The Winnowing Flame Trilogy
#1894.11 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2017–2019 Reading commitment Medium Jen Williams Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
The Winnowing Flame Trilogy is Jen Williams’s complete epic fantasy trilogy (2017–2019), set in a world scarred by past invasions from an alien, world-eating force known as the Jure’lia. A washed-up adventurer, an exiled war-witch, and a fallen scholar are drawn together as the threat reawakens.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Winnowing Flame Trilogy Jen Williams
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Ninth Rain | 2017 | core | 4.08 (10,782 ratings) |
 | The Bitter Twins | 2018 | core | 4.07 (5,850 ratings) |
 | The Poison Song | 2019 | core | 4.22 (4,700 ratings) |
Complete trilogy; the first two volumes each won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Winnowing Flame Trilogy? The Winnowing Flame Trilogy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Winnowing Flame Trilogy? Publication order, starting with The Ninth Rain. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Winnowing Flame Trilogy finished? Complete (2017–2019).
- How much reading does The Winnowing Flame Trilogy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,120 pages).
- How is The Winnowing Flame Trilogy ranked? #189 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 21,332 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #189?
Ranked #189 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.11 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (21,332 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.15 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #188, The Lot Lands (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 3 books · Complete · 21k ratings · Ranks #189 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Ninth Rain (2017)
- The Bitter Twins (2018)
- The Poison Song (2019)
Awards (verified)
- British Fantasy Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2018: won: The Ninth Rain
- British Fantasy Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2019: won: The Bitter Twins
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.11 across 21,332 ratings on 3 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 Winnowing Flame Trilogy admitted as a new universe accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-21
Rule: Core Canon = all three novels, one continuous story read in publication order.