City of Dragons
core novel 2012 Realm of the Elderlings
Record
| First published | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.10 (44,498 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| Page count | 334 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780061561634 |
| First-edition date | 2012-02-07 |
| First-edition publisher | Harper Voyager |
| First-edition country | US |
Synopsis
The expedition finally reaches the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra, only to find that their difficulties intensify rather than ease once they arrive at its half-ruined gates. The city holds buried secrets from a civilization long vanished, and the keepers and their dragons must begin to unlock them in order to survive and eventually thrive in a place that was never meant to stand empty for so many centuries. Meanwhile, outside forces back in the Rain Wilds and Bingtown, drawn by rumors of dragons and ancient Elderling magic and treasure, begin turning their attention toward Kelsingra, complicating the keepers' fragile new foothold in the city and testing the loyalties within their small, mismatched community.
Where it sits
- Universe: Realm of the Elderlings
- Series: Rain Wild Chronicles core; position 3 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Robin Hobb
Notes
- First English edition 2012 (US Harper Voyager Feb 7, UK spring 2012). The Dutch translation 'Drakenstad' (Oct 2011) preceded the English original, the source of '2011' claims. Resolved 2026-08-05.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Rain Wild Chronicles: position 3 of 4: previous Dragon Haven (2010) · next Blood of Dragons (2013)
Sources
← Realm of the Elderlings dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.