The Second Apocalypse
#3933.96 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 2003–2017 Reading commitment High R. Scott Bakker Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
A philosophically dense grimdark epic fantasy saga across two sub-series -- the Prince of Nothing trilogy and, twenty years later in the same continuity, the Aspect-Emperor tetralogy -- set against a holy war and the looming return of an ancient apocalyptic threat.
Grimdark, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
The Prince of Nothing R. Scott Bakker
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Darkness That Comes Before | 2003 | 1 | core | 3.85 (24,162 ratings) |
 | The Warrior-Prophet | 2004 | 2 | core | 4.00 (16,165 ratings) |
 | The Thousandfold Thought | 2006 | 3 | core | 3.95 (13,481 ratings) |
Completed trilogy, the series' first arc.
The Aspect-Emperor R. Scott Bakker
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Judging Eye | 2009 | 4 | core | 4.03 (7,316 ratings) |
 | The White-Luck Warrior | 2011 | 5 | core | 4.13 (6,435 ratings) |
 | The Great Ordeal | 2016 | 6 | core | 4.10 (3,390 ratings) |
 | The Unholy Consult | 2017 | 7 | core | 3.96 (2,922 ratings) |
Completed tetralogy, set 20 years after The Prince of Nothing.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Second Apocalypse? The Second Apocalypse's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for The Second Apocalypse? Publication order, starting with The Darkness That Comes Before. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Second Apocalypse finished? Complete (2003–2017).
- How much reading does The Second Apocalypse take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~4,070 pages).
- How is The Second Apocalypse ranked? #393 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 73,871 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #393?
Ranked #393 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.96 across 7 core books.
- A smaller readership (73,871 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #392, Oz (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 7 books · Complete · 74k ratings · Ranks #393 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running grimdark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- The Darkness That Comes Before (2003)
- The Warrior-Prophet (2004)
- The Thousandfold Thought (2006)
- The Judging Eye (2009)
- The White-Luck Warrior (2011)
- The Great Ordeal (2016)
- The Unholy Consult (2017)
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 award win or nomination found for any book in this series after checking Wikipedia and Worlds Without End -- admitted on genre-historical significance instead (see Research notes).
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.96 across 73,871 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: The Second Apocalypse (R. Scott Bakker) admitted accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = all 7 published novels across both sub-series (2003-2017). Completed.