The Riftwar Cycle reading order

A plan for the whole series

10 volumes, 13,649 pages, about 250 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 11 months.

• The thickest volume runs 2,335 pages. One volume is one stage: a break after it, not the next volume.

Stages

9 stages, with 8 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 6, 2027, about 10 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 130 habout 6 weeksby December 8, 2026

   • 1. The Riftwar Saga · 1,642 pages · 30 h
2. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by December 18, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 241 habout 8 weeksby February 10, 2027

   • 2. Empire Trilogy · 2,224 pages · 41 h
4. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by February 20, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 325 habout 5 weeksby March 25, 2027

   • 3. The Riftwar Legacy1998 · ≈ 1,365 pages · 25 h
6. BreakWhen Breath Becomes Air · Paul Kalanithi · 232 pp. · score 8.64 h, by April 2, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 420 habout 4 weeksby April 28, 2027

   • 4. Legends of the Riftwar2001 · 338 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Krondor's Sons1989 · 750 pages · 14 h
8. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by May 8, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 543 habout 8 weeksby July 4, 2027

   • 6. The Serpentwar Saga1994 · 2,335 pages · 43 h
10. BreakOn Writing · Stephen King · 288 pp. · score 8.55 h, by July 13, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 625 habout 5 weeksby August 15, 2027

    • 7. Conclave of Shadows2002 · ≈ 1,365 pages · 25 h
12. BreakStories of Your Life and Others · Ted Chiang · 320 pp. · score 8.46 h, by August 25, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 715 h20 daysby September 14, 2027

    • 8. The Darkwar Saga2005 · 820 pages · 15 h
14. BreakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by September 19, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 825 habout 5 weeksby October 22, 2027

    • 9. The Demonwar Saga2009 · ≈ 1,365 pages · 25 h
16. BreakKitchen Confidential · Anthony Bourdain · 320 pp. · score 8.46 h, by November 1, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 926 habout 5 weeksby December 6, 2027

    • 10. The Chaoswar Saga2011 · 1,445 pages · 26 h
18. The end of the series

    December 6, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.