King of Shadows
#7603.69 adjusted 3.75 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1999 Reading commitment Low Susan Cooper Last reviewed 2026-09-28
Overview
Susan Cooper's 1999 timeslip novel sends Nat Field, a grieving young American actor brought to London to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream at the rebuilt Globe, four hundred years back in time: he wakes in 1599 as a boy player in Shakespeare's own company, cast as Puck opposite the playwright's Oberon in a performance for Queen Elizabeth. In Shakespeare, who has lately lost his own son, Nat finds the father figure missing from his life. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize; a separate story from The Dark Is Rising.
Historical fantasy, Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
King of Shadows (1999) core · 3.69 (3,772 ratings); Timeslip fantasy between the reconstructed Globe of 1999 and Shakespeare's Globe of 1599. A separate world from The Dark Is Rising; no shared setting or characters.
Quick answers
- How many books are in King of Shadows? King of Shadows's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is King of Shadows finished? Complete (1999).
- How much reading does King of Shadows take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~186 pages).
- How is King of Shadows ranked? #760 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,772 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #760?
Ranked #760 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.69 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (3,772 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #759, David Mogo, Godhunter (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #760 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical 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)
- Carnegie Medal, 2000: finalist: King of Shadows; Shortlisted (the medal for books published in 1999).
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 2000: finalist: King of Shadows; Shortlisted.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what King of Shadows and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Phantom Tollbooth Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.20
- Brave Story Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.19
- Mio, My Son Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.10
- The Little White Horse Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.08
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.69 across 3,772 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: King of Shadows (Susan Cooper) accepted 2026-09-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-28
Rule: Core Canon = King of Shadows (1999) only, standalone.