Starcraft II (Christie Golden) Books in Order

Christie Golden's StarCraft II novels fill in character history around the game's central conflicts. They are built for readers who want more time with Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, the Dominion, and the damaged loyalties that sit underneath the big battles.

Devils' Due looks backward. Before Raynor became a rebel leader, he and Tychus Findlay served in the Heaven's Devils, an elite Confederate unit. After refusing to accept a corrupt commander's actions, they become fugitives and slip into the sector's criminal world. It is a rougher, more street-level story about two men learning what kind of outlaws they can live with being.

Then comes Flashpoint.

Set between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, Flashpoint begins after Sarah Kerrigan has been separated from the Zerg collective. She is human again, vulnerable, and pursued by Arcturus Mengsk, whose Dominion has plenty of reasons to fear and hate her. Raynor's effort to protect her puts his crew under severe pressure.

The tension comes from more than pursuit scenes. Kerrigan must face what she did as the Queen of Blades, while Raynor has to decide whether love and loyalty can survive the cost of keeping her safe. Mengsk's hunger for control gives the story its political edge.

Start with Devils' Due for Raynor and Tychus's earlier years. Read Flashpoint when you have finished, or know, the major events of Wings of Liberty.