Starcraft Novels

Originally Posted on Eviscerated.net on May 22nd, 2012.

If your looking to get in on Starcraft novels you have a lot of options and unlike Diablo books your used book store out of stock. Starcraft novels is likely in stock. If your looking for a good place to start and I suggest The Starcraft Archive: An Anthology which includes Liberty’s Crusade, Shadow of the Xel’Naga, Speed of Darkness, and Uprising. This is only way to get a print version of Uprising. So keep that in mind.
The next thing to keep in mind there are two different trilogies in the Starcraft novels. The first is three of the four books in The Starcraft Archive.

• Liberty’s Crusade
• Shadow of the Xel’Naga
• Speed of Darkness

The second Starcraft Trilogy is Dark Templar books

• Firstborn
• Shadow Hunters
• Twilight

The rest of the Starcraft books are more or less stand a long. If your looking for good stand alone books Nova by and Keith R. A. DeCandido is well liked. Judging from his horrible Mass Effect novel I might say away from Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz(if you want to know more about Mr. Dietz writing check out my review of Mass Effect: Deception). Other than grabbing the Starcraft Archive I suggest you read stories that sound interesting to you. Hard to go wrong that way.

If you have any questions let me know.
Feel free to check out my Blog & Podcast, or follow me on Twitter at SayomaraV & Grandoldpodcast
73’s.

StarCraft: Ghost–Spectres by Nate Kenyon (Sep 27, 2011)

Dominion ghosts epitomize the height of terran evolution and physical conditioning. Augmented by technologies that harness their innate psionic potential, these lethal operatives use telepathy and other superhuman powers to isolate and destroy the enemies of the Dominion. But when the hunters become the hunted and ghosts start disappearing without a trace, even the most dangerous human soldiers in the Koprulu sector have something to fear…

Enter Nova Terra, a ghost of unparalleled ability. On orders fromEmperor Arcturus Mengsk, Nova embarks on a secret mission to find her missing comrades. As her investigation leads down a maze of dark corridors, painful memories of her pre-ghost years begin to surface. Soon, Nova learns that there might be a connection between the missing agents and her past, a discovery that will pit her against both the shadows ofher youth and a terrifying new breed of psionic warrior: spectres.

Starcraft II: Devils’ Due by Christie Golden (Apr 12, 2011)

The year is 2494. Almost five years ago, Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay were members of the Heaven’s Devils, an elite Confederate marine unit praised for its nerves of steeland combat expertise. After making a stand against their corrupt commanding officer, the two men were forced to go AWOL or risk being unjustly prosecuted and resocialized.

Now, Raynor and Findlay are outlaws hounded by an unyielding interstellar marshal. Life, however, has never beenbetter. Each day is another chance to pilfer more credits from the Confederacy’s deep coffers. Each night holds the promise of spending their hard-earned profits in bars, brothels, and gambling halls. But a man can only run so far before the law—and his past—catch up with him. . . .

Devils’ Due recounts an unforgettable period of Jim Raynor’s life as he descends into the Koprulu sector’s criminal underworld alongside the street-savvy Findlay. Here, far from his humble upbringing on the fringe world of Shiloh, Raynor will face some of the most trying challenges of his life. The decisions he makes will alter his destiny forever and put his father’s oft-spoken wisdom, “A man is what he chooses to be,” to the ultimate test.

Starcraft II: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz (Apr 6, 2010)

For the poor, hardworking citizens of the Confederacy’s fringe worlds, the Guild Wars have exacted a huge toll. Swayed by the promise of financial rewards, a new batch of recruits joins the fight alongside a slew of mysteriously docile criminals — and a few dubious military leaders. Eighteen-year-old Jim Raynor, full of testosterone and eager to make things right at home, ships off to boot camp and finds his footing on the battlefield, but he soon discovers that the official mission is not what he’s really fighting for.

For the first time ever, StarCraft enthusiasts will learn the origins of the enduring friendship between the young upstart Jim Raynor and the streetwise soldier Tychus Findlay. Watch as they battle on the front lines of a fierce interplanetary war and bear witness to the Confederacy’s rank corruption — corruption so reprehensible that it rains immeasurable death and destruction upon the government’s own people.

Starcraft: Twilight (The Dark Templar Saga, Book 3) by Christie Golden (Jun 30, 2009)

After the seeming defeat of the dark archon Ulrezaj on the protoss homeworld of Aiur, Jake and Rosemary become separated as they flee through the newly repaired warp gate. Rosemary finds herself with the other refugee protoss on Shakuras, while Jake is catapulted elsewhere. But Jake does not have long to live: their enemies are regrouping, and Zamara’s essence must be separated from Jake’s mind before time runs out.

I, Mengsk (StarCraft) by Graham McNeill (Dec 30, 2008)

Sixty-thousand light-years from Earth, the corrupt Terran Confederacy holds the Koprulu sector tightly in its tyrannical grip, controlling every aspect of its citizens’ lives. One man dares to stand up to this faceless empire and vows to bring it to its knees: Arcturus Mengsk — genius propagandist, tactician, and freedom fighter.

A monstrous act of bloody violence sows the seeds of rebellion in Arcturus, but he is not the first Mengsk to rail against such oppression. Before Arcturus grew to manhood, his father, Angus Mengsk, also defied the Confederacy and sought to end its brutal reign.

The destiny of the Mengsk family has long been tied to that of the Confederacy and the Koprulu sector, but as a new empire rises from the ashes of the past and alien invaders threaten the very existence of humanity, what will the future hold for the next generation…?

Shadow Hunters (Starcraft: Dark Templar, Book 2) by Christie Golden (Nov 27, 2007)

Driven by the living memories of a long-dead protoss mystic and hounded by the Queen of Blades’ ravenous zerg, archaeologist Jake Ramsey embarks on a perilous journey to reach the fabled protoss homeworld of Aiur.

Seeking a vital piece of protoss technology, Jake finds that Aiur has been overrun by the zerg. Descending into the shadowy labyrinths beneath the planet’s surface, he must find the sacred crystal before time runs out — for him…and the universe itself.

Yet, what Jake discovers beneath Aiur is a horror beyond his wildest nightmares — Ulrezaj — an archon comprised of the seven most deadly and powerful dark templar in history….

Firstborn (StarCraft: Dark Templar, Book 1) by Christie Golden (May 22, 2007)

Jake Ramsey — an unassuming, yet talented archaeologist — has been given the chance of a lifetime. Hired to investigate a recently unearthed Xel’Naga temple, he knows this latest assignment will open up whole new possibilities for his career. Yet, when Jake discovers the remains of a long-dead protoss mystic, his hopes and dreams are irrevocably drowned in a flood of alien memories. Bonded to the spirit of the dead protoss, Jake has become the sole inheritor of the protoss’s total history — every event, every thought — every feeling.

Struggling to maintain his own fragile identity amidst the raging psychic storm in his mind, Jake soon realizes that he has stumbled upon a secret so cataclysmic in magnitude — that it will shake the very foundations of the universe.

Nova (Starcraft Ghost) by Keith R. A. DeCandido (Nov 28, 2006)

Four years after the end of the Brood War, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk has rebuilt much of the Terran Dominion and consolidated a new military force despite an ever-present alien threat. Within this boiling cauldron of strife and subversion, a young woman known only as Nova shows the potential to become Mengsk’s most lethal and promising “Ghost” operative. Utilizing a combination of pure physical aptitude, innate psychic power, and advanced technology, Nova can strike anywhere with the utmost stealth. Like a phantom in the shadows, she exists only as a myth to the enemies of the Terran Dominion.

Yet Nova wasn’t born a killer. She was once a privileged child of one of the Old Families of the Terran Confederacy, but her life changed forever when a rebel militia murdered her family. In her grief, Nova unleashed her devastating psychic powers, killing hundreds in a single, terrible moment. Now, on the run through the slums of Tarsonis, she is unable to trust anyone. Pursued by a special agent tasked with hunting down rogue telepaths, Nova must come to terms with both her burgeoning powers and her guilt — before they consume her and destroy everything in her path….

Queen of Blades (Starcraft) by Aaron Rosenberg (May 23, 2006)

Former marshal-turned-rebel Jim Raynor has broken away from the power-crazed Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. Enraged over Mengsk’s betrayal of the powerful telepath, Sarah Kerrigan, to the ravenous Zerg, Raynor has lost all faith in his fellow humanity.

Yet, in the aftermath of Mengsk’s treachery, Raynor is plagued by strange visions of Char — a deadly, volcanic world haunted by horrifying alien creatures. As the nightmares grow in intensity, Raynor begins to suspect that they may not be figments of his imagination — but a desperate form of telepathic contact. Convinced that the woman he loves is still alive, Raynor launches a hasty mission to rescue Kerrigan from Char. But deep beneath the planet’s smoldering surface, Raynor finds a strange chrysalis…and is forced to watch in horror as a terrible, all-too-familiar entity rises from it.

Before him stands a creature of depthless malice and vengeance…

Sarah Kerrigan: the Zerg Queen of Blades.

Speed of Darkness (StarCraft #3) by Tracy Hickman (May 21, 2002)

All Ardo Menikov ever dreamed of was to live in peace on the verdant colony world of Bountiful. But when the vicious Zerg Swarm attacked the colony and annihilated his loved ones, Ardo was forced to wake from his dream and accept the brutal realities of a war-torn galaxy. Now a confederate marine, charged with defending the worlds of the Terran confederacy, Ardo must come to terms with the painful memories of his past — and the unsettling truths that may dominate his future.

StarCraft #2: Shadow of the Xel’Naga by Gabriel Mesta (Jun 26, 2001)

Bhekar Ro: a bleak, backwater world on the fringe of the Terran Dominion, where every day is a struggle to survive for its handful of human colonists. It is a veritable wasteland — one speck of dust among many in the vast, dark sea of space. But when the most violent storm in recent memory unearths an unfathomable alien artifact, Bhekar Ro becomes the greatest prize in the Terran Sector — the Holy Grail of the Zerg, the Protoss, and Humanity alike — as forces from the three great powers converge to claim the lost secrets of the most powerful species the universe has ever known.

Liberty’s Crusade (StarCraft, Book 1) by Jeff Grubb (Feb 27, 2001)

Danny Liberty was a good reporter…too good. When his investigations struck too close to the heart of the corrupt Terran Confederacy, he faced a simple choice: continue his current series of exposés, or take a hazardous new assignment covering the Marines on the front lines of the Koprulu Sector. It didn’t take him long to decide….

Behind the attacks of the Zerg and the Protoss lies the story of a lifetime, but every piece of information blurs the mystery further. Thrown into the middle of a war where the outcome will determine mankind’s very survival, the only thing that Danny Liberty knows for sure is that the only person he can trust to keep him alive is himself.

Starcraft: Uprising by Micky Neilson (Dec 18, 2000)

Far in the future, 60,000 light-years from Earth, a loose confederacy of Terran exiles are locked in battle with the enigmatic Protoss and the ruthless Zerg Swarm. Each species struggles to ensure its own survival among the stars in a war that will herald the beginning of mankind’s greatest chapter — or foretell its violent, bloody end.

She is the Zerg Queen of Blades. Her name has become legend throughout the galaxy, and that legend is death for all who stand against her. Yet once, long ago, Sarah Kerrigan was human — the unwilling subject of an insidious clandestine experiment. She was forced to serve as a merciless assassin for the Terran Confederacy until a twist of fate propelled her toward a destiny none could have foreseen. This is the untold tale of Kerrigan’s shadowy origin…and the war that was fought for her very soul.

The Starcraft Archive: An Anthology:

Includes Liberty's Crusade, Shadow of the Xel'Naga, Speed of Darkness, and Uprising.