Dark Swan
#3663.98 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2008–2011 Reading commitment Medium Richelle Mead Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
Dark Swan is Richelle Mead's four-book urban fantasy sequence following Eugenie Markham, a professional shaman and monster hunter who is drawn into the political intrigues of the fae Otherworld after discovering her own royal fae parentage.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
Dark Swan Richelle Mead
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Storm Born | 2008 | 1 | core | 3.89 (33,272 ratings) |
 | Thorn Queen | 2009 | 2 | core | 4.11 (21,883 ratings) |
 | Iron Crowned | 2011 | 3 | core | 4.06 (18,796 ratings) |
 | Shadow Heir | 2011 | 4 | core | 3.87 (14,170 ratings) |
Complete four-book urban fantasy sequence following a shaman and monster-hunter entangled in Otherworld fae politics.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Dark Swan? Dark Swan's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for Dark Swan? Publication order, starting with Storm Born. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Dark Swan finished? Complete (2008–2011).
- How much reading does Dark Swan take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~1,619 pages).
- How is Dark Swan ranked? #366 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 88,121 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #366?
Ranked #366 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.98 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (88,121 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #365, The Halfblood Chronicles (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 4 books · Complete · 88k ratings · Ranks #366 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Storm Born (2008)
- Thorn Queen (2009)
- Iron Crowned (2011)
- Shadow Heir (2011)
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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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.98 across 88,121 ratings on 4 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 Dark Swan (Richelle Mead) accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Dark Swan Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the complete four-novel sequence, Storm Born (2008) through Shadow Heir (2011). This is a confirmed separate, unrelated universe from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, despite sharing an author.