#196 in Science fiction
The Skull Throne
- 768
- Pages
- about 14 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 1 week on the list
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Our view
“The Skull Throne”, the fourth volume of “The Demon Cycle”, belongs to its side characters and ends in a bloody last stretch. As some readers note, Arlen and Jardir step back for most of it while intriguing newcomers come forward. Some see a volume that mainly moves everyone into place for the finale, and others feel it drags.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED The fourth volume in The Demon Cycle, the powerful saga of humans winnowed to the brink of extinction by night-stalking demons, and the survivors who fight back, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett The Skull Throne of Krasia stands empty. Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honor and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all. But Arlen Bales, the Warded Man, stood against this course, challenging Jardir to a duel he could not in honor refuse. Rather than risk defeat, Arlen cast them both from a precipice, leaving the world without a savior and opening a struggle for succession that threatens to tear the Free Cities of Thesa apart. In the south, Inevera, Jardir’s First Wife, must find a way to keep their sons from killing one another and plunging their people into civil war as they strive for glory enough to make a claim to the throne. In the north, Leesha Paper and Rojer Inn struggle to forge an alliance between the duchies of Angiers and Miln against the Krasians before it is too late. Caught in the crossfire is the duchy of Lakton—rich and unprotected, ripe for conquest.
Reading order · The Demon Cycle
Full order & progress →- The Painted ManStart here
–Not ranked yet - The Desert Spear
8.18.1 / 10 - The Daylight War
8.18.1 / 10 - The Skull ThroneThis book
8.08.0 / 10 - The Core
8.18.1 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 269 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 65% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 16 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.0 | 253 | 94% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Skull Throne?
It has 768 pages — longer than 79% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Science fiction — and a score of 8.0, the closest to this book.
