Nifft the Lean
#4563.98 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1982–2000 Reading commitment Medium Michael Shea Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Nifft the Lean follows the picaresque adventures of its title character, a master thief navigating a grotesque, richly imagined world of demons, sorcerers and monstrous cities. The founding volume, Nifft the Lean (1982), a linked collection of four novella-length stories, won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1983, an unusual honor for a story collection; two later full novels, The Mines of Behemoth (1997) and The A'rak (2000), continue the character's story. Critic Dave Langford praised the original collection's vivid, unsettling imagery, writing that its "gaudy landscapes infect your dreams." Despite the first volume's award recognition, the series and its author remain a genuine deep cut of sword-and-sorcery fantasy outside dedicated genre circles.
Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Nifft the Lean Michael Shea
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Nifft the Lean | 1982 | 1 | core | 4.00 (817 ratings) |
 | The Mines of Behemoth | 1997 | 2 | core | 3.97 (158 ratings) |
 | The A'rak | 2000 | 3 | core | 3.83 (120 ratings) |
Picaresque sword-and-sorcery adventures of the thief Nifft; the World Fantasy Award-winning first volume is a linked story collection, the two later volumes are novels continuing the same character.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Nifft the Lean? Nifft the Lean's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Nifft the Lean? Publication order, starting with Nifft the Lean. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Nifft the Lean finished? Complete (1982–2000).
- How much reading does Nifft the Lean take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~560 pages).
- How is Nifft the Lean ranked? #456 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,095 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #456?
Ranked #456 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.98 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (1,095 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #455, Lives of the Mayfair Witches (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 1k ratings · Ranks #456 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length sword-and-sorcery universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Nifft the Lean (1982)
- The Mines of Behemoth (1997)
- The A'rak (2000)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.98 across 1,095 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: Admit Nifft the Lean (Michael Shea) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Nifft the Lean series bibliography (specialised genre-fiction site) Tier 2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nifft_the_Lean
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon is all three volumes: the original linked-story collection and its two novel-length sequels.