The Chronicles of Castellane
#6893.82 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2023–present Reading commitment Low Cassandra Clare Last reviewed 2026-08-24
Overview
The Chronicles of Castellane is an in-progress adult secondary-world fantasy series by Cassandra Clare, set in the wealthy city-state of Castellane. It follows Kel, a young man trained from childhood as a sword catcher -- a body double who dies in place of the prince he shadows -- as he becomes entangled in the city's politics and criminal underworld. The series opened with Sword Catcher (2023), Clare's first adult fantasy novel after building her career primarily in young-adult fiction with The Mortal Instruments and its companion series, and continued with The Ragpicker King (2025). Castellane is depicted as a cosmopolitan port city shadowed by an unstable religious order and a fractured royal family, giving the series room for both palace intrigue and street-level crime plotting as Kel's double life pulls him deeper into both worlds across the two books published so far.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Chronicles of Castellane Cassandra Clare
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sword Catcher | 2023 | core | 3.80 (46,642 ratings) |
 | The Ragpicker King | 2025 | core | 4.41 (1,489 ratings) |
Adult secondary-world fantasy set in the city-state of Castellane, Cassandra Clare's first non-Shadowhunter/Magisterium continuity in this database. A third book, The Bone Conjurers, is announced but not yet published as of this research and is correctly excluded.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Chronicles of Castellane? The Chronicles of Castellane's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Chronicles of Castellane? Publication order, starting with Sword Catcher. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Chronicles of Castellane finished? Ongoing (2023–present).
- How much reading does The Chronicles of Castellane take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,200 pages).
- How is The Chronicles of Castellane ranked? #689 in this site's official ranking, based on 48,131 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #689?
Ranked #689 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.82 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (48,131 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.80 to 4.41.
- Less than 0.01 behind #688, The Shadowshaper Cypher (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 48k ratings · Ranks #689 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Sword Catcher (2023)
- The Ragpicker King (2025)
Awards (verified)
- No confirmed award wins found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.82 across 48,131 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Chronicles of Castellane admitted as a third universe for Cassandra Clare accepted 2026-08-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24
Rule: Core = the two published novels (Sword Catcher, The Ragpicker King). A third book, The Bone Conjurers, has been announced but is unpublished as of this research and is excluded on that basis, not on its merits. Cassandra Clare already exists in this database for The Shadowhunter Chronicles and Magisterium; this is a separate, unrelated secondary world sharing only the author.