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See the Wingman books by Mack Maloney in order, with short summaries, series background, and a clear guide to where new readers should start.

Last updated: July 12, 2026

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Wingman books in publication order

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19 books

1

The Circle War

by Mack Maloney

1987

Flying over the frozen ruins of America, Hawk Hunter spots a new Soviet invasion force massing for attack. The country is still broken, and World War IV is about to begin in the skies.

2

The Lucifer Crusade

by Mack Maloney

1987

With the Russians driven back but Viktor Robotov still loose, Hawk Hunter goes hunting across hostile skies. His red, white, and blue fighter makes him a target for every air force on Earth.

3

Wingman

by Mack Maloney

1987

After a Soviet nuclear sneak attack shatters the United States, ace pilot Hawk Hunter is called back into the air. Facing sky pirates and an airborne armada, he becomes one of America's last real defenders.

4

Thunder In the East

by Mack Maloney

1988

Back from the Middle East, Hawk Hunter begins the long push to reclaim occupied America. His next target is Football City, a fallen St. Louis that stands between him and the road to Washington.

5

The Final Storm

by Mack Maloney

1989

Hawk Hunter finally gets his hands on the American traitor who helped doom the country. But with one last Soviet-backed catastrophe still looming, justice and survival become the same mission.

6

The Twisted Cross

by Mack Maloney

1989

The Soviets are beaten, but a new enemy rises in Panama. As neo-Nazis seize the canal and amass modern firepower, Hawk Hunter heads south for another brutal air war.

7

Freedom Express

by Mack Maloney

1990

To reopen the route across America's lawless Badlands, Hawk Hunter trades his jet for a heavily armed train. When pioneers vanish en route to Los Angeles, he rolls west into a new kind of war.

8

Skyfire

by Mack Maloney

1990

Hawk Hunter rescues the woman he loves, only to face another crisis almost at once. Nuclear-armed submarines are closing on the East Coast, and retirement is no longer an option.

9

Return From The Inferno

by Mack Maloney

1991

America is attacked from both coasts, and this time Hawk Hunter disappears in the middle of the fight. With Nordic mercenaries in the east and Asian invaders in the west, the country can only hope he is still alive.

10

War of the Sun

by Mack Maloney

1992

A cult army backed by East Asian warlords holds the West Coast and threatens nuclear retaliation if anyone strikes back. Hawk Hunter answers with a daring carrier-based raid aimed straight at Tokyo.

11

The Ghost War

by Mack Maloney

1993

A pilot finds Xmas Island reduced to ash by a terrifying super-weapon. When Hawk Hunter learns a heavily armed battleship could do the same to the American coast, he heads out to stop it.

12

Target: Point Zero

by Mack Maloney

1996

Viktor Robotov blasts into orbit to seize old laser satellites and turn them into a weapon from space. Hawk Hunter has to chase his oldest enemy higher than ever before.

13

Death Orbit

by Mack Maloney

1997

Pursuing a madman aboard a stolen Russian shuttle, Hawk Hunter finally reaches space. There he discovers an even bigger threat, a comet racing toward Earth that may force old enemies to cooperate.

14

The Sky Ghost

by Mack Maloney

1997

After deflecting the comet, Hawk Hunter wakes in another universe where World War II never really ended. In a 1997 locked in a grinding war with Nazi Germany, America needs a new hero.

15

Return Of Sky Ghost

by Mack Maloney

1998

Still trapped in an alternate reality, Hawk Hunter faces a bizarre new war in which Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in 1997. Giant submarine carriers and a fresh Pacific nightmare give the Wingman another impossible fight.

16

The Tomorrow War

by Mack Maloney

1999

After a devastating alternate-history Pacific war, Hawk Hunter vanishes again. While allies hunt for him across a warped reality, it becomes clear he has embarked on his strangest mission yet.

17

Attack on Area 51

by Mack Maloney

2013

A decade after disappearing, Hawk Hunter returns with no memory of where he has been. His search for answers leads to Area 51, where another threat to shattered America is waiting.

18

Battle for America

by Mack Maloney

2017

Back from his long odyssey, Hawk Hunter finds Russian troops occupying New York City. With America in peril again and old loyalties in question, he prepares for one of the biggest battles of his life.

19

The Odessa Raid

by Mack Maloney

2019

After an Arctic strike against Viktor Robotov goes sideways, Hawk Hunter is pulled through a chain of crises from remote islands to Russian-controlled Europe. Every detour brings him closer to the missing submarine Odessa.

Wingman books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Wingman"

    Wingman

    by Mack Maloney

    1987Wingman, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Circle War"

    The Circle War

    by Mack Maloney

    1987Wingman, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Lucifer Crusade"

    The Lucifer Crusade

    by Mack Maloney

    1987Wingman, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Thunder In the East"

    Thunder In the East

    by Mack Maloney

    1988Wingman, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "The Twisted Cross"

    The Twisted Cross

    by Mack Maloney

    1989Wingman, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "The Final Storm"

    The Final Storm

    by Mack Maloney

    1989Wingman, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Freedom Express"

    Freedom Express

    by Mack Maloney

    1990Wingman, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Skyfire"

    Skyfire

    by Mack Maloney

    1990Wingman, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Return From The Inferno"

    Return From The Inferno

    by Mack Maloney

    1991Wingman, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "War of the Sun"

    War of the Sun

    by Mack Maloney

    1992Wingman, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "The Ghost War"

    The Ghost War

    by Mack Maloney

    1993Wingman, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Target: Point Zero"

    Target: Point Zero

    by Mack Maloney

    1996Wingman, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Death Orbit"

    Death Orbit

    by Mack Maloney

    1997Wingman, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "The Sky Ghost"

    The Sky Ghost

    by Mack Maloney

    1997Wingman, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Return Of Sky Ghost"

    Return Of Sky Ghost

    by Mack Maloney

    1998Wingman, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "The Tomorrow War"

    The Tomorrow War

    by Mack Maloney

    1999Wingman, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Attack on Area 51"

    Attack on Area 51

    by Mack Maloney

    2013Wingman, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Battle for America"

    Battle for America

    by Mack Maloney

    2017Wingman, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "The Odessa Raid"

    The Odessa Raid

    by Mack Maloney

    2019Wingman, Book 19

Series background & context

The Wingman series is Mack Maloney's big signature creation, a long-running run of post-apocalyptic military adventures centered on one of his defining heroes, Hawk Hunter.

The setup is pure paperback pulp in the best way. World War III ends with a devastating Soviet nuclear sneak attack that leaves the United States broken into fragments. Cities are ruined, the chain of command is wrecked, and the country that remains is split among warlords, invaders, criminals, cults, and would-be governments. In that world, control of the sky means almost everything.

That is where Hawk Hunter comes in. Once one of the top pilots in the old U.S. Air Force, he becomes the driving force behind the Pacific American Air Corps, or PAAC, a loose but determined group trying to protect what is left of the country and rebuild it piece by piece. Hunter is not a hesitant hero. He is the kind of character who sees an impossible mission and starts asking how much fuel and ammunition he has.

The early books lean hard into aerial combat and the struggle to reclaim America. Hawk fights Russian return invasions, rogue armies, neo-Nazis, nuclear blackmail, and regional strongmen, all while trying to stitch the country back together. There is a frontier feel to a lot of it. America is still there, but broken into dangerous zones with new names, new rulers, and new rules.

Then the series gets stranger.

As it goes on, Wingman expands far beyond straightforward postwar dogfights. Hawk faces orbital weapons, comets, hidden fleets, alternate dimensions, a still-raging version of World War II, and eventually the mysteries around Area 51. The jump in scale is part of the fun. What starts as a brutal near-future air-war saga slowly turns into something bigger and weirder without losing its love of aircraft, missions, and patriotic last stands.

Through all those changes, the spine of the series stays the same. Hawk Hunter is trying to defend ordinary people and keep alive the idea that America is worth rebuilding, even when the map barely resembles the old country. He is backed by fellow pilots, commandos, spies, and recurring allies, but the books always return to his nerve in the cockpit and his refusal to quit.

The tone is fast, blunt, and unapologetically dramatic. If you like military fiction with lots of aviation, clear villains, escalating stakes, and just enough science-fiction weirdness to keep things unpredictable, this is where to start with Maloney. Wingman is the series that explains almost everything else he wrote later, including Starhawk.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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