Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew
#8952.84 adjusted 3.87 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2007 Reading commitment Low Oliver Plaschka Last reviewed 2026-11-06
Overview
Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew is a standalone German fantasy novel by Oliver Plaschka, first published in 2007 by Feder und Schwert. It follows Gloria, a Washington reporter who travels to Fairwater, a town of canals and stone bridges, to attend the funeral of her old friend Marvin. His body was never found, and she hears that he lived in a dreamlike world of fantastical beings. Her curiosity leads her into the town's secrets. The book won the 2008 Deutscher Phantastik Preis for best German-language debut novel. A revised edition titled Fairwater: Die Spiegel des Mr. Bartholomew was published by Knaur in 2018. Plaschka is a German writer and translator born in 1975.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew Oliver Plaschka
| Cover | Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew; Feder und Schwert, 2007; revised Knaur edition 2018 | 2007 | 1 | core | 2.84 (70 ratings) |
A standalone novel about a reporter investigating a friend's death in the town of Fairwater.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew? Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew finished? Complete (2007).
- How much reading does Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew ranked? #895 in this site's official ranking, based on 70 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #895?
Ranked #895 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 2.84 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (70 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.94 behind #894, Krönikan om den femte konfluxen.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 70 ratings · Ranks #895 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Deutscher Phantastik Preis (Best German-language debut novel), 2008: won: Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Noční klub Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Unfinished · Low commitment · 4.67
- Fool on the Hill Comic fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.10
- American Gods / Anansi Boys Mythic fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.09
- Moonheart / Spiritwalk Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 2.84 across 70 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. 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 (de) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-06
Rule: Core Canon = Fairwater oder die Spiegel des Herrn Bartholomew (2007).