All Souls Universe
#2564.08 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Ongoing 2011–present Reading commitment Medium Deborah Harkness Last reviewed 2026-10-16
Overview
The All Souls Universe is a paranormal-historical romance/fantasy series by American historian Deborah Harkness, beginning with the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches (2011). It follows Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch and Oxford historian, and Matthew Clairmont, a centuries-old vampire geneticist, as they investigate a lost, bewitched alchemical manuscript. The original trilogy concluded in 2014; two further novels followed in 2018 and 2024. A Discovery of Witches debuted at number two on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list and has been sold in at least thirty-four countries, and its sequel, Shadow of Night, became an even bigger seller, reaching number one on the same list. Sky One in the UK adapted the trilogy into a television series beginning in September 2018, with Harkness as an executive producer, running across three seasons through early 2022 and corresponding to each of the original trilogy's volumes. Harkness received the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award in 2018 for her work on the series.
Historical fantasy, Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
All Souls Trilogy Deborah Harkness
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Discovery of Witches | 2011 | 1 | core | 4.02 (569,928 ratings) |
 | Shadow of Night | 2012 | 2 | core | 4.08 (278,074 ratings) |
 | The Book of Life | 2014 | 3 | core | 4.21 (224,405 ratings) |
Original trilogy; all three volumes were New York Times bestsellers.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
All Souls Sequence Deborah Harkness
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Time's Convert | 2018 | 4 | 3.84 (37,058 ratings) | |
 | The Black Bird Oracle | 2024 | 5 | 4.06 (42,275 ratings) |
Continuation novels published after the original trilogy concluded; kept Expanded per this project's convention that a later author-driven continuation beyond a completed original trilogy is classified separately from the Core work.
Quick answers
- How many books are in All Souls Universe? All Souls Universe's Core Canon is 3 books, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for All Souls Universe? Publication order, starting with A Discovery of Witches. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is All Souls Universe finished? Ongoing (2011–present).
- How much reading does All Souls Universe take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is All Souls Universe ranked? #256 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,072,407 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #256?
Ranked #256 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.08 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 1.1M reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #255, Serafina (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Ongoing · 1.1M ratings · Ranks #256 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length historical fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- A Discovery of Witches (2011)
- Shadow of Night (2012)
- The Book of Life (2014)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what All Souls Universe and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Merlin Trilogy Historical fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.16
- Warrior Bards Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.15
- Bridei Chronicles Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.12
- The Checquy Files Urban fantasy / Comic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.10
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.08 across 1,072,407 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit All Souls Universe (Deborah Harkness) accepted 2026-09-04
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-04
Rule: Core Canon is the original three-book trilogy (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life), all New York Times bestsellers published 2011-2014 as one continuous story. The later continuation novels (Time's Convert, The Black Bird Oracle), published years after the trilogy concluded, are classified Expanded Canon.