Secret Histories
#3833.97 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 12 books Status Complete 2007–2018 Reading commitment High Simon R. Green Last reviewed 2026-08-29
Overview
Secret Histories follows Edwin “Shaman” Drood, a member of a family of secret agent-sorcerers who have protected the world from hidden threats for centuries, armed with a living golden armor.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (12 works) counts toward ranking
Secret Histories Simon R. Green
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Man With the Golden Torc | 2007 | 1 | core | 3.86 (10,455 ratings) |
 | Daemons Are Forever | 2008 | 2 | core | 3.90 (5,792 ratings) |
 | The Spy Who Haunted Me | 2009 | 3 | core | 4.00 (4,939 ratings) |
 | From Hell With Love | 2010 | 4 | core | 4.03 (4,132 ratings) |
 | For Heaven's Eyes Only | 2011 | 5 | core | 4.05 (3,580 ratings) |
 | Live and Let Drood | 2012 | 6 | core | 4.02 (3,379 ratings) |
 | Casino Infernale | 2013 | 7 | core | 4.12 (2,501 ratings) |
 | Property of a Lady Faire | 2014 | 8 | core | 4.00 (1,975 ratings) |
 | From a Drood to a Kill | 2015 | 9 | core | 3.99 (1,567 ratings) |
 | Dr. DOA | 2016 | 10 | core | 3.84 (1,189 ratings) |
 | Moonbreaker | 2017 | 11 | core | 4.08 (935 ratings) |
 | Night Fall | 2018 | 12 | core | 4.16 (918 ratings) |
Follows the Drood family of secret agent-sorcerers; a separate urban-fantasy sequence from this same author's already-admitted Nightside series, with its own cast and premise (occasional cross-references between the two exist but neither series requires the other to be read).
Quick answers
- How many books are in Secret Histories? Secret Histories's Core Canon is 12 books.
- What is the reading order for Secret Histories? Publication order, starting with The Man With the Golden Torc. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Secret Histories finished? Complete (2007–2018).
- How much reading does Secret Histories take? High reading commitment (estimated from 12 Core Canon books · ~4,553 pages).
- How is Secret Histories ranked? #383 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 41,362 reader ratings across 12 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #383?
Ranked #383 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 12 core books.
- A smaller readership (41,362 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #382, The Harold Shea Series (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 12 books · Complete · 41k ratings · Ranks #383 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (12 Core Canon books)
- The Man With the Golden Torc (2007)
- Daemons Are Forever (2008)
- The Spy Who Haunted Me (2009)
- From Hell With Love (2010)
- For Heaven's Eyes Only (2011)
- Live and Let Drood (2012)
- Casino Infernale (2013)
- Property of a Lady Faire (2014)
- From a Drood to a Kill (2015)
- Dr. DOA (2016)
- Moonbreaker (2017)
- Night Fall (2018)
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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Suggestions computed from what Secret Histories and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- InCryptid Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.09
- Merry Gentry Urban fantasy / Romantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.07
- Rivers of London Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.06
- Garrett P.I. Sword & sorcery / Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.05
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 41,362 ratings on 12 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 Secret Histories accepted 2026-08-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the complete twelve-novel sequence, The Man With the Golden Torc through Night Fall. A separate series from this author's already-admitted Nightside, with its own cast and premise.