The Kingkiller Chronicle
#14.53 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2007–present Reading commitment Medium Patrick Rothfuss Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
The Kingkiller Chronicle is Patrick Rothfuss's frame-narrative trilogy (DAW Books) set in Temerant, a world known in-story as the Four Corners: the legendary Kvothe, now an innkeeper living under an assumed name, recounts his life over three days, one novel per day. Two of the three days have been published, The Name of the Wind (2007) and The Wise Man's Fear (2011), which reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list in 2011; the concluding volume, The Doors of Stone, remains unreleased. The main novels are complemented by two standalone novellas, The Slow Regard of Silent Things (2014) and The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023). The story alternates third-person present-day scenes at the inn with Kvothe's first-person account of his childhood among travelling performers, his years as a student of arcane arts and his growing notoriety. Praised for prose and its sympathy/naming magic systems, the series has sold more than 10 million copies. Lionsgate holds film, television and video game rights, with Sam Raimi announced as director in 2018.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Kingkiller Chronicle Patrick Rothfuss
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Name of the Wind; Day 1. Quill Award 2007; Alex Award 2008. | 2007 | core | 4.52 (1,118,904 ratings) |
 | The Wise Man's Fear; Day 2. #1 NYT debut; Gemmell Legend Award 2012. | 2011 | core | 4.55 (639,769 ratings) |
Day 3 (The Doors of Stone) unreleased, no announced date as of Aug 2026; documented milestones: editor's 2020 'not a word' statement, author's 2021 public apology.
Library: Expanded Canon (4 works)
The Slow Regard of Silent Things (2014) ; This novella centers on Auri, a former University student now living in the Underthing beneath the University, and reached #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.
The Lightning Tree (2014) ; Rogues anthology; superseded by The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023).
The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023) ; Expansion of The Lightning Tree; Bast.
How Old Holly Came to Be (2013) ; Unfettered anthology.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Kingkiller Chronicle? The Kingkiller Chronicle's Core Canon is 2 books, plus 4 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Kingkiller Chronicle? Publication order, starting with The Name of the Wind. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Kingkiller Chronicle finished? Ongoing (2007–present).
- How much reading does The Kingkiller Chronicle take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,656 pages).
- How is The Kingkiller Chronicle ranked? #1 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,758,673 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #1?
Ranked #1 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.53 across 2 core books.
- Backed by 1.8M reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.03 of each other.
- The highest weighted average of any ranked universe.
- Above the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 1.8M ratings · Ranks #1 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Name of the Wind (2007)
- The Wise Man's Fear (2011)
Awards (verified)
- Quill Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror), 2007: won: The Name of the Wind
- Alex Award (YALSA), 2008: won: The Name of the Wind
- David Gemmell Legend Award (Best Novel), 2012: won: The Wise Man's Fear
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.53 across 1,758,673 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: Kingkiller Chronicle Core Canon accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Patrick Rothfuss, official website Tier 1
- Wikipedia (English) Tier 2
- Reactor Tier 3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingkiller_Chronicle
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: (in-progress series are eligible for ranking). The Doors of Stone: unreleased, no announced date as of Aug 2026; documented milestones: the editor's 2020 statement that she had not read 'a word' of the manuscript; the author's 2021 public apology. Facts only; it joins the core upon publication.