Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash
#6323.86 adjusted 3.86 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2018–2019 Reading commitment Low Tasha Suri Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
Tasha Suri's Empire of Sand duology, comprising Empire of Sand (2018) and Realm of Ash (2019), is a completed secondary-world fantasy inspired by Mughal-era India, published under the collective title The Books of Ambha. The first novel follows Mehr, a woman of mixed heritage whose connection to the ancestral rites of the nomadic Amrithi people makes her a target for the ruling Emperor's mystics, who wish to use her blood and her rites to bind the desert's dreaming gods to imperial service. The second follows a different protagonist, a soldier searching for a sacred realm of the dead tied to the same mythology, expanding the world's cosmology rather than continuing Mehr's own story directly. The duology is a separate, unrelated world from Suri's later, better-known Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms trilogy, and was praised on release for grounding its magic system in specific, non-European ritual and dance traditions.
Epic fantasy, Romantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Books of Ambha Tasha Suri
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Empire of Sand | 2018 | 1 | core | 3.82 (14,179 ratings) |
 | Realm of Ash | 2019 | 2 | core | 3.97 (4,590 ratings) |
Core Canon = both novels of the completed duology (Orbit, 2018-2019). Confirmed a separate, unrelated universe from Suri's The Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms, already in this canon -- different world and characters, confirmed at that admission; both records are cross-referenced as being by the same author.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash? Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash? Publication order, starting with Empire of Sand. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash finished? Complete (2018–2019).
- How much reading does Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~976 pages).
- How is Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash ranked? #632 in this site's official ranking, based on 18,769 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #632?
Ranked #632 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.86 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (18,769 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #631, The Kingston Cycle (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 19k ratings · Ranks #632 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Empire of Sand (2018)
- Realm of Ash (2019)
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)
- British Fantasy Award (Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock)), 2019: nominated: Empire of Sand
- British Fantasy Award (Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer), 2019: won: Empire of Sand
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2019: finalist: Empire of Sand; 7th place, no-cutoff convention.
Related universes
- Same author The Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms: Both by Tasha Suri; confirmed separate, unrelated worlds (; originally noted at ).
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Sandsea Trilogy Epic fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 3.97
- Greenhollow Duology Mythic fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.96
- The Holy Mountain Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Ongoing · Low commitment · 3.95
- Isles of Glory Epic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.94
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.86 across 18,769 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: Empire of Sand / Realm of Ash admitted as a single-author universe; confirmed separate from Suri's Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- sfadb: Tasha Suri Tier 1
- Wikipedia: Tasha Suri Tier 2
- https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tasha-suri/empire-of-sand/9780316449717/
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core Canon = both novels of the completed duology (Orbit, 2018-2019). Confirmed separate from Suri's The Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms, already in this canon, different world and characters, confirmed at that admission.