The Recommended Reading Order
Because the novels in James Wesley, Rawles' Coming Collapse series (widely known as the Patriots series) run parallel to each other, you can technically read them in any order. However, the best way to experience the saga is in publication order. Starting with the first book establishes the core rules, slang, and concepts of the collapse, which makes navigating the simultaneous storylines much smoother.
The Coming Collapse Books in Publication Order
- Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse (1998) – Initially released as shareware in 1995 under the title Triple Ought, this is the foundational book that sets the stage in Idaho.
- Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse (2011) – Follows a different cast of characters facing the same collapse, starting at the exact same time as Patriots.
- Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse (2012) – Focuses on a parallel group of resistance fighters and a U.S. Army captain during the transition and collapse.
- Expatriates: A Novel of the Coming Global Collapse (2013) – Expands the scope internationally, tracking an American family navigating the global crisis from Australia.
- Liberators: A Novel of the Coming Global Collapse (2014) – Focuses on the final liberation of a fallen America by guerrilla fighters.
Chronological Overlaps and Timeline Caveats
Unlike traditional series that progress chronologically from one book to the next, the first four books of Coming Collapse are contemporaneous. They occur during the same timeframe, tracking different people in different locations as the hyperinflation crisis and societal collapse unfold. Liberators wraps up these overlapping threads, showing the final struggles against foreign occupiers.
The Essential Companion Non-Fiction
If you want to understand the actual technical details, survival strategies, and prepper gear mentioned in the novels, James Wesley, Rawles has written several non-fiction guides. The most famous is How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It (2009), which serves as an excellent companion manual to the fictional series.