The Grishaverse
#1364.17 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Ongoing 2012–present Reading commitment High Leigh Bardugo Last reviewed 2026-08-07
Overview
Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse is a Russian-folklore-inspired shared setting, centered on Ravka and its neighboring nations, spanning three linked story arcs on one continuous timeline. The Shadow and Bone Trilogy (2012-2014) follows Alina Starkov, an orphaned mapmaker who discovers she wields a rare light-based magic, and the wider community of magic-users called the Grisha; the Six of Crows Duology (2015-2016) shifts to a heist crew of criminal outcasts in the port city of Ketterdam pulling off an impossible job; the King of Scars Duology (2019-2021) follows King Nikolai Lantsov, drawing characters from both earlier arcs into one plot as he confronts a dangerous secret from his own transformation. Across seven core novels, Bardugo builds a single consistent magic system, the Small Science, and a recurring cast that moves between story arcs. The books were adapted into the Netflix series Shadow and Bone (2021-2023), which combined elements of both the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology into one narrative.
Romantasy, Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
Shadow and Bone Trilogy Leigh Bardugo
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Shadow and Bone | 2012 | 1 | core | 3.91 (1,152,779 ratings) |
 | Siege and Storm | 2013 | 2 | core | 3.80 (702,089 ratings) |
 | Ruin and Rising | 2014 | 3 | core | 3.97 (607,624 ratings) |
The founding Grishaverse trilogy, following Alina Starkov and the Grisha (magic-users) of Ravka.
Six of Crows Duology Leigh Bardugo
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Six of Crows | 2015 | 1 | core | 4.45 (1,213,341 ratings) |
 | Crooked Kingdom | 2016 | 2 | core | 4.56 (807,840 ratings) |
A closed 2-book heist-crew sequence set in the same world one year after the Shadow and Bone trilogy, with light narrative connections (shared world and later crossover appearances) rather than a direct sequel to Alina's story. Registered `duology` (added 2026-08-07) rather than `sequence`, since the author and publisher have consistently treated this as a genuinely closed 2-book set.
King of Scars Duology Leigh Bardugo
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | King of Scars | 2019 | 1 | core | 4.15 (239,566 ratings) |
 | Rule of Wolves | 2021 | 2 | core | 4.33 (183,476 ratings) |
A closed 2-book sequence following King Nikolai Lantsov (a Shadow and Bone trilogy supporting character), set after both the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, drawing characters from each into one plot -- the clearest textual evidence that this project treats the whole Grishaverse as one continuous multi-generational-scale Core saga (the same precedent already applied to Kushiel's Legacy, Sevenwaters and Tortall) rather than three unrelated universes.
Library / Expanded (4 works)
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (2017) ; An illustrated collection of in-world fairy tales referenced by characters across the trilogies -- supplementary lore, not part of the main plotline; kept Expanded rather than invoking the collection-as-Core exception, since it is explicitly framed as folklore-within-the-world rather than the primary reading unit for any arc.
The Lives of Saints (2020) ; An illustrated in-world hagiography of Ravkan saints, first published as an in-fiction prop object bundled with a Six of Crows collector's edition before its 2020 standalone trade publication -- supplementary lore, Expanded.
Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam (2026) ; An epistolary mystery ('Six of Crows #2.5') told through letters between Kaz Brekker and an anonymous sailor, set after Crooked Kingdom; a physical-edition-only collectible object rather than a conventional prose narrative -- supplementary, Expanded, published this admission's own research pass (June 2026, confirmed as already released rather than merely announced).
The Demon in the Wood (2014) ; A prose prequel short story (Grishaverse #0.1), first released June 17, 2014 (Henry Holt and Co.) as a bonus feature bundled with the limited collector's edition of Ruin and Rising, telling the Darkling's origin as a 13-year-old boy named Eryk. Registered under this original prose text's own 2014 publication per this project's textual-integrity convention; a later illustrated adaptation, Demon in the Wood (2022, illustrated by Dani Pendergast), is a graphic novel -- a different medium, out of scope (the same treatment applied to the Dresden Files' own comics) rather than registered as a separate BOOK record. The Severed Moon (a non-narrative in-world journal/quote compilation) remains deferred -- no clean work-type fit found, left as an open item for a future pass.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Grishaverse? The Grishaverse's Core Canon is 7 books, plus 4 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Grishaverse? Publication order, starting with Shadow and Bone. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Grishaverse finished? Ongoing (2012–present).
- How much reading does The Grishaverse take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~3,370 pages).
- How is The Grishaverse ranked? #136 in this site's official ranking, based on 4,906,715 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #136?
Ranked #136 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.17 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 4.9M reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.80 to 4.56.
- Less than 0.01 behind #135, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 7 books · Ongoing · 4.9M ratings · Ranks #136 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running romantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- Shadow and Bone (2012)
- Siege and Storm (2013)
- Ruin and Rising (2014)
- Six of Crows (2015)
- Crooked Kingdom (2016)
- King of Scars (2019)
- Rule of Wolves (2021)
Documented internal/story order
- Shadow and Bone (2012)
- Six of Crows (2015)
- King of Scars (2019)
- Siege and Storm (2013)
- Crooked Kingdom (2016)
- Rule of Wolves (2021)
- Ruin and Rising (2014)
Awards (verified)
- Readers' Choice Award (Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction), 2015: finalist: Six of Crows; Corrected from an assumed win: the award body's own announcement post shows the winner was Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.
- Readers' Choice Award (Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction), 2016: finalist: Crooked Kingdom; Corrected from an assumed win: the award body's own announcement post shows the winner was A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (already in this canon).
- Readers' Choice Award (Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction), 2019: finalist: King of Scars; Corrected from an assumed win: the award body's own announcement post shows the winner was The Wicked King by Holly Black.
- Locus Award (Best Young Adult Book), 2020: finalist: King of Scars; 9th of 10 finalists (Locus poll/juried-shortlist convention, no cutoff threshold); winner was Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee.
- Readers' Choice Award (Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction), 2021: won: Rule of Wolves; Confirmed via the award body's own winners-announcement post: Rule of Wolves won outright, unlike the earlier Grishaverse titles' finalist-only results this same admission.
Related universes
- Same author Ninth House (Alex Stern): Both by Leigh Bardugo. Ninth House (Alex Stern) is confirmed entirely separate from The Grishaverse (invented secondary-world Ravka vs. present-day Yale), the author's own reading-order page lists Alex Stern as a wholly distinct line.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Grishaverse and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Tortall Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.26
- The Folk of the Air / The Modern Faerie Tales Romantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.12
- Gwendalavir Epic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.31
- A Saga das Pedras Mágicas Epic fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.15
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.17 across 4,906,715 ratings on 7 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 in the Wood registered as Expanded Canon for The Grishaverse accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-07
Rule: Core = all 7 novels across the 3 linked arcs, treated as one continuous saga rather than separate universes; the same treatment given to Kushiel's Legacy, Sevenwaters, and Tortall. The Language of Thorns, The Lives of Saints, and A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam are Expanded in-world lore/supplementary material.