Where to Start Reading Craig Martelle
With over one hundred titles spanning military science fiction, post-apocalyptic survival, space opera, and urban fantasy, Craig Martelle's bibliography can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, his work is organized into distinct, self-contained universes. Depending on your favorite subgenre, there are four excellent entry points:
- For Post-Apocalyptic Survival: Start with Endure, the first book of the End Times Alaska series. Set in Martelle's home territory of Fairbanks, Alaska, it offers a gritty, realistic look at survival after a nuclear winter.
- For Space Opera with Heart: Start with The Free Trader of Warren Deep, the opening novel of the Free Trader series, featuring an uplifted, telepathic cat companion and his human partner.
- For Military Sci-Fi Action: Start with Battleship Leviathan, which delivers classic, fast-paced space battles and tactical military drama.
- For Urban Fantasy & Sci-Fi Fusion: Start with Nomad Found, the first entry in the Terry Henry Walton Chronicles, co-authored with Michael Anderle.
The Kurtherian Gambit Universe
Craig Martelle is one of the most prolific contributors to Michael Anderle's expansive Kurtherian Gambit (KG) universe. While these spin-offs share the overarching history of the KG timeline, they function as standalone storylines that do not require reading the original 22-book Kurtherian Gambit series.
Terry Henry Walton Chronicles & Bad Company
This storyline is a post-apocalyptic military fantasy following Colonel Terry Henry Walton, a genetically and nanocyte-enhanced Marine trying to rebuild humanity. The series should be read in chronological and publication order:
- Nomad Found (2017)
- Nomad Redeemed (2017)
- Nomad Unleashed (2017)
- Nomad Supreme (2017)
- Nomad's Fury (2017)
- Nomad's Justice (2017)
- Nomad Avenged (2017)
- Nomad's Force (2017)
- Nomad's Galaxy (2017)
- Nomad Mortis (2017)
- Nomad's Journal (2020) (Companion/anthology)
The narrative arc of the Terry Henry Walton Chronicles transitions directly into space-faring operations, which leads into the sequel series, The Bad Company. Read these eight books in order next: The Bad Company, Blockade, Price of Freedom, Liberation, Destroyer, Discovery, Overwhelming Force, and Gateway to the Universe.
Judge, Jury, & Executioner
This 21-book legal sci-fi thriller series stars Rivka Anoa, a magistrate enforcing justice across the stars. It is best read in straight publication order, starting with You Have Been Judged and finishing with Messiah. While it shares the wider Kurtherian universe setting, it functions perfectly as a standalone space detective procedurual.
Superdreadnought
Co-authored with Michael Anderle and others (such as C.H. Gideon/Julia Huni), this 6-book series centers on a massive, self-aware AI warship. Read these consecutively from Superdreadnought 1 through Superdreadnought 6.
The Free Trader & Cygnus Universe
One of Martelle's most beloved solo creations is the Free Trader universe. It blends elements of post-apocalyptic recovery with interstellar commerce and exploration.
Free Trader Series Order
The core series follows Braden, a Free Trader, and his highly intelligent, telepathic cat companion Vira as they establish trade networks. Read them in this order:
- The Free Trader of Warren Deep (2016)
- The Free Trader of Planet VII (2016)
- Adventures on RV Traveler (2016)
- Battle for the Amazon (2016)
- Free the North! (2016)
- Free Trader on the High Seas (2016)
- Southern Discontent (2018)
- The Great Cat Rebellion (2018)
- Return to the Traveler (2018)
Cygnus Space Opera
Set in the same universe, the Cygnus series follows humanity's return to the stars after a civil war on Cygnus VII. It features four books: Cygnus Rising: Humanity Returns to Space, Cygnus Expanding: Humanity Fights for Freedom, Cygnus Arrives: Humanity Returns Home, and Cygnus Returns: Humanity Refuses to Surrender.
Other Notable Co-Authored Sagas
Martelle frequently collaborates with other prominent indie authors to build unique worlds:
- Darklanding (with Scott Moon): A 12-book frontier space western about sheriff deputies keeping the peace on a dusty, remote space station. Follow them in order starting with Assignment Darklanding.
- End Days (with E.E. Isherwood): A post-apocalyptic thriller series starting with Blue Apocalypse and following a family navigating the sudden collapse of modern civilization.
- The Zenophobia Saga (with Brad R. Torgersen): A 6-book military space opera that begins with Heretic, exploring first-contact tensions and biological warfare.
- Mystically Engineered (with Valerie Emerson): A portal fantasy and sci-fi hybrid series tracking a family caught up in magic and space technology (3 books, starting with Dragon Invasion).
- Nightwalker (with Frank Roderus): A gritty western series spanning 8 books, beginning with Nightwalker.