The Death Gate Cycle
#2694.07 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 1990–1994 Reading commitment High Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
The Death Gate Cycle is a complete seven-book epic fantasy sequence by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, a separate co-authored world from their better-known Dragonlance, published between 1990 and 1994. It follows Haplo, an agent of the god-like Sartan's ancient rivals the Patryn, as he crosses a set of connected, elementally themed worlds created after a shattering magical cataclysm on ancient Earth: realms of air, fire, stone, and water, plus the brutal prison-realm called the Labyrinth and its hidden paradise city, the Nexus. Sent by his own exiled lord to scout these divided worlds and sow discord ahead of a coming conquest, Haplo gradually confronts the true costs of both Sartan and Patryn ambition. The series is noted for its scholarly presentation, with in-world footnotes and appendices, and was regarded at the time as the authors' most ambitious joint project. The first four books were adapted into a 1994 computer adventure game.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
The Death Gate Cycle Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dragon Wing | 1990 | core | 3.98 (30,237 ratings) |
 | Elven Star | 1990 | core | 4.00 (19,629 ratings) |
 | Fire Sea | 1991 | core | 4.09 (19,999 ratings) |
 | Serpent Mage | 1992 | core | 4.10 (22,647 ratings) |
 | The Hand of Chaos | 1993 | core | 4.08 (19,381 ratings) |
 | Into the Labyrinth | 1993 | core | 4.13 (21,587 ratings) |
 | The Seventh Gate | 1994 | core | 4.13 (19,410 ratings) |
Complete seven-book sequence, a separate co-authored world from Weis & Hickman's Dragonlance.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Death Gate Cycle? The Death Gate Cycle's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for The Death Gate Cycle? Publication order, starting with Dragon Wing. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Death Gate Cycle finished? Complete (1990–1994).
- How much reading does The Death Gate Cycle take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~2,843 pages).
- How is The Death Gate Cycle ranked? #269 in this site's official ranking, based on 152,890 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #269?
Ranked #269 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 153k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 7 rated core books rate within 0.15 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #268, The Obernewtyn Chronicles (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 7 books · Complete · 153k ratings · Ranks #269 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- Dragon Wing (1990)
- Elven Star (1990)
- Fire Sea (1991)
- Serpent Mage (1992)
- Into the Labyrinth (1993)
- The Hand of Chaos (1993)
- The Seventh Gate (1994)
Awards (verified)
- No confirmed genre-juried award recognition found for this series.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 152,890 ratings on 7 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 Death Gate Cycle admitted accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-21
Rule: Core Canon is the complete seven-book sequence: Dragon Wing, Elven Star, Fire Sea, Serpent Mage, The Hand of Chaos, Into the Labyrinth, and The Seventh Gate (1990-1994). The sequence is finished; no further installments exist.