Troy
#234.37 adjusted 4.36 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2005–2007 Reading commitment Medium David Gemmell & Stella Gemmell Last reviewed 2026-09-24
Overview
Troy is a completed historical-fantasy trilogy by David Gemmell, published across 2005-2007 by Bantam Press, reimagining the siege of Troy as an alternate history driven by trade rivalries, piracy, and court politics rather than the gods of Homeric legend.
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow follows Helikaon, a Dardanian trading lord and reluctant pirate-hunter, as long-simmering hostility between the expansionist Mykene kingdom and the Dardanian/Trojan coalition edges toward open war. Troy: Shield of Thunder widens the cast to Andromache's arranged marriage to the Trojan prince Hektor, a band of Mykene deserters turned outlaws, and an assassination attempt on Helikaon, while Troy: Fall of Kings brings Agamemnon's fleet to the walls of Troy for the siege itself, resolving with a volcanic cataclysm and the fates of its surviving cast. Gemmell died in July 2006 partway through writing Fall of Kings, having completed roughly 70,000 words plus his own chapter plan and notes; his widow, Stella Gemmell, completed the manuscript from those materials, and it was published under joint authorship in 2007.
Historical fantasy, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Troy Trilogy David Gemmell, Stella Gemmell
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow | 2005 | 1 | core | 4.34 (16,721 ratings) |
 | Troy: Shield of Thunder | 2006 | 2 | core | 4.38 (11,814 ratings) |
 | Troy: Fall of Kings | 2007 | 3 | core | 4.42 (11,304 ratings) |
Historical-fantasy retelling of the Trojan War. Gemmell died in July 2006 partway through writing Fall of Kings; his widow Stella Gemmell completed it from his notes.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Troy? Troy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Troy? Publication order, starting with Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Troy finished? Complete (2005–2007).
- How much reading does Troy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Troy ranked? #23 in this site's official ranking, based on 39,839 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #23?
Ranked #23 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.37 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (39,839 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.08 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #22, Wings of Fire (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 3 books · Complete · 40k ratings · Ranks #23 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (2005)
- Troy: Shield of Thunder (2006)
- Troy: Fall of Kings (2007)
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 award nomination could be confirmed for any of the three novels despite a targeted search.
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Suggestions computed from what Troy and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Faithful and the Fallen Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.38
- Shadow of the Leviathan Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.37
- The Bound and the Broken Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.33
- Lightbringer Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.33
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.37 across 39,839 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: Troy trilogy admitted accepted 2026-09-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- David Gemmell (English Wikipedia) Tier 2
- Penguin Random House: The Troy Trilogy Tier 2
- FantasticFiction: David Gemmell - Troy Tier 3
Last reviewed: 2026-09-24
Rule: Core Canon is all three novels: Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow, Troy: Shield of Thunder, and Troy: Fall of Kings.