Terminal List

About the Terminal List series

James Reece is a former Navy SEAL commander who comes home from a disastrous deployment in Afghanistan to discover his family murdered and himself the target of a conspiracy reaching into the highest levels of the U.S. government and defense industry. The Terminal List opens as a single-minded revenge mission and the series has widened out from there into globe-spanning espionage and geopolitical thrillers, sending Reece after Iranian intelligence, Russian assassins, and cartel and terror networks while never losing the personal, grief-driven intensity that launched the series. Jack Carr is a former Navy SEAL officer himself, and the tactical, weapons and tradecraft detail throughout is drawn directly from his own operational experience.

The series became a mainstream phenomenon after Amazon adapted the first novel into the hit The Terminal List series starring Chris Pratt as Reece, with a prequel season and a second season both in production. Carr has since expanded the universe with Cry Havoc, a prequel following Reece's father Tom during the Vietnam War, alongside the numbered Reece novels. It's a strong pick for readers who want Special Forces authenticity, a slow-burn conspiracy across the whole series, and visceral, hardware-accurate action.

How to read this series

Publication order, starting with The Terminal List (2018). The series is a continuous, escalating story — Reece's allies, enemies and the fallout of his revenge campaign in book one carry through every sequel — so read the numbered novels in order.

Cry Havoc (2025) is a prequel following James Reece's father, Tom Reece, a Navy SEAL in Vietnam; it stands alone and can be read whenever you like, though it's best appreciated after you know the Reece family from the main series. It sits outside the main numbering (it isn't 'book 8') — the next entry in James Reece's own story is State of Exile, due in 2027.