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CATCH-UP GUIDE

Expeditionary Force

By Craig Alanson

Earth has been secretly conquered and liberated โ€” sort of. Now a small crew aboard a stolen alien ship, led by a barely-qualified soldier and an insufferably sarcastic AI named Skippy, has to figure out how to actually save humanity. These catch-up guides are written for readers returning to the series โ€” or for newcomers who want to know what they're in for before committing to book one.

RE-READ IN PROGRESS
The author is doing a full re-read of this series. Detailed summaries will be added book by book โ€” key events, character status, world state, and what you need to know before reading the next entry. Check back regularly.
GET NOTIFIED โ†’

Main Series

BOOK 12016

Columbus Day

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Click to reveal catch-up guide
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WHAT HAPPENS

Earth has been invaded by the Ruhar โ€” and then liberated by the Kristang, a lizard-like warrior species. Joe Bishop, an Army sergeant, is part of a UN Expeditionary Force sent to fight alongside their Kristang allies on a distant world. The mission goes wrong in ways that leave Bishop isolated, in command of a mixed unit, and in possession of information that changes everything humanity thought it knew about the invasion and liberation. The liberation was not an act of altruism. Earth is a pawn. The Kristang have their own agenda and it does not involve human survival. Bishop's unit discovers an ancient alien vessel โ€” and inside it, an AI called Skippy the Magnificent, who claims to be the most powerful intelligence in the galaxy and is also personally offended by the cognitive limitations of the humans who have found him. Together, Bishop and Skippy steal the ship and begin the most improvised military operation in human history: trying to keep Earth safe from the outside, without Earth knowing it needs saving.

BOOK 22017

SpecOps

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for SpecOps is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 32017

Paradise

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Paradise is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 42017

Black Ops

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Black Ops is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 52018

Zero Hour

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Zero Hour is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 62018

Renegades

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Renegades is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 72019

Homefront

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Homefront is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 82020

Fallout

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Fallout is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 92020

Critical Mass

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Critical Mass is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 102021

Breakaway

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Breakaway is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 112022

Brushfire

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Brushfire is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 122022

Booby Trap

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Booby Trap is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
BOOK 132023

Armageddon

COMING SOON
Catch-up guide for Armageddon is coming soon. Check back after the author finishes his re-read.
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