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See the Hell Divers books in order by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, with summaries, series background, and help choosing where to dive in.

Last updated: June 9, 2026

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Publication Order

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15 books

1

Ghosts

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2017

A decade after X fell to Earth, Michael Everhart leads Hell Diver Raptor Team aboard the Hive under an increasingly brutal captain. Prophecy, unrest, and the possibility that X survived push the airship toward crisis.

2

Hell Divers

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2017

Hundreds of years after nuclear war, the last humans live on airships and send divers through electrical storms to scavenge the poisoned surface. One mission into Hades uncovers a threat even worse than the wastes.

3

Deliverance

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2018

Exiled divers escape the surface aboard a new airship and launch a rescue mission for the legendary X. Back on the Hive, Captain Jordan turns murderous as he hunts the crew that found a future without him.

4

Wolves

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2018

X leads the Sea Wolf across dangerous waters to find the Metal Islands, a possible new home for humanity. Storms, sea monsters, and savage enemies make the voyage as deadly as any dive.

5

Allegiance

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2019

Now king of the islands, X tries to unite sky survivors and Cazadores after a bloody war. Peace is fragile, old loyalties die hard, and the search for more survivors threatens to reopen everything.

6

Captives

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2019

X and Magnolia finally reach a habitable paradise, only to discover a violent island society ruled by the cannibal king el Pulpo. To protect his people, X must survive as a prisoner in the promised land.

7

Warriors

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2020

After a costly mission to Rio, the Hell Divers face two enemies at once, returning skin walkers at home and the machine threat beyond the islands. X's injuries and Horn's survival leave the kingdom dangerously exposed.

8

King of the Wastes

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2021

A year after defeating the machines, the Vanguard Islands face famine, brutal weather, and fewer safe places to scavenge. Survival now depends on risking deeper red zones and holding a fragile new society together.

9

Radioactive

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2022

King Xavier sends the airship Vanguard to Queensland in search of the Coral Castle while rumors and shortages strain the home front. Australia brings new terrain, new monsters, and fresh cracks in the alliance.

10

Fallout

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2023

A nuclear betrayal destroys much of the Vanguard army, carnivorous vines tear through Panama, and Michael Everhart is framed for murder back home. The survivors have to fight on several fronts just to stay standing.

11

Renegades

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2023

The Vanguard Islands are no longer hidden, and Xavier passes the crown to Kade Long before heading out with Magnolia to find Michael's family. The survivors split across several dangerous missions just as the end draws near.

12

Heroes

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2024

The Forerunner's surprise attack devastates the Vanguard Islands and forces Kade Long into a desperate peace deal. X and Kade head toward the poles on a mission that could decide humanity's future for good.

13

Into the Storms

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2025

Long before the Hell Divers, the Machine War tears Korea apart and leaves humanity facing autonomous killers. Tyron Red, Santiago Rodriguez, and Cecil Pepper are thrown into the early chaos that will shape the ruined future.

14

Rhino

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2025

Centuries after nuclear war, a young warrior named Rhino rises against the empire that enslaved his people. Set in the harsher ground-level side of the Hell Divers world, it is a brutal origin story with rebellion at its core.

15
New

Burning Skies

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

2026

The second Hell Divers prequel pushes deeper into humanity's collapse during the Machine War, carrying the story closer to the ruined world the Divers will inherit. It widens the origin story while keeping the survival pressure high.

Series background & context

Hell Divers is one of Nicholas Sansbury Smith's best high-concept hooks because it lands in a single line. More than two centuries after nuclear war ruins the planet, what is left of humanity survives on aging airships circling a poisoned Earth. The only way to keep those flying homes alive is to send divers down through violent electrical storms to scavenge parts, fuel, and anything else that might buy one more day.

That is the job. It is awful.

The central figure is Xavier Rodriguez, known as X, one of the hardest and most experienced Divers in the sky. Around him the series builds a large cast of pilots, scavengers, kids who grow into soldiers, rival leaders, and surface survivors who have adapted in ways the airship people can barely imagine. What starts as a salvage-and-survival story quickly expands into something broader, with power struggles aboard the ships, strange creatures on the surface, and long-running questions about where humanity can actually live.

The setting does a lot of work here. The airships create constant pressure because everything is fragile, fuel is low, space is tight, and mistakes kill people fast. When the story moves to the ground, and later across the sea, the contrast hits even harder. Smith gets a lot of mileage out of that push and pull between the desperate, rusting world in the sky and the even deadlier one below.

It is an adventure series, but a rough one.

Readers can expect relentless missions, creature attacks, betrayals, and a steady supply of hard choices about leadership and survival. Characters age, kids grow up, alliances shift, and the map keeps widening without losing track of the people at the center. If you like post-apocalyptic fiction with squad action, found family, and a premise that stays strong for a long run, Hell Divers fits.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 15 Hell Divers Books in Order (Complete List 2026)