Deerskin
#4053.94 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1993 Reading commitment Low Robin McKinley Last reviewed 2026-08-15
Overview
A dark retelling of Charles Perrault's "Donkeyskin" ("Peau d'Ane"): Lissar flees her father's kingdom after his attempt to force her into marriage, and finds refuge, healing, and a new identity in a neighbouring land with the help of a moon goddess and her loyal dog, Ash. Robin McKinley's third universe in this canon (alongside The Chronicles of Damar and Sunshine; confirmed a wholly separate, unnamed generic-kingdom setting with no shared characters or continuity with either).
Fairy-tale retelling, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Deerskin (1993) core · 3.94 (24,656 ratings); A dark retelling of Charles Perrault's "Donkeyskin"/"Peau d'Ane": Lissar flees her father's kingdom after his attempted forced marriage, aided by a moon goddess and her dog Ash.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Deerskin? Deerskin's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Deerskin finished? Complete (1993).
- How much reading does Deerskin take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~384 pages).
- How is Deerskin ranked? #405 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 24,656 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #405?
Ranked #405 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.94 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (24,656 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #404, The River Has Roots (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 25k ratings · Ranks #405 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Adult Literature), 1994: finalist: Deerskin; Confirmed directly via mythsoc.org's own Mythopoeic Fantasy Award finalists page: a 1994 finalist alongside The Innkeeper's Song (Beagle) and The Cygnet and the Firebird (McKillip); lost to The Porcelain Dove (Sherman).
Related universes
- Same author The Chronicles of Damar: Both created by Robin McKinley. Deerskin (a dark, unnamed generic-kingdom fairy-tale retelling) was confirmed a wholly separate setting from The Chronicles of Damar (an invented desert-fantasy world) at Deerskin's own admission, no shared characters or continuity.
- Same author Sunshine: Both created by Robin McKinley. Deerskin (a dark, unnamed generic-kingdom fairy-tale retelling) was confirmed a wholly separate setting from Sunshine (a contemporary vampire setting) at Deerskin's own admission, no shared characters or continuity.
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Suggestions computed from what Deerskin 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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- The Library at Mount Char Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.05
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.94 across 24,656 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Deerskin admitted; Robin McKinley's 3rd universe accepted 2026-08-15
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Deerskin (novel) Tier 2
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Single-novel registration, same category as Thomas the Rhymer/The Once and Future King: one continuous standalone story (1993) with no sequel.