The Ropemaker
#7923.67 adjusted 3.74 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2001–2006 Reading commitment Low Peter Dickinson Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Overview
Peter Dickinson's first novel of high fantasy, The Ropemaker (2001), follows Tilja and her companions out of a Valley protected for twenty generations by failing magic and into the Empire of the evil Emperor and his magicians, in search of a mythical figure who controls the rope of time. Its sequel, Angel Isle (2006), returns to the same world as Saranja, Maja and Ribek seek the Ropemaker against the Empire's twenty-four corrupted magicians. The Ropemaker won the 2002 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature and was a 2002 Michael L. Printz Honor Book.
Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Ropemaker Peter Dickinson
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Ropemaker | 2001 | 1 | core | 3.70 (2,728 ratings) |
Peter Dickinson's first high-fantasy novel.
Angel Isle Peter Dickinson
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Angel Isle; First-publication year: 2006 on the series listing, 2007 in the author's agency list; 2006 recorded. UK first edition, Macmillan Children's Books, 6 October 2006; the US Random House edition followed in 2007. | 2006 | 1 | core | 3.51 (420 ratings) |
The sequel to The Ropemaker.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Ropemaker? The Ropemaker's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Ropemaker? Publication order, starting with The Ropemaker. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Ropemaker finished? Complete (2001–2006).
- How much reading does The Ropemaker take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books).
- How is The Ropemaker ranked? #792 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,148 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #792?
Ranked #792 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.67 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (3,148 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #791, The Etched City (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 2 books · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #792 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Ropemaker (2001)
- Angel Isle (2006)
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)
- Mythopoeic Award (Children's Literature), 2002: won: The Ropemaker
- Michael L. Printz Award (Honor Book), 2002: honor: The Ropemaker
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.67 across 3,148 ratings on 2 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: Owl in Love (Patrice Kindl), The Ropemaker (Peter Dickinson, 2 books) accepted 2026-10-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- United Agents: The Estate of Peter Dickinson (Angel Isle described as the sequel to The Ropemaker) Tier 2
- Mythopoeic Society (final ballots) Tier 2
- Reader series listing: The Ropemaker (2 primary works) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Rule: Core Canon = The Ropemaker (2001) and Angel Isle (2006), set in one world.