Order of Book Series
0

Guy Gavriel Kay Books in Order

Guy Gavriel Kay has written 17 books, published between 1984 and 2025. The first book is The Summer Tree (1984) and the newest is Written on the Dark (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
17
Published
1984–2025
Confirmed
17 of 17 titles
Pages on record
7,383 in 15 of 17 books
Reading time
123–185 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,383 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 17 titles with a page count on record.

See all 17 books in order Printable Guy Gavriel Kay checklist

Guy Gavriel Kay writes fantasy grounded in history. The Fionavar Tapestry - The Summer Tree (1984), The Wandering Fire (1986) and The Darkest Road (1986) - is set in the imaginary world of Fionavar. Tigana (1990), A Song for Arbonne (1992) and The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995) follow, and the Sarantine Mosaic opens with Sailing to Sarantium (1998). Seventeen titles are catalogued, through Written on the Dark in 2025.

How many Guy Gavriel Kay books are there?

Guy Gavriel Kay has 17 books, released between 1984 and 2025. They include 3 series and 10 titles listed outside any series.

Guy Gavriel Kay Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Guy Gavriel Kay books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 1 of the Fionavar Tapestry series (1984)
  2. Cover of The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 2 of the Fionavar Tapestry series (1986)
  3. Cover of The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 3 of the Fionavar Tapestry series (1986)
  4. Cover of Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (1990)
  5. Cover of A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay (1992)
  6. Cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (1995)
  7. Cover of Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 1 of the Sarantine Mosaic series (1998)
  8. Cover of The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay (2004)
  9. Cover of Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (2007)
  10. Cover of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 1 of the Under Heaven series (2010)
  11. Cover of River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay, book 2 of the Under Heaven series (2013)
  12. Cover of Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay (2016)
  13. Cover of A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay (2019)
  1. 1
    The Summer TreeFionavar Tapestry #11984 · 383 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1984383
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Wandering FireFionavar Tapestry #21986 · 375 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986375
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Darkest RoadFionavar Tapestry #31986 · 424 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986424
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Tigana1990 · 688 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990688
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    A Song for Arbonne1992 · 509 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992509
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Lions of Al-Rassan1995 · 528 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995528
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Sailing to SarantiumSarantine Mosaic #11998 · 448 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Lord of EmperorsSarantine Mosaic #22000 · 431 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000431
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Beyond This Dark House: Poems2002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Last Light of the Sun2004 · 499 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004499
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Ysabel2007 · 432 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Under HeavenUnder Heaven #12010 · 608 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2010608
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    River of StarsUnder Heaven #22013 · 639 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013639
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Children of Earth and Sky2016 · 571 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016571
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    A Brightness Long Ago2019 · 448 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2019448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    All the Seas of the World2022 · confirmed 3/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Written on the Dark2025 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2025400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Guy Gavriel Kay books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Fionavar Tapestry in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Summer Tree
  2. 2. The Wandering Fire
  3. 3. The Darkest Road

Sarantine Mosaic in order

2 books
  1. 1. Sailing to Sarantium
  2. 2. Lord of Emperors

Under Heaven in order

2 books
  1. 1. Under Heaven
  2. 2. River of Stars

Standalone books

10 books

10 Guy Gavriel Kay titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Guy Gavriel Kay books in order?

You only need to read Guy Gavriel Kay books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Guy Gavriel Kay

Start with The Summer Tree (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Guy Gavriel Kay book?

Written on the Dark (2025) is the newest Guy Gavriel Kay book released so far.

Is there a new Guy Gavriel Kay book coming?

No next Guy Gavriel Kay book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Guy Gavriel Kay has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 23 nominations for Guy Gavriel Kay. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Guy Gavriel Kay at a glance

Still publishing
Guy Gavriel Kay published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Guy Gavriel Kay books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
7,383 pages across the 15 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 448 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Guy Gavriel Kay books, 4 of 17, were published in the 2010s.

What the Guy Gavriel Kay books are about

15 of the 17 Guy Gavriel Kay books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 12 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.