Reading order
The Black Magician Trilogy reading order
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 2001–2003
- Published
- about 30 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy#122
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
3 volumes2001–2003Completed
- The trilogy is one story — read in order from The Magicians’ Guild (2001).
- Then either the prequel The Magician’s Apprentice (2009) or go straight to the sequel Traitor Spy trilogy (2010–2012), set twenty years later.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,728 pages, about 30 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: high
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 14, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.
- Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 24, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 212 h16 daysby December 14, 2026
- The end of the series
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 (7.8) below the ending (8.1). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.
Best volume: The High Lord (8.1, 297 ratings). Weakest: The Magicians' Guild (7.8). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.1) scores close to the series average or above it.
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
The Black Magician Trilogy books ranked, best to worst
- 1.The High LordBook 3 · 20038.1
- 2.The NoviceBook 2 · 20028.0
- 3.The Magicians' GuildBook 1 · 20017.8
Frequently asked questions
Which Black Magician Trilogy book is the best?
By reader score, The High Lord (8.1/10). The lowest-rated is The Magicians' Guild (7.8/10).
Which The Black Magician Trilogy book is the longest?
“The High Lord” is the longest at 656 pages; the shortest is “The Magicians' Guild” with 480 pages.
What should I read after The Black Magician Trilogy?
Other series by Trudi Canavan: Age of the Five Trilogy, The Traitor Spy Trilogy, Millennium’s Rule Series.
