Relic Runner Origin Story Books in Order
Part ofErnest Dempsey Books in OrderExplore the Relic Runner Origin Story novellas by Ernest Dempsey in order, with short summaries, series background, and guidance on how these prequels connect to the main Dak Harper books.
Last updated: December 22, 2025
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Publication Order
6 books
You Only Die Once
by Ernest Dempsey
2020
On the run after being left for dead by his own team, Dak Harper tracks one of his former brothers in arms to a new corner of the world. What begins as a revenge mission quickly tangles him in a fresh criminal enterprise he cannot ignore.
The Heart of Vengeance
by Ernest Dempsey
2020
The final origin story brings Dak face to face with the architect of his downfall. To finish what began in an Iraqi cave, he risks everything he has rebuilt, testing whether justice or vengeance truly drives the Relic Runner.
Tequila Sunset
by Ernest Dempsey
2020
A lead on the stolen Iraqi treasure takes Dak Harper south of the border, where cartel violence and a sun washed resort town collide. To flush out a traitor, he has to infiltrate a deadly smuggling ring and decide how far vengeance should really go.
Scorched Earth
by Ernest Dempsey
2020
As Dak closes in on the men who betrayed him, their scorched earth response threatens innocent people caught in the middle. He must choose between finishing his revenge and protecting strangers who have become unexpected allies.
Purgatory
by Ernest Dempsey
2020
Stranded between his old life and whatever comes next, Dak Harper follows the money trail into rugged country where wilderness and organised crime overlap. Each step toward the stolen hoard forces him to question who he is becoming.
Out of the Fire
by Ernest Dempsey
2019
A botched mission in the Iraqi mountains ends with Dak Harper buried under rock and presumed dead after his Delta team steals a trove of treasure. Crawling back to the light, he swears to hunt down the men who betrayed him and reclaim what they took.
Series background & context
Relic Runner Origin Story is a fast moving prequel sequence that shows how Dak Harper became the man readers meet in the main Relic Runner novels.
The short books open on Dak at the height of his career in Delta Force, deep in the mountains of Iraq. When his team stumbles on a hidden cache of treasure, Dak argues they should do the honest thing and report it. His teammates choose a different path, stealing the loot and leaving him to die in the dark.
He survives, barely, and the betrayal burns away whatever faith he had left in official channels. The origin stories follow Dak across the world as he claws his way back from that moment. Each installment drops him into a new landscape, from beaches and jungles to high plains, small American towns, and rugged backcountry, where a lead on the missing treasure lines up with a chance to strike at one of the men who tried to murder him.
Because these are shorter adventures, the pace is even sharper than in the full length Relic Runner books. Every chapter has forward motion: a new contact, a double cross, a fistfight in a back alley, or a clue that reveals more about the conspiracy that set him up. Along the way you see him build the skills, contacts, and wary mindset that later make him such an effective hunter of stolen artifacts.
Taken together, the six origin stories read like a single extended revenge thriller with an archaeological twist. They fill in the emotional gaps behind Dak's tough exterior and explain why he is so quick to stand up for people who cannot hit back. You can read them before or after the main Relic Runner series, but either way they deepen the picture of a man who has lost almost everything and still chooses to fight for something better.
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