Empires of Dust
#6273.59 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2017–2019 Reading commitment Medium Anna Smith Spark Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
A grimdark secondary-world epic fantasy trilogy, following the collapse of an ancient empire under the weight of magic, war, and the god-touched madness of its own ruling caste.
Grimdark · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Empires of Dust Anna Smith Spark
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Court of Broken Knives | 2017 | 1 | core | 3.42 (2,284 ratings) |
 | The Tower of Living and Dying | 2018 | 2 | core | 3.87 (958 ratings) |
 | The House of Sacrifice | 2019 | 3 | core | 3.79 (606 ratings) |
Completed trilogy; all 3 published by HarperVoyager (UK).
Quick answers
- How many books are in Empires of Dust? Empires of Dust's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Empires of Dust? Publication order, starting with The Court of Broken Knives. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Empires of Dust finished? Complete (2017–2019).
- How much reading does Empires of Dust take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,464 pages).
- How is Empires of Dust ranked? #627 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 3,848 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #627?
Ranked #627 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.59 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (3,848 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.42 to 3.87.
- Less than 0.01 behind #626, The Ayesha Series (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 3 books · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #627 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length grimdark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Court of Broken Knives (2017)
- The Tower of Living and Dying (2018)
- The House of Sacrifice (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)
- David Gemmell Morningstar Award (Best Fantasy Newcomer), 2018: finalist: The Court of Broken Knives; Finalist; the award was won by Kings of the Wyld (Nicholas Eames).
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Empires of Dust and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Empire of the Vampire Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.42
- Ash and Sand Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.30
- The Nevernight Chronicle Dark fantasy / Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.29
- Book of the Ancestor Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.25
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.59 across 3,848 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: Empires of Dust (Anna Smith Spark) admitted accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Anna Smith Spark - Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = all 3 published novels (2017-2019). Completed.