Or What You Will
#5743.75 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2020 Reading commitment Low Jo Walton Last reviewed 2026-08-18
Overview
An aging author's longtime imaginary companion, a shape-shifting muse who has lived inside a hundred of her characters, tries to talk her into one last trick before she dies: a way for them both to slip into the invented, Shakespeare-haunted city of Thalia and stay there. A standalone metafictional novel. Jo Walton's 3rd, unrelated universe in this canon, alongside Tooth and Claw and Among Others.
Mythic fantasy, Fantasy of manners · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Or What You Will Jo Walton
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Or What You Will | 2020 | 1 | core | 3.75 (1,218 ratings) |
Standalone novel; a metafictional narrative told by an aging author's imaginary companion/muse, moving between the invented Shakespeare-adjacent city of Thalia and real-world Florence. Jo Walton's 3rd, unrelated universe in this canon, alongside Tooth and Claw (a Victorian pastiche cast with dragons) and Among Others (contemporary-set fantasy in 1970s Wales); confirmed to share no characters, setting, or continuity with either.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Or What You Will? Or What You Will's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Or What You Will finished? Complete (2020).
- How much reading does Or What You Will take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~320 pages).
- How is Or What You Will ranked? #574 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 1,218 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #574?
Ranked #574 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.75 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,218 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #573, Blanca & Roja (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 1k ratings · Ranks #574 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 2022: won: Or What You Will
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.75 across 1,218 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Or What You Will admitted accepted 2026-08-18
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-18
Rule: Core = the single standalone novel; confirmed unrelated to the author's other 2 admitted universes.