The Wounded Kingdom
#2304.07 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2017–2018 Reading commitment Medium RJ Barker Last reviewed 2026-08-27
Overview
The Wounded Kingdom follows a hired killer posing as bodyguard to a young prince in a kingdom scarred by an ancient war against giant sea dragons, as a conspiracy against the royal line unfolds around them. Published between 2017 and 2018, it is a separate universe from this author's other admitted work in this database, The Tide Child Trilogy.
Dark fantasy, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Wounded Kingdom RJ Barker
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Age of Assassins | 2017 | 1 | core | 3.89 (4,202 ratings) |
 | Blood of Assassins | 2017 | 2 | core | 4.08 (3,609 ratings) |
 | King of Assassins | 2018 | 3 | core | 4.34 (2,774 ratings) |
Completed assassin's-apprentice epic fantasy trilogy, a separate universe from RJ Barker's already-admitted The Tide Child Trilogy.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Wounded Kingdom? The Wounded Kingdom's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Wounded Kingdom? Publication order, starting with Age of Assassins. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Wounded Kingdom finished? Complete (2017–2018).
- How much reading does The Wounded Kingdom take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,356 pages).
- How is The Wounded Kingdom ranked? #230 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 10,585 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #230?
Ranked #230 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (10,585 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.89 to 4.34.
- Less than 0.01 behind #229, The Legend of Eli Monpress (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 11k ratings · Ranks #230 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Age of Assassins (2017)
- Blood of Assassins (2017)
- King of Assassins (2018)
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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Suggestions computed from what The Wounded Kingdom and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- The Poppy War Grimdark / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
- The Licanius Trilogy Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.22
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 10,585 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 Wounded Kingdom admitted; Core Canon = the trilogy accepted 2026-08-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Reader-rating platform: The Wounded Kingdom series listing Tier 3
- Hachette Book Group: Age of Assassins Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is all three novels of the trilogy.