FantasyBookRecs
Reading Order

Fantasy Series Reading Order Guides

Found an author you love? Browse their best books and discover where to start — or what to read next.

Some fantasy series are so long, so interconnected, or so full of side novellas that figuring out where to begin feels like a project in itself. These guides cut through the noise. Each one tells you the correct reading order, flags what you can skip on a first read, explains how the different arcs connect, and answers the questions every new reader inevitably asks. Whether you're about to start The Way of Kings or trying to figure out if Mistborn Era 2 requires Era 1, you're in the right place. Start with the series below — more guides coming regularly.

The Stormlight Archive

by Brandon Sanderson

7 books (5 main + 2 novellas) — the most ambitious epic fantasy series alive.

Mistborn

by Brandon Sanderson

Era 1 + Era 2 — two complete series set centuries apart in the same world.

Red Rising

by Pierce Brown

7 books across two arcs — revolution, betrayal, and brutal emotional stakes.

Robin Hobb — Realm of the Elderlings

by Robin Hobb

16 novels across 5 interconnected series — the complete reading order guide.

Brandon Sanderson — The Cosmere

by Brandon Sanderson

All the Cosmere series in order — how to read Mistborn, Stormlight, and everything in between.

ACOTAR

by Sarah J. Maas

5 books — the complete A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, from Book 1 through A Court of Silver Flames.

The Wheel of Time

by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

14 books + prequel — the complete reading order for one of epic fantasy's defining series.

Sarah J. Maas Books in Order

by Sarah J. Maas

ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City — complete reading order with spoiler-safe guide.

Leigh Bardugo Books in Order

by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows, and King of Scars — the complete spoiler-safe Grishaverse reading guide.

Joe Abercrombie Books in Order

by Joe Abercrombie

The First Law trilogy, standalones, and Age of Madness — the complete grimdark reading order.

Rebecca Yarros

by Rebecca Yarros

Empyrean Series — Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm, and Book 4. Start with Fourth Wing.

Holly Black Books in Order

by Holly Black

Folk of the Air Series — The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing.

Cassandra Clare Books in Order

by Cassandra Clare

The Shadowhunter Chronicles — City of Bones, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, and more. The complete reading order.

Laini Taylor Books in Order

by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and Strange the Dreamer duology — the complete reading order.

Mark Lawrence Books in Order

by Mark Lawrence

The Broken Empire, Red Queen's War, and Book of the Ancestor — the complete grimdark reading order.

Naomi Novik Books in Order

by Naomi Novik

Temeraire series, Uprooted, Spinning Silver, and A Deadly Education — the complete reading order.

N.K. Jemisin Books in Order

by N.K. Jemisin

The Broken Earth trilogy, the Inheritance trilogy, and the Dreamblood duology — the complete reading order.

Patrick Rothfuss Books in Order

by Patrick Rothfuss

The Kingkiller Chronicle — The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear, and The Slow Regard of Silent Things.

R.F. Kuang Books in Order

by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War trilogy, Babel, and Yellowface — the complete reading order for one of fantasy's sharpest voices.

Tamora Pierce Books in Order

by Tamora Pierce

Tortall and Circle of Magic — the complete reading order for the pioneer of female-led fantasy.

Tamsyn Muir Books in Order

by Tamsyn Muir

The Locked Tomb series — Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and Alecto the Ninth.

V.E. Schwab Books in Order

by V.E. Schwab

Shades of Magic trilogy, Villains duology, and Cassidy Blake series — the complete reading order.

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