Reading order
The Gap Cycle reading order
- Forbidden Knowledge1991
- The Real Story1991
- Chaos and Order1994
- This Day All Gods Die1996
- A Dark and Hungry God Arises1999
- 5 volumes
- Volumes
- 1991–1999
- Published
- about 45 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
Quick answer
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Publication order
5 volumes1991–1999Completed
Volume numbering in the sources is incomplete — the order below follows publication years.
A plan for the whole series
5 volumes, 2,545 pages, about 45 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 9 weeks.
Stages
4 stages, with 3 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 11, 2027, 11 days later than in one go.
- Stage 113 h18 daysby November 16, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 213 h17 daysby December 6, 2026
- Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 311 h15 daysby December 25, 2026
- Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.4
- Stage 49 h13 daysby January 11, 2027
- 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
No volume in this series has enough ratings to enter a ranking yet, so the list carries no scores — the order and the volumes are still complete.
Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Which The Gap Cycle book is the longest?
“Chaos and Order” is the longest at 684 pages; the shortest is “The Real Story” with 272 pages.
What should I read after The Gap Cycle?
Other series by Stephen R. Donaldson: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
