Defender Books in Order
Defender contains 13 books, published between 1988 and 2015. The first book is The Battle Begins (1988) and the newest is The Hat Trick (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1988–2015
- Pages on record
- 1,501 in 7 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 25–38 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,501 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Defender is credited almost entirely to Jerry Ahern, who is named on 12 of its 13 catalogued books; Bryan W. Alaspa is credited on 1. The series begins with The Battle Begins (1988) and several of its titles carry 1988 or 1989 dates, among them Killing Wedge, Out of Control, Entrapment, Vengeance and Death Grip. Terrorism is a recorded subject. The Hat Trick (2015) is the last catalogued title, arriving long after the rest.
How many Defender books are there?
Defender has 13 books, released between 1988 and 2015.
Defender Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Defender 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.
- 1The Battle Begins1988 · confirmed 2/41988–2/4
- 1The Hat Trick2015 · 396 pages · confirmed 2/420153962/4
- 2Killing Wedge1988 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/419881832/4
- 3Out of Control1988 · confirmed 2/41988–2/4
- 4Decision Time1988 · confirmed 2/41988–2/4
- 5Entrapment1989 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/419891832/4
- 6Escape1989 · 180 pages · confirmed 2/419891802/4
- 7Vengeance1989 · confirmed 2/41989–2/4
- 8Justice Denied1989 · confirmed 2/41989–2/4
- 9Death Grip1989 · confirmed 2/41989–2/4
- 10The Good Fight1990 · 184 pages · confirmed 2/419901842/4
- 11The Challenge1990 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/419901832/4
- 12No Survivors1990 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/419901922/4
Do you have to read Defender books in order?
You should read the Defender books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Defender book also stands alone.
Where to start with Defender
Start with The Battle Begins (1988), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Defender book?
The Hat Trick (2015) is the newest Defender book released so far.
Is there a new Defender book coming?
No next Defender book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Defender at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Defender title on record dates from 2015, 11 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Defender books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 1,501 pages across the 7 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 183 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Defender books, 9 of 13, were published in the 1980s.
- Attribution
- Of the 13 titles, 12 are credited to Jerry Ahern and 1 to Bryan W. Alaspa.
What the Defender books are about
1 of the 13 Defender books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. No subject is tagged on more than one of them, so each one below describes a single book. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Indians of North America 1 of 1 books
- Terrorism 1 of 1 books
Other series by Jerry Ahern
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Survivalist books in order 39 books
- Track books in order 18 books
- They Call Me the Mercenary books in order 18 books