The Cruel Stars books in order

Q: "What order should I read The Cruel Stars books?"

"Read them in publication order: The Cruel Stars (2019), The Shattered Skies (2022), and The Forever Dead (2024). The Brave Ones (2015) is a related short work."

Q: "What is The Cruel Stars series about?"

"Humanity has spread across hundreds of star systems, split into competing civilizations. When the Sturm, a faction of human supremacists who reject all genetic and cybernetic modification, launch a surprise attack, they use a malware weapon to disable most of the inhabited worlds. A small group of survivors from different walks of life must fight back against overwhelming odds."

Q: "Do I need to read any other John Birmingham books before The Cruel Stars?"

"No. The Cruel Stars works as a standalone space opera trilogy. While Birmingham has connected some of his other series into a shared universe, The Cruel Stars is accessible on its own without prior reading."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	The Javan War	2024	John Birmingham	Buy
2	The Cruel Stars	2019	John Birmingham	Buy
3	The Shattered Skies	2022	John Birmingham	Buy
4	The Forever Dead	2024	John Birmingham	Buy
5	The Brave Ones	2015	John Birmingham	Buy

Humanity has colonized hundreds of star systems and split into competing civilizations, from corporate oligarchies to military dictatorships to democratic republics. Genetic modification, cybernetic enhancement, and neural implants are common. Then the Sturm return. The Sturm are human supremacists who left known space centuries ago, rejecting all forms of human modification. They come back with a massive fleet and a malware weapon that turns every neural implant into a kill switch, wiping out billions of people in moments.

The survivors are those who, for various reasons, lack neural implants: a princess raised in deliberate technological simplicity, a convicted mutineer in a shielded prison, a retired marine on a remote outpost, a smuggler running dark, and a corporate exec who never got around to the upgrade. These five characters form the core of the resistance, each bringing different skills, resources, and perspectives to a war that humanity is losing badly.

Birmingham brings his military fiction background to space opera. Fleet engagements are detailed and tactical. The politics between the surviving human factions are messy and realistic. The Sturm are not cartoon villains but an ideologically driven enemy with real military capability. The trilogy builds from desperate survival in the first book to a larger counteroffensive across the sequels.

Frequently Asked Questions

What order should I read The Cruel Stars books?

Read them in publication order: The Cruel Stars (2019), The Shattered Skies (2022), and The Forever Dead (2024). The Brave Ones (2015) is a related short work.

What is The Cruel Stars series about?

Humanity has spread across hundreds of star systems, split into competing civilizations. When the Sturm, a faction of human supremacists who reject all genetic and cybernetic modification, launch a surprise attack, they use a malware weapon to disable most of the inhabited worlds. A small group of survivors from different walks of life must fight back against overwhelming odds.

Do I need to read any other John Birmingham books before The Cruel Stars?

No. The Cruel Stars works as a standalone space opera trilogy. While Birmingham has connected some of his other series into a shared universe, The Cruel Stars is accessible on its own without prior reading.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order