Das Geheimnis von Askir

#364.35 adjusted 4.33 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 14 books Status Complete 2006–2015 Reading commitment High Richard Schwartz Last reviewed 2026-10-30

Overview

Das Geheimnis von Askir is a German fantasy world created by Richard Schwartz, a pseudonym of a writer born in 1958 in Frankfurt. The first cycle, published by Piper from 2006, follows the aging warrior Havald and the half-elf swordmage Leandra as they search for the lost realm of Askir while the tyrant Kolaron of Thalak and a Necromancer Emperor threaten the lands. Its seven novels were published between 2006 and 2010. The sequel cycle Die Götterkriege, set in the same world with the same central characters, ran from 2011 to 2015 in seven novels and covers the war of the gods. Both cycles are complete.

Epic fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (14 works) counts toward ranking

Das Geheimnis von Askir Richard Schwartz

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Das Erste Horn	2006	1	core	4.09 (2,571 ratings)
	Die Zweite Legion	2007	2	core	4.31 (1,707 ratings)
	Das Auge der Wüste	2007	3	core	4.34 (1,524 ratings)
	Der Herr der Puppen	2008	4	core	4.39 (1,388 ratings)
	Die Feuerinseln	2009	5	core	4.38 (1,304 ratings)
	Die Eule von Askir; First published in May 2009 as a standalone novel; numbered as volume 6 of the cycle since 2015. An uncut edition appeared in 2016.	2009	6	core	4.46 (1,112 ratings)
	Der Kronrat	2010	7	core	4.46 (1,179 ratings)

Seven novels (2006-2010) following Havald and Leandra's search for the lost realm of Askir and the fight against the tyrant of Thalak.

Die Götterkriege Richard Schwartz

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Die Rose von Illian	2011	1	core	4.36 (1,031 ratings)
	Die Weiße Flamme	2012	2	core	4.39 (939 ratings)
	Das blutige Land	2012	3	core	4.50 (933 ratings)
	Die Festung der Titanen	2013	4	core	4.44 (781 ratings)
	Der Inquisitor von Askir; First published in 2014 as a standalone novel about Wiesel; later numbered as volume 5 of Die Götterkriege.	2014	5	core	4.49 (586 ratings)
	Die Macht der Alten	2015	6	core	4.41 (655 ratings)
	Der Wanderer	2015	7	core	4.49 (653 ratings)

Seven novels (2011-2015) continuing the story in the same world, with the war of the gods and the Necromancer Emperor.

Quick answers

• How many books are in Das Geheimnis von Askir? Das Geheimnis von Askir's Core Canon is 14 books.
• What is the reading order for Das Geheimnis von Askir? Publication order, starting with Das Erste Horn. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
• Is Das Geheimnis von Askir finished? Complete (2006–2015).
• How much reading does Das Geheimnis von Askir take? High reading commitment (estimated from 14 Core Canon books).
• How is Das Geheimnis von Askir ranked? #36 in this site's official ranking, based on 16,363 reader ratings across 14 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.

Why is it ranked #36?

Ranked #36 in the official ranking.

• Average reader rating of 4.35 across 14 core books.
• A smaller readership (16,363 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
• Uneven reception: its books range from 4.09 to 4.50.
• Less than 0.01 behind #35, First Law World (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
• Below the top-10 average of 4.46.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Top-tier rated · 14 books · Complete · 16k ratings · Ranks #36 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

Publication order (14 Core Canon books)

1. Das Erste Horn (2006)
2. Das Auge der Wüste (2007)
3. Die Zweite Legion (2007)
4. Der Herr der Puppen (2008)
5. Die Eule von Askir (2009)
6. Die Feuerinseln (2009)
7. Der Kronrat (2010)
8. Die Rose von Illian (2011)
9. Das blutige Land (2012)
10. Die Weiße Flamme (2012)
11. Die Festung der Titanen (2013)
12. Der Inquisitor von Askir (2014)
13. Der Wanderer (2015)
14. Die Macht der Alten (2015)

Documented internal/story order

1. Das Erste Horn (2006)
2. Die Rose von Illian (2011)
3. Die Zweite Legion (2007)
4. Die Weiße Flamme (2012)
5. Das Auge der Wüste (2007)
6. Das blutige Land (2012)
7. Der Herr der Puppen (2008)
8. Die Festung der Titanen (2013)
9. Die Feuerinseln (2009)
10. Der Inquisitor von Askir (2014)
11. Die Eule von Askir (2009)
12. Die Macht der Alten (2015)
13. Der Kronrat (2010)
14. Der Wanderer (2015)

Awards (verified)

• No awards found for this universe.

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• Cosmere Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.46
• Riyria / Legends of the First Empire Sword & sorcery / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.33
• Realm of the Elderlings Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.29
• Malazan Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.27

Official resources

• Publisher series overview (Piper)
• German Wikipedia: author page and bibliography

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.35 across 16,363 ratings on 14 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: Canon Extension: Night Huntress, Kitty Norville, Das Geheimnis von Askir, Die uralte Metropole, Le Bâtard de Kosigan, Erdwelt, L'ultimo elfo and Fireborn accepted 2026-10-30

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

• Piper Verlag: Richard Schwartz series overview Tier 2
• German Wikipedia: Richard Schwartz (Schriftsteller) Tier 2
• Das Geheimnis von Askir series page (reader-rating platform) Tier 2
• Die Götterkriege series page (reader-rating platform) Tier 2
• LovelyBooks: Die Götterkriege series Tier 2
• LovelyBooks: Das Geheimnis von Askir series Tier 2
• LovelyBooks author page Tier 2

Last reviewed: 2026-10-30

Rule: Core Canon = the seven novels of Das Geheimnis von Askir (Das Erste Horn, 2006, to Der Kronrat, 2010) and the seven novels of its sequel cycle Die Götterkriege (Die Rose von Illian, 2011, to Der Wanderer, 2015), all set in the same world. Omnibus editions, the 2016 uncut edition of Die Eule von Askir and unconfirmed other series by the author are excluded.

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