The Inheritance Trilogy
#4513.97 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2010–2011 Reading commitment Medium N.K. Jemisin Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy is her debut fantasy work and a distinct continuity from her already-registered Broken Earth trilogy; a second, independent universe from the same author, matching this database's established multi-universe-per-author pattern (e.g. Feist, Eddings). Published by Orbit Books between 2010 and 2011, it follows Yeine, a half-Arameri, half-Darr woman thrust into the deadly succession politics of the palace-bound Arameri family, whose rule depends on three enslaved, warring gods, Nahadoth, Itempas, and Enefa; each novel is narrated by a different character across widening generational gaps. The opening volume, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010), won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award, and the trilogy's political and theological scope was announced for a live-action television adaptation by Searchlight Television and Westbrook Studios in 2021.
Epic fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Inheritance Trilogy N.K. Jemisin
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms | 2010 | 1 | core | 3.89 (83,634 ratings) |
 | The Broken Kingdoms | 2010 | 2 | core | 4.14 (40,158 ratings) |
 | The Kingdom of Gods; Includes a bundled ~11-page coda, 'Not the End,' as part of this edition, not independently registered (no separate ISBN/market listing). | 2011 | 3 | core | 3.99 (30,145 ratings) |
N.K. Jemisin's debut trilogy (2010-2011), each novel narrated by a different character across different generations (Yeine Darr; Oree Shoth, ~10 years later; Sieh, ~100 years after that). Publication order equals in-story order at the macro level despite the large in-world time jumps between books. Includes a bundled ~11-page coda ('Not the End') within The Kingdom of Gods' own edition, not independently registered since it has no separate ISBN or market listing.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
The Awakened Kingdom (2014) ; Sequel novella narrated by the godling Shill, set after The Kingdom of Gods. Marketed as a 'sequel novella,' not as a fourth mainline volume, despite some retailer listings loosely labeling it 'Book 4', classified Expanded, matching the author's own framing.
Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (2015) ; 3-story collection ('The Wild Boy,' 'The God Without a Name,' 'The Third Why'), explicitly interstitial, the rating platform numbers the stories #0.5/1.5/2.5, filling gaps within the trilogy's timeline rather than extending it forward.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Inheritance Trilogy? The Inheritance Trilogy's Core Canon is 3 books, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Inheritance Trilogy? Publication order, starting with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Inheritance Trilogy finished? Complete (2010–2011).
- How much reading does The Inheritance Trilogy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,424 pages).
- How is The Inheritance Trilogy ranked? #451 in this site's official ranking, based on 153,937 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #451?
Ranked #451 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 154k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #450, The Seventh Sword (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 · 154k ratings · Ranks #451 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Broken Kingdoms (2010)
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010)
- The Kingdom of Gods (2011)
Documented internal/story order
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010)
- The Broken Kingdoms (2010)
- The Kingdom of Gods (2011)
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2011: nominated: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms; Lost to Blackout/All Clear (Connie Willis).
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2010: nominated: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2011: nominated: The Kingdom of Gods
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2011: nominated: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2011: won: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2012: finalist: The Kingdom of Gods; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 6th. Won by A Dance with Dragons (George R.R. Martin).
- James Tiptree Jr. Award, 2010: honor: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms; Honor List selection; not the year's winner (Dubravka Ugresic's Baba Yaga Laid an Egg).
- William L. Crawford Award, 2011: nominated: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms; International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts; lost to Karen Lord's Redemption in Indigo.
- David Gemmell Morningstar Award (Best Fantasy Newcomer), 2011: nominated: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms; Shortlisted; the eventual winner of this specific sub-award could not be independently confirmed.
Related universes
- Same author The Broken Earth: Both by N.K. Jemisin. The Inheritance Trilogy (her debut) is a second, independent universe from The Broken Earth, with no shared characters, setting, or continuity.
- Same author The Dreamblood Duology: Both by N.K. Jemisin; confirmed separate, unrelated worlds.
- Same author The Great Cities Duology: Both by N.K. Jemisin; The Great Cities Duology (a living-New-York urban fantasy) is a 4th, independent universe with no shared characters, setting, or continuity.
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Suggestions computed from what The Inheritance Trilogy and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- The Draconis Memoria Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.11
- The Elven Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.11
- The Winnowing Flame Trilogy Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.11
Official resources
- N.K. Jemisin: The Inheritance Trilogy
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inheritance_Trilogy_(Jemisin_series)
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 153,937 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 Inheritance Trilogy admitted; Core Canon = the 3 novels; companion novella/collection Expanded accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- N.K. Jemisin's official site Tier 1
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inheritance_Trilogy_(Jemisin_series)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Core = the 3 novels (2010–2011). Expanded = the companion novella The Awakened Kingdom (2014) and the 3-story collection Shades in Shadow (2015), both explicitly interstitial/companion material per the author's own marketing, despite a December 2014 omnibus edition being sold under the trilogy's own name while actually including the novella as a fourth component.