Realm of the Elderlings
#494.29 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 16 books Status Complete 1995–2017 Reading commitment High Robin Hobb Last reviewed 2026-08-04
Overview
The Realm of the Elderlings is a sixteen-novel epic-fantasy sequence (1995-2017) by Robin Hobb, comprising five linked series set in a shared world spanning the Six Duchies, Bingtown, and the Rain Wilds. The Farseer, Tawny Man, and Fitz and the Fool trilogies follow the royal bastard and assassin FitzChivalry Farseer; the Liveship Traders and Rain Wild Chronicles follow other characters in the same world. Assassin's Fate (2017) concludes both the Fitz storyline and the Liveship/Rain Wild threads; the whole family of series is treated as a single universe entry. Hobb, a pen name of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, began the sequence with Assassin's Apprentice (1995), and the books are known for their close first-person emotional interiority, particularly in the Fitz-narrated trilogies, and for the Liveship Traders' distinctive sentient ships, a structural and tonal departure that widened the setting considerably before the two threads converged in the later books.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (16 works) counts toward ranking
Farseer Trilogy Robin Hobb
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Assassin's Apprentice | 1995 | core | 4.20 (445,469 ratings) |
 | Royal Assassin | 1996 | core | 4.30 (267,033 ratings) |
 | Assassin's Quest | 1997 | core | 4.22 (214,818 ratings) |
Liveship Traders Trilogy Robin Hobb
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ship of Magic | 1998 | core | 4.25 (115,744 ratings) |
 | The Mad Ship | 1999 | core | 4.35 (92,817 ratings) |
 | Ship of Destiny | 2000 | core | 4.35 (96,868 ratings) |
Tawny Man Trilogy Robin Hobb
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fool's Errand | 2001 | core | 4.41 (113,108 ratings) |
 | The Golden Fool | 2002 | core | 4.39 (99,319 ratings) |
 | Fool's Fate | 2003 | core | 4.51 (95,972 ratings) |
Rain Wild Chronicles Robin Hobb
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dragon Keeper | 2009 | core | 3.96 (58,661 ratings) |
 | Dragon Haven | 2010 | core | 4.11 (48,412 ratings) |
 | City of Dragons; First English edition 2012 (US Harper Voyager Feb 7, UK spring 2012). The Dutch translation 'Drakenstad' (Oct 2011) preceded the English original, the source of '2011' claims. Resolved 2026-08-05. | 2012 | core | 4.10 (44,498 ratings) |
 | Blood of Dragons | 2013 | core | 4.19 (42,520 ratings) |
Fitz and the Fool Trilogy Robin Hobb
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fool's Assassin | 2014 | core | 4.44 (70,082 ratings) |
 | Fool's Quest | 2015 | core | 4.54 (54,848 ratings) |
 | Assassin's Fate | 2017 | core | 4.67 (52,746 ratings) |
Library: Expanded Canon (novellas & stories) (8 works)
- The Inheritance (2000) ; First published in Voyager 5: Collector's Edition (2000); collected in The Inheritance & Other Stories (2011).
- Homecoming (2003) ; First published in Legends II (2003); early Rain Wilds settlement history.
Words Like Coins (2009) ; First published in A Fantasy Medley (Subterranean Press, 2009).
Blue Boots (2010) ; Published in Songs of Love and Death (2010).
The Inheritance & Other Stories (2011) ; Mixed collection: 3 Elderlings stories by Robin Hobb + 7 non-Elderlings stories as Megan Lindholm; only the Hobb stories are Elderlings canon.- Cat's Meat (2011) ; First published in The Inheritance & Other Stories (2011).
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince (2013) ; First edition: Subterranean Press hardcover, February 28, 2013 (UK Harper Voyager October 2013). The '2012' on Subterranean's own page is metadata error, resolved 2026-08-05 via Open Library/rating-platform editions.
Her Father's Sword (2017) ; Published in The Book of Swords (2017); FitzChivalry during the Red Ship War.
Edge cases: The Willful Princess (Farseer-line backstory) and Homecoming (early Rain Wilds history) are near-core in continuity terms but remain expanded, as they are not comparable narrative units.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Realm of the Elderlings? Realm of the Elderlings's Core Canon is 16 books, plus 8 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Realm of the Elderlings? Publication order, starting with Assassin's Apprentice. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Realm of the Elderlings finished? Complete (1995–2017).
- How much reading does Realm of the Elderlings take? High reading commitment (estimated from 16 Core Canon books · ~10,569 pages).
- How is Realm of the Elderlings ranked? #49 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,912,915 reader ratings across 16 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #49?
Ranked #49 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.29 across 16 core books.
- Backed by 1.9M reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.96 to 4.67.
- 0.02 behind #48, Gwendalavir.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 16 books · Complete · 1.9M ratings · Ranks #49 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (16 Core Canon books)
- Assassin's Apprentice (1995)
- Royal Assassin (1996)
- Assassin's Quest (1997)
- Ship of Magic (1998)
- The Mad Ship (1999)
- Ship of Destiny (2000)
- Fool's Errand (2001)
- The Golden Fool (2002)
- Fool's Fate (2003)
- Dragon Keeper (2009)
- Dragon Haven (2010)
- City of Dragons (2012)
- Blood of Dragons (2013)
- Fool's Assassin (2014)
- Fool's Quest (2015)
- Assassin's Fate (2017)
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement, 2021: officially credited to Megan Lindholm (pen name of the same author, Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, who writes the Elderlings as Robin Hobb)
- David Gemmell Legend Award (Best Novel), 2018: won: Assassin's Fate
Related universes
- Same author Wizard of the Pigeons: Both by the same person (Robin Hobb / Megan Lindholm pen names); confirmed separate continuities, consistent with this canon's original finding.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Realm of the Elderlings and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Riyria / Legends of the First Empire Sword & sorcery / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.33
- Malazan Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.27
- World of the Five Gods Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.22
- Forgotten Realms Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.20
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.29 across 1,912,915 ratings on 16 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Realm of the Elderlings is a single universe accepted 2026-08-03
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Robin Hobb, official website Tier 1
- Wikipedia (English) Tier 2
- PlentyWiki Tier 2
- Subterranean Press Tier 1
- Realm of the Elderlings Wiki (Fandom) Tier 2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hobb
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: The 16 novels are core; shorter works are expanded.