Men's adventure book series in reading order

by James Axler

by James Axler

by W.E.B. Griffin

by Mack Maloney

Donald Eugene Pendleton (December 12, 1927 to October 23, 1995) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction who created Mack Bolan, a character with hundreds of millions of copies sold since a 1969 debut. From 1980, other authors wrote the Bolan books under the Pendleton name, at first with Pendleton's editorial guidance. Pendleton also wrote six Joe Copp, Private Eye novels and six Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective novels. Early titles include The Insatiables (1967), War Against the Mafia (1969) and Miami Massacre (1970).

James Axler is the pen name under which Mark Ellis wrote scores of Deathlands and Outlanders novels. The books are post-apocalyptic men's adventure: survivalism, the regression of civilisation, imaginary wars and the invented territory called Deathlands. The Axler name carries 234 titles published between 1986 and 2025, from Pilgrimage to Hell (1986) to Wraith Winter (2025). Volumes run long at a median of 347 pages, and Earthblood is a third series beside the two main runs.

Warren Burton Murphy was an American author, born September 13, 1933, who died on September 4, 2015. Murphy co-created The Destroyer series, which became the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. The catalogue opens with Created The Destroyer (1971), followed in 1972 by Chinese Puzzle, Death Check and Mafia Fix, and counts 155 books in total. Remo and Chiun are listed as fictitious characters, and subjects include men's adventure, action and adventure, pulp and crime. Other series are Trace, Razoni & Jackson, New Destroyer, Forever King and Grandmaster.

William H. Keith writes military fiction and science fiction. Naval warfare supplies much of the subject matter, from Navy SEALs and aircraft carriers to submarines, naval battles and the Vietnam War, with men's adventure and espionage alongside. The catalogue runs to 116 titles dated between 1985 and 2021, and the 1990s are its busiest decade. SEAL Team Seven, Carrier, Warstrider, Silent Service, Freedom's Rangers, Cybernarc and Renegade Legion are among the series. The listing also carries tabletop game material, sourcebooks and CD-ROM game guides under Keith's name, including Twilight: 2000 titles. No book is listed after 2021.

W.E.B. Griffin was the best-known pen name of William Edmund Butterworth III (November 10, 1929 to February 12, 2019), an American author of military and detective fiction. Under the Griffin name Butterworth published 59 novels across seven series, 21 of them written with Butterworth's son, William E. Butterworth IV. The catalogue files 194 titles here, including 1960s books issued as W.E. Butterworth, Webb Beech and Walker E. Blake. Series include Brotherhood of War, Presidential Agent and M*A*S*H, and World War II and the U.S. Marine Corps recur in the subjects.

Fred Saberhagen

75 books• 10 series

Fred Saberhagen (Fred Thomas Saberhagen, May 18, 1930 to June 29, 2007) was an American science fiction and fantasy author, most famous for the Berserker stories and novels. Saberhagen also wrote vampire novels with Dracula as protagonist, and a post-apocalyptic sequence that opens with Empire of the East and continues through the Swords and Lost Swords books. The site lists 75 books from The Golden People (1964) onward, including Berserker (1967) and The Dracula Tape (1975). Subjects include robots, artificial intelligence and space warfare.

Mack Maloney writes men's adventure and military science fiction. Wingman (1987) opens a catalogue of 45 books that reaches The God Satellite in 2022, with the pilot Hawk Hunter at the centre of the Wingman novels. Seven series carry the Maloney name, including Wingman, Starhawk, Superhawks, Chopper Ops, Pirate Hunters and Codename: Starman. Air pilots, pirates and suspense recur as subjects; no new title has appeared since 2022.

Peter Telep is an American author, screenwriter and teacher, born in 1965, who has written more than 50 books and collaborated with Tom Clancy. Military fiction is the main strand: the United States Marine Corps, terrorism, search and rescue, and men's adventure recur as subjects, and Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell appear among the character entries. This catalogue holds 34 titles published between 1995 and 2017, from Space: Above and Beyond (1995) to Doc Harrison and the Prophecy of Halsparr (2017). Force 5 Recon, Armored Corps, the Squire Trilogy, Scott St. Andrew, Night Angel 9, Special Forces Afghanistan, Secret Corps and Doc Harrison are the listed series. Telep teaches at the University of Central Florida.

Gayle Lynds, born 1945, is an American author, former journalist and editor, called the Queen of Espionage Fiction for spy thrillers. Lynds co-founded International Thriller Writers. The Liz Sansborough and Judd Ryder & Eva Blake series appear in the catalogue with standalone novels, and Masquerade (1996), Mosaic (1998) and The Coil (2000) are among the titles. Women spies, assassins, conspiracies and intelligence services appear in the subjects.

Military history and men's adventure fiction fill Charles W. Sasser's catalogue of 47 books, published between 1984 and 2017. World War II, the Vietnam War, terrorism and the careers of military officers supply most of the subject matter, in titles such as One Shot - One Kill (1990) and Smoke Jumpers (1996). Sasser's fiction series are Detachment Delta, Six and OSS Commando. The list opens with No Gentle Streets (1984) and ends with Crushing the Collective (2017).

Brian McClellan

24 books• 5 series

Epic fantasy is Brian McClellan's field, with imaginary wars, kings and military campaigns as its furniture. The Powder Mage and Gods of Blood and Powder trilogies are McClellan's best known work, and the catalogue also holds the Glass Immortals, War Cry and Valkyrie Collections. McClellan has 24 catalogued books published between 2013 and 2026, opening with Promise of Blood and Hope's End, both 2013, and continuing through The Crimson Campaign and Murder at the Kinnen Hotel in 2014. Mr. Styke is dated 2026.