Hunter Smith Adventures Books in Order

Hunter Smith Adventures is Eric Ugland’s love letter to pulpy globe‑trotting thrillers. Think retired Marine plus disaster‑magnet professor, traded battlefields for university halls and then dragged right back into danger—only with more ancient journals and fewer official briefings.

In The Mexico Affair, Hunter is supposed to be settling into college life after leaving the Marines. His archaeology professor, Dr. Stephen Crawley, finds a forgotten journal that supposedly points to lost treasure in cartel‑controlled Mexico. Crawley is brilliant but hopeless in practical matters, so Hunter tags along to keep him alive. Very quickly the “easy” trip turns into a scramble through jungles, cartel territory, and booby‑trapped ruins.

Doctor Apocalypse raises the stakes from gold to global survival. Crawley recruits Hunter again when a young scientist vanishes from a major pharmaceutical company. Their investigation uncovers weaponized viruses, hired mercenaries, and a doomsday‑minded cult that has no qualms about using a pandemic as leverage. Hunter’s military skills and Crawley’s academic contacts make them an unlikely but effective team.

In The Sea Wolves’ Lair, the danger shifts to the coldest parts of the world. A friend of Hunter’s uncovers evidence of a hidden Nazi submarine base rumored to hold stolen treasure and dangerous technology, and is promptly kidnapped by a billionaire willing to kill to keep the discovery for himself. Hunter and company crash‑land in Antarctica, facing lethal weather, a labyrinthine base, and enemies who know the terrain as well as they do.

Across the series, the pattern holds: Crawley finds something unbelievable, and Hunter is the one who makes sure anyone comes home to talk about it. The books lean hard into chases, shootouts, and set‑pieces, but allow time for banter and character friction. Hunter is pragmatic and battle‑scarred; Crawley is excitable and often wrong at the worst possible moment.

Compared to Ugland’s LitRPG work, Hunter Smith Adventures has no leveling screens, but it shares a similar energy—improvisation under fire, improvised teams, and the sense that the heroes are always one bad break from disaster. If you enjoy fast, cinematic reads with real‑world stakes, this is the corner of Ugland’s bibliography to explore.