The Witches of Eileanan
#1704.14 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 9 books Status Complete 1997–2006 Reading commitment High Kate Forsyth Last reviewed 2026-10-11
Overview
Kate Forsyth's six-book Celtic epic fantasy (1997-2002) is set in Eileanan, a land settled long ago by the witches and faerie folk of Celtic Scotland, where on the Day of Reckoning witchcraft was outlawed, the witches slaughtered and their towers destroyed. The apprentice witch Isabeau and her ancient mentor Meghan of the Beasts, Key-Bearer of the scattered Coven, set out to restore magic to the land, depose the queen who has bewitched its ruler and recover the lost Lodestar, in a story of dragons, faerie creatures, rebellion and war with the sea-dwelling Fairgean that grows across six books to a wide cast, among them the thief Finn the Cat. Its first book, Forsyth's debut, was shortlisted for the Aurealis Award.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (9 works) counts toward ranking
The Witches of Eileanan Kate Forsyth
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dragonclaw; Published in Australia as Dragonclaw (1997); in the United States as The Witches of Eileanan (Roc, 1998), the ISBN recorded. | 1997 | 1 | core | 4.03 (7,503 ratings) |
 | The Pool of Two Moons | 1998 | 2 | core | 4.19 (4,817 ratings) |
 | The Cursed Towers | 1999 | 3 | core | 4.19 (4,102 ratings) |
 | The Forbidden Land | 2000 | 4 | core | 4.20 (3,334 ratings) |
 | The Skull of the World | 2001 | 5 | core | 4.30 (3,269 ratings) |
 | The Fathomless Caves | 2002 | 6 | core | 4.32 (3,331 ratings) |
Kate Forsyth's six-book Celtic epic fantasy (Pan Macmillan Australia, 1997-2002; Roc in the United States, where the first volume is titled The Witches of Eileanan): a land where witchcraft has been outlawed since the Day of Reckoning, the apprentice witch Isabeau and her ancient mentor Meghan of the Beasts, and the struggle to restore the Coven and the lost Lodestar.
Rhiannon's Ride Kate Forsyth
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Tower of Ravens | 2004 | 1 | core | 4.01 (3,717 ratings) |
 | The Shining City | 2005 | 2 | core | 4.04 (2,506 ratings) |
 | The Heart of Stars | 2006 | 3 | core | 4.09 (2,196 ratings) |
Kate Forsyth's return to Eileanan, some twenty-five years after The Witches of Eileanan: Rhiannon, a half-human satyricorn girl who escapes her herd on a winged horse, and the apprentice-witch Lewen, amid necromancy and court intrigue under the rule of Lachlan the Winged.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Witches of Eileanan? The Witches of Eileanan's Core Canon is 9 books.
- What is the reading order for The Witches of Eileanan? Publication order, starting with Dragonclaw. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Witches of Eileanan finished? Complete (1997–2006).
- How much reading does The Witches of Eileanan take? High reading commitment (estimated from 9 Core Canon books).
- How is The Witches of Eileanan ranked? #170 in this site's official ranking, based on 34,775 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #170?
Ranked #170 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.14 across 9 core books.
- A smaller readership (34,775 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #169, Abarat (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 9 books · Complete · 35k ratings · Ranks #170 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (9 Core Canon books)
- Dragonclaw (1997)
- The Pool of Two Moons (1998)
- The Cursed Towers (1999)
- The Forbidden Land (2000)
- The Skull of the World (2001)
- The Fathomless Caves (2002)
- The Tower of Ravens (2004)
- The Shining City (2005)
- The Heart of Stars (2006)
Documented internal/story order
- Dragonclaw (1997)
- The Tower of Ravens (2004)
- The Pool of Two Moons (1998)
- The Shining City (2005)
- The Cursed Towers (1999)
- The Heart of Stars (2006)
- The Forbidden Land (2000)
- The Skull of the World (2001)
- The Fathomless Caves (2002)
Awards (verified)
- Aurealis Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1997: nominated: Dragonclaw; Shortlisted, per the publisher's description of the sequel.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.14 across 34,775 ratings on 9 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 Witches of Eileanan (Kate Forsyth) accepted 2026-10-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- FantasticFiction Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-11
Rule: Core Canon = The Witches of Eileanan (6 novels, 1997-2002) and Rhiannon's Ride (3 novels, 2004-2006), set some twenty-five years later in the same land, in their own orders.