The Legend of Drizzt reading order

A plan for the whole series

39 volumes, 14,182 pages, about 260 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 11 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 19, “The Two Swords” (by 28%). Plan your break after volume 18, before the series plans it for you.
• Readers scored volume 12, “The Spine of the World”, below its predecessor (7.6 after 7.9). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 13 the form returns.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2013. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

16 stages, with 15 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 2, 2028, about 3 months later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 22, 2026

   • 1. Homeland1990 · 328 pages · 6 h
   • 2. Exile1990 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Sojourn1991 · 335 pages · 6 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 217 habout 3 weeksby December 19, 2026

   • 4. The Crystal Shard1988 · 344 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Streams of Silver1989 · 296 pages · 5 h
   • 6. The Halfling's Gem1990 · 311 pages · 6 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 23, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 318 habout 4 weeksby January 17, 2027

   • 7. The Legacy1992 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 8. Starless Night1993 · 336 pages · 6 h
   • 9. Siege of Darkness1994 · 352 pages · 6 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by January 21, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 413 h18 daysby February 8, 2027

   • 10. Passage to Dawn1996 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 11. The Silent Blade1996 · 384 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by February 12, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 514 h19 daysby March 3, 2027

   • 12. The Spine of the World1999 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 13. Sea of Swords2001 · 400 pages · 7 h
10. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by March 7, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 620 habout 4 weeksby April 3, 2027

    • 14. Servant of the Shard2000 · 359 pages · 7 h
    • 15. Promise of the Witch King2005 · 341 pages · 6 h
    • 16. Road of the Patriarch2006 · 376 pages · 7 h
12. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by April 12, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 715 h19 daysby May 1, 2027

    • 17. The Thousand Orcs2002 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 18. The Lone Drow2003 · 440 pages · 8 h
14. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by May 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 820 habout 4 weeksby June 6, 2027

    • 19. The Two Swords2004 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 20. The Orc King2007 · 398 pages · 7 h
    • 21. The Pirate King2008 · 347 pages · 6 h
16. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by June 16, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 920 habout 4 weeksby July 12, 2027

    • 22. The Ghost King2009 · 342 pages · 6 h
    • 23. Gauntlgrym2010 · 379 pages · 7 h
    • 24. Neverwinter2011 · 352 pages · 6 h
18. BreakJames · Percival Everett · 320 pp. · score 8.76 h, by July 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1014 h19 daysby August 10, 2027

    • 25. Charon's Claw2012 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 26. The Last Threshold2013 · 416 pages · 8 h
20. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by August 14, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1114 h19 daysby September 2, 2027

    • 27. The Companions2013 · 408 pages · 7 h
    • 28. Night of the Hunter · 368 pages · 7 h
22. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by September 5, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1214 h19 daysby September 24, 2027

    • 29. Rise of the King · 368 pages · 7 h
    • 30. Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf · 400 pages · 7 h
24. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by September 28, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 1315 h20 daysby October 18, 2027

    • 31. Archmage · 435 pages · 8 h
    • 32. Maestro · 365 pages · 7 h
26. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by October 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
27. 14
    Stage 1416 h21 daysby November 12, 2027

    • 33. Hero · 437 pages · 8 h
    • 34. Timeless · 415 pages · 8 h
28. Short breakThe Richest Man in Babylon · George Samuel Clason · 124 pp. · score 8.02 h, by November 16, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
29. 15
    Stage 1513 h17 daysby December 3, 2027

    • 35. Boundless · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 36. Relentless · 300 pages · 6 h
30. Short breakMuch Ado About Nothing · William Shakespeare · 160 pp. · score 8.03 h, by December 8, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
31. 16
    Stage 1619 habout 4 weeksby January 2, 2028

    • 37. Starlight Enclave · 450 pages · 8 h
    • 38. Glacier's Edge · 286 pages · 5 h
    • 39. Lolth's Warrior · 282 pages · 5 h
32. The end of the series

    January 2, 2028

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: uneven. Scores jump by 0.5 points with no clear direction.

Best volume: Homeland (8.1, 514 ratings). Weakest: The Spine of the World (7.6). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 18 and 19: 28%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2013. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.