Where to Start with Project Enterprise
For readers looking to dive into the sweeping science fiction romance of the Project Enterprise series, the absolute best starting point is the first book, The Key. While author Pauline Baird Jones (often affectionately known to her fans as "Perilous Pauline") has designed the books so that many can be enjoyed as standalone adventures, reading them in order is highly recommended. The series builds a complex, interconnected universe filled with ancient alien technology, recurring characters, and overarching galactic mysteries that are much more satisfying when experienced from the beginning.
Starting with The Key establishes the core concept of the series: contemporary or near-future military personnel and scientists from Earth stumbling into a high-stakes conflict in a distant galaxy. By following the recommended reading path, you will watch the technology, the relationships, and the scale of the universe grow organically.
Project Enterprise Recommended Reading Order
The safest and most rewarding way to read the series is in its publication order. This order introduces new concepts, characters, and subseries in the exact sequence the author developed them, ensuring you never miss a reference or character crossover. Here is the list of books in the recommended reading order:
- The Key (1998) – The book that started it all. Elite pilot Sara Donovan joins an above-top-secret expedition and teams up with an alien castaway to save a war-torn galaxy.
- Girl Gone Nova (2007) – Genius badass Delilah "Doc" Clementyne navigates time travel and a brewing war, finding love with an alien warlord.
- Tangled in Time (2010) – A steampunk-infused novella following Colonel Carey and Victorian scientist Olivia Carstairs as they dodge a mad doctor across timelines.
- Steamrolled (2011) – A continuation that blends high-tech space opera with Victorian steampunk sensibilities.
- Kicking Ashe (2012) – Introduces Ashe, a time-traveling warrior, and her nanite companion Lurch, blending mystery and romance in a fast-paced adventure.
- Found Girl (2017) – Unravels more secrets of the lost Valyr civilization and those left behind.
- Time Trap (2017) – A fun romp involving a sergeant who accidentally unleashes a woman from the future and her talking parrot, leading to a mission to save a base of "genius nerds."
- Lost Valyr (2018) – Follows a scientist stranded in the wrong galaxy and an alien in the wrong century who must work together to change a terrifying future.
- Maestra Rising (2019) – Features a scientist who awakens from cryosleep to find her people in danger, enlisting the help of a robot with a human consciousness.
- Operation Ark (2019) – A project enterprise story centered on a mission to return alien refugees to their home planets.
- General's Holiday (2021) – Originally appearing in a Pets in Space anthology, this story features a General seeking adventure who encounters a lady with a pet frog.
- Claws & Effect (2022) – An anthology collection of Project Enterprise stories focusing on the series' unique, otherworldly pets.
Publication Order vs. Chronological Order Caveats
With time travel and cryosleep playing massive roles in the plot of Project Enterprise, a strict chronological reading order is incredibly complex and, frankly, not recommended. Characters jump across centuries, and some stories take place concurrently in different parts of the galaxy or in alternate timelines. For example, Tangled in Time and Steamrolled bring historical Victorian characters into contact with advanced alien civilizations. Trying to map a chronological line through these jumps will only lead to confusion.
Instead, the publication order serves as the narrative anchor. Even though characters are moving backwards and forwards in time, their emotional journeys and the reader's understanding of the "Project" itself progress linearly. Reading out of order might spoil key revelations about the ancient Valyr technology or the true nature of the threats facing the galaxy.
What to Know Before You Start
Before you embark on your journey through the Project Enterprise universe, here are a few key details to keep in mind:
- Clean Romance: Pauline Baird Jones writes "closed-door" or "blush-free" romances. The focus is entirely on character chemistry, witty banter, and deep emotional connections, leaving the physical details to the reader's imagination.
- Genre-Blending: The series is not just traditional space opera. It heavily incorporates elements of time travel, portal fantasy, and steampunk. If you enjoy laser battles alongside brass gears and talking parrots, this is the series for you.
- The Role of Pets: Many of the later novellas and stories (such as The Real Dragon, General's Holiday, and those collected in Claws & Effect) were written for the popular Pets in Space anthologies. These stories highlight the quirky, loyal, and often telepathic or genetically engineered companion animals that inhabit this universe.