Kencyrath
#564.28 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 10 books Status Ongoing 1982–present Reading commitment High P.C. Hodgell Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
A god-touched thief named Jame stumbles into the ancient, decaying city of Tai-tastigon with no memory of how she got there, and is slowly drawn back into the affairs of her own people, the Kencyrath: three-fold warriors, priests and scholars bound by an ancient oath to fight the entropy-god Perimal Darkling across a chain of ruined worlds. The series mixes picaresque city-adventure in its early volumes with a slow-burn epic about honor, family, and the weight of a millennia-old war.
Epic fantasy, Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (10 works) counts toward ranking
Kencyrath (main sequence) P.C. Hodgell
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | God Stalk | 1982 | 1 | core | 4.18 (1,133 ratings) |
 | Dark of the Moon | 1985 | 2 | core | 4.21 (1,073 ratings) |
 | Seeker's Mask | 1994 | 3 | core | 4.23 (954 ratings) |
 | To Ride a Rathorn | 2006 | 4 | core | 4.33 (815 ratings) |
 | Bound in Blood | 2010 | 5 | core | 4.33 (878 ratings) |
 | Honor's Paradox | 2011 | 6 | core | 4.36 (734 ratings) |
 | The Sea of Time | 2014 | 7 | core | 4.34 (587 ratings) |
 | The Gates of Tagmeth | 2016 | 8 | core | 4.40 (402 ratings) |
 | By Demons Possessed | 2019 | 9 | core | 4.26 (284 ratings) |
 | Deathless Gods | 2022 | 10 | core | 4.34 (170 ratings) |
Main Kencyrath sequence, 1982-2022, ongoing.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Kencyrath? Kencyrath's Core Canon is 10 books.
- What is the reading order for Kencyrath? Publication order, starting with God Stalk. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Kencyrath finished? Ongoing (1982–present).
- How much reading does Kencyrath take? High reading commitment (estimated from 10 Core Canon books · ~1,240 pages).
- How is Kencyrath ranked? #56 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 7,030 reader ratings across 10 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #56?
Ranked #56 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.28 across 10 core books.
- A smaller readership (7,030 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #55, Bloodlines (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 10 books · Ongoing · 7k ratings · Ranks #56 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (10 Core Canon books)
- God Stalk (1982)
- Dark of the Moon (1985)
- Seeker's Mask (1994)
- To Ride a Rathorn (2006)
- Bound in Blood (2010)
- Honor's Paradox (2011)
- The Sea of Time (2014)
- The Gates of Tagmeth (2016)
- By Demons Possessed (2019)
- Deathless Gods (2022)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Kencyrath and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- A Song of Ice and Fire Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.41
- The Drenai Saga Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Complete · High commitment · 4.27
- Wheel of Time Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.21
- Green Rider Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.17
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.28 across 7,030 ratings on 10 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 Kencyrath (P.C. Hodgell) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Kencyrath series bibliography (specialised series-tracking site) Tier 2
- P.C. Hodgell Wikipedia entry Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon covers the ten main-sequence novels, God Stalk (1982) through Deathless Gods (2022). The series is ongoing.