The Demon Cycle
#1054.20 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Ongoing 2009–present Reading commitment Medium Peter V. Brett Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
The Demon Cycle is Peter V. Brett’s epic fantasy series about a world besieged nightly by demons, told across five novels (2009–2017) plus a sequel series begun in 2021.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Demon Cycle Peter V. Brett
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Warded Man | 2009 | 1 | core | 4.24 (133,879 ratings) |
 | The Desert Spear | 2010 | 2 | core | 4.20 (80,218 ratings) |
 | The Daylight War | 2013 | 3 | core | 4.20 (66,478 ratings) |
 | The Skull Throne | 2015 | 4 | core | 4.11 (33,485 ratings) |
 | The Core | 2017 | 5 | core | 4.10 (21,376 ratings) |
Published in the UK in 2008 as The Painted Man; The Warded Man is the US title of the same book.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
The Demon Cycle, sequel series Peter V. Brett
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Desert Prince | 2021 | N/A | |
 | The Hidden Queen | 2024 | N/A |
A follow-on series set 15 years after The Core. A third book, The Demon King, has been announced but is not yet confirmed published as of the latest update and is not catalogued here.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Demon Cycle? The Demon Cycle's Core Canon is 5 books, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Demon Cycle? Publication order, starting with The Warded Man. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Demon Cycle finished? Ongoing (2009–present).
- How much reading does The Demon Cycle take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~3,194 pages).
- How is The Demon Cycle ranked? #105 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 335,436 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #105?
Ranked #105 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.20 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 335k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 5 rated core books rate within 0.14 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #104, The Cinder Spires (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 5 books · Ongoing · 335k ratings · Ranks #105 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- The Warded Man (2009)
- The Desert Spear (2010)
- The Daylight War (2013)
- The Skull Throne (2015)
- The Core (2017)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what The Demon Cycle and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Bound and the Broken Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.33
- Lightbringer Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.33
- The Bloodsworn Saga Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.33
- Ash and Sand Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.30
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.20 across 335,436 ratings on 5 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 Demon Cycle admitted; the original five-book series is the Core, its sequel series is Expanded accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Peter V. Brett Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is the original five-book series (2009–2017); the 2021–2024 sequel series is Expanded Canon. An announced further sequel is not yet confirmed published and is excluded.