Fathomfolk
#8453.21 adjusted 3.32 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2024–present Reading commitment Low Eliza Chan Last reviewed 2026-08-28
Overview
Fathomfolk is an ongoing secondary-world fantasy series by Eliza Chan, beginning with Fathomfolk (2024) and continuing with Tideborn (2025). Set in the flooded coastal city of Ea, where rising seas have forced humans and water-dwelling folk into an uneasy shared existence, the series follows sirens, water dragons, and other "fathomfolk" who are legally confined to the city's submerged lower districts and denied the rights granted to the human population above the waterline. Its central figures include Mira, a half-siren enforcer caught between the human authorities she serves and the fathomfolk community she was born into, and Nami, an idealistic water dragon whose activism threatens to upend the city's fragile order. Chan draws on East and Southeast Asian mythology, including Chinese dragon lore and Malaysian and Scottish water-spirit traditions from her own background, to build Ea's caste system and its folklore. No further volume had been confirmed as of this research pass.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Fathomfolk Eliza Chan
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fathomfolk | 2024 | 1 | core | 3.14 (4,921 ratings) |
 | Tideborn | 2025 | 2 | core | 3.65 (744 ratings) |
An ongoing secondary-world fantasy series set in the flooded city of Ea, following water-spirit and siren "fathomfolk" navigating prejudice among humans; no further volume was confirmed as of this research pass.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Fathomfolk? Fathomfolk's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Fathomfolk? Publication order, starting with Fathomfolk. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Fathomfolk finished? Ongoing (2024–present).
- How much reading does Fathomfolk take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~832 pages).
- How is Fathomfolk ranked? #845 in this site's official ranking, based on 5,665 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #845?
Ranked #845 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.21 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (5,665 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.14 to 3.65.
- 0.12 behind #844, The Dreamers.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 6k ratings · Ranks #845 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Fathomfolk (2024)
- Tideborn (2025)
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 (Best Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock Award)), 2025: nominated: Fathomfolk; Shortlisted alongside the eventual winner, Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi. Same sourcing note as the Masquerade win: the award body's own site was not reachable for this research pass; corroborated instead against a dedicated awards-tracking database's year page.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.21 across 5,665 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: Admit Fathomfolk (Eliza Chan) accepted 2026-08-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Series listing on the project's rating platform, Drowned World by Eliza Chan Tier 1
- Books from Scotland, author page for Eliza Chan Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-28
Rule: All published novels in the main sequence are Core Canon; no companion or expanded material has been published yet.