Gods of Blood and Powder reading order

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 1,992 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 31, 2026, 8 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 112 h16 daysby November 20, 2026

   • 1. Sins of Empire2017 · 672 pages · 12 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 24, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 213 h17 daysby December 11, 2026

   • 2. Wrath of Empire2018 · 692 pages · 13 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 15, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 312 h15 daysby December 31, 2026

   • 3. Blood of Empire2019 · 628 pages · 12 h
6. 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: Wrath of Empire (8.4, 127 ratings). Weakest: Blood of Empire (8.3). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.3) scores close to the series average or above it.