Cities of the Weft
#8053.60 adjusted 3.66 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2020–2025 Reading commitment Medium Alex Pheby Last reviewed 2026-08-19
Overview
Cities of the Weft is Alex Pheby's dark, New Weird-inflected fantasy trilogy, following the boy Nathan Treeves out of the ruined, magic-poisoned city of Mordew, where reality itself is said to be woven from a substance called the Weft, and into the stranger territories beyond it, discovering abilities that rival those of the powerful figures who rule the cities he encounters. The trilogy comprises Mordew (2020), Malarkoi (2022), and Waterblack (2025), one continuous story under a single credited author throughout. Critics have compared its dense, gothic inventiveness to Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels and to Dickens, praising the opening volume in particular as dark, absorbing, and dream-haunting.
New Weird · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Cities of the Weft Alex Pheby
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mordew | 2020 | 1 | core | 3.58 (4,782 ratings) |
 | Malarkoi | 2022 | 2 | core | 3.67 (826 ratings) |
 | Waterblack | 2025 | 3 | core | 3.84 (275 ratings) |
A complete New Weird-inflected dark fantasy trilogy following the boy Nathan Treeves through the ruined city of Mordew and beyond. Mordew (2020) was named a Book of the Year by The Guardian, Tor.com, and Locus; the trilogy concluded with Waterblack in 2025.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Cities of the Weft? Cities of the Weft's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Cities of the Weft? Publication order, starting with Mordew. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Cities of the Weft finished? Complete (2020–2025).
- How much reading does Cities of the Weft take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,159 pages).
- How is Cities of the Weft ranked? #805 in this site's official ranking, based on 5,883 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #805?
Ranked #805 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.60 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (5,883 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #804, Deepgate Codex.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 3 books · Complete · 6k ratings · Ranks #805 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length New Weird universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Mordew (2020)
- Malarkoi (2022)
- Waterblack (2025)
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.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Cities of the Weft and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Locked Tomb Dark fantasy / New Weird · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.23
- The Lord of the Ice Garden Epic fantasy / New Weird · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.20
- The Books of Babel New Weird · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.20
- Bas-Lag / New Crobuzon New Weird · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.00
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.60 across 5,883 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: Cities of the Weft (Alex Pheby) admitted; complete 3-book dark-fantasy trilogy accepted 2026-08-19
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Cities of the Weft Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Mordew Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-19
Rule: All three novels are Core Canon: a single continuous narrative by one credited author, with no separate Expanded Canon material to split off.