Lian Hearn Books in Order
Lian Hearn has written 17 books, published between 2002 and 2020. The first book is Across the Nightingale Floor (2002) and the newest is Sibling Assassins (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
Gillian Rubinstein books in order are published under that pen name.
- Books
- 17
- Published
- 2002–2020
- Pages on record
- 4,749 in 13 of 17 books
- Reading time
- 79–119 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,749 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 17 titles with a page count on record.
Lian Hearn is the pen name of Gillian Rubinstein, an English-born author who moved to Australia in 1973. The Hearn books are historical fantasies set in Japan: Tales of the Otori opens with Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), then Grass for His Pillow (2003), Brilliance of the Moon (2004) and The Harsh Cry of the Heron (2006), with the Tale of Shikanoko following. Seventeen titles are catalogued to 2020, and revenge, inheritance, succession and honour recur as subjects.
How many Lian Hearn books are there?
Lian Hearn has 17 books, released between 2002 and 2020. They include 4 series and 2 titles listed outside any series.
Lian Hearn Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 17 Lian Hearn 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.
- 120023051/4
- 220033441/4
- 320043681/4
- 420052721/4
- 520052521/4
- 620065921/4
- 720062811/4
- 820075761/4
- 9Blossoms and Shadows2010 · 527 pages · confirmed 1/420105271/4
- 10The Storyteller and his Three Daughters2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 1120164481/4
- 1220162881/4
- 1320162401/4
- 1420162561/4
- 152016–1/4
- 162020–1/4
- 172020–1/4
Lian Hearn series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
Lian Hearn 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.
Tale of Shikanoko in order
4 booksGrass For His Pillow in order
2 booksChildren of the Otori in order
2 booksStandalone books
2 books2 Lian Hearn titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Lian Hearn books in order?
You only need to read Lian Hearn books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Lian Hearn
Start with Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), the first Tales of the Otori book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Lian Hearn book?
Sibling Assassins (2020) is the newest Lian Hearn book released so far.
Is there a new Lian Hearn book coming?
No next Lian Hearn book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Lian Hearn at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Lian Hearn title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Lian Hearn books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 4,749 pages across the 13 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 305 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Lian Hearn books, 8 of 17, were published in the 2000s.
What the Lian Hearn books are about
13 of the 17 Lian Hearn books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: japan is tagged on 9 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Japan 9 of 13 books
- Action & adventure 7 of 13 books
- Historical fiction 5 of 13 books
- Fantasy, historical 4 of 13 books
- Fantasy 3 of 13 books
- History 2 of 13 books
- Inheritance and succession 2 of 13 books
- Marriage 2 of 13 books
- Revenge 2 of 13 books