The Centurion Group Books in Order

The Centurion Group sits in Rick Jones's more military, tech-driven lane. It is built around an elite strike team used when a threat is too volatile, too deniable, or too dangerous for normal chains of command.

That gives the series a different feel from the Vatican books. Instead of church politics and relic hunts, the pressure comes from hardware, intelligence failures, black programs, and enemies who know how to turn modern weapons back against the people who built them. In First Strike, the crisis centers on stolen Reaper drones and a team that has to move fast before a domestic nightmare turns into a national surrender.

The appeal here is the mission structure. Jones keeps the focus on specialists under pressure, the kind of people who are asked to solve a problem when the clock is already half gone. The books lean into briefings, tactical entries, layered threats, and the uncomfortable reality that even the best team can be working with bad information.

It is a hard-edged military thriller setup, but not a cold one. Jones tends to write teams as groups of damaged professionals who know the job may ask for more than anyone should reasonably give.

If you want the Rick Jones books with less sacred history and more covert response, weapons systems, and off-the-books operations, this is that corner of his catalog.