David Mack Books in Order

Where to Start Reading David Mack

For most readers, David Mack is synonymous with modern Star Trek literature. If you are looking for the absolute best starting point for his licensed science fiction work, you should begin with the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy. Often referred to by fans as the 'Lord of the Rings' of Star Trek, this massive crossover event showcases Mack's talent for high-stakes storytelling, combining crews from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager to face an apocalyptic Borg invasion.

If you prefer original fiction over licensed tie-ins, your starting point should be The Midnight Front, the first book in his historical fantasy Dark Arts trilogy. It offers a gritty, action-driven secret history of World War II fought with dark sorcery.

Star Trek: The 24th-Century Lit-Verse Arc

David Mack was one of the chief architects of the interconnected Star Trek 'Lit-verse'—a shared continuity of novels that continued the stories of the 24th-century television series long after they went off the air. While these books were written by various authors, Mack penned some of the most critical turning points. To follow his contribution to this massive story arc, read them in this order:

• A Time to Kill (2004) & A Time to Heal (2004): This duology (Books 7 and 8 of the A Time to... pre-Nemesis bridge series) deals with a political crisis on the planet Tezwa and sets up the darker, more complex tone of the post-Nemesis era.
• Star Trek: Destiny Trilogy (2008): Comprising Gods of Night, Mere Mortals, and Lost Souls. This trilogy permanently reshaped the Federation and revealed the definitive origin of the Borg.
• Star Trek: Typhon Pact – Zero Sum Game (2010): A spy thriller focusing on Julian Bashir and Sarina Douglas infiltrating the mysterious Breen Confederacy.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – Cold Equations Trilogy (2012–2013): Consisting of The Persistence of Memory, Silent Weapons, and The Body Electric, this trilogy tackles the resurrection of cybernetic life and the legacy of Data.
• Star Trek: Section 31 Duology (2014–2017): Disavowed and Control resolve the long-running storyline of Dr. Julian Bashir's crusade to destroy Starfleet's shadow agency.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – Collateral Damage (2019): The penultimate chapter of the relaunch continuity, focusing on Jean-Luc Picard facing the legal and moral consequences of his past actions.
• Star Trek: Coda – Oblivion's Gate (2021): The final book of a trilogy co-written with Dayton Ward and James Swallow. This serves as the epic, timeline-resetting finale to the entire 20-year Lit-verse continuity, clearing the slate for modern television canon.

The 23rd-Century Taurus Reach: Vanguard & Seekers

Set during the era of the Original Series (the 2260s), the Star Trek: Vanguard series is a darker, serialized space opera co-created by Mack, Dayton Ward, and Kevin Dilmore. Set on Starbase 47 in the Taurus Reach, it deals with a gold rush for ancient alien technology. It is highly recommended to read this series in publication order, paying special attention to Mack's core entries:

1. Harbinger (2005) – Written by David Mack (Series Premiere)
2. Summon the Thunder (2006) – Written by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
3. Reap the Whirlwind (2007) – Written by David Mack
4. Open Secrets (2009) – Written by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
5. Precipice (2009) – Written by David Mack
6. What Judgments Come (2011) – Written by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
7. Storming Heaven (2012) – Written by David Mack (Series Finale)

Following Vanguard, the spin-off series Star Trek: Seekers continues the adventures of the Taurus Reach explorer ships. Mack wrote Book 1, Second Nature (2014), and Book 3, Long Shot (2015), while Ward and Dilmore penned the alternating volumes. To tie these eras together, Mack also wrote the standalone TOS novel Harm's Way (2022), which bridges the classic Enterprise crew with Vanguard-era characters and the ancient Shedai threat.

Modern Star Trek TV Tie-Ins

With the return of Star Trek to television, Mack has written tie-ins directly linked to the live-action canon of the streaming era. Unlike the Lit-verse novels, these books fit into the current official television continuity:

• Star Trek: Discovery – Desperate Hours (2017): Set one year before the first season of Discovery, this book features an early team-up between Lieutenant Michael Burnham of the USS Shenzhou and Lieutenant Spock of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.
• Star Trek: Picard – Firewall (2024): A character-focused prequel that details Seven of Nine's struggles and her ultimate transition into joining the vigilante Fenris Rangers between the events of Voyager and Picard.

Original Novels & Other Media Tie-ins

Outside the Star Trek universe, David Mack has published original supernatural thrillers and contributed to other well-known television tie-in franchises:

The Dark Arts Trilogy (Original Historical Fantasy)

This secret history urban fantasy series imagines a world where wizardry is real, heavily militarized, and used by global powers during the mid-20th century. The books should be read in chronological and publication order:

1. The Midnight Front (2018): Set during World War II, following British and Allied sorcerers fighting Nazi occultists.
2. The Iron Codex (2019): The conflict shifts into the Cold War era of the 1950s.
3. The Shadow Commission (2020): Set in 1963, concluding the trilogy by tying magical conspiracies to the assassination of JFK.

Other Major Tie-Ins & Standalones

• The 4400: Promises Broken (2009): A concluding tie-in novel that wraps up the unresolved cliffhangers and story arcs left behind by the cancellation of the cult science fiction television show The 4400.
• 24: Live Another Day – Deadline (2014) & Rogue (2015): High-octane action thrillers following Jack Bauer. Deadline serves as a direct prequel to the Live Another Day limited television series, while Rogue continues his black-ops exploits.
• The Calling (2009): David Mack's debut original novel, a standalone supernatural thriller following an ordinary man who discovers he can hear people's prayers, dragging him into an ancient war between angels and demons.