Lord Darcy
#6023.97 adjusted 3.96 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Unfinished 1966–1989 Reading commitment Medium Randall Garrett, Michael Kurland Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Lord Darcy is a detective series by Randall Garrett set in an alternate history in which Richard the Lionheart survived and the Anglo-French Empire under the Plantagenets endures into the twentieth century. Magic follows codified rules, and sorcery is used in criminal investigation. Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator for the Duke of Normandy, and the forensic sorcerer Sean O Lochlainn solve fair-play murder mysteries. Garrett wrote one novel, Too Many Magicians (1966), plus short stories and collections. Michael Kurland added two novels, Ten Little Wizards (1988) and A Study in Sorcery (1989), after Garrett's death.
Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Lord Darcy Randall Garrett, Michael Kurland
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too Many Magicians; First serialized in Analog in 1966; first book edition from Doubleday in 1967. Author: Randall Garrett. | 1966 | 1 | core | 3.95 (1,124 ratings) | |
| Ten Little Wizards; Author: Michael Kurland, set in Randall Garrett's world. First published by Ace Books. | 1988 | 2 | core | 3.99 (310 ratings) | |
| A Study in Sorcery; Author: Michael Kurland, set in Randall Garrett's world. First published by Ace Books (ISBN-10 0-441-79092-5). | 1989 | 3 | core | 4.02 (198 ratings) |
Alternate-history detective fantasy novels set in an Anglo-French empire where magic is codified.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Lord Darcy? Lord Darcy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Lord Darcy? Publication order, starting with Too Many Magicians. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Lord Darcy finished? Unfinished (1966–1989).
- How much reading does Lord Darcy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Lord Darcy ranked? #602 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,632 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #602?
Ranked #602 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (1,632 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.07 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #601, Island of the Aunts (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Unfinished · 2k ratings · Ranks #602 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length historical fantasy universe.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Too Many Magicians (1966)
- Ten Little Wizards (1988)
- A Study in Sorcery (1989)
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)
- Hugo Award for Best Novel, 1967: nominated: Too Many Magicians
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 1,632 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: Canon Extension: 29 universes; Inda widened to Sartorias-deles; 5 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = Too Many Magicians (1966) to A Study in Sorcery (1989). The short stories and story collections are excluded.