The Raven's Mark
#1634.16 adjusted 4.15 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2017–2019 Reading commitment Medium Ed McDonald Last reviewed 2026-09-23
Overview
The Raven's Mark follows Ryhalt Galharrow, a bounty hunter and veteran of a war that ended twenty years earlier by tearing open the sky above a stretch of land now known as the Misery — a wasteland of drifting sand, twisted geography, and warped creatures left behind by an ancient conflict against the immortal Deep Kings. Sent to a frontier outpost to find a masked noblewoman, Galharrow is drawn back into a conspiracy involving Lady Ezabeth Tanza, a woman from his own past who carries a rare and dangerous power, and the Engine, the failing weapon that has kept the Deep Kings' armies at bay. Across the trilogy, the Deep Kings' renewed aggression, the Misery's own unstable magic, and Galharrow's fraught personal history collide as the republic's fragile peace comes under direct threat.
Grimdark · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Raven's Mark Ed McDonald
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Blackwing | 2017 | 1 | core | 4.08 (8,651 ratings) |
 | Ravencry | 2018 | 2 | core | 4.22 (4,833 ratings) |
 | Crowfall | 2019 | 3 | core | 4.25 (4,052 ratings) |
Completed grimdark secondary-world trilogy following bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharrow across the Misery, a wasteland created by an ancient war against the immortal Deep Kings.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Raven's Mark? The Raven's Mark's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Raven's Mark? Publication order, starting with Blackwing. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Raven's Mark finished? Complete (2017–2019).
- How much reading does The Raven's Mark take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,228 pages).
- How is The Raven's Mark ranked? #163 in this site's official ranking, based on 17,536 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #163?
Ranked #163 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.16 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (17,536 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #162, The Everlasting (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 3 books · Complete · 18k ratings · Ranks #163 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length grimdark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Blackwing (2017)
- Ravencry (2018)
- Crowfall (2019)
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)
- David Gemmell Morningstar Award (Best Fantasy Newcomer), 2018: nominated: Blackwing
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Suggestions computed from what The Raven's Mark and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Ash and Sand Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.30
- The Nevernight Chronicle Dark fantasy / Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.29
- The Covenant of Steel Epic fantasy / Grimdark · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.27
- The Poppy War Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.16 across 17,536 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: The Raven's Mark trilogy admitted accepted 2026-09-23
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-23
Rule: Core Canon is all three books of the completed trilogy: Blackwing (2017), Ravencry (2018), and Crowfall (2019).