The Books of Pellinor
#2024.10 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2002–2008 Reading commitment Medium Alison Croggon Last reviewed 2026-09-04
Overview
The Books of Pellinor is a completed quartet of young-adult high fantasy novels by Australian author Alison Croggon, first published in Australia between 2002 and 2008. The story follows Maerad, a young woman discovering she carries a rare and powerful magical Gift, as she is drawn into a struggle against an ancient Dark power threatening the world of Edil-Amarandh. A stand-alone prequel, The Bone Queen, followed in 2016, set generations before the main quartet.
Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Books of Pellinor Alison Croggon
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Gift | 2002 | 1 | core | 4.04 (27,946 ratings) |
 | The Riddle | 2004 | 2 | core | 4.12 (22,359 ratings) |
 | The Crow | 2008 | 3 | core | 4.04 (14,312 ratings) |
 | The Singing | 2008 | 4 | core | 4.24 (14,166 ratings) |
Original Australian first editions, published by Penguin Books Australia; US editions from Candlewick Press retitled the first volume 'The Naming' and released each book roughly a year after its original Australian edition.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
The Bone Queen Alison Croggon
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bone Queen | 2016 | N/A |
A single stand-alone prequel to the main quartet, set generations earlier.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Books of Pellinor? The Books of Pellinor's Core Canon is 4 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Books of Pellinor? Publication order, starting with The Gift. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Books of Pellinor finished? Complete (2002–2008).
- How much reading does The Books of Pellinor take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is The Books of Pellinor ranked? #202 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 78,783 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #202?
Ranked #202 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.10 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (78,783 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #201, The Founders Trilogy (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 4 books · Complete · 79k ratings · Ranks #202 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 Gift (2002)
- The Riddle (2004)
- The Crow (2008)
- The Singing (2008)
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)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2003: nominated: The Gift; As 'The Gift'; nominated in the year following its 2002 Australian release.
- Aurealis Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2002: nominated: The Gift
- Aurealis Award (Best Young Adult Novel), 2016: finalist: The Bone Queen
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Books of Pellinor and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- An Ember in the Ashes Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.22
- The Raven Rings Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.17
- Memories of Idhún Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.14
- Shades of Magic Portal fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.13
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.10 across 78,783 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 Books of Pellinor (Alison Croggon) accepted 2026-09-04
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Pellinor Tier 2
- Wikipedia: The Gift (Croggon novel) Tier 2
- Wikipedia: The Singing Tier 2
- Wikipedia: The Crow (novel) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon is the four-book main quartet (The Gift, The Riddle, The Crow, The Singing), the continuous story of Maerad and Cadvan. The 2016 prequel The Bone Queen, published years later and following different characters in an earlier era, is classified Expanded Canon.