry Ahern has 103 books, released between 1980 and 2019. 15 of them were published after Jerry Ahern's death in 2012. They include 8 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.
Jerry Ahern Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 103 Jerry Ahern 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 November 2026.
- 11980–2/4
- 219812182/4
- 31981–2/4
- 41981–2/4
- 51981–2/4
- 61981–2/4
- 719812222/4
- 81981–2/4
- 91981–2/4
- 101981–2/4
- 111982–2/4
- 121982–2/4
- 131982–2/4
- 141982–2/4
- 1519822072/4
- 161982–2/4
- 171982–2/4
- 1819832222/4
- 191983–2/4
- 201983–2/4
- 211983–2/4
- 221983–2/4
- 2319831902/4
- 2419842242/4
- 251984–2/4
- 2619842242/4
- 2719842192/4
- 2819842202/4
- 2919842392/4
- 3019842342/4
- 311984–2/4
- 3219842352/4
- 331984–2/4
- 341984–2/4
- 3519853782/4
- 3619852182/4
- 3719852172/4
- 381985–2/4
- 391985–2/4
- 4019852172/4
- 4119852192/4
- 4219852242/4
- 431985–2/4
- 4419862402/4
- 45Miamigrad1987 · confirmed 2/41987–2/4
- 461987–2/4
- 4719872522/4
- 4819872362/4
- 491988–2/4
- 501988–2/4
- 511988–2/4
- 5219881832/4
- 531988–2/4
- 541988–2/4
- 551988–2/4
- 5619882202/4
- 5719884762/4
- 5819891832/4
- 5919891802/4
- 601989–2/4
- 611989–2/4
- 621989–2/4
- 6319892232/4
- 6419892202/4
- 65WerewolveSS1990 · confirmed 2/41990–2/4
- 661990–2/4
- 6719901842/4
- 6819901832/4
- 6919901922/4
- 7019901922/4
- 7119902232/4
- 721991–2/4
- 7319912542/4
- 7419922532/4
- 7519923842/4
- 7619933202/4
- 7719933512/4
- 7819932562/4
- 79Ccw, Carrying Concealed Weapons1996 · 159 pages · confirmed 2/419961592/4
- 80The Golden Shield of Ibf1999 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/419995122/4
- 8120012942/4
- 82The Illegal Man2004 · confirmed 2/42004–2/4
- 83Survive!2010 · 239 pages · confirmed 2/420102392/4
- 84Armed for Personal Defense2010 · 238 pages · confirmed 2/420102382/4
- 85Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns2010 · 222 pages · confirmed 2/420102222/4
- 86Written in Time2010 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/420103202/4
- 87Home Defense Handbook2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 88The Freeman2012 · confirmed 2/42012–2/4
- 892013–2/4
- 90Siege Perilous2013 · confirmed 2/42013–2/4
- 9120131802/4
- 92Silent Pace2014 · confirmed 2/42014–2/4
- 932014–2/4
- 942014–2/4
- 9520142022/4
- 9620142142/4
- 972015–2/4
- 9820152582/4
- 9920162282/4
- 1002017–2/4
- 101America Undead2017 · confirmed 2/42017–2/4
- 10220182372/4
- 10320192842/4
Jerry Ahern books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Survivalist in order
39 books- 1. Total War
- 1. Shades of Love
- 2. The Nightmare Begins
- 2. Once Upon a Time
- 3. The Quest
- 3. Light Dreams The Survivalist Short Story Collection Book 3
- 4. The Doomsayer
- 5. The Web
- 6. The Savage Horde
- 7. The Prophet
- 8. The End is Coming
- 9. Earth Fire
- and 27 more in the table above
They Call Me the Mercenary in order
18 books- 1. The Killer Genesis
- 2. The Slaughter Run
- 3. Fourth Reich Death Squad
- 4. The Opium Hunter
- 5. Canadian Killing Ground
- 6. Vengeance Army
- 7. Slave of the Warmonger
- 8. Assassins Express
- 9. The Terror Contract
- 10. Bush Warfare
- 11. Death Lust!
- 12. Headshot!
- and 6 more in the table above
Defender in order
12 books- 1. The Battle Begins
- 2. Killing Wedge
- 3. Out of Control
- 4. Decision Time
- 5. Entrapment
- 6. Escape
- 7. Vengeance
- 8. Justice Denied
- 9. Death Grip
- 10. The Good Fight
- 11. The Challenge
- 12. No Survivors
Track in order
10 booksTakers in order
3 booksSurgical Strike in order
3 booksRourke Chronicles in order
2 booksSoldier for Hire in order
1 bookEd Mulvaney in order
1 bookStandalone books
14 books14 Jerry Ahern titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Jerry Ahern books in order?
You only need to read Jerry Ahern books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Jerry Ahern
Start with The Killer Genesis (1980), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Jerry Ahern book?
Operation Phoenix (2019) is the newest Jerry Ahern book released so far.
Is there a new Jerry Ahern book coming?
No next Jerry Ahern book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Jerry Ahern at a glance
- Died
- Jerry Ahern died in 2012, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Jerry Ahern are still being published after Jerry Ahern's death in 2012; the newest appeared in 2019.
- Release pace
- Jerry Ahern books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 12,919 pages across the 53 of 103 books with a recorded length, a median of 223 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Jerry Ahern books, 64 of 103, were published in the 1980s.
When Jerry Ahern books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when Jerry Ahern titles appeared. 1980s was the most productive decade with 64 titles.
103 books total across 4 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.
What the Jerry Ahern books are about
46 of the 103 Jerry Ahern books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: john thomas rourke (fictitious character) is tagged on 10 of 46. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- John Thomas Rourke (Fictitious character) 10 of 46 books
- World War III 10 of 46 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 46 books
- Espionage 4 of 46 books
- Pistols 3 of 46 books
- Science fiction 3 of 46 books
- Survival 3 of 46 books
- Espionage/Intrigue 2 of 46 books
- Fiction - Espionage / Thriller 2 of 46 books
- Nuclear warfare 2 of 46 books
- Post-apocalypse 2 of 46 books
- Self-defense 2 of 46 books