Fool on the Hill
#2574.10 adjusted 4.08 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1988 Reading commitment Low Matt Ruff Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Overview
Matt Ruff's first novel, Fool on the Hill (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988), written while he was a student at Cornell, reimagines the Cornell campus and the city of Ithaca as the centre of a violent and funny modern-day fairy tale of a young writer, a sorceress, dragons and invisible sprites. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction notes its debts to models from John Crowley to Thomas Pynchon. It was a finalist for the 1990 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.
Comic fantasy, Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Fool on the Hill Matt Ruff
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fool on the Hill | 1988 | 1 | core | 4.10 (4,963 ratings) |
Matt Ruff's standalone first novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Fool on the Hill? Fool on the Hill's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Fool on the Hill finished? Complete (1988).
- How much reading does Fool on the Hill take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Fool on the Hill ranked? #257 in this site's official ranking, based on 4,963 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #257?
Ranked #257 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.10 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (4,963 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #256, Nampeshiweisit (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 5k ratings · Ranks #257 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
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award, 1990: finalist: Fool on the Hill
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Suggestions computed from what Fool on the Hill and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox Historical fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
- Moonheart / Spiritwalk Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- The Sixth World Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.02
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.10 across 4,963 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: Corbenic (Catherine Fisher), Fool on the Hill (Matt Ruff) accepted 2026-10-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Publishers Weekly: Fool on the Hill review (1988) Tier 2
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Ruff, Matt Tier 2
- Mythopoeic Society (final ballots) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Rule: Core Canon = Fool on the Hill (1988), a standalone novel.