The Custer Siblings Books in Order

The Custer Siblings books are an odd little corner of Burroughs’ catalog, connected less by a single setting than by two modern Americans, Barney and Victoria Custer, who keep getting pulled into impossible situations. If you come here expecting jungle vines or a dying Mars, you’ll be surprised. These stories are more like romantic adventure puzzles, with identity tricks, sudden reversals, and a lot of momentum.

One half of the pair is The Mad King, a fast-moving tale that drops Barney into European court intrigue. He looks exactly like the ruler of a small kingdom, and that resemblance turns into a trap. Barney is forced to navigate palace politics, revolutionaries, and the constant fear that one wrong move will get him killed or locked away. He’s not a trained spy or soldier, so his edge comes from quick thinking, nerve, and the occasional willingness to bluff.

Then there’s Victoria.

In The Eternal Savage (also known as The Eternal Lover), Burroughs swings the premise in a very different direction. Victoria becomes the center of a story about reincarnation and a love that seems to reappear across ages. The book bounces between modern life and a far older world, blending prehistoric survival with the anxiety of waking up in the wrong time, with the wrong expectations, and no clear way back. It’s less about solving a mystery and more about enduring one.

Nothing stays stable for long.

What ties the two novels together is the way Burroughs uses the Custers as straight-faced anchors. Barney and Victoria react like people who didn’t ask for any of this, and that makes the wild turns easier to buy. The stories also share a fascination with identity, what happens when a name or a face can be used against you, and what you owe to the person you were yesterday. Expect kidnappings, escapes, sudden loyalties, and romance that can feel sweet one chapter and dangerous the next.

These books are a good fit if you like Burroughs’ pace but want something outside the long-running franchises. Both novels work as standalones, so you can read them in either order without missing essential background at all. Start with The Mad King for the cleanest, most grounded setup, then try The Eternal Savage / The Eternal Lover when you’re in the mood for a stranger ride that mixes romance with a genuine sense of time being out of joint.