Xanth reading order

A plan for the whole series

47 volumes, 15,229 pages, about 280 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 12 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 4, “Centaur Aisle” (by 26%). Plan your break after volume 3, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2022. 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 28, 2028, about 3 months later than in one go.

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

   • 1. A Spell for Chameleon1977 · 344 pages · 6 h
   • 2. The Source of Magic1979 · 326 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Castle Roogna1979 · 329 pages · 6 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 2, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 217 habout 3 weeksby December 24, 2026

   • 4. Centaur Aisle1982 · 304 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Ogre, Ogre1982 · 307 pages · 6 h
   • 6. Night Mare1983 · 307 pages · 6 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 28, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 317 habout 3 weeksby January 20, 2027

   • 7. Dragon on a Pedestal1983 · 306 pages · 6 h
   • 8. Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn1984 · 309 pages · 6 h
   • 9. Golem in the Gears1986 · 327 pages · 6 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 418 habout 4 weeksby February 18, 2027

   • 10. Vale of the Vole1987 · 324 pages · 6 h
   • 11. Heaven Cent1988 · 324 pages · 6 h
   • 12. Man from Mundania1989 · 361 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by February 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 519 habout 4 weeksby March 20, 2027

   • 13. Isle of View1990 · 344 pages · 6 h
   • 14. Question Quest1991 · 368 pages · 7 h
   • 15. The Color of Her Panties1992 · 342 pages · 6 h
10. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by March 29, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 619 habout 4 weeksby April 23, 2027

    • 16. Demons Don't Dream1993 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 17. Harpy Thyme1994 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 18. Geis of the Gargoyle1995 · 320 pages · 6 h
12. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by April 27, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 718 habout 3 weeksby May 20, 2027

    • 19. Roc and a Hard Place1995 · 319 pages · 6 h
    • 20. Yon Ill Wind1996 · 320 pages · 6 h
    • 21. Faun & Games1997 · 320 pages · 6 h
14. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by May 25, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 813 h18 daysby June 12, 2027

    • 22. Zombie Lover1998 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 23. Xone of Contention1999 · 384 pages · 7 h
16. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by June 15, 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

    • 24. The Dastard2000 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 25. Swell Foop2001 · 342 pages · 6 h
    • 26. Up in a Heaval2002 · 348 pages · 6 h
18. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by July 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1019 habout 4 weeksby August 16, 2027

    • 27. Cube Route2003 · 368 pages · 7 h
    • 28. Currant Events2004 · 336 pages · 6 h
    • 29. Pet Peeve2005 · 332 pages · 6 h
20. BreakJames · Percival Everett · 320 pp. · score 8.76 h, by August 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1118 habout 3 weeksby September 19, 2027

    • 30. Stork Naked2006 · 352 pages · 6 h
    • 31. Air Apparent2007 · 320 pages · 6 h
    • 32. Two to the Fifth2008 · 304 pages · 6 h
22. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by September 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1219 habout 4 weeksby October 17, 2027

    • 33. Jumper Cable2009 · 320 pages · 6 h
    • 34. Knot Gneiss2010 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 35. Well-Tempered Clavicle2011 · 321 pages · 6 h
24. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by October 21, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 1318 habout 3 weeksby November 14, 2027

    • 36. Luck of the Draw2012 · 375 pages · 7 h
    • 37. Esrever Doom2013 · ≈ 324 pages · 6 h
    • 38. Board Stiff2013 · 284 pages · 5 h
26. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by November 19, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
27. 14
    Stage 1416 habout 3 weeksby December 10, 2027

    • 39. Five Portraits2014 · 268 pages · 5 h
    • 40. Isis Orb2016 · 298 pages · 5 h
    • 41. Ghost Writer in the Sky2017 · 300 pages · 6 h
28. Short breakThe Richest Man in Babylon · George Samuel Clason · 124 pp. · score 8.02 h, by December 14, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
29. 15
    Stage 1517 habout 3 weeksby January 5, 2028

    • 42. Fire Sail2019 · 296 pages · 5 h
    • 43. Jest Right2020 · 298 pages · 5 h
    • 44. Skeleton Key2021 · 310 pages · 6 h
30. Short breakMuch Ado About Nothing · William Shakespeare · 160 pp. · score 8.03 h, by January 10, 2028. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
31. 16
    Stage 1613 h18 daysby January 28, 2028

    • 45. A Tryst of Fate2021 · ≈ 324 pages · 6 h
    • 46. Six Crystal Princesses2022 · 200 pages · 4 h
    • 47. Apoca Lips · 200 pages · 4 h
32. The end of the series

    January 28, 2028

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.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.2 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: Night Mare (7.7, 76 ratings). Weakest: A Spell for Chameleon (7.5). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 3 and 4: 26%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2022. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.