MILITARY FICTION
Forgotten Ruin
By Jason Anspach & Nick Cole
10 total booksONGOING
A joint task force of U.S. Army Rangers is mysteriously transported to a strange and terrifying future world where the myths and monsters of legend have become reality. Surrounded, low on ammo, and operating deep in hostile territory, they do the only thing they know how to do: fight. Forgotten Ruin blends gritty, technically accurate Ranger doctrine with epic fantasy world-building — Tolkien meets Shock & Awe. Told through the eyes of 'Talker,' a young intelligence specialist who's fluent in a dozen languages and about to learn that none of them matter when you're out of ammo and the orcs are at the wire. Equal parts buddy comedy and pulse-pounding combat fiction, with a richly imagined world that gets darker and stranger with every book.
READING ORDER
Start with Book 1 and read straight through — this is a continuous story, not standalone novels. The Underspire companion can be read any time after Book 6 (Lead the Way), but the main series should always come first.
CATCH-UP GUIDES IN PROGRESS
The author is doing a full re-read of this series. Detailed catch-up summaries — key events, character status, world state — will be added book by book as he finishes.
Main Series
1
Forgotten Ruin202110/10
“Shock & Awe meets Tolkien. Army Rangers in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. The best military fantasy series in years.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
2
Hit & Fade20219/10
“The Rangers refine tactics for a fantasy world. Hit & Fade shows military professionalism against the odds.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
3
Violence of Action20219/10
“Escalation. The Rangers face larger threats and begin to understand the world's true power structures.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
4
Lay the Hate20219/10
“Revenge and strategy. The Rangers decide which enemies to eliminate and pursue that path relentlessly.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
5
The Book of Joe20219/10
“A legend emerges. One Ranger becomes the stuff of impossible stories.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
6
Lead the Way20228/10
“Leadership under pressure. Rangers advance from survival to building something permanent.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
7
Never Shall I Fail20228/10
“Commitment and struggle. Rangers and allies face existential challenges to their growing civilization.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
8
High Value Target20238/10
“The Rangers are hunted. As they've grown in power, they've become targets for the world's most dangerous forces.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
9
Sua Sponte20258/10
“The most recent. Rangers act on their own initiative. The story continues toward resolution.”
CATCH-UP GUIDE
