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Caine Riordan Books In Order

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Publication Order of Tales of the Terran Republic Books

Fire with Fire (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon
Trial by Fire (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
Raising Caine (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon
Caine's Mutiny (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
Marque of Caine (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon
Watch the Skies (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
Mission Critical (2023)Description / Buy at Amazon

Known as a novelist and a game designer, Dr. Charles E. Gannon has received citations and awards for several of his science fiction novels, including the Caine Riordan series. Also called the Terran Republic series, his books all became Nebula finalists and national bestsellers. He has also collaborated with other novelists, such as Steve White in the Starfire series, and Eric Flint in the 1632 series. He is also known for his work on game designing, particularly focusing on role-playing games.

Charles Gannon is a Distinguished Professor of English at the St. Bonaventure University. He is also a Fullbright Senior Specialist in American Literature and Culture. His book, Rumors of War and Infernal Machines, was awarded as the Outstanding Book at the 2006 American Library Association Choice Awards. He worked as a scriptwriter and producer in New York for the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and PBS. His works have also earned expert consultancy in some media projects, such as the Discovery Channel, as well as other agencies like the Pentagon, Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, and even the NASA.

One of his most prized works is the Terran Republic series, or more commonly known as the Caine Riordan series. The first installment of the series was published in 2013, and the fourth one was released just last February of 2017. The first of the series was called Fire with Fire, where the protagonist, Caine Riordan was introduced.

The setting is about 100 years in the future, where Caine Riordan is sent to the moon as an intelligence analyst. He discovers certain things on his journey, which put him into cryogenic slumber for over 12 years. As he slept for so long, the memories of his discoveries in the moon were erased. When he was tasked to investigate potential wrongdoings in a human colony world that involved some cognizant species, his memory has been completely eradicated.

He is tasked to investigate and determine how the species affect the human industry. During his investigations, Caine becomes a target for most species, which made his task difficult so far. Despite the challenges, he is able to communicate with them and continues to work on his goal. Caine has the sole responsibility for missions that may seem impossible, but Gannon made everything believable and real.

Caine’s character is adept to many academic disciplines, loved by women, intelligent and smart, and while Gannon made him to be as heroic as possible, the character is still very relatable and believable. The strengths of his character are clearly depicted as well on the second installment, Trial by Fire. In the first book, Caine made the first human contact with aliens, and on the second, he returns to the earth. Upon his return, war clouds burst, shattering the Earth. Caine, being the one who has communicated with the sentient species, must rely on his knowledge of the non-humans as well as his skills in weapon handling to keep the Earth’s survivors safe.

As the sentient species continue to destroy the Earth and the rest of the galaxy, Caine discovers a huge gap in the Earth’s history that can potentially revolutionize everything that humans know about the other species. Caine concludes that there can be a huge possibility of inter-species apocalypse earlier in the history of mankind. Questions on this possibility arise – what if the Earth had been invaded and colonized by non-human attackers in its prehistory? What if humans had already built an alliance with aliens long before time?

Caine’s conspiracy is tackled in detail in the third book, Raising Caine. In this installment of the series, more military aspects are revealed in the book. The alien attackers evebntually surrender, and Caine is given a new task – that is to bridge a diplomatic mission with the humans and the Slaasriithi. He wholeheartedly accepted the invitation, as it can lead to an alliance between the humans and the aliens.

However, in the book, Caine and his legation were followed by the K’tor, planning to sabotage them. The K’tor plans on destroying any potential allegiance between humans and Slaasriithi. They also plan on finding and killing Caine. Caine’s task is huge and can possibly cost him his life. Apart from the fact that the Slaasriithi possibly only tricked him into visiting, the plans of the K’tor have also put Caine’s life on the line.

In the fourth book of the series, when Caine has gained the allegiance with Slaasriithi, he continued to investigate and analyze the extent of the Terran military. As action-packed as the previous installments, Caine is found to be in the middle of a nuclear war. In this fourth book, the title says it all – Caine is brought to his very edge. Having said this, Caine was put in a position where he could lose his life. Possibly the most thrilling of the series, Caine’s mutiny opens a more dangerous task for Caine.

The whole series focuses on Caine Riordan and his incredible ability to create relationships with non-humans, whether good or bad. His smart and strong personality is apparent in every scene, as Gannon intended. The setting of the series is fascinating, as it presents a pool of cultures, politics, military function, business interests, and of course, extraterrestrial beings. Caine belonged to the story, and like the protagonist, most of the story revolved around him solving his tasks while fighting non-humans and keeping the Earth safe and building alliance with aliens. He is able to accomplish a lot of Earth-saving tactics through his brilliant mind and skilled physique.

In conclusion, Caine, as reluctant diplomatic and intelligence operative, is an effective protagonist that made the story interesting and action-packed. Gannon is able to efficiently blend all the essential elements together while still being realistic and genuine. Caine Riordan is a relatable character that is not far from a real person. The series effectively narrates many future possibilities of humans dealing with extraterrestrial beings, and Caine Riordan is an ideal yet humane hero that can competently deal with those.

Book Series In Order » Characters » Caine Riordan

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