The Last Dragon Chronicles
#6643.93 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 2001–2012 Reading commitment High Chris d'Lacey Last reviewed 2026-10-31
Overview
Chris d'Lacey, a British author, published The Last Dragon Chronicles between 2001 and 2012. The series is set in the modern world, mostly around Wayward Crescent in the town of Scrubbley, where Liz Pennykettle and her daughter Lucy make clay dragons that come to life. David Rain, a college student who rents a room from them, is drawn into the history of the dragons, including the last true dragon, Gawain, and a long struggle against dark forces. The books follow David, Lucy, Zanna and later David's daughter Alexa, moving from the Pennykettle house to the Arctic and finally to other worlds such as Co:pern:ica and the dragon homeworld Ki:mera. The seven novels are meant to be read in order. The final book, The Fire Ascending, closes the series.
Urban fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
The Last Dragon Chronicles Chris d'Lacey
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Fire Within; First published by Orchard Books in the UK. | 2001 | 1 | core | 3.81 (32,819 ratings) |
 | Icefire | 2003 | 2 | core | 3.93 (26,143 ratings) |
 | Fire Star | 2005 | 3 | core | 3.93 (18,056 ratings) |
 | The Fire Eternal | 2007 | 4 | core | 3.99 (14,650 ratings) |
 | Dark Fire | 2009 | 5 | core | 4.10 (8,934 ratings) |
 | Fire World; Set largely on the world of Co:pern:ica rather than in Wayward Crescent. | 2011 | 6 | core | 4.07 (6,153 ratings) |
 | The Fire Ascending; Final book of the series. | 2012 | 7 | core | 4.14 (4,712 ratings) |
Seven middle-grade fantasy novels following David Rain, the Pennykettle family and their living clay dragons.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Last Dragon Chronicles? The Last Dragon Chronicles's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for The Last Dragon Chronicles? Publication order, starting with The Fire Within. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Last Dragon Chronicles finished? Complete (2001–2012).
- How much reading does The Last Dragon Chronicles take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books).
- How is The Last Dragon Chronicles ranked? #664 in this site's official ranking, based on 111,467 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #664?
Ranked #664 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.93 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 111k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #663, The Curse of the Wise Woman (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 7 books · Complete · 111k ratings · Ranks #664 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- The Fire Within (2001)
- Icefire (2003)
- Fire Star (2005)
- The Fire Eternal (2007)
- Dark Fire (2009)
- Fire World (2011)
- The Fire Ascending (2012)
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)
- Rotherham Children's Book Award, 2002: won: The Fire Within
- Angus Book Award, 2006: finalist: Icefire
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.93 across 111,467 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: Canon Extension: The Last Dragon Chronicles, The Wardstone Chronicles, The Sisters Grimm, Kingdom Keepers, Saga o zbóju Twardokęsku, Noční klub, El libro de los héroes, Kalfukura, Royaume de vent et de colères and The Heart of the Circle accepted 2026-10-31
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Last Dragon Chronicles Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Chris d'Lacey Tier 2
- FictionDB series page Tier 2
- Book Reviews and More: Fire Star review Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-31
Rule: Core Canon = the seven novels of The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d'Lacey, from The Fire Within (2001) to The Fire Ascending (2012). The companion guidebook Rain and Fire and the separate Erth Dragons and Dragons of Wayward Crescent books are excluded.