The Copper Cat
#5783.88 adjusted 3.89 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2014–2016 Reading commitment Medium Jen Williams Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Jen Williams' debut trilogy, a sword-and-sorcery adventure following the mercenary Wydrin of Crosshaven, her sword-brother Sebastian, and the disgraced sorcerer Lord Aaron Frith across three novels of escalating threats to their world. The Copper Promise (2014) begins as a straightforward dungeon-delving job gone wrong, unleashing an ancient, imprisoned god the trio must then contend with across the rest of the trilogy; The Iron Ghost (2015) and The Silver Tide (2016) widen the stakes further, drawing in rival mercenary companies, a haunted magical weapon, and a lost island holding secrets tied to the god released in the first book. Williams's brisk, banter-heavy prose and unapologetically pulpy adventure structure marked a deliberate return to classic sword-and-sorcery storytelling amid a wave of grimmer, more political epic fantasy in the mid-2010s, and the trilogy helped establish her as a notable voice in contemporary British fantasy.
Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Copper Cat Trilogy Jen Williams
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Copper Promise | 2014 | core | 3.67 (3,616 ratings) |
 | The Iron Ghost | 2015 | core | 4.14 (1,418 ratings) |
 | The Silver Tide | 2016 | core | 4.28 (1,013 ratings) |
Jen Williams' debut trilogy, complete at three novels; confirmed a separate world from her later The Winnowing Flame Trilogy.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Copper Cat? The Copper Cat's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Copper Cat? Publication order, starting with The Copper Promise. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Copper Cat finished? Complete (2014–2016).
- How much reading does The Copper Cat take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,687 pages).
- How is The Copper Cat ranked? #578 in this site's official ranking, based on 6,047 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #578?
Ranked #578 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.88 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (6,047 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.67 to 4.28.
- 0.01 behind #577, Phantastes.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 6k ratings · Ranks #578 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length sword-and-sorcery universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Copper Promise (2014)
- The Iron Ghost (2015)
- The Silver Tide (2016)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.88 across 6,047 ratings on 3 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 Copper Cat admitted (Jen Williams) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-25
Rule: Core Canon = the complete three-novel trilogy: The Copper Promise (2014), The Iron Ghost (2015), and The Silver Tide (2016). Confirmed a separate setting from the author's later The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, already in this database.