Austerley & Kirkgordon Books in Order

The Austerley and Kirkgordon books are where Jordan leans hardest into cosmic horror, occult adventure, and mismatched partnership energy. At the center are two men who might not choose each other under any sane circumstances: Austerley, a brilliant and obsessive professor of the occult, and Kirkgordon, a former bodyguard who knows danger when he sees it and usually finds it standing beside the professor. They bicker, distrust one another, and still keep getting dragged into the same fight.

That fight is rarely small. From Crescendo! onward, the pair are pulled into the world of SETTA, a government department handling paranormal threats that ordinary agencies cannot even describe properly. Lost music, ancient races, witchcraft, ghosts, demons, drowned gods, and worlds beyond the normal all have a habit of turning up in their path. The books move widely too, from the British Isles to stranger places entirely, but they always keep one eye on character rather than just spectacle.

These stories are gloriously odd.

Kirkgordon gives the series its grounding. He is practical, capable, and forever trying to stop Austerley making the most reckless possible choice. Austerley, meanwhile, is drawn toward the very darkness he studies, which keeps the tension alive even when the external threat is monstrous enough on its own. Books like The Darkness at Dillingham, Dagon's Revenge, and Ship of Doom build on that push and pull. The horror can be big, but the friction between the leads is what makes it memorable.

If you like Lovecraftian ideas but want more pace, more banter, and a more modern adventure feel, this series is easy to warm to. Jordan has said it is a tribute to H. P. Lovecraft's influence, though he takes the material in his own direction. Start with Footsteps if you want the prelude, or jump straight into Crescendo! for the first full novel and the best sense of how wild this world can get.