The Sixth World
#3154.02 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2018–present Reading commitment Low Rebecca Roanhorse Last reviewed 2026-08-15
Overview
Rebecca Roanhorse's post-apocalyptic Dinétah (Navajo Nation) sequence: after climate catastrophe floods most of North America, Maggie Hoskie, a monster-hunter gifted (and cursed) with supernatural killing clan powers, is drawn into a conflict with a witch raising new breeds of monster and the Diné gods reshaping her own destiny; distinct from Roanhorse's other admitted universe, Between Earth and Sky, a wholly invented pre-Columbian-inspired secondary world with no shared characters, setting, or timeline.
Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Sixth World Rebecca Roanhorse
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Trail of Lightning | 2018 | core | 3.95 (27,861 ratings) |
 | Storm of Locusts | 2019 | core | 4.18 (11,492 ratings) |
Maggie Hoskie / Kai Arviso post-apocalyptic Dinétah sequence. 2 further entries appear as untitled, undated placeholders (#3/#4) on the series' own listing page on its rating platform; unannounced/unpublished per Article 2, so the series is still marked ongoing rather than complete.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
River of Bones (2026) ; Title novella of the 2026 collection River of Bones and Other Stories (Saga Press); Kai's POV, returning to Maggie and Kai's Sixth World; the collection's other stories are unconnected standalones, not registered here.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Sixth World? The Sixth World's Core Canon is 2 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for The Sixth World? Publication order, starting with Trail of Lightning. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Sixth World finished? Ongoing (2018–present).
- How much reading does The Sixth World take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~600 pages).
- How is The Sixth World ranked? #315 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 39,353 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #315?
Ranked #315 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.02 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (39,353 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #314, Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 39k ratings · Ranks #315 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Trail of Lightning (2018)
- Storm of Locusts (2019)
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2019: won: Trail of Lightning; Confirmed directly against Locus's own 2019 winners announcement; independently corroborated by the author's own contemporaneous blog post.
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2018: finalist: Trail of Lightning; Confirmed directly via nebulas.sfwa.org's own 2018 award-year page. Did not win.
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2019: finalist: Trail of Lightning; Confirmed directly via thehugoawards.org's own 2019 history page. Did not win.
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2019: nominated: Trail of Lightning; Confirmed directly via the World Fantasy Convention's own 2019 awards page. Did not win.
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Official resources
- Wikipedia: Trail of Lightning
- Simon & Schuster: The Sixth World series page
- Rebecca Roanhorse: Locus Award Winner!
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.02 across 39,353 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: The Sixth World admitted; Core = Trail of Lightning, Storm of Locusts accepted 2026-08-15
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Trail of Lightning Tier 3
- Simon & Schuster: The Sixth World series page Tier 1
- sfadb: Rebecca Roanhorse Tier 2
- Project research brief: Between Earth and Sky Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-08-15
Rule: Core = the 2 published Maggie Hoskie novels, Trail of Lightning (2018) and Storm of Locusts (2019). 2 further entries appear as untitled, undated placeholders on the series' own listing page on its rating platform and are not registered per Article 2. Expanded = River of Bones (2026), a new novella from Kai's point of view, published in the collection River of Bones and Other Stories.