The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Author page

Melissa Caruso

2 universes Last reviewed 2026-08-26

Melissa Caruso is an American fantasy author, self-described tea drinker, larper, and mother, who lives in Massachusetts with her husband, a video game designer, their two daughters, and their pets. She is best known for two interconnected fantasy trilogies set in the same world: Swords and Fire, beginning with The Tethered Mage, which follows the politically fraught relationship between a noblewoman bound by duty and a powerful, magically Falconer-bound mage in the Raverran Empire; and Rooks and Ruin, beginning with The Obsidian Tower, which centers on a young woman cursed to destroy anything she touches with magic who must guard an ancient, dangerous door. Caruso's debut novel earned a shortlist nomination for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award, recognizing outstanding fantasy debuts. She later published the acclaimed standalone novel The Last Hour Between Worlds, a time-bending mystery-fantasy that was selected as one of the best books of the year by numerous prestigious outlets, including People magazine, NPR, Reactor, and Book Riot. Caruso has built a reputation within the fantasy genre for richly political worldbuilding, morally complex heroines, and intricate magic systems, establishing herself as an internationally bestselling author across her growing body of work.

Universe(s)

The Echo Archives

  • Core Canon books: 2
  • Current rank: #626 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 3.86
  • Award recognitions: None recorded

Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin

  • Core Canon books: 6
  • Current rank: #375 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 4.02
  • Award recognitions: None recorded

Books

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

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