Dreamhunter Duet
#6753.82 adjusted 3.84 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2005–2007 Reading commitment Low Elizabeth Knox Last reviewed 2026-09-11
Overview
The Dreamhunter Duet is Elizabeth Knox's complete two-book portal fantasy, comprising Dreamhunter (2005) and Dreamquake (2007), published by Fourth Estate in Australia and by Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the United States, with the first volume released in the United Kingdom under the title The Rainbow Opera. Set in an alternate Edwardian-era New Zealand called Southland, the duology imagines certain gifted people, dreamhunters, who can enter an other-dimensional realm known as the Place and bring back dreams to perform for paying audiences at the grand Rainbow Opera. Across the two books, teenage dreamhunter Laura Hame uncovers a corrupt government minister's plot to weaponize dreamhunting against the state's own citizens, forcing her to confront both her family's history within the dreamhunting establishment and the government that controls it. Dreamhunter was named an American Library Association best book of 2007, and Dreamquake was named a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book in 2008.
Portal fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Dreamhunter Duet Elizabeth Knox
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dreamhunter | 2005 | 1 | core | 3.75 (3,826 ratings) |
 | Dreamquake | 2007 | 2 | core | 3.92 (3,004 ratings) |
Complete two-book duology set in an alternate Edwardian-era New Zealand ('Southland'), where certain gifted people can enter 'the Place', an other-dimensional realm, and capture dreams to perform for audiences at the Rainbow Opera.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Dreamhunter Duet? Dreamhunter Duet's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Dreamhunter Duet? Publication order, starting with Dreamhunter. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Dreamhunter Duet finished? Complete (2005–2007).
- How much reading does Dreamhunter Duet take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books).
- How is Dreamhunter Duet ranked? #675 in this site's official ranking, based on 6,830 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #675?
Ranked #675 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.82 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (6,830 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #674, Dilvish, the Damned (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 7k ratings · Ranks #675 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Dreamhunter (2005)
- Dreamquake (2007)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Honours (verified)
- Michael L. Printz Award (Honor Book), 2008: honor: Dreamquake
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.82 across 6,830 ratings on 2 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: Dreamhunter Duet (Elizabeth Knox) accepted 2026-09-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Elizabeth Knox Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Dreamhunter Duet Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11
Rule: Core Canon = both novels of the duology: Dreamhunter (2005) and Dreamquake (2007). No companion or expanded material exists.