The Last Hours reading order

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 2,008 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2023. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 25, 2026, 8 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 111 h14 daysby November 12, 2026

   • 1. Chain of Gold2020 · 584 pages · 11 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 16, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 211 h15 daysby December 1, 2026

   • 2. Chain of Iron2021 · 624 pages · 11 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 6, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h20 daysby December 25, 2026

   • 3. Chain of Thorns2023 · 800 pages · 15 h
6. The end of the series

   December 25, 2026

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: best at the start. Readers scored the first volumes (8.2) above the last ones (7.9).

Best volume: Chain of Gold (8.2, 141 ratings). Weakest: Chain of Thorns (7.9). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2023. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.