They Call Me The Mercenary Books In Order

Publication Order of They Call Me the Mercenary Books

“They Call Me The Mercenary” is a series of allout action pulp fiction novels by Jerry Ahern writing under one of his favorite pen names, Axel Kilgore. The first novel of the series was “The Killer Genesis” a very popular book that Ahern followed up with seventeen more titles culminating in “Eye for Eye” that was published in 1984. Jerry Ahern was an American author best known for writing the wildly popular “Survivalist” series of novels together with Sharon Ahern his wife of many years. The two authors would pen more than eighty international bestsellers written as Jerry Ahern, Alex Kilgore, and Red Mitchell. In addition to his bestselling titles, Ahern is an expert survivalist contributor and has written numerous magazine articles, columns, features and been on thousands of interviews and podcasts on survival. Some of the most prominent magazines where he has been featured include the likes of “Guns and Ammo”, “Handguns”, and “Gun World”, where he was regular contributor on matters firearms. He is also known as an authority on holsters and leather gear for firearms, for which he penned a popular monthly column in the magazine “Field Issue”. Jerry met Sharon his wife while in high school and the two had two children from their marriage. Jerry died in 2012 of cancer related complications though his wife took up several of his series including the “Survivalist” in collaboration with Bob Anderson his longtime friend. The two authors have since gone on to become masters of the survivalist genre in their own right, as the titles they have penned have been just as successful as those written by Ahern.

While it is a well-known fact that Jerry and Sharon Ahern penned the “They Call Me the Mercenary” series of adventure novels under the pseudonym Axel Kilgore, there is one thing people do not know. According to Sharon Ahern, the couple initially had no interest in writing the series and had to be cajoled into it. But as soon as they started writing about the adventures of the lead protagonist Hank Frost, they fell in love with him and his colorful sidekicks that writing the novels became something of an obsession. During the time they got into writing the novels, the Prepper Movement was just coming into being with very few magazines such as “Mother Earth News” among the very few that published survivalist literature. At this time, some of the most important elements for Preppers was sustainability and self-reliance rather than falling off the grid. With the Soviet Union and the United States in the depths of the Cold War, the most important thing for the movement were preparing for possible World War III and if possible try to prevent the spread of Communism. The authors could never stop thinking and talking about the possibility of War with the Soviet Union and hence came up with scenarios that soon led to the birth of Hank Frost and his supporting cast. Even as Jerry Ahern initially liked the idea of a survivalist living in a post-World War II scenario, most editors didn’t like it at all and declined to publish it.

“They Call Me The Mercenary” received a new lease of life when a Zebra Books editor suggested a hard boiled hit man and mercenary with a missing body part and psychological issues. A little of the concept for the novels was inspired by “Terrain and Situation” a products column that Jerry Ahern penned for the magazine “Soldier of Fortune”. This was the time when far away wars and mercenaries were gaining much popularity and hence such a series would sure to become a hot item. The editors agreed to publish both the “They Call Me the Mercenary” and “The Survivalist” series of novels. The name Axel Kilgore is the name of one of Jerry Ahern’s business associates and he thought it would make for a great pseudonym. The series was written in tandem with the Survivalist series. The name Hank also seemed a perfect fit for a lead protagonist and mercenary killer given how easily it rolls off the tongue. His physical attributes that include the missing eye and eye patch make for quite the rugged hero with an attitude and effectiveness that combines a survivalist and action hero in one character. In the course of the novel, series Hank Frost develop[s a bad back for his many adventures. He also does develop a bizarre sense of humor that tones down his unemotional outlook on everything.

“The Killer Genesis” is the first thrilling novel of the “They Call Me the Mercenary” series of novels by Jerry Ahern. At the open of the novel, Hank Frost and associates are on a mission only to be double crossed by the man that had hired them. The man kills the entire troop except for Hank Frost the captain who swears revenge. He heads out to Africa where he hopes to carry out his vendetta against the rogue commander that had massacred his team leaving him the only survivor. His quest sees him track down the commander through the dense jungles of Central Africa where he finds himself entangled in a three sided war with a revolutionary army backed by the CIA, a puppet dictator with a love for killing, and Communist rebels. Frank is never one to lose focus and through the endless web of deception, commando raids, bank heists, and torture he is set on only one thing – assassination. The novel comes with everything you could ever need for an all-out adventure novel with a blonde beauty, all manner of weapons, a wisecracking hero, and a plot driven by revenge and honor.

“The Slaughter Run” is the exciting second novel in the series that opens to our one eyed mercenary Hank Frost fleeing from a team of assassins sent to kill him in the Swiss Alps. The State Department helps get him out of the jam and then coerces him to help them keep a dictator of Monte Azul in power. Monte Azul is a country in Central America and the State Department is interested in keeping the dictator in power to stave off the advances of the Communists, that want to take over the country. Frank Host finds himself caught in the deception of Washington, betrayal, torture and violence as he props up a brutal and violent dictator. Coupled with a presidential bodyguard that he cannot fully trust and a developing romance with a general’s wife, it is a great action novel that culminates in a bloodbath.