An Ember in the Ashes reading order

A plan for the whole series

4 volumes, 1,938 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “A Reaper at the Gates” (by 31%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 31, 2026, 9 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 27, 2026

   • 1. An Ember in the Ashes2015 · 464 pages · 9 h
   • 2. A Torch Against the Night2016 · 466 pages · 9 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 6, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 218 habout 4 weeksby December 31, 2026

   • 3. A Reaper at the Gates2018 · 480 pages · 9 h
   • 4. A Sky Beyond the Storm2020 · 528 pages · 10 h
4. The end of the series

   December 31, 2026

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.2 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: An Ember in the Ashes (8.2, 567 ratings). Weakest: A Reaper at the Gates (8.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 31%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.0) scores close to the series average or above it.