Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn reading order

A plan for the whole series

5 volumes, 4,531 pages, about 85 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

• The thickest volume runs 1,383 pages. One volume is one stage: a break after it, not the next volume.
• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “To Green Angel Tower” (by 36%).

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 15, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 114 h19 daysby November 17, 2026

   • 1. The Dragonbone Chair1988 · 783 pages · 14 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 21, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 213 h18 daysby December 9, 2026

   • 2. Stone of Farewell1990 · 733 pages · 13 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 18, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 325 habout 5 weeksby January 21, 2027

   • 3. To Green Angel Tower1993 · 1,383 pages · 25 h
6. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by January 30, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 415 h20 daysby February 19, 2027

   • 3.1. To Green Angel Tower, Part 11993 · 816 pages · 15 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by February 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 515 h20 daysby March 15, 2027

   • 3.2. To Green Angel Tower, part 21993 · 816 pages · 15 h
10. The end of the series

    March 15, 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: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (7.7) below the ending (8.0). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: To Green Angel Tower (8.3, 175 ratings). Weakest: The Dragonbone Chair (7.7). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 36%. 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.