The Powder Mage trilogy reading order

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 1,828 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 weeks.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 21, 2026, 8 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 111 h14 daysby November 12, 2026

   • 1. Promise of Blood2013 · 574 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 212 h16 daysby December 2, 2026

   • 2. The Crimson Campaign2014 · 638 pages · 12 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 311 h15 daysby December 21, 2026

   • 3. The Autumn Republic2015 · 616 pages · 11 h
6. The end of the series

   December 21, 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: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (8.1) below the ending (8.4). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: The Autumn Republic (8.4, 312 ratings). Weakest: Promise of Blood (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.