The Storm Runner
#1894.16 adjusted 4.15 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 2018–2023 Reading commitment Medium J.C. Cervantes Last reviewed 2026-10-29
Overview
J.C. Cervantes’s Maya-inspired middle-grade fantasy, published under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, begins with Zane Obispo, a boy in New Mexico with a disability in one leg who discovers that he is the son of Hurakan, the Maya god of storms, and that the dormant volcano near his home is a gateway to another world. The Storm Runner trilogy (2018 to 2020) is followed directly by the Shadow Bruja duology (2022 to 2023), which centres on Ren Santiago, a shadow-wielding godborn introduced in the second book, and brings in Aztec gods as well as Maya ones.
Mythic fantasy, Urban fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Storm Runner J.C. Cervantes
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Storm Runner | 2018 | 1 | core | 4.05 (11,677 ratings) |
 | The Fire Keeper | 2019 | 2 | core | 4.29 (4,416 ratings) |
 | The Shadow Crosser | 2020 | 3 | core | 4.37 (3,162 ratings) |
Trilogy, Rick Riordan Presents, 2018 to 2020.
Shadow Bruja J.C. Cervantes
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Lords of Night | 2022 | 1 | core | 4.16 (868 ratings) |
 | Dawn of the Jaguar | 2023 | 2 | core | 4.18 (429 ratings) |
Continuation duology starring Ren Santiago, Rick Riordan Presents, 2022 to 2023.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Storm Runner? The Storm Runner's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for The Storm Runner? Publication order, starting with The Storm Runner. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Storm Runner finished? Complete (2018–2023).
- How much reading does The Storm Runner take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books).
- How is The Storm Runner ranked? #189 in this site's official ranking, based on 20,552 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #189?
Ranked #189 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.16 across 5 core books.
- A smaller readership (20,552 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #188, The Graveyard Book (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 5 books · Complete · 21k ratings · Ranks #189 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- The Storm Runner (2018)
- The Fire Keeper (2019)
- The Shadow Crosser (2020)
- The Lords of Night (2022)
- Dawn of the Jaguar (2023)
Documented internal/story order
- The Storm Runner (2018)
- The Lords of Night (2022)
- The Fire Keeper (2019)
- Dawn of the Jaguar (2023)
- The Shadow Crosser (2020)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.16 across 20,552 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: The Carnelian Cube (de Camp and Pratt), The Storm Runner (Cervantes, with Shadow Bruja), The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (Scott) accepted 2026-10-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-29
Rule: Core Canon = the Storm Runner trilogy, The Storm Runner (2018), The Fire Keeper (2019) and The Shadow Crosser (2020), and its continuation, the Shadow Bruja duology, The Lords of Night (2022) and Dawn of the Jaguar (2023). The bridging short story is not included.