Crescent City reading order

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 2,489 pages, about 45 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 9 weeks.

• Readers scored volume 3, “House of Flame and Shadow”, below its predecessor (8.0 after 8.3). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2024. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 6, 2027, 8 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 115 h20 daysby November 18, 2026

   • 1. House of Earth and Blood2020 · 836 pages · 15 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 22, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 215 h20 daysby December 12, 2026

   • 2. House of Sky and Breath2022 · 801 pages · 15 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 16, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 316 h21 daysby January 6, 2027

   • 3. House of Flame and Shadow2024 · 852 pages · 16 h
6. The end of the series

   January 6, 2027

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: a drop at the end. The last scored volume (8.0) has the lowest score in the series.

Best volume: House of Earth and Blood (8.4, 983 ratings). Weakest: House of Flame and Shadow (8.0). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2024.