The Drawing of the Dark
#6653.93 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1979 Reading commitment Low Tim Powers Last reviewed 2026-10-28
Overview
Tim Powers’s third novel, published in 1979, is an early example of the secret histories he would become known for. In 1529 the aging Irish mercenary Brian Duffy is hired in Venice by a strange old man calling himself Aurelianus Ambrosius to keep order at a Vienna inn that brews the legendary Herzwesten beer, just as the city comes under siege by the Ottoman armies of Suleiman the Magnificent. Duffy gradually learns that the brewery guards something on which the fate of the West depends, and that he and the people around him are living echoes of figures from Arthurian and Norse legend.
Historical fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Drawing of the Dark Tim Powers
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Drawing of the Dark | 1979 | 1 | core | 3.93 (5,222 ratings) |
Standalone novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Drawing of the Dark? The Drawing of the Dark's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Drawing of the Dark finished? Complete (1979).
- How much reading does The Drawing of the Dark take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Drawing of the Dark ranked? #665 in this site's official ranking, based on 5,222 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #665?
Ranked #665 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.93 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (5,222 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #664, The Last Dragon Chronicles (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 5k ratings · Ranks #665 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.93 across 5,222 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Viriconium, The Orphan's Tales, The Secret Books of Paradys, The Drawing of the Dark accepted 2026-10-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-28
Rule: Core Canon = the single novel The Drawing of the Dark (1979).