The Firebrand
#2764.07 adjusted 4.06 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1987 Reading commitment Low Marion Zimmer Bradley Last reviewed 2026-09-29
Overview
Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1987 retelling of the Trojan War from inside the walls of Troy, narrated through Kassandra, King Priam's prophet daughter: given true sight by Apollo and cursed never to be believed, she lives out the long siege she has always foreseen, torn between the sun god and the older goddesses of the earth. Written after The Mists of Avalon and in the same revisionist, woman-centred spirit, it is Bradley's only novel set in ancient Greece and a separate world from her Arthurian one.
Mythic fantasy, Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Firebrand (1987) core · 4.07 (11,602 ratings); Simon & Schuster, October 1987. A retelling of the Iliad from Kassandra's viewpoint; Bradley's only novel set in ancient Greece, and a separate world from The Mists of Avalon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Firebrand? The Firebrand's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Firebrand finished? Complete (1987).
- How much reading does The Firebrand take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~608 pages).
- How is The Firebrand ranked? #276 in this site's official ranking, based on 11,602 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #276?
Ranked #276 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (11,602 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #275, His Dark Materials (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 12k ratings · Ranks #276 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic 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 award could be confirmed for this novel.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 11,602 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: The Firebrand (Marion Zimmer Bradley) accepted 2026-09-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-29
Rule: Core Canon = The Firebrand (1987) only, standalone.