The Sharing Knife
#4573.89 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2006–2009 Reading commitment Medium Lois McMaster Bujold Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
A four-book fantasy-romance sequence (2006–2009) about Fawn Bluefield, a young farm girl, and Dag Redwing Hickory, a much older veteran patroller, whose lives become bound together by a shared blood-magic knife. Set in a world threatened by malices, world-eating entities that corrupt the land, the series follows the couple as they navigate the deep cultural divide between Fawn's farmer people and Dag's magically-gifted Lakewalker people. A separate setting from Lois McMaster Bujold’s own World of the Five Gods: different world, different magic system, different cast.
Romantasy, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Sharing Knife Lois McMaster Bujold
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Beguilement | 2006 | 1 | core | 3.76 (13,718 ratings) |
 | Legacy | 2007 | 2 | core | 3.87 (9,344 ratings) |
 | Passage | 2008 | 3 | core | 3.97 (8,231 ratings) |
 | Horizon | 2009 | 4 | core | 4.06 (7,581 ratings) |
The four-book main sequence, published as a continuous quartet 2006-2009.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
- Knife Children (2019) · 4.34 (2,134 ratings); A standalone novella published a decade after the main quartet, following the next generation of the same world; classified as companion/expanded material rather than a continuation of the core sequence.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Sharing Knife? The Sharing Knife's Core Canon is 4 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Sharing Knife? Publication order, starting with Beguilement. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Sharing Knife finished? Complete (2006–2009).
- How much reading does The Sharing Knife take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is The Sharing Knife ranked? #457 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 38,874 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #457?
Ranked #457 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.89 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (38,874 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #456, Binti (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Complete · 39k ratings · Ranks #457 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length romantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Beguilement (2006)
- Legacy (2007)
- Passage (2008)
- Horizon (2009)
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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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.89 across 38,874 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 Sharing Knife (Lois McMaster Bujold) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon is the four-book main sequence (Beguilement through Horizon, 2006–2009). The standalone 2019 novella Knife Children, following the next generation a decade later, is classified as companion/expanded material rather than a continuation of the core sequence.