The Legend of Eli Monpress
#2654.07 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 2010–2012 Reading commitment Medium Rachel Aaron Last reviewed 2026-08-29
Overview
The Legend of Eli Monpress follows Eli Monpress, a thief and wizard who wants to have the biggest bounty on his head in history, in a world where spirits inhabit ordinary objects and can be bound, bargained with, or set free. Rachel Aaron's five-novel main sequence runs from The Spirit Thief (2010) through Spirit's End (2012), with the three 2010 volumes, The Spirit Thief, The Spirit Rebellion, and The Spirit Eater, originally released within the same year before The Spirit War and Spirit's End concluded the story in 2012; a further novel, Spirit's Oath, later extended the setting. Eli travels with the swordswoman Josef and the wizard Nico as he pursues increasingly outlandish heists, complicated by his own unusual rapport with the world's spirits, who can refuse or actively help thieves and wizards depending on how they are treated. Reviewers have highlighted the series' brisk pacing and its comic, banter-driven tone as a lighter counterpoint to more grimdark contemporaries in the genre.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Legend of Eli Monpress Rachel Aaron
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Spirit Thief | 2010 | 1 | core | 3.88 (10,192 ratings) |
 | The Spirit Rebellion | 2010 | 2 | core | 4.05 (6,051 ratings) |
 | The Spirit Eater | 2010 | 3 | core | 4.09 (5,390 ratings) |
 | The Spirit War | 2012 | 4 | core | 4.24 (6,352 ratings) |
 | Spirit's End | 2012 | 5 | core | 4.25 (5,436 ratings) |
The core five-novel sequence following the thief-wizard Eli Monpress.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
Spirit's Oath Rachel Aaron
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Spirit's Oath | 2012 | N/A |
A shorter side story set within the same world.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Legend of Eli Monpress? The Legend of Eli Monpress's Core Canon is 5 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Legend of Eli Monpress? Publication order, starting with The Spirit Thief. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Legend of Eli Monpress finished? Complete (2010–2012).
- How much reading does The Legend of Eli Monpress take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~2,053 pages).
- How is The Legend of Eli Monpress ranked? #265 in this site's official ranking, based on 33,421 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #265?
Ranked #265 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 5 core books.
- A smaller readership (33,421 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #264, Rivers of London (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 5 books · Complete · 33k ratings · Ranks #265 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 (5 Core Canon books)
- The Spirit Eater (2010)
- The Spirit Rebellion (2010)
- The Spirit Thief (2010)
- Spirit's End (2012)
- The Spirit War (2012)
Documented internal/story order
- The Spirit Thief (2010)
- The Spirit Rebellion (2010)
- The Spirit Eater (2010)
- The Spirit War (2012)
- Spirit's End (2012)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Legend of Eli Monpress and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Traitor Son Cycle Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
- The Steerswoman Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.22
- The Poppy War Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
- The Licanius Trilogy Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 33,421 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: Admit The Legend of Eli Monpress accepted 2026-08-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the five-novel main sequence, The Spirit Thief through Spirit's End. A shorter side story, Spirit's Oath, is recorded as Expanded Canon.