To Reign in Hell
#5193.92 adjusted 3.93 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1984 Reading commitment Low Steven Brust Last reviewed 2026-10-02
Overview
Steven Brust's 1984 novel retells the Revolt of the Angels from the beginning of Heaven: the firstborn Yaweh, Satan, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Leviathan and Belial shape a refuge from the chaos of the illiaster, and when a Fourth Wave threatens it, Yaweh's plan to build Earth, at the cost of many angels' lives, divides them. Satan's honest doubt about coercing that sacrifice, and the lies of the ambitious Abdiel to both sides, turn a disagreement among friends into war. Written with sympathy for the losing side and a foreword by Roger Zelazny; a separate world from Brust's Dragaera.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
To Reign in Hell (1984) core · 3.92 (3,794 ratings); SteelDragon Press, May 1984 (limited hardcover, foreword by Roger Zelazny); Ace 1985; Tor 2000 and 2024. A separate world from Dragaera.
Quick answers
- How many books are in To Reign in Hell? To Reign in Hell's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is To Reign in Hell finished? Complete (1984).
- How much reading does To Reign in Hell take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~257 pages).
- How is To Reign in Hell ranked? #519 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,794 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #519?
Ranked #519 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.92 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (3,794 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #518, Kalpa Imperial (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #519 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for this novel.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.92 across 3,794 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: To Reign in Hell (Steven Brust) accepted 2026-10-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-02
Rule: Core Canon = To Reign in Hell (1984) only, standalone.