Malice Duology
#6303.86 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2021–2022 Reading commitment Low Heather Walter Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
The Malice Duology is a dark reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale by Heather Walter, comprising Malice (2021) and Misrule (2022), published by Del Rey in the United States. It is told from the perspective of Alyce, a young woman marked from birth as a villain in a kingdom that has all but forgotten real magic, and follows her uneasy alliance, and eventually rivalry, with Aurora, the sleeping princess she is meant to protect under a curse-driven prophecy neither of them fully controls. The duology recasts the traditional fairy-tale roles of hero and villain, giving its ostensible antagonist a queer romance arc and interrogating who gets to be called a monster and why. It was released as Walter's debut adult fantasy work and drew attention for its explicitly sapphic reworking of a classic fairy tale, part of a broader trend in the early 2020s of fairy-tale retellings centering marginalized perspectives left out of the original stories.
Fairy-tale retelling · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Malice Duology Heather Walter
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Malice | 2021 | core | 3.91 (34,553 ratings) |
 | Misrule | 2022 | core | 3.72 (12,050 ratings) |
A dark reimagining of Sleeping Beauty told from the perspective of a villainized dark grace; a complete two-book story.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Malice Duology? Malice Duology's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Malice Duology? Publication order, starting with Malice. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Malice Duology finished? Complete (2021–2022).
- How much reading does Malice Duology take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~432 pages).
- How is Malice Duology ranked? #630 in this site's official ranking, based on 46,603 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #630?
Ranked #630 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.86 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (46,603 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #629, Brown Girl in the Ring (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 47k ratings · Ranks #630 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Malice (2021)
- Misrule (2022)
Awards (verified)
- No confirmed major juried award win found after a genuine search.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.86 across 46,603 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: Malice Duology admitted (Heather Walter) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-25
Rule: Core Canon = both novels of the complete duology: Malice (2021) and Misrule (2022).