The Magicians
#5823.73 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2009–2014 Reading commitment Medium Lev Grossman Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
A disillusioned, brilliant teenager is admitted to a secret college of magic in upstate New York, and later finds his way into the very Narnia-esque fictional kingdom he grew up reading about.
Portal fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Magicians Trilogy Lev Grossman
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Magicians | 2009 | 1 | core | 3.53 (282,214 ratings) |
 | The Magician King | 2011 | 2 | core | 3.93 (106,820 ratings) |
 | The Magician's Land | 2014 | 3 | core | 4.14 (83,632 ratings) |
Completed trilogy (2009-2014).
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Magicians? The Magicians's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Magicians? Publication order, starting with The Magicians. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Magicians finished? Complete (2009–2014).
- How much reading does The Magicians take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,236 pages).
- How is The Magicians ranked? #582 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 472,666 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #582?
Ranked #582 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.73 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 473k reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.53 to 4.14.
- Less than 0.01 behind #581, The Water Outlaws (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 3 books · Complete · 473k ratings · Ranks #582 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Magicians (2009)
- The Magician King (2011)
- The Magician's Land (2014)
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)
- Alex Award, 2010: won: The Magicians
Related universes
- Same author The Bright Sword: Both by Lev Grossman, confirmed separate settings/casts (The Magicians' Brakebills/Fillory vs. The Bright Sword's post-Arthurian Britain); see.
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Suggestions computed from what The Magicians 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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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.73 across 472,666 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: Admit The Magicians (Lev Grossman) as a new single-author universe accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = the completed 3-novel trilogy (2009-2014).