The Quickening
#4973.94 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2003–2012 Reading commitment Medium Fiona McIntosh Last reviewed 2026-10-11
Overview
Fiona McIntosh's first fantasy trilogy (2003-2004), a number-one bestseller in Australia, follows Wyl Thirsk, who inherits command of Morgravia's legions as a boy and the enmity of its cruel crown prince, Celimus. When he shows mercy to Myrren, a young woman burned as a witch, she leaves him a gift he does not understand until he is killed: the Quickening, which carries his mind into the body of whoever kills him. Body after body, from a mercenary to a female assassin, Wyl fights to protect his sister, to win Queen Valentyna of Briavel and to stop Celimus's war of conquest. A separate world from McIntosh's Percheron.
Epic fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Quickening Fiona McIntosh
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Myrren's Gift | 2003 | 1 | core | 3.89 (5,504 ratings) |
 | Blood and Memory | 2004 | 2 | core | 3.99 (3,547 ratings) |
 | Bridge of Souls; ISBN corrected 2026-10-11 from the Harper Voyager US edition (978-0-06-074760-2) to the Voyager Australia first edition (24 November 2004). | 2004 | 3 | core | 4.01 (3,627 ratings) |
Fiona McIntosh's first fantasy trilogy (Voyager, 2003-2004): Wyl Thirsk, young general of Morgravia, given by a dying witch the gift of the Quickening, which carries his mind into the body of whoever kills him, against the tyrant King Celimus and for the love of Queen Valentyna of Briavel.
The Scrivener's Tale (2012) core · 3.75 (691 ratings); Voyager (HarperCollins Australia), 1 November 2012; Harper Voyager US 2013. A standalone novel set partly in present-day Paris and partly in Morgravia, the world of the Quickening trilogy.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Quickening? The Quickening's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Quickening? Publication order, starting with Myrren's Gift. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Quickening finished? Complete (2003–2012).
- How much reading does The Quickening take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~512 pages).
- How is The Quickening ranked? #497 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,369 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #497?
Ranked #497 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.94 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (13,369 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #496, The Dalemark Quartet (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 4 books · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #497 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 (4 Core Canon books)
- Myrren's Gift (2003)
- Blood and Memory (2004)
- Bridge of Souls (2004)
- The Scrivener's Tale (2012)
Documented internal/story order: 3 of 4 Core Canon books
- Myrren's Gift (2003)
- Blood and Memory (2004)
- Bridge of Souls (2004)
Internal chronology is documented for 3 of 4 Core Canon books; the remaining 1 are not yet mapped onto the same ordinal scale.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for the trilogy.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.94 across 13,369 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Quickening (Fiona McIntosh) accepted 2026-10-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-11
Rule: Core Canon = Myrren's Gift (2003), Blood and Memory (2004), Bridge of Souls (2004) and The Scrivener's Tale (2012), a standalone novel moving between present-day Paris and Morgravia.