Ephemera
#6093.96 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2006–2012 Reading commitment Medium Anne Bishop Last reviewed 2026-11-06
Overview
Ephemera, also called the Landscapes of Ephemera, is a fantasy series by Anne Bishop, published in the United States by Roc. It comprises three novels, Sebastian (2006), Belladonna (2007) and Bridge of Dreams (2012), plus the novella The Voice (2012). Sebastian centres on an incubus of that name, the child of a succubus and a wizard, and on his cousin Glorianna Belladonna, who creates a place called the Den of Iniquity where demons can live. The author's website recommends reading the novels in publication order.
Portal fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Ephemera Anne Bishop
| Cover | Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sebastian; US first edition hardback, Roc, 7 February 2006 | 2006 | 1 | core | 3.90 (10,418 ratings) |
 | Belladonna | 2007 | 2 | core | 3.99 (8,084 ratings) |
 | Bridge of Dreams; Listed as March 2012 on the author's site | 2012 | 3 | core | 4.05 (4,175 ratings) |
Three novels set in the Landscapes of Ephemera, beginning with Sebastian.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Ephemera? Ephemera's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Ephemera? Publication order, starting with Sebastian. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Ephemera finished? Complete (2006–2012).
- How much reading does Ephemera take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Ephemera ranked? #609 in this site's official ranking, based on 22,677 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #609?
Ranked #609 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (22,677 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.15 of each other.
- 0.01 behind #608, The Deathless.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 23k ratings · Ranks #609 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Sebastian (2006)
- Belladonna (2007)
- Bridge of Dreams (2012)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Ephemera and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Wounded Kingdom Dark fantasy / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.07
- The Coldfire Trilogy Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.06
- The Watch Series Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.05
- Ninth House (Alex Stern) Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.03
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 22,677 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: Canon Extension: 13 universes from the candidate register (El libro de Nobac to The Broken Blades); 6 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-06
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Anne Bishop official site Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-06
Rule: Core Canon = Sebastian (2006), Belladonna (2007), Bridge of Dreams (2012).