Graceling
core novel 2008 Graceling Realm
Record
| First published | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.06 (484,565 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780152063962 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The first novel of the Graceling Realm is set in the Seven Kingdoms, a world where certain people called Gracelings are born with extraordinary, often dangerous abilities marked by mismatched eyes, and are typically forced into service for their rulers. Katsa, marked by one green eye and one blue, has a Grace for killing and has served as her uncle King Randa's enforcer since childhood, carrying out his punishments even as she secretly leads the Council, a group of allies working covertly for justice across the kingdoms. During a Council mission to rescue an elderly prisoner, Katsa crosses paths with a mysterious Graced warrior named Prince Po, and the two gradually uncover that King Leck of Monsea, publicly admired for his benevolence, has committed terrible crimes while wielding a dangerous Grace that lets him manipulate others through his words.
Where it sits
- Universe: Graceling Realm
- Series: Graceling Realm core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Kristin Cashore
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Children's Literature), 2009: won; Confirmed directly via mythsoc.org's own 2009 awards page: "Kristin Cashore, Graceling (Harcourt Children's Books)" is marked as the category winner.
Notes
- From the series record (Graceling Realm): A young-adult secondary-world fantasy sequence about people born with a superhuman 'Grace' in a single specialized skill. Fire (2009) is a prequel set ~35 years before Graceling, in the neighboring land of the Dells; Bitterblue (2012) is a direct sequel to Graceling; Winterkeep (2021) and Seasparrow (2022) continue Bitterblue's story further north. Each book is independently readable per the author's own site, but all 5 share one continuous world and are registered as one universe. No 6th book has been announced; treated as a completed 5-book sequence.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Graceling Realm: position 1 of 5: next Fire (2009)
Sources
- Wikipedia: Graceling
- Kristin Cashore (author site): Announcing Seasparrow, Graceling Realm Book #5
- The Mythopoeic Society: Mythopoeic Awards 2009
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