Lightbringer reading order

A plan for the whole series

5 volumes, 3,851 pages, about 70 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• The thickest volume runs 992 pages. One volume is one stage: a break after it, not the next volume.
• Readers scored volume 4, “The Blood Mirror”, below its predecessor (8.2 after 8.5). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 22, 2027, about 3 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 113 h17 daysby November 15, 2026

   • 1. The Black Prism2010 · 688 pages · 13 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 19, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 212 h16 daysby December 4, 2026

   • 2. The Blinding Knife2012 · 640 pages · 12 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 9, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h19 daysby December 28, 2026

   • 3. The Broken Eye2014 · 795 pages · 15 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by January 1, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 413 h18 daysby January 19, 2027

   • 4. The Blood Mirror2016 · 736 pages · 13 h
8. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by January 28, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 518 habout 3 weeksby February 22, 2027

   • 5. The Burning White2019 · 992 pages · 18 h
10. The end of the series

    February 22, 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: peak in the middle. The middle volumes (8.4) are the best; the ending (8.2) does not match them.

Best volume: The Broken Eye (8.5, 417 ratings). Weakest: The Black Prism (8.2). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.2) scores close to the series average or above it.