Darwath
#2844.03 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1982–1983 Reading commitment Medium Barbara Hambly Last reviewed 2026-08-12
Overview
Barbara Hambly's portal fantasy: two modern-day academics are pulled through a gate into a dying secondary world under siege by the Dark, ancient subterranean predators. This dossier covers only the original 1982-1983 trilogy.
Portal fantasy, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Darwath Barbara Hambly
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Time of the Dark | 1982 | 1 | core | 3.98 (5,716 ratings) |
 | The Walls of Air | 1983 | 2 | core | 4.06 (3,428 ratings) |
 | The Armies of Daylight | 1983 | 3 | core | 4.09 (3,618 ratings) |
The original, complete, self-contained Darwath trilogy. Hambly later added 2 further novels (Icefalcon's Quest 1995, Mother of Winter 1996) plus several 2015-2018 novelettes set in the same world -- deliberately not researched or registered, out of scope for now.
Library / Expanded (5 works)
Darwath (later novels) Barbara Hambly
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mother of Winter | 1996 | 4 | N/A | |
 | Icefalcon's Quest | 1998 | 5 | N/A |
2 further novels continuing the story after the original trilogy -- Mother of Winter is set 5 years after the trilogy's events, Icefalcon's Quest 2 years after that. Registered Expanded Canon.
Darwath novelettes Barbara Hambly
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretty Polly | 2015 | 6 | N/A | ||
| Whisper | 2015 | 7 | N/A | ||
 | Elsewhere | 2017 | 8 | N/A |
3 self-published novelettes continuing the story of Ingold Inglorion and Gil Patterson at the Keep of Dare, after Mother of Winter/Icefalcon's Quest. Registered Expanded Canon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Darwath? Darwath's Core Canon is 3 books, plus 5 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Darwath? Publication order, starting with The Time of the Dark. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Darwath finished? Complete (1982–1983).
- How much reading does Darwath take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Darwath ranked? #284 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 12,762 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #284?
Ranked #284 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.03 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (12,762 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.11 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #283, Chrestomanci (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #284 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Time of the Dark (1982)
- The Armies of Daylight (1983)
- The Walls of Air (1983)
Documented internal/story order
- The Time of the Dark (1982)
- The Walls of Air (1983)
- The Armies of Daylight (1983)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
Related universes
- Same author Winterlands: Both created by Barbara Hambly. Darwath was confirmed a separate setting from Winterlands at that universe's own admission, a portal-fantasy premise vs. Winterlands' secondary-world dragon/wizardry setting (Jenny Waynest, Lord John Aversin), no shared characters or continuity.
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Suggestions computed from what Darwath and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Dragon Prince Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.06
- Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.02
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.03 across 12,762 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: Darwath admitted; Core Canon = the original trilogy only (1982-1983) accepted 2026-08-12
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12
Rule: Core = ONLY the original trilogy (1982-1983): The Time of the Dark, The Walls of Air, The Armies of Daylight. Expanded = Mother of Winter (1996), Icefalcon's Quest (1998), and the 3 novelettes Pretty Polly, Whisper, and Elsewhere (2015-2017).