The Codex Alera reading order

A plan for the whole series

6 volumes, 3,089 pages, about 55 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 2 months.

Stages

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

1. 1
   Stage 19 h13 daysby November 11, 2026

   • 1. Furies of Calderon2004 · 512 pages · 9 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 14, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 219 habout 4 weeksby December 10, 2026

   • 2. Academ's Fury2005 · 608 pages · 11 h
   • 3. Cursor's Fury2006 · 442 pages · 8 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 19, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 319 habout 4 weeksby January 14, 2027

   • 4. Captain's Fury2007 · 658 pages · 12 h
   • 5. Princeps' Fury2008 · 404 pages · 7 h
6. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by January 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 49 h11 daysby February 4, 2027

   • 6. First Lord's Fury2009 · 465 pages · 9 h
8. The end of the series

   February 4, 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 (8.2) below the ending (8.4). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Cursor's Fury (8.5, 382 ratings). Weakest: Furies of Calderon (8.1). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.4) scores close to the series average or above it.