The Raven Cycle
#1354.16 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 2012–2022 Reading commitment High Maggie Stiefvater Last reviewed 2026-08-29
Overview
The Raven Cycle follows Blue Sargent, the only non-psychic in a family of psychics, and a group of private-school boys searching for a sleeping Welsh king said to grant a wish to whoever wakes him. The Dreamer Trilogy directly continues the story, centered on Ronan Lynch, a supporting character from the first series who can pull objects out of his own dreams.
Urban fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
The Raven Cycle Maggie Stiefvater
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Raven Boys | 2012 | 1 | core | 4.05 (409,991 ratings) |
 | The Dream Thieves | 2013 | 2 | core | 4.22 (224,971 ratings) |
 | Blue Lily, Lily Blue | 2014 | 3 | core | 4.25 (185,330 ratings) |
 | The Raven King | 2016 | 4 | core | 4.25 (163,855 ratings) |
The original quartet following Blue Sargent and the Raven Boys' search for a sleeping Welsh king.
The Dreamer Trilogy Maggie Stiefvater
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Call Down the Hawk | 2019 | 5 | core | 4.23 (39,882 ratings) |
 | Mister Impossible | 2021 | 6 | core | 4.11 (20,898 ratings) |
 | Greywaren | 2022 | 7 | core | 4.27 (15,358 ratings) |
A direct continuation focused on Ronan Lynch, a supporting character from The Raven Cycle; requires the first series to be read first.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Raven Cycle? The Raven Cycle's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for The Raven Cycle? Publication order, starting with The Raven Boys. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Raven Cycle finished? Complete (2012–2022).
- How much reading does The Raven Cycle take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~2,826 pages).
- How is The Raven Cycle ranked? #135 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 1,060,285 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #135?
Ranked #135 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.16 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 1.1M reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #134, Alex Verus (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 7 books · Complete · 1.1M ratings · Ranks #135 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 (7 Core Canon books)
- The Raven Boys (2012)
- The Dream Thieves (2013)
- Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014)
- The Raven King (2016)
- Call Down the Hawk (2019)
- Mister Impossible (2021)
- Greywaren (2022)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Raven Cycle and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Shadowhunter Chronicles Urban fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.15
- Raybearer Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.28
- Legendborn Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
- Bloodlines Urban fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.16 across 1,060,285 ratings on 7 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 Raven Cycle accepted 2026-08-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Raven Cycle Tier 2
- Maggie Stiefvater: The Dreamer Trilogy (official) Tier 1
- Reader-rating platform: Dreamer Trilogy series Tier 4
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Two series in one continuous world: the four-book Raven Cycle, and the three-book Dreamer Trilogy that directly continues it. Both are Core Canon.