Crystal Run Books in Order

Joe feels like he never quite fits in at home. Bullied because of his hearing and desperate to get away, he is running from classmates when he stumbles through a strange portal and lands in the world of Carcassia.

Carcassia has been at war for generations with neighbouring Kanabia. The only thing keeping its people safe is an invisible shield powered by rare crystals. To maintain it, carefully trained teenagers known as Runners are sent on one-way missions through enemy territory to place those crystals in precise locations.

Kaia is one of those Runners. She has been brought up to believe that dying for the shield is the highest honour she can hope for. When Joe crashes into her world, confused and clearly not part of the system, he causes suspicion among the adults and unease among the trainees, but he also forces Kaia to question why nobody ever comes back from a Run.

The Crystal Run follows Joe and Kaia as they team up on a mission that is supposed to end with their deaths. Along the way they face ambushes, strange landscapes and the unsettling possibility that everything they have been told about Kanabia might be wrong. Joe just wants to find a way home, but he cannot walk away once he starts to understand what the Runners are really being asked to sacrifice.

In Shield of Lies the focus widens. Secrets uncovered in the first book mean that both Carcassia and Earth are under threat, and Joe and Kaia have to move between worlds to expose the truth. The second instalment digs deeper into the politics behind the shield, the families who benefit from keeping things as they are, and the cost of challenging a system that is built on fear.

Throughout the series the mood stays fast and adventurous, with short chapters, cliffhangers and a strong emphasis on friendship and trust. Readers who enjoy fantasy quests and portal stories will recognise some of the beats, but the idea of young people trained for a mission that deliberately ends in their own death gives the books a sharp, thought-provoking edge.

Crystal Run works best if you read the two books in order, starting with The Crystal Run and then moving straight on to Shield of Lies. Taken together they offer a complete story about courage, loyalty and what it means to decide for yourself who the real enemy is.