The Shadow
#4663.88 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2015–2018 Reading commitment Medium Lila Bowen Last reviewed 2026-08-26
Overview
The Shadow (2015–2018) is Lila Bowen's completed four-book weird-western dark fantasy series, following Nettie Lonesome (later Rhett Walker), a mixed-race, gender-fluid monster hunter, across an alternate 1870s Texas populated by vampires, shifters, and figures drawn from indigenous and frontier folklore.
Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Shadow Lila Bowen
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Wake of Vultures | 2015 | 1 | core | 3.88 (5,208 ratings) |
 | Conspiracy of Ravens | 2016 | 2 | core | 3.86 (1,781 ratings) |
 | Malice of Crows | 2017 | 3 | core | 3.91 (882 ratings) |
 | Treason of Hawks | 2018 | 4 | core | 3.93 (552 ratings) |
A completed four-book weird-western dark fantasy following Nettie Lonesome/Rhett Walker, a mixed-race, gender-fluid monster hunter in an alternate 1870s Texas populated by vampires, shifters, and figures from indigenous and frontier folklore.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Shadow? The Shadow's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Shadow? Publication order, starting with Wake of Vultures. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Shadow finished? Complete (2015–2018).
- How much reading does The Shadow take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~1,439 pages).
- How is The Shadow ranked? #466 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 8,423 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #466?
Ranked #466 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.88 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (8,423 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 4 rated core books rate within 0.07 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #465, The Long Price Quartet (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Complete · 8k ratings · Ranks #466 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Wake of Vultures (2015)
- Conspiracy of Ravens (2016)
- Malice of Crows (2017)
- Treason of Hawks (2018)
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.
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Suggestions computed from what The Shadow and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Vita Nostra Mythic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.96
- Doctrine of Labyrinths Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.90
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.88 across 8,423 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: Admit The Shadow (Lila Bowen) accepted 2026-08-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Reader rating platform Tier 4
- Black Gate Tier 3
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon is the completed four-novel main sequence.