The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Author page

David Farland

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-09-02

David Farland, born John David Wolverton on May 28, 1957, in Springfield, Oregon, grew up on a farm in Monroe after his family relocated when he was six. He attended Monroe High School, then Ricks College before transferring to Brigham Young University, where he met his future wife, Mary; they married in 1985 at the Provo Utah Temple and had five children together. Wolverton worked as a creative writing professor at BYU from 1999 to 2002 and conducted writing workshops for aspiring authors. He also worked in gaming and film, helping develop video games at Saffire Studios beginning in 1998 and working as a movie producer from 2002 onward. His major series is the Runelords books, international bestsellers that reached the New York Times bestseller list, built around a magic system in which people can transfer physical and mental attributes to a chosen ruler. He also wrote "The Courtship of Princess Leia" for the Star Wars expanded universe and the young adult fantasy novel Nightingale. He won the 1987 Writers of the Future contest and received a 2009 Whitney Award for In the Company of Angels; Nightingale won multiple 2012 awards, including the International Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel. He died January 14, 2022, in St. George, Utah, at age 64, following a severe head injury and hemorrhagic stroke.

Universe(s)

The Runelords

  • Core Canon books: 8
  • Current rank: #705 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 3.82
  • Award recognitions: None recorded

Books

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