Tamora Pierce Books in Order: Complete Tortall Reading Guide
Tamora Pierce's Tortall universe spans six interconnected series across nearly 20 novels, all set in the same medieval fantasy kingdom at different points in history. Each series follows a different female protagonist — Alanna, Daine, Kel, Aly, Beka — but they share a world, recurring characters, and an ongoing story of women claiming space in a world that resists them. Publication order is the recommended reading path: each series builds on the world and characters established before it.
Quick Stats
Author
Tamora Pierce
Total Books
18 (across 6 series)
Status
Ongoing (Numair series)
Genre
Epic Fantasy / YA
Best Start
Alanna: The First Adventure
Where to Start
Start with Alanna: The First Adventure. It is the shortest book in the Tortall universe — barely 200 pages — and the one that establishes the world, the magic system, and the central tension that runs through every series that follows. Alanna herself appears or is referenced in nearly every subsequent series.
The Provost's Dog trilogy (Terrier, Bloodhound, Mastiff) is set 200 years before Song of the Lioness and can technically be read as a standalone entry point — it is grittier and more grounded than the other series. But most readers find the payoff of reading Provost's Dog in context to be significantly higher.
Song of the Lioness (Alanna's Story)
4 books — Alanna disguises herself as a boy to become Tortall's first lady knight. Start here.
- 1
Alanna: The First Adventure
Book 1 — Start here
Alanna of Trebond disguises herself as a boy to train as a knight — something women are forbidden to do. The shortest and fastest of the Tortall books, and the one that started it all. Alanna is fierce, stubborn, and immediately compelling.
The essential starting point for the entire Tortall universe.
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Alanna continues her training as a squire under Prince Jonathan while a conspiracy against the crown deepens. Her powers grow and so does the threat she faces from the realm's most dangerous sorcerer.
A newly knighted Alanna ventures into the desert, where she trains young shaman apprentices and confronts what it means to be a woman warrior in Tortall. A quieter book focused on identity and culture.
- 4
Lioness Rampant
Book 4 — Series conclusion
Alanna sets out on a quest for a legendary magical artifact. The series conclusion brings together every thread from the first three books and sets the stage for The Immortals, which follows directly after.
The Immortals (Daine's Story)
4 books — Daine has wild magic and can communicate with animals. Set directly after Lioness Rampant in Tortall's timeline.
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Wild Magic
Book 1
Daine is a young woman with an unusual gift for communicating with animals — a wild magic that goes far beyond what any mage has seen. She joins the Tortall court and begins training under the master mage Numair. Follows directly after Lioness Rampant in timeline.
Set immediately after the Song of the Lioness. Alanna and other familiar characters appear.
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Wolf-Speaker
Book 2
Daine and Numair travel to the Long Lake wolf pack, who have called on Daine for help. An ecological threat to their territory reveals a larger conspiracy against Tortall.
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Emperor Mage
Book 3
Daine travels to the empire of Carthak as part of a peace delegation, where she heals the Emperor's exotic birds — and uncovers a plot that will have consequences for all of Tortall. One of the strongest books in the series.
- 4
The Realms of the Gods
Book 4 — Series conclusion
Daine and Numair are pulled into the Divine Realms as war breaks out in Tortall. The Immortals concludes on the largest scale of any Pierce series to this point, drawing together the entire world she has built.
Protector of the Small (Kel's Story)
4 books — Keladry of Mindelan becomes the first girl to openly train as a knight without disguise. Set approximately 10 years after Song of the Lioness.
- 1
First Test
Book 1
Keladry of Mindelan becomes the first girl to openly train as a knight — no disguise required. The law now allows it, but the culture of the training grounds does not. Kel's quiet determination against institutional hostility is one of the most satisfying character arcs Pierce ever wrote.
Set approximately 10 years after Song of the Lioness.
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Page
Book 2
Kel continues her page training, navigating bullying, politics, and the ongoing battle to prove she belongs. The world of Tortall expands as she builds friendships and begins to understand what knighthood will actually demand.
- 3
Squire
Book 3
Kel becomes a squire to the legendary knight Raoul of Goldenlake. The scope of the series broadens dramatically as she trains in real combat and war begins to loom on Tortall's borders.
- 4
Lady Knight
Book 4 — Series conclusion
Kel is finally a knight — and immediately placed in charge of a refugee camp on the front lines of a war. Lady Knight is Pierce at her most politically serious, dealing unflinchingly with the costs of war and the weight of command.
Trickster's Duet (Aly's Story)
2 books — Alanna's daughter Aly becomes a spy in the Copper Isles. A political espionage story set a generation after Song of the Lioness.
- 1
Trickster's Choice
Book 1
Aly, daughter of Alanna, is captured by slavers and brought to the Copper Isles, where she becomes a spy for a trickster god. A political espionage story set in a new corner of Pierce's world, following a protagonist who relies on wit rather than swordsmanship.
Set a generation after Song of the Lioness. Alanna's daughter is the protagonist.
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Trickster's Queen
Book 2 — Duology conclusion
Aly's spy network in the Copper Isles grows as revolution becomes inevitable. The political stakes are the highest of any Pierce duology, and the conclusion delivers on everything seeded in the first book.
Provost's Dog (Beka's Story)
3 books — Beka Cooper trains as a police officer in Tortall, 200 years before Alanna's time. Grittier and more grounded than the other series.
- 1
Terrier
Book 1
Beka Cooper is a trainee in Tortall's police force, the Provost's Guard — set 200 years before Song of the Lioness. Written as Beka's journal, Terrier is a street-level crime story in Pierce's world, grittier and more grounded than the series that came before.
Set 200 years before Song of the Lioness — works as a starting point for new readers.
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Bloodhound
Book 2
Beka is sent to investigate a counterfeiting ring threatening the kingdom's economy. A tighter, more focused mystery than Terrier, with Beka operating more independently and the stakes made national rather than local.
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Mastiff
Book 3 — Trilogy conclusion
Beka joins a manhunt for the kidnapped heir to the throne. The conclusion of Provost's Dog is the most ambitious and emotionally devastating of the three — readers who know the broader Tortall history will recognize the historical significance of what Beka accomplishes.
Numair Chronicles (Numair's Story)
Origin story of Numair Salmalín, Daine's mentor. Best read after The Immortals. The series is ongoing.
- 1
Tempests and Slaughter
Book 1
The origin story of Numair Salmalín — Daine's mentor and one of the most powerful mages in Tortall — set during his student years in the empire of Carthak. Best read after The Immortals to have full context for who Numair becomes.
Best read after The Immortals quartet. More of Numair's origin than a standalone story.
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How Do the Series Connect?
All Tortall series are set in the same kingdom at different points in history. Alanna appears as a mentor and background character in The Immortals and Protector of the Small. Aly is Alanna's daughter. Beka Cooper is set 200 years before the others. Major political events — wars, succession crises, the opening of the knighthood to women — resonate across multiple series.
Provost's Dog is the most independent: it is set far enough in the past that no other series characters appear directly, though the political history Beka shapes is visible in the world Alanna inherits. New readers can start there and work forward, but most find it more rewarding in context.