The Fourlands
#9593.78 adjusted 3.82 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Unfinished 2004–2016 Reading commitment Medium Steph Swainston Last reviewed 2026-11-03
Overview
The Fourlands is a series of five novels by Steph Swainston, published by Gollancz from 2004 to 2016. The Emperor's Circle, a group of immortal warriors, defends the Fourlands against the Insects, giant hostile creatures. The books are narrated by Jant Shira, the Circle's Messenger, a half-breed who is the only person able to fly and who is addicted to a drug that opens a door to the Shift, another world. The Year of Our War, No Present Like Time, The Modern World and Fair Rebel follow the war in order; Above the Snowline, published fourth, looks back at Jant's earlier life in the mountains. The last novel appeared in 2016.
New Weird · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Fourlands Steph Swainston
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Year of Our War | 2004 | 1 | core | 3.59 (1,494 ratings) |
 | No Present Like Time | 2005 | 2 | core | 3.97 (633 ratings) |
 | The Modern World; Published in the United States as Dangerous Offspring. | 2007 | 3 | core | 3.98 (481 ratings) |
 | Above the Snowline | 2010 | 4 | core | 3.84 (280 ratings) |
 | Fair Rebel | 2016 | 5 | core | 4.17 (158 ratings) |
Five novels narrated by Jant Shira, winged Messenger of the Emperor's immortal Circle, during the war against the Insects.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Fourlands? The Fourlands's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for The Fourlands? Publication order, starting with The Year of Our War. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Fourlands finished? Unfinished (2004–2016).
- How much reading does The Fourlands take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books).
- How is The Fourlands ranked? #959 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,046 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #959?
Ranked #959 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.78 across 5 core books.
- A smaller readership (3,046 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.59 to 4.17.
- 0.02 behind #958, The Moorehawke Trilogy.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 5 books · Unfinished · 3k ratings · Ranks #959 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length New Weird universe.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- The Year of Our War (2004)
- No Present Like Time (2005)
- The Modern World (2007)
- Above the Snowline (2010)
- Fair Rebel (2016)
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)
- Crawford Award, 2005: won: The Year of Our War
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Suggestions computed from what The Fourlands and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Bel Dame Apocrypha Dark fantasy / New Weird · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.82
- The Well-Built City Dark fantasy / New Weird · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.79
- Viriconium New Weird / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.77
- The Locked Tomb Dark fantasy / New Weird · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.23
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.78 across 3,046 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: Canon Extension: 19 universes from the candidate register; 7 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-03
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Steph Swainston Tier 2
- Wikipedia: The Year of Our War Tier 2
- Author site Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-03
Rule: Core Canon = the five Fourlands novels, The Year of Our War (2004) to Fair Rebel (2016). Excludes the short-story collections and the omnibus editions.