Magic Moon
#6163.85 adjusted 3.87 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1982–1990 Reading commitment Low Wolfgang & Heike Hohlbein Last reviewed 2026-08-29
Overview
Magic Moon, known in German as Maerchenmond, is a fantasy duology by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein, comprising Magic Moon (1982) and Children of Magic Moon (1990). It follows Kim, a German schoolboy drawn into a dream realm called Magic Moon to save his sister's soul from a dark wizard who has trapped her there, and, years later in the second book, his return to find that once-magical realm corrupted and overrun by machines and greed. The first novel was Wolfgang Hohlbein's literary debut and won him a prize for young writers, launching what became one of Germany's best-selling fantasy series and helping establish him as one of the country's most prolific and commercially successful genre authors in the decades that followed. The duology has been reprinted repeatedly in Germany since its original release and remains a touchstone of German-language children's and young-adult fantasy.
Portal fantasy, Fairy-tale retelling · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Magic Moon Wolfgang Hohlbein, Heike Hohlbein
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Magic Moon | 1982 | 1 | core | 3.89 (2,780 ratings) |
 | Children of Magic Moon | 1990 | 2 | core | 3.76 (1,212 ratings) |
The first two of the five-book Maerchenmond saga, and the only two so far published in English (2006 and 2007, originally 1982 and 1990 in German). A German schoolboy, Kim, is drawn into a dream realm called Magic Moon to save his sister's soul, and returns two years later to find the same realm corrupted by machines and greed.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Magic Moon? Magic Moon's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Magic Moon? Publication order, starting with Magic Moon. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Magic Moon finished? Complete (1982–1990).
- How much reading does Magic Moon take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~699 pages).
- How is Magic Moon ranked? #616 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,992 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #616?
Ranked #616 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.85 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (3,992 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.13 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #615, Elidor (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #616 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Magic Moon (1982)
- Children of Magic Moon (1990)
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)
- Phantastik-Preis der Stadt Wetzlar, 1983: won: Magic Moon; Won by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein for Maerchenmond, the award's inaugural year.
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Official resources
- Wikipedia: Magic Moon
- Wikipedia: Children of Magic Moon
- Phantastik-Preis der Stadt Wetzlar (winners list)
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.85 across 3,992 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: Magic Moon admitted; Core Canon = its two English-translated volumes accepted 2026-08-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Magic Moon Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Children of Magic Moon Tier 2
- German Wikipedia: Maerchenmond Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Rule: series. Core Canon is the two English-translated volumes of the five-book German saga: Magic Moon and Children of Magic Moon. The three later German volumes have never been translated into English and are left uncatalogued.