The Legend of the Ice People

#5563.78 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking

Books 47 books Status Complete 1982–1989 Reading commitment High Margit Sandemo Last reviewed 2026-08-30

Overview

A 47-volume Norwegian saga (1982–1989) following the Ice People, a clan descended from a man who sold his soul to the devil, across generations of Scandinavian history beginning in Trondheim in 1581. Each generation carries the family's inherited curse: some descendants are born with extraordinary, sometimes monstrous, supernatural gifts, tied to a set of cursed medallions and the clan's search for its own salvation. The saga's historical grounding sits alongside real fantasy content throughout: supernatural abilities, mythological creatures, and, late in the sequence, an underground kingdom where time itself runs differently.

Historical fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (47 works) counts toward ranking

The Legend of the Ice People Margit Sandemo

	Work	Year	Internal chron.	Canon	Rating
	Trollbundet	1982	1	core	3.75 (6,436 ratings)
	Heksejakten	1982	2	core	3.84 (4,193 ratings)
	Avgrunnen	1982	3	core	3.96 (3,636 ratings)
	Lengsel	1982	4	core	3.83 (3,223 ratings)
	Dødssynden	1982	5	core	3.90 (2,924 ratings)
	Den onde arven	1982	6	core	3.81 (2,755 ratings)
	Spøkelsesslottet	1982	7	core	3.70 (2,538 ratings)
	Bøddelens datter	1982	8	core	3.87 (2,518 ratings)
	Den ensomme	1982	9	core	3.68 (2,311 ratings)
	Vinterstorm	1983	10	core	3.77 (2,284 ratings)
	Blodhevn	1983	11	core	3.81 (2,201 ratings)
	Feber i blodet	1983	12	core	3.84 (2,095 ratings)
	Satans fotspor	1983	13	core	3.82 (2,061 ratings)
	Den siste ridder	1983	14	core	3.71 (1,930 ratings)
	Vinden fra øst	1984	15	core	3.68 (1,900 ratings)
	Galgeblomsten	1984	16	core	3.80 (1,853 ratings)
	Dødens have	1984	17	core	3.76 (1,796 ratings)
	Bak fasaden	1984	18	core	3.84 (1,751 ratings)
	Dragens tenner	1984	19	core	3.87 (1,765 ratings)
	Ravnens vinger	1984	20	core	3.82 (1,711 ratings)
	Djevlekløften	1985	21	core	3.76 (1,677 ratings)
	Demonen og jomfruen	1985	22	core	3.89 (1,676 ratings)
	Våroffer	1985	23	core	3.84 (1,634 ratings)
	I jordens dyp	1985	24	core	3.95 (1,633 ratings)
	Engel med svarte vinger	1985	25	core	3.83 (1,593 ratings)
	Huset i Eldafjord	1985	26	core	3.72 (1,560 ratings)
	Skandalen	1986	27	core	3.72 (1,519 ratings)
	Is og ild	1986	28	core	3.78 (1,511 ratings)
	Lucifers kjærlighet	1986	29	core	3.95 (1,549 ratings)
	Utysket	1986	30	core	3.76 (1,521 ratings)
	Fergemannen	1986	31	core	3.69 (1,506 ratings)
	Hunger	1986	32	core	3.66 (1,455 ratings)
	Kvinnen på stranden	1986	33	core	3.68 (1,418 ratings)
	Nattens demon	1987	34	core	3.96 (1,511 ratings)
	Vandring i mørket	1987	35	core	3.60 (1,415 ratings)
	Trollmåne	1987	36	core	3.86 (1,414 ratings)
	Skrekkens by	1987	37	core	3.68 (1,370 ratings)
	Skjulte spor	1987	38	core	3.66 (1,338 ratings)
	Rop av stumme røster	1987	39	core	3.66 (1,325 ratings)
	Fanget av tiden	1987	40	core	3.67 (1,331 ratings)
	Demonenes fjell	1988	41	core	3.90 (1,348 ratings)
	Stille før stormen	1988	42	core	3.64 (1,310 ratings)
	Et streif av ømhet	1988	43	core	3.67 (1,283 ratings)
	Den onde dagen	1989	44	core	3.65 (1,297 ratings)
	Legenden om Marco	1989	45	core	3.73 (1,282 ratings)
	Det svarte vannet	1989	46	core	3.70 (1,268 ratings)
	Er det noen der ute?	1989	47	core	3.35 (1,277 ratings)

The original 47-volume saga (1982-1989) following the cursed Ice People clan across generations of Scandinavian history, marked by inherited supernatural gifts, a medallion-bound curse, and (in its later volumes) an underground kingdom where time itself runs differently. Two later continuations exist (a further ~35 volumes across two more parts, published years afterward) and are not yet catalogued here pending closer genre review.

Quick answers

• How many books are in The Legend of the Ice People? The Legend of the Ice People's Core Canon is 47 books.
• What is the reading order for The Legend of the Ice People? Publication order, starting with Trollbundet. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
• Is The Legend of the Ice People finished? Complete (1982–1989).
• How much reading does The Legend of the Ice People take? High reading commitment (estimated from 47 Core Canon books · ~11,894 pages).
• How is The Legend of the Ice People ranked? #556 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 90,902 reader ratings across 47 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.

Why is it ranked #556?

Ranked #556 of 664 ranked universes.

• Average reader rating of 3.78 across 47 core books.
• A smaller readership (90,902 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
• Uneven reception: its books range from 3.35 to 3.96.
• Less than 0.01 behind #555, Krönikan om den femte konfluxen (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
• Below the top-10 average of 4.45.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Rated · 47 books · Complete · 91k ratings · Ranks #556 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

Publication order (47 Core Canon books)

1. Avgrunnen (1982)
2. Bøddelens datter (1982)
3. Den ensomme (1982)
4. Den onde arven (1982)
5. Dødssynden (1982)
6. Heksejakten (1982)
7. Lengsel (1982)
8. Spøkelsesslottet (1982)
9. Trollbundet (1982)
10. Blodhevn (1983)
11. Den siste ridder (1983)
12. Feber i blodet (1983)
13. Satans fotspor (1983)
14. Vinterstorm (1983)
15. Bak fasaden (1984)
16. Dragens tenner (1984)
17. Dødens have (1984)
18. Galgeblomsten (1984)
19. Ravnens vinger (1984)
20. Vinden fra øst (1984)
21. Demonen og jomfruen (1985)
22. Djevlekløften (1985)
23. Engel med svarte vinger (1985)
24. Huset i Eldafjord (1985)
25. I jordens dyp (1985)
26. Våroffer (1985)
27. Fergemannen (1986)
28. Hunger (1986)
29. Is og ild (1986)
30. Kvinnen på stranden (1986)
31. Lucifers kjærlighet (1986)
32. Skandalen (1986)
33. Utysket (1986)
34. Fanget av tiden (1987)
35. Nattens demon (1987)
36. Rop av stumme røster (1987)
37. Skjulte spor (1987)
38. Skrekkens by (1987)
39. Trollmåne (1987)
40. Vandring i mørket (1987)
41. Demonenes fjell (1988)
42. Et streif av ømhet (1988)
43. Stille før stormen (1988)
44. Den onde dagen (1989)
45. Det svarte vannet (1989)
46. Er det noen der ute? (1989)
47. Legenden om Marco (1989)

Documented internal/story order

1. Trollbundet (1982)
2. Heksejakten (1982)
3. Avgrunnen (1982)
4. Lengsel (1982)
5. Dødssynden (1982)
6. Den onde arven (1982)
7. Spøkelsesslottet (1982)
8. Bøddelens datter (1982)
9. Den ensomme (1982)
10. Vinterstorm (1983)
11. Blodhevn (1983)
12. Feber i blodet (1983)
13. Satans fotspor (1983)
14. Den siste ridder (1983)
15. Vinden fra øst (1984)
16. Galgeblomsten (1984)
17. Dødens have (1984)
18. Bak fasaden (1984)
19. Dragens tenner (1984)
20. Ravnens vinger (1984)
21. Djevlekløften (1985)
22. Demonen og jomfruen (1985)
23. Våroffer (1985)
24. I jordens dyp (1985)
25. Engel med svarte vinger (1985)
26. Huset i Eldafjord (1985)
27. Skandalen (1986)
28. Is og ild (1986)
29. Lucifers kjærlighet (1986)
30. Utysket (1986)
31. Fergemannen (1986)
32. Hunger (1986)
33. Kvinnen på stranden (1986)
34. Nattens demon (1987)
35. Vandring i mørket (1987)
36. Trollmåne (1987)
37. Skrekkens by (1987)
38. Skjulte spor (1987)
39. Rop av stumme røster (1987)
40. Fanget av tiden (1987)
41. Demonenes fjell (1988)
42. Stille før stormen (1988)
43. Et streif av ømhet (1988)
44. Den onde dagen (1989)
45. Legenden om Marco (1989)
46. Det svarte vannet (1989)
47. Er det noen der ute? (1989)

Awards (verified)

• No awards found for this universe.

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Suggestions computed from what The Legend of the Ice People and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

• Crown of Stars Epic fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.87
• The Tales of Alvin Maker Historical fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.80
• Temeraire Historical fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.99
• The Elemental Masters Historical fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Ongoing · High commitment · 3.97

Official resources

• Wikipedia: The Legend of the Ice People

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.78 across 90,902 ratings on 47 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 the Ice People, Part One (Margit Sandemo) accepted 2026-08-30

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

• Wikipedia: The Legend of the Ice People Tier 2
• Jentas Books: The Legend of the Ice People Tier 3
• Reader database series: Sagaen om Isfolket Tier 3

Last reviewed: 2026-08-31

Rule: Core Canon = the original 47-volume saga (1982–1989), read as one continuous sequence. The author's two later continuations in the same world (a further ~35 volumes across two more parts, one leaning further into science-fantasy) are not yet catalogued here, pending a closer, book-by-book genre review.

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