Sword of Truth Books in Order
Terry Goodkind has written 17 Sword of Truth books, published between 1994 and 2015. The first book is Wizard's First Rule (1994) and the newest is Warheart (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 17
- Published
- 1994–2015
- Confirmed
- 17 of 17 titles
- Pages on record
- 10,097 in 16 of 17 books
- Reading time
- 168–252 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,097 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 17 titles with a page count on record.
Sword of Truth is an epic fantasy sequence by Terry Goodkind, built around Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell. Wizards, magic and the D'Haran empire fill the books, which open with Wizard's First Rule (1994) and finish with Warheart (2015). Thirty-four volumes are catalogued, Debt of Bones (1998) included. Books run long, at a median of 640 pages.
How many Sword of Truth books are there?
Sword of Truth has 17 books, released between 1994 and 2015.
Sword of Truth Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 17 Sword of Truth 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.
- 119948483/4
- 219957033/4
- 319966404/4
- 41998–3/4
- 519981753/4
- 619998004/4
- 720008004/4
- 820017253/4
- 920037523/4
- 1020047564/4
- 1120065873/4
- 1220076083/4
- 1320115124/4
- 1420126403/4
- 1520125273/4
- 1620145603/4
- 1720154643/4
Sword of Truth Books in Chronological Order
In story order, The First Confessor comes first and Warheart comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 17 books of the Sword Of Truth series with a recorded story position run in that sequence below.
- 14The First Confessor2012 · 640 pages · confirmed 3/420126403/4
- 5Debt of Bones1998 · 175 pages · confirmed 3/419981753/4
- 1Wizard's First Rule1994 · 848 pages · confirmed 3/419948483/4
- 2Stone of Tears1995 · 703 pages · confirmed 3/419957033/4
- 3Blood of the Fold1996 · 640 pages · confirmed 4/419966404/4
- 4Temple of the Winds1998 · confirmed 3/41998–3/4
- 6Soul of the Fire1999 · 800 pages · confirmed 4/419998004/4
- 7Faith of the Fallen2000 · 800 pages · confirmed 4/420008004/4
- 8The Pillars of Creation2001 · 725 pages · confirmed 3/420017253/4
- 9Naked Empire2003 · 752 pages · confirmed 3/420037523/4
- 10Chainfire2004 · 756 pages · confirmed 4/420047564/4
- 11Phantom2006 · 587 pages · confirmed 3/420065873/4
- 12Confessor2007 · 608 pages · confirmed 3/420076083/4
- 13The Omen Machine2011 · 512 pages · confirmed 4/420115124/4
- 15The Third Kingdom2012 · 527 pages · confirmed 3/420125273/4
- 16Severed Souls2014 · 560 pages · confirmed 3/420145603/4
- 17Warheart2015 · 464 pages · confirmed 3/420154643/4
Do you have to read Sword of Truth books in order?
You should read the Sword of Truth books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Sword of Truth book also stands alone.
What order should you read Sword of Truth books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Wizard's First Rule (1994), the earliest published title. After it come Stone of Tears (1995), Blood of the Fold (1996), Temple of the Winds (1998) and Debt of Bones (1998); the numbered table above continues from there. In the chronological order, The First Confessor comes first.
What is the newest Sword of Truth book?
Warheart (2015) is the newest Sword of Truth book released so far.
Is there a new Sword of Truth book coming?
No next Sword of Truth book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Award nominations for Sword of Truth
Wikidata records 3 nominations for Sword of Truth. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1997Shortlistedfor Blood of the Fold
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1996Shortlistedfor Stone of Tears
- Locus Award for Best First Novel1995Shortlistedfor Wizard's First Rule
Sword of Truth at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Sword of Truth title on record dates from 2015, 11 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Sword of Truth books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 10,097 pages across the 16 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 640 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Sword of Truth books, 6 of 17, were published in the 2000s.
- Corroboration
- 5 of the 17 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Sword of Truth books are about
16 of the 17 Sword of Truth 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 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 12 of 16 books
- Fantasy, epic 12 of 16 books
- Richard Rahl (Fictitious character) 12 of 16 books
- Amnell, kahlan (fictitious character) 10 of 16 books
- Rahl, richard (fictitious character) 10 of 16 books
- Wizards 8 of 16 books
- Kahlan Amnell (Fictitious character) 6 of 16 books
- D'haran empire (imaginary place) 5 of 16 books
- Magic 3 of 16 books
- Marriage 2 of 16 books
- Missing persons 2 of 16 books
More books by Terry Goodkind
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Terry Goodkind books in order 33 books