Fly By Night
#5733.89 adjusted 3.90 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2005–2011 Reading commitment Low Frances Hardinge Last reviewed 2026-10-14
Overview
Fly By Night is a completed two-book duology by Frances Hardinge, already credited in this canon for Cuckoo Song. Set in the Fractured Realms, a world under strict control of the printing press and the written word, it follows twelve-year-old Mosca Mye, who flees her village with the con-man and poet Eponymous Clent and her vicious pet goose, Saracen. In the city of Mandelion she becomes entangled in guild politics, a smuggling-linked murder, and a conspiracy that triggers a regime change.
Comic fantasy, Historical fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Fly By Night Frances Hardinge
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fly By Night | 2005 | 1 | core | 3.78 (7,687 ratings) |
 | Twilight Robbery | 2011 | 2 | core | 4.28 (2,190 ratings) |
UK titles; published in the US as Fly By Night (2006, HarperCollins) and Fly Trap (2011, HarperCollins).
Quick answers
- How many books are in Fly By Night? Fly By Night's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Fly By Night? Publication order, starting with Fly By Night. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Fly By Night finished? Complete (2005–2011).
- How much reading does Fly By Night take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,009 pages).
- How is Fly By Night ranked? #573 in this site's official ranking, based on 9,877 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #573?
Ranked #573 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.89 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (9,877 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.78 to 4.28.
- 0.01 behind #572, Saga of the Unfated.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 10k ratings · Ranks #573 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment comic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Fly By Night (2005)
- Twilight Robbery (2011)
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)
- Branford Boase Award, 2006: won: Fly By Night
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.89 across 9,877 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: Fly By Night admitted accepted 2026-09-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-21
Rule: Core Canon is both books of the completed duology: Fly By Night (2005) and Twilight Robbery (2011, published in the US as Fly Trap).