BookRank

Reading order

The Border Trilogy reading order

Cormac McCarthy

  1. All the Pretty Horses1992
  2. The Crossing1994
  3. Cities of the Plain1998
8.38.3 / 10
609 ratings
Score
3 volumes
Volumes
1992–1998
Published
about 19 h
Reading time
Completed
Status

Quick answer

All the Pretty Horses
Start withAll the Pretty Horses1992 · Volume 1 of 3
Open the volume →Buy the first volumeListen to the audiobook

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Publication order

3 volumes1992–1998Completed

  • A trilogy only in the loosest sense, and the order still matters.
  • All the Pretty Horses follows John Grady Cole; The Crossing drops him entirely and follows Billy Parham, which is why readers who expect a direct sequel often stall halfway; Cities of the Plain puts the two together and depends on your knowing both.
  • So: in order, and do not give up on the second book for not being the first.

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 1,046 pages, about 19 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.

20%

Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: low

  • From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “Cities of the Plain” (by 30%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 3, 2026, 9 days later than in one go.

  1. Stage 114 h18 daysby November 16, 2026
  2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 25, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  3. Stage 26 h7 daysby December 3, 2026
  4. The end of the series
    December 3, 2026
In one goNovember 24, 2026about 4 weeks
In stages, with breaksDecember 3, 2026about 5 weeks · +5 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

8.08.59.0
8.38.3 / 10
8.48.4 / 10
8.38.3 / 10
199219941998
8.08.59.0
199219941998
8.38.3 / 10
8.48.4 / 10
8.38.3 / 10
Score per volume3 volumes on a timeline, 1992 to 1998 · Best-rated volume: The Crossing

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: The Crossing (8.4, 116 ratings). Weakest: Cities of the Plain (8.3). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 30%. 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.

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

Read: 0 of 3
  1. All the Pretty Horses
    All the Pretty Horses1992 · 412 ratingsStart here
    8.38.3 / 10
  2. The Crossing
    The Crossing1994 · 116 ratings
    8.48.4 / 10
  3. Cities of the Plain
    Cities of the Plain1998 · 81 ratings
    8.38.3 / 10

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

The Border Trilogy books ranked, best to worst

  1. 1.The CrossingBook 2 · 19948.4
  2. 2.All the Pretty HorsesBook 1 · 19928.3
  3. 2.Cities of the PlainBook 3 · 19988.3

Frequently asked questions

Which Border Trilogy book is the best?

By reader score, The Crossing (8.4/10). The lowest-rated is Cities of the Plain (8.3/10).

Which The Border Trilogy book is the longest?

“The Crossing” is the longest at 432 pages; the shortest is “Cities of the Plain” with 304 pages.