The Hollow Kingdom
#2824.06 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2003–2005 Reading commitment Medium Clare B. Dunkle Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
The Hollow Kingdom is a young-adult fantasy trilogy by Clare B. Dunkle, published between 2003 and 2005 and opening in 1815 at Hallow Hill, a country estate where young women have mysteriously vanished for centuries. Kate is claimed as a bride by Marak, king of the goblins living beneath the earth, and gradually discovers hidden elf heritage of her own as an uneasy alliance forms between the human and goblin worlds. Her sister Emily later marries Seylin, a goblin who appears elf-like, and the trilogy's final volume follows a new heroine, Miranda, caught between the goblin king Catspaw and a mysterious elf lord. The books blend romance with darker fantasy elements, including political tension between the races, and the first volume won the 2004 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.
Fairy-tale retelling · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy Clare B. Dunkle
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Hollow Kingdom | 2003 | 1 | core | 4.09 (10,893 ratings) |
 | Close Kin | 2004 | 2 | core | 3.99 (4,550 ratings) |
 | In the Coils of the Snake | 2005 | 3 | core | 4.08 (4,353 ratings) |
A young-adult trilogy about a goblin king who claims a human bride.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Hollow Kingdom? The Hollow Kingdom's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Hollow Kingdom? Publication order, starting with The Hollow Kingdom. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Hollow Kingdom finished? Complete (2003–2005).
- How much reading does The Hollow Kingdom take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is The Hollow Kingdom ranked? #282 in this site's official ranking, based on 19,796 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #282?
Ranked #282 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.06 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (19,796 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.10 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #281, The School for Good and Evil (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 20k ratings · Ranks #282 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Hollow Kingdom (2003)
- Close Kin (2004)
- In the Coils of the Snake (2005)
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)
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Children's Literature), 2004: won: The Hollow Kingdom
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.06 across 19,796 ratings on 3 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 Hollow Kingdom admitted accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-21
Rule: Core Canon is the complete trilogy.