The Riftwar Saga reading order

A plan for the whole series

4 volumes, 1,886 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

• Readers scored volume 2, “Silverthorn”, below its predecessor (8.0 after 8.2). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 3 the form returns.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 22, 2026, 8 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 19 h13 daysby November 11, 2026

   • 1. Magician1982 · 518 pages · 9 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 15, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 217 habout 3 weeksby December 7, 2026

   • 1.2. Magician: Master1982 · 507 pages · 9 h
   • 2. Silverthorn1985 · 413 pages · 8 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 11, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 38 h11 daysby December 22, 2026

   • 3. A Darkness at Sethanon1986 · 448 pages · 8 h
6. The end of the series

   December 22, 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: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.3 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: Magician: Master (8.2, 257 ratings). Weakest: Silverthorn (8.0). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.2) scores close to the series average or above it.