Erdwelt

#9843.75 adjusted 3.81 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 14 books Status Complete 2006–2024 Reading commitment High Michael Peinkofer Last reviewed 2026-10-30

Overview

Erdwelt is the fantasy world of the German author Michael Peinkofer, born in 1969. It is inhabited by humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves and orcs. The humorous Orks series follows the orc brothers Balbok and Rammar, beginning with Die Rückkehr der Orks in 2006 and running to eight novels. Die Zauberer (three novels, from 2009) follows the young wizard novices Alannah, Aldur and Granock, and Die Könige (three novels, from 2013) brings human heroes together with the two orcs against a dark king. The old wizard Rurak and the dark elf Margok link the Orks and Zauberer books. The final Orks novel appeared in 2024 and is billed as the finale.

Epic fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (14 works) counts toward ranking

Orks Michael Peinkofer

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Die Rückkehr der Orks	2006	1	core	3.69 (448 ratings)
	Der Schwur der Orks	2007	2	core	3.72 (255 ratings)
	Das Gesetz der Orks	2008	3	core	3.72 (164 ratings)
	Die Herrschaft der Orks; First printed by Piper in March 2013 as a softcover; the 2015 Piper Taschenbuch (978-3-492-28007-5) is a later reissue.	2013	4	core	3.82 (100 ratings)
	Die Ehre der Orks	2016	5	core	3.92 (39 ratings)
	Die Welt der Orks	2022	6	core	3.96 (25 ratings)
	Das Blut der Orks	2023	7	core	3.69 (13 ratings)
	Die Krone der Orks	2024	8	core	3.98 (11 ratings)

Humorous adventures of the orc brothers Balbok and Rammar.

Die Zauberer Michael Peinkofer

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Die Zauberer; Piper's original 2009 paperback edition (Broschiert).	2009	1	core	3.71 (531 ratings)
	Die Zauberer – Die erste Schlacht; Piper's original 2010 paperback edition; the 2011 Piper Taschenbuch is 978-3-492-26813-4.	2010	2	core	3.73 (328 ratings)
	Die Zauberer – Das dunkle Feuer; Piper's original 2010 paperback edition (Broschiert).	2010	3	core	3.83 (247 ratings)

Three young wizard novices train and face the dark elf Margok.

Die Könige Michael Peinkofer

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Orknacht; Reissued in 2017 under the title Die Könige. Original 2013 Piper edition; the 2017 Piper Taschenbuch is 978-3-492-28001-3.	2013	1	core	3.98 (48 ratings)
	Kampf der Könige	2014	2	core	3.89 (35 ratings)
	Sieg der Könige	2015	3	core	4.05 (22 ratings)

Humans and the orcs Balbok and Rammar fight a dark king and the destruction of Erdwelt.

Quick answers

• How many books are in Erdwelt? Erdwelt's Core Canon is 14 books.
• What is the reading order for Erdwelt? Publication order, starting with Die Rückkehr der Orks. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
• Is Erdwelt finished? Complete (2006–2024).
• How much reading does Erdwelt take? High reading commitment (estimated from 14 Core Canon books).
• How is Erdwelt ranked? #984 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,266 reader ratings across 14 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.

Why is it ranked #984?

Ranked #984 in the official ranking.

• Average reader rating of 3.75 across 14 core books.
• A smaller readership (2,266 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
• 0.05 behind #983, The Grey Land.
• Below the top-10 average of 4.46.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Rated · 14 books · Complete · 2k ratings · Ranks #984 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

Publication order (14 Core Canon books)

1. Die Rückkehr der Orks (2006)
2. Der Schwur der Orks (2007)
3. Das Gesetz der Orks (2008)
4. Die Zauberer (2009)
5. Die Zauberer – Das dunkle Feuer (2010)
6. Die Zauberer – Die erste Schlacht (2010)
7. Die Herrschaft der Orks (2013)
8. Orknacht (2013)
9. Kampf der Könige (2014)
10. Sieg der Könige (2015)
11. Die Ehre der Orks (2016)
12. Die Welt der Orks (2022)
13. Das Blut der Orks (2023)
14. Die Krone der Orks (2024)

Documented internal/story order

1. Die Rückkehr der Orks (2006)
2. Die Zauberer (2009)
3. Orknacht (2013)
4. Der Schwur der Orks (2007)
5. Die Zauberer – Die erste Schlacht (2010)
6. Kampf der Könige (2014)
7. Das Gesetz der Orks (2008)
8. Die Zauberer – Das dunkle Feuer (2010)
9. Sieg der Könige (2015)
10. Die Herrschaft der Orks (2013)
11. Die Ehre der Orks (2016)
12. Die Welt der Orks (2022)
13. Das Blut der Orks (2023)
14. Die Krone der Orks (2024)

Awards (verified)

• No awards found for this universe.

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Suggestions computed from what Erdwelt and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

• Darkover Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.89
• The King's Blades Sword & sorcery / Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.86
• Dragonrealm Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 3.86
• Empire of the East / Swords Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.83

Official resources

• Author site
• Orks series at Knaur

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.75 across 2,266 ratings on 14 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: Night Huntress, Kitty Norville, Das Geheimnis von Askir, Die uralte Metropole, Le Bâtard de Kosigan, Erdwelt, L'ultimo elfo and Fireborn accepted 2026-10-30

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

• Author site biography Tier 2
• German Wikipedia: Die Rückkehr der Orks Tier 2
• German Wikipedia: Michael Peinkofer Tier 2
• Knaur Orks series Tier 2
• Piper: Die Zauberer 2 Tier 2
• Fantasyguide Peinkofer Tier 2
• Reader-ratings series page, Orks Tier 2
• Reader-ratings series page, Erdwelt Tier 2

Last reviewed: 2026-10-30

Rule: Core Canon = the fourteen Erdwelt novels by Michael Peinkofer: the eight Orks novels (Die Rückkehr der Orks, 2006, to Die Krone der Orks, 2024), the three Die Zauberer novels (2009-2010) and the three Die Könige novels (2013-2015). Omnibus editions, the companion handbook and the author's other series are excluded.

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