The Bards of Bone Plain
#4773.96 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2010 Reading commitment Low Patricia A. McKillip Last reviewed 2026-09-29
Overview
Patricia A. McKillip's 2010 novel is set in a kingdom where a medieval bardic school stands above a royal city of motorcars and trams. The reluctant student Phelan Cle picks Bone Plain, a legendary place of three trials, three terrors and three treasures, for his final paper because he expects it to be easy, while his archaeologist father and the king's youngest daughter dig among the standing stones and unearth a disc in a lost language. In alternating chapters the story of Nairn, the wandering bard said to have failed the trials and disappeared, converges with the present. A Mythopoeic Award finalist and a separate world from McKillip's other universes here.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Bards of Bone Plain (2010) core · 3.96 (2,751 ratings); Ace Books, December 2010. A separate world from McKillip's other universes in this canon; its setting mixes a medieval bardic school with motorcars and trams.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Bards of Bone Plain? The Bards of Bone Plain's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Bards of Bone Plain finished? Complete (2010).
- How much reading does The Bards of Bone Plain take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~336 pages).
- How is The Bards of Bone Plain ranked? #477 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,751 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #477?
Ranked #477 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (2,751 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #476, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (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?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #477 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic 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), 2011: nominated: The Bards of Bone Plain; Finalist.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 2,751 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: Canon extension: The Bards of Bone Plain (Patricia A. McKillip) accepted 2026-09-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Publishers Weekly Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-29
Rule: Core Canon = The Bards of Bone Plain (2010) only, standalone.