Beasts Made of Night
#6633.31 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2017–2018 Reading commitment Low Tochi Onyebuchi Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
A complete two-book YA fantasy duology set in the walled city of Kos, a world drawing on Nigerian folklore. Kos is a city of the pious and the corrupt alike, kept clean of sin only because aki (children marked with keloid scars, cast out to the city's slums) draw the physical sins of nobles and priests into their own bodies as sin-beasts. Taj, one of the best aki in the city, is pulled into a conspiracy that reaches the royal family itself when he eats a sin far larger and stranger than any he's faced before.
Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Beasts Made of Night Tochi Onyebuchi
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Beasts Made of Night | 2017 | 1 | core | 3.26 (5,393 ratings) |
 | Crown of Thunder | 2018 | 2 | core | 3.56 (1,202 ratings) |
Complete YA fantasy duology set in the walled city of Kos, where sin-eaters called aki draw the physical sins of others into their own bodies as sin-beasts. Confirmed a separate, unrelated universe from Tochi Onyebuchi's Harmattan Season.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Beasts Made of Night? Beasts Made of Night's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Beasts Made of Night? Publication order, starting with Beasts Made of Night. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Beasts Made of Night finished? Complete (2017–2018).
- How much reading does Beasts Made of Night take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~607 pages).
- How is Beasts Made of Night ranked? #663 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 6,595 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #663?
Ranked #663 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.31 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (6,595 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #662, The Dreamers.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 2 books · Complete · 7k ratings · Ranks #663 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Beasts Made of Night (2017)
- Crown of Thunder (2018)
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)
- Nommo Award (Novel), 2018: won: Beasts Made of Night; Nommo Award for Novel by an African, 2018.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.31 across 6,595 ratings on 2 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 Beasts Made of Night (Tochi Onyebuchi) accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31
Rule: Core Canon = both novels: Beasts Made of Night (2017) and Crown of Thunder (2018), the complete duology.