Uprooted
#3824.01 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2015 Reading commitment Low Naomi Novik Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
Uprooted (2015) is a standalone high fantasy novel by Naomi Novik, drawing on Polish folklore and set in the kingdom of Polnya, whose border villages live under the shadow of a malevolent sentient forest known only as "the Wood." The novel follows Agnieszka, a village girl taken into service by the reclusive wizard known as the Dragon in payment for his protection against the Wood, as she discovers her own untrained magical ability and is drawn into a wider conflict between the kingdoms of Polnya and Rosya. It is Novik's first major work outside the Temeraire series and won the 2016 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2016 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. It is the first of two fairy-tale-inspired standalone novels, alongside 2018's Spinning Silver, that reviewers and retailers routinely shelve together despite there being no confirmed in-universe connection between them.
Fairy-tale retelling · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Uprooted (2015) core · 4.01 (273,634 ratings); Standalone. No confirmed shared setting/characters with Spinning Silver; the pairing is a marketing/shelving convention, not an in-universe link.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Uprooted? Uprooted's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Uprooted finished? Complete (2015).
- How much reading does Uprooted take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~438 pages).
- How is Uprooted ranked? #382 in this site's official ranking, based on 273,634 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #382?
Ranked #382 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.01 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 274k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #381, The Dandelion Dynasty (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?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 274k ratings · Ranks #382 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling 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)
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2015: won: Uprooted
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2016: nominated: Uprooted
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2016: won: Uprooted; Locus reader-poll winner (1st place).
- British Fantasy Award (Best Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock Award)), 2016: won: Uprooted
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2016: nominated: Uprooted
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 2016: won: Uprooted
Related universes
- Same author Temeraire: Both by Naomi Novik. Uprooted was flagged as a candidate at Temeraire's admission and confirmed a wholly separate standalone continuity.
- Same author Spinning Silver: Both by Naomi Novik. Often shelved together as her “fairy-tale standalones”, but confirmed to share no continuity, setting, or characters, an editorial/marketing pairing, not a textual one.
- Same author The Scholomance: Both by Naomi Novik. Confirmed no shared continuity between Uprooted and The Scholomance.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Uprooted and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Stardust Fairy-tale retelling / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.09
- Nettle & Bone Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- A Sorceress Comes to Call Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.03
- Hemlock & Silver Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.01
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.01 across 273,634 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: Uprooted admitted as a single-work universe accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Uprooted (novel) Tier 3
- https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/236925/uprooted-by-naomi-novik/
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Core = 1 novel (2015). Admitted as a single-work universe; the third use of the pattern after The Once and Future King and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. No sequels, no companion material, and no confirmed shared setting or characters with Spinning Silver: the two novels’ pairing is an editorial/marketing convention, not a textual one.