The Atlan Saga
#6253.60 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 1963–1977 Reading commitment Medium Jane Gaskell Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
The Atlan Saga is a four-book prehistoric secondary-world fantasy following the heroine Cija across a mythic, magic-infused vision of Atlantis and pre-Columbian South America. The saga opens with The Serpent (1963), reportedly begun when the author was a teenager, and continues through Atlan (1965) and The City (1966) before concluding with Some Summer Lands (1977), narrated by Cija's daughter Seka.
The saga is well regarded by genre historians as an early, ambitious example of epic secondary-world fantasy from a very young debut author, but is rarely read outside dedicated fandom today.
Epic fantasy, Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Atlan Saga Jane Gaskell
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Serpent | 1963 | 1 | core | 3.64 (267 ratings) |
 | Atlan | 1965 | 2 | core | 3.62 (143 ratings) |
 | The City | 1966 | 3 | core | 3.60 (126 ratings) |
 | Some Summer Lands | 1977 | 4 | core | 3.45 (97 ratings) |
A prehistoric secondary-world saga following the heroine Cija across a mythic, magic-infused Atlantis; the debut volume was reportedly begun when the author was a teenager.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Atlan Saga? The Atlan Saga's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Atlan Saga? Publication order, starting with The Serpent. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Atlan Saga finished? Complete (1963–1977).
- How much reading does The Atlan Saga take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~1,011 pages).
- How is The Atlan Saga ranked? #625 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 633 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #625?
Ranked #625 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.60 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (633 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #624, David Mogo, Godhunter (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 4 books · Complete · 633 ratings · Ranks #625 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- The Serpent (1963)
- Atlan (1965)
- The City (1966)
- Some Summer Lands (1977)
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 award nominations or wins were found for this saga.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.60 across 633 ratings on 4 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 The Atlan Saga (Jane Gaskell) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon is all four novels of the saga.