Jerry Ahern Books In Order

Publication Order of They Call Me The Mercenary Books

Publication Order of Survivalist Books

Publication Order of Survivalist Collections

Publication Order of Track Books

Publication Order of Takers Books

Publication Order of Ed Mulvaney Books

Publication Order of Defender Books

Publication Order of Surgical Strike Books

Publication Order of Rourke Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Jerry Ahern was an American writer that made a name for himself with the Survivalist series of novels, which he wrote together with his wife Sharon Ahern. Together they would publish over eighty international bestselling novels under the pseudonyms Red Mitchell, Alec Kilgore, and his real name Jerry Ahern. In addition to his novels, Jerry was a contributor on over a thousand interviews, features, columns, and magazine articles. Other than his survivalist novels, Ahern was an expert in firearms and was a regular contributor to magazines such as Gun World, Handguns, and Guns and Ammo. He was recognized as an expert on leather gear and holsters for firearms, and wrote a monthly column for “Filed Issue”. Jerry was married to Sharon his high school sweetheart with whom he had two children. Jerry Ahern died of cancer on 24 July 2012, but his legacy lives on through his wife Sharon and his longtime friend and author Bob Anderson that picked up the series. They have since written several more titles under the Survivalist series that have gone on to become just as successful as those written by the master himself.

The Survivalist series of novels are usually considered a science fiction, men’s adventure, and soap opera, that comes with an uncompromising in your face social commentary. The first novel in the series was “Total War” that was first published in 1981. The first few novels in the series are about the chief protagonist Rourke’s quest to find his family that has gone missing. They cover his struggles and triumphs, including his battles with the Soviets that have invaded the United States. The most intriguing aspects of his survival endeavors are the typical post-apocalyptic villains found in such novels that include cannibals, mutants, and biker gangs, all of whom engage him in long drawn out battles full of graphic violence. Later books, including the two spin-offs such as Camp Zero, the young adult series that he co-wrote with Sean Ellis and Everyman, which he co-wrote with Bob Anderson, adopted a more science fiction feel. The novels are full of futuristic and new age technologies, including underwater cities, doomsday weapons, and cryonics. His most accomplished work the Survivalist series set the tone for survivalist fiction in the 1980s. It is most notable for its attention to detail on survival techniques and weapons that made them the perfect stories for an audience living during the Cold War. As such, the inclusion of Cold War propaganda and sympathetic Soviet characters had more to do with the attitudes of the times.

The Genesis of the Survivalist novels was when Jerry Ahern was exposed to much information on survival, ranging from survival vitamins, to survival food, to survival property, when he was working as the Associate Editor of GUNS Magazine. For Ahern, it was easy to conclude that people believed that they would survive, rise to the occasion, and triumph over any type of calamity that could be visited on them. In John Rourke is a man who has been with the CIA, a trained physician, with the skills to survive any catastrophe. Espousing the idea that planning ahead is the most important skill to have, he prepares a mountain retreat where he and his family consisting of his wife and two children, can hold out in case of any catastrophes. Over the course of the series, Sarah Rourke, John’s wife develops from being more of a neophyte to a more confident leader of the family with innovative survival skills and ideas of her own. She develops a foresight and preparedness for unexpected occurrences that were sorely lacking in the early novels. She comes to accept that the widespread belief that good things always happen to good people and vice versa is nothing more than a myth. By asserting that she needs to be more proactive in shaping her destiny, she develops into a prominent character in her own right alongside John Rourke.

“Total War”, the first novel of the Survivalist series is generally regarded as the best novel in the series. It follows the chief protagonist John Rourke, a former CIA counter intelligence officer, personal survival and weapons expert, who is on a mission to ensure the survival of his family during a Soviet invasion of the United States. While he is one of the most prepared persons for such a scenario, having built an emergency wilderness retreat for his family, the invasion happens at the most inopportune of times. He happens to be flying home when a nuclear strike by the Soviets blinds the pilots of his plane, forcing him to take over and crash-land the plane. He teams up with Paul Rubenstein the only other survivor of the crash, and together they try to navigate their way back to the Minnesota wilderness retreat. It is not an easy journey, as they have to travel across an American countryside that is burning from nuclear radiation fallout, and is full of murderous gangs that kill for weapons, clothing, and food or just for the sheer fun of it. Ultimately reaching the well-supplied and fortified retreat the real terror of the war – a full Russian invasion and a direct nuclear hit suddenly become very real.

“The Nightmare Begins” is the second novel in the Survivalist series of novels by Jerry Ahern. World War III has just ended with the nuclear holocaust that ensued claiming over 250 million lives across the world. With the United States as it was known no longer in existence, John Thomas Rourke, survival and weapons expert and ex CIA counterintelligence officer needs to put his exceptional skills if he and his family are to survive. Meanwhile, the Soviets are busy in the process of the pacification of the US, which they have just conquered. The first item on their agenda will be the neutralization of any prominent persons that the surviving Americans may rally around. Samuel Chambers, who was once a member of the cabinet, is the first candidate for elimination. For John Rourke the first task is to find his missing family that is rumored to have fled to Texas. His path is blocked by an unending stream of refugees, a beautiful KGB spy, brigands armed to the teeth, and paramilitary forces unleashing violence on the weak. Finally arriving in Texas, he has to confront the KGB that has just landed in the state where Chambers is also hiding. Will Rourke’s family be reunited or will he die fighting his way through to them, even as the Soviets remain determined to ensure the US never rises again.

—-