Reading order
Tales from the Flat Earth reading order
- Night's Master1978
- Death’s Master1979
- Delusion's Master1981
- Delirium's Mistress1986
- Night's Sorceries1987
1- 7.77.7 / 1060 ratings
- Score
- 5 volumes
- Volumes
- 1978–1987
- Published
- about 30 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
5 volumes1978–1987Completed
- Tanith Lee’s dark, ornate fantasy cycle, in the manner of the Arabian Nights, set on a flat world ruled by the Lords of Darkness: Azhrarn, Prince of Demons, beautiful and cruel; Uhlume, Death; and their kin, who meddle in the lives of mortals across centuries of linked tales.
- Lyrical, sensual and wicked; Death’s Master won the British Fantasy Award.
- Night’s Master, the first, is the one with enough ratings.
- Read in order.
A plan for the whole series
5 volumes, 1,672 pages, about 30 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 weeks.
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 13, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.
- Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 21, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 214 h18 daysby December 13, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Extras, short stories and spin-offs
Not needed to follow the main story — read them after the series or skip them.
- The Earth is Flat: Tales from the Flat Earth and Elsewhere
Frequently asked questions
Which Tales from the Flat Earth book is the longest?
“Delirium's Mistress” is the longest at 428 pages; the shortest is “Night's Master” with 246 pages.
What should I read after Tales from the Flat Earth?
After the main series: The Earth is Flat: Tales from the Flat Earth and Elsewhere.