The Saint of Steel
#2094.11 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Ongoing 2020–present Reading commitment Medium T. Kingfisher Last reviewed 2026-10-15
Overview
The Saint of Steel is T. Kingfisher's (Ursula Vernon's) paladin fantasy-romance sequence: seven paladins of a murdered war-god, the Saint of Steel, left "berserker"-afflicted and without a calling. Each novel follows a different paladin finding new purpose, a new order to serve, and a romantic partner, blending earthy, comic prose with genuinely tense found-family fantasy plotting. Four novels have been published so far, Paladin's Grace (2020), Paladin's Strength (2021), Paladin's Hope (2021), and Paladin's Faith (2023), each pairing one of the surviving paladins with a partner from a different walk of life, from a perfumer to a clockwork-obsessed inventor. The sequence sits within the same broader setting as Kingfisher's Clocktaur War duology and the standalone romance Swordheart, sharing settings and occasional characters while remaining readable independently. Kingfisher, the pen name Vernon uses for her adult fiction, has become known across these interconnected books for pairing romantic comedy with genuine physical and emotional stakes.
Romantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Saint of Steel T. Kingfisher
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Paladin's Grace | 2020 | 1 | core | 4.03 (65,361 ratings) |
 | Paladin's Strength | 2021 | 2 | core | 4.16 (34,449 ratings) |
 | Paladin's Hope | 2021 | 3 | core | 4.16 (27,146 ratings) |
 | Paladin's Faith | 2023 | 4 | core | 4.18 (20,611 ratings) |
Romantic fantasy following seven paladins left without their god after his murder. A 5th, untitled book is announced for 2026 but unpublished as of the latest update -- isn't counted here yet.
Library / Expanded (4 works)
The Clocktaur War T. Kingfisher
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Clockwork Boys | 2017 | N/A | |
 | The Wonder Engine | 2018 | N/A |
A completed duology set in the same shared setting as the Core Canon Saint of Steel novels -- 'The World of the White Rat', per Wikipedia's own Clocktaur Wars article and the rating platform's umbrella series listing -- following four different protagonists (Slate, Learned Edmund, Brennan, and Caliban, a disgraced paladin) on a quest against automaton 'clocktaurs'. Registered Expanded Canon rather than a separate new universe, since it shares its setting/temple network with the Saint of Steel's own Core Canon rather than being an unrelated continuity. No independent award history found.
Swordheart T. Kingfisher
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Swordheart; A standalone-turned-duology fantasy-romance novel set in the same 'World of the White Rat' shared setting as the Core Canon Saint of Steel novels and The Clocktaur War duology. Registered Expanded Canon on the same shared-setting basis. Its sequel, Daggerbound (Swordheart #2), published 2026-08-25 and was added to the catalog the same day. | 2018 | N/A | |
 | Daggerbound; Swordheart #2. Published 2026-08-25 in the same 'World of the White Rat' shared setting as Swordheart; registered Expanded Canon on the same basis as its predecessor. | 2026 | 4.51 (1,261 ratings) |
T. Kingfisher's Swordheart duology, set in the same 'World of the White Rat' shared setting as the Core Canon Saint of Steel novels. Registered Expanded Canon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Saint of Steel? The Saint of Steel's Core Canon is 4 books, plus 4 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Saint of Steel? Publication order, starting with Paladin's Grace. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Saint of Steel finished? Ongoing (2020–present).
- How much reading does The Saint of Steel take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~1,628 pages).
- How is The Saint of Steel ranked? #209 in this site's official ranking, based on 147,567 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #209?
Ranked #209 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.11 across 4 core books.
- Backed by 148k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 4 rated core books rate within 0.15 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #208, The Draconis Memoria (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 4 books · Ongoing · 148k ratings · Ranks #209 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length romantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Paladin's Grace (2020)
- Paladin's Hope (2021)
- Paladin's Strength (2021)
- Paladin's Faith (2023)
Documented internal/story order
- Paladin's Grace (2020)
- Paladin's Strength (2021)
- Paladin's Hope (2021)
- Paladin's Faith (2023)
Awards (verified)
- No verified award wins or nominations found for this series.
Related universes
- Same author Nettle & Bone: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- Nettle & Bone's standalone dark fairy-tale world shares no characters, setting, or continuity with The Saint of Steel's own secondary world.
- Same author Thornhedge: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author A Sorceress Comes to Call: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author Hemlock & Silver: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
- Same author A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking: Both by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), confirmed separate continuities -- no shared characters, setting, or continuity across her admitted standalone/series universes.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Saint of Steel and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Blood and Ash Romantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.21
- Kushiel's Legacy Romantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.20
- The Roots of Chaos Epic fantasy / Romantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.18
- The Jasmine Throne / Burning Kingdoms Epic fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.16
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.11 across 147,567 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: The Clocktaur War duology and Swordheart registered as Expanded Canon for The Saint of Steel (World of the White Rat shared setting) accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- T. Kingfisher official site Tier 1
- FictionDB - The Saint of Steel Tier 3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Kingfisher
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-07
Rule: Core = the 4 published novels. A 5th, untitled book is announced for 2026 but unpublished as of this admission and not registered, per Article 2.