The Others
#614.27 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 8 books Status Ongoing 2013–present Reading commitment High Anne Bishop Last reviewed 2026-08-24
Overview
The Others is an urban fantasy series set in a world where humans live under the watchful, often dangerous tolerance of the terra indigene, shapeshifting beings who consider themselves the world's true owners. The main sequence follows Meg Corbyn, a fugitive blood prophet, in the Lakeside Courtyard; a spin-off sequence, The World of the Others, follows new protagonists in other towns within the same setting.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (8 works) counts toward ranking
The Others Anne Bishop
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Written in Red | 2013 | core | 4.25 (65,715 ratings) |
 | Murder of Crows | 2014 | core | 4.26 (47,448 ratings) |
 | Vision in Silver | 2015 | core | 4.25 (38,173 ratings) |
 | Marked in Flesh | 2016 | core | 4.27 (31,536 ratings) |
 | Etched in Bone | 2017 | core | 4.32 (26,092 ratings) |
Main 5-novel sequence following Meg Corbyn and the shapeshifting terra indigene of Lakeside Courtyard.
The World of the Others Anne Bishop
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lake Silence | 2018 | core | 4.27 (17,280 ratings) |
 | Wild Country | 2019 | core | 4.27 (12,938 ratings) |
 | Crowbones | 2022 | core | 4.38 (8,990 ratings) |
Spin-off sequence set in the same world with new protagonists in other towns; a further volume, Turns of Fate, is announced for October 2026 and is not yet published, so is correctly excluded.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Others? The Others's Core Canon is 8 books.
- What is the reading order for The Others? Publication order, starting with Written in Red. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Others finished? Ongoing (2013–present).
- How much reading does The Others take? High reading commitment (estimated from 8 Core Canon books · ~3,246 pages).
- How is The Others ranked? #61 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 248,172 reader ratings across 8 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #61?
Ranked #61 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.27 across 8 core books.
- Backed by 248k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 8 rated core books rate within 0.13 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #60, The Gentleman Bastards (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 8 books · Ongoing · 248k ratings · Ranks #61 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (8 Core Canon books)
- Written in Red (2013)
- Murder of Crows (2014)
- Vision in Silver (2015)
- Marked in Flesh (2016)
- Etched in Bone (2017)
- Lake Silence (2018)
- Wild Country (2019)
- Crowbones (2022)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what The Others and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Kate Daniels Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.35
- Mercy Thompson Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.31
- The Hollows Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.30
- The Dresden Files Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.26
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.27 across 248,172 ratings on 8 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Others admitted as a second universe for Anne Bishop accepted 2026-08-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24
Rule: Core Canon = all 8 published novels across the main sequence (2013–2017) and its World of the Others spin-off sequence (2018–2022).