Rose of the Prophet
#6353.85 adjusted 3.86 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1988–1989 Reading commitment Medium Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
Rose of the Prophet is a completed trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, comprising The Will of the Wanderer (1988), The Paladin of the Night (1989), and The Prophet of Akhran (1989), drawing on Middle Eastern mythology, desert cultures, and storytelling traditions rather than the medieval European settings more common to the authors' other work. It follows Prince Khardan, a desert nomad's son, and Zohra, a sultan's daughter, forced into an arranged marriage neither wants, as their two peoples are drawn into a war shaped as much by the machinations of rival, capricious gods as by human ambition. The trilogy is a wholly separate world from Weis and Hickman's better-known Dragonlance and Death Gate Cycle series, and stands out among their bibliography for its explicit basis in Arabian Nights-style folklore and its comparatively light, adventure-driven tone toward the interplay between mortal politics and divine meddling.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Rose of the Prophet Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Will of the Wanderer | 1988 | 1 | core | 3.81 (6,439 ratings) |
 | The Paladin of the Night | 1989 | 2 | core | 3.88 (4,336 ratings) |
 | The Prophet of Akhran | 1989 | 3 | core | 3.90 (3,585 ratings) |
A trilogy drawing on Middle Eastern mythology, distinct from Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance/Deathgate work.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Rose of the Prophet? Rose of the Prophet's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Rose of the Prophet? Publication order, starting with The Will of the Wanderer. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Rose of the Prophet finished? Complete (1988–1989).
- How much reading does Rose of the Prophet take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Rose of the Prophet ranked? #635 in this site's official ranking, based on 14,360 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #635?
Ranked #635 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.85 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (14,360 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.09 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #634, Finnbranch (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 14k ratings · Ranks #635 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Will of the Wanderer (1988)
- The Paladin of the Night (1989)
- The Prophet of Akhran (1989)
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 3.85 across 14,360 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: Rose of the Prophet admitted accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-21
Rule: Core Canon is the complete trilogy.