The Nightside
#3164.02 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 12 books Status Complete 2003–2012 Reading commitment High Simon R. Green Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Hidden in the true heart of London, the Nightside is a place where it is always 3 a.m. and every myth, monster and fallen angel does business after dark. Private investigator John Taylor, who can find anything except his own missing mother, is drawn deeper into the Nightside’s politics and secrets across twelve novels of hardboiled urban fantasy.
Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (12 works) counts toward ranking
The Nightside main sequence Simon R. Green
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Something from the Nightside | 2003 | 1 | core | 3.78 (25,823 ratings) |
 | Agents of Light and Darkness | 2003 | 2 | core | 4.00 (16,171 ratings) |
 | Nightingale's Lament | 2004 | 3 | core | 3.98 (12,652 ratings) |
 | Hex and the City | 2005 | 4 | core | 4.07 (12,302 ratings) |
 | Paths Not Taken | 2005 | 5 | core | 4.05 (11,265 ratings) |
 | Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth | 2006 | 6 | core | 4.11 (11,286 ratings) |
 | Hell to Pay | 2006 | 7 | core | 4.06 (9,823 ratings) |
 | The Unnatural Inquirer | 2008 | 8 | core | 4.04 (9,295 ratings) |
 | Just Another Judgement Day | 2009 | 9 | core | 4.15 (10,008 ratings) |
 | The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny | 2010 | 10 | core | 4.11 (8,252 ratings) |
 | A Hard Day's Knight | 2011 | 11 | core | 4.14 (8,101 ratings) |
 | The Bride Wore Black Leather | 2012 | 12 | core | 4.17 (6,886 ratings) |
No further main-sequence novel has been found published since The Bride Wore Black Leather (2012); a short-story collection, Tales from the Nightside (2015), exists in the same setting but is not catalogued in this admission. No confirmed major-award nomination was found for this series after a genuine search; this is an honest "none found," not an unresolved lead.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Nightside? The Nightside's Core Canon is 12 books.
- What is the reading order for The Nightside? Publication order, starting with Something from the Nightside. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Nightside finished? Complete (2003–2012).
- How much reading does The Nightside take? High reading commitment (estimated from 12 Core Canon books · ~1,831 pages).
- How is The Nightside ranked? #316 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 141,864 reader ratings across 12 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #316?
Ranked #316 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.02 across 12 core books.
- Backed by 142k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #315, The Sixth World (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 12 books · Complete · 142k ratings · Ranks #316 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 (12 Core Canon books)
- Agents of Light and Darkness (2003)
- Something from the Nightside (2003)
- Nightingale's Lament (2004)
- Hex and the City (2005)
- Paths Not Taken (2005)
- Hell to Pay (2006)
- Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth (2006)
- The Unnatural Inquirer (2008)
- Just Another Judgement Day (2009)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (2010)
- A Hard Day's Knight (2011)
- The Bride Wore Black Leather (2012)
Documented internal/story order
- Something from the Nightside (2003)
- Agents of Light and Darkness (2003)
- Nightingale's Lament (2004)
- Hex and the City (2005)
- Paths Not Taken (2005)
- Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth (2006)
- Hell to Pay (2006)
- The Unnatural Inquirer (2008)
- Just Another Judgement Day (2009)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (2010)
- A Hard Day's Knight (2011)
- The Bride Wore Black Leather (2012)
Awards (verified)
- No confirmed major award nomination was found for this series after a genuine search.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Nightside and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Alex Verus Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
- The Green Man Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.16
- The Witcher Dark fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.16
- The Dark Tower Dark fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.11
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.02 across 141,864 ratings on 12 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 Nightside accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon covers all twelve novels of the main sequence. A short-story collection in the same setting is not catalogued in this admission.