The Elven
#1904.11 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2004–present Reading commitment Medium Bernhard Hennen Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
The Elven (Die Elfen) is a German epic fantasy sequence by Bernhard Hennen (with James A. Sullivan credited as co-author on the first volume). A genuinely new author to this canon.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Elven Bernhard Hennen
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Die Elfen | 2004 | 1 | core | 4.10 (9,627 ratings) |
 | Elfenwinter | 2006 | 2 | core | 4.14 (2,430 ratings) |
Core Canon is the two German novels with a confirmed, unambiguous English translation as "The Saga of the Elven": Die Elfen (2004, tr. "The Elven") and Elfenwinter (2006, tr. as two English volumes, "Elven Winter" and "Elven Queen"). Hennen's own continuation of this same continuity (Elfenlicht, Elfenkönigin, Elfenlied, and later volumes) plus several related prequel/spin-off sequences (Elfenritter, Drachenelfen, the Schattenelfen-Saga) remain German-original and untranslated, and are not itemized as Expanded Canon this pass pending a closer look at how tightly each connects to this core continuity.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Elven? The Elven's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Elven? Publication order, starting with Die Elfen. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Elven finished? Ongoing (2004–present).
- How much reading does The Elven take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,806 pages).
- How is The Elven ranked? #190 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 12,057 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #190?
Ranked #190 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.11 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (12,057 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.04 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #189, The Winnowing Flame Trilogy (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 12k ratings · Ranks #190 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 (2 Core Canon books)
- Die Elfen (2004)
- Elfenwinter (2006)
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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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.11 across 12,057 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: Admit The Elven / Die Elfen (Bernhard Hennen) accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the two-novel sequence with a confirmed English translation, published as "The Saga of the Elven": Die Elfen (2004; English: The Elven) and Elfenwinter (2006; English: Elven Winter / Elven Queen, across two volumes).