Ironskin
#8413.39 adjusted 3.50 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2012–2014 Reading commitment Low Tina Connolly Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
Ironskin is a completed fantasy trilogy by Tina Connolly that reimagines Jane Eyre in a world recovering from a war against the fey. Survivors of fey curses carry scars that leak dangerous emotional contagion unless masked with iron, and the opening novel, Ironskin (2012), follows Jane Eliot, a young governess who bears such a scar, as she takes a position at a remote estate and becomes entangled with her employer's secrets and his strange, fey-touched daughter. Copperhead (2013) and Silverblind (2014) shift focus to other characters navigating the long aftermath of the fey war as postwar industrial technology and residual fey magic increasingly collide. Ironskin was a finalist for the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel. All three books were traditionally published in print from the start by Tor Books, with no web-serialization origin.
Fairy-tale retelling, Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Ironskin Tina Connolly
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ironskin | 2012 | 1 | core | 3.33 (3,491 ratings) |
 | Copperhead | 2013 | 2 | core | 3.57 (526 ratings) |
 | Silverblind | 2014 | 3 | core | 3.72 (304 ratings) |
Quick answers
- How many books are in Ironskin? Ironskin's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Ironskin? Publication order, starting with Ironskin. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Ironskin finished? Complete (2012–2014).
- How much reading does Ironskin take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~928 pages).
- How is Ironskin ranked? #841 in this site's official ranking, based on 4,321 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #841?
Ranked #841 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.39 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (4,321 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.10 behind #840, The Wolf and the Woodsman.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 3 books · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #841 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Ironskin (2012)
- Copperhead (2013)
- Silverblind (2014)
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)
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2012: finalist: Ironskin; Ironskin
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- The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox Historical fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.39 across 4,321 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Ironskin (Tina Connolly) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Tina Connolly Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon = all three novels of the completed trilogy; no companion or expanded material has been identified.