The Elemental Masters
fantasy
Series · epic fantasy
Realm of the Elderlings
The Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb has 16 known books (16 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Assassin's Apprentice (1995).
- Books
- 16 known books (16 novels)
- Published
- 16
- First published
- 1995
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Assassin's Apprentice (1995) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Assassin's Apprentice
Assassin's Apprentice opened Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings in 1995, introducing FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard trained as a covert assassin at the Farseer court -- the first of a trilogy built on court intrigue and blood magic. It runs 400 pages and is the book where the saga's central relationship, Fitz's decades-long struggle between duty and want, begins.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Assassin's Apprentice - Book 2:
Royal Assassin
Royal Assassin, from 1996, is the second Farseer novel, continuing Fitz's story at the Farseer court and nearly doubling the opener's length at 704 pages. It's part of the trilogy readers can complete as a self-contained story before deciding whether to continue into the wider Realm of the Elderlings.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Royal Assassin - Book 3:
Assassin's Quest
Assassin's Quest closes out the Farseer trilogy in 1997, the third entry in the Realm of the Elderlings at 757 pages. It completes the self-contained arc many readers stop at, before Robin Hobb widens the world into the Liveship Traders trilogy's separate cast and sentient ships.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Assassin's Quest - Book 4:
Ship of Magic
Ship of Magic, from 1998, opens the Liveship Traders trilogy and shifts the series to a new cast and setting -- sentient, memory-hungry sailing ships and slave-trade politics -- in the same world Fitz occupied in Farseer. It's the fourth entry in the Realm of the Elderlings at 699 pages, and the trilogy where dragons truly enter the story.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ship of Magic - Book 5:
The Mad Ship
The Mad Ship followed in 1999 as the fifth Realm of the Elderlings novel, continuing the Liveship Traders trilogy's sentient ships and slave-trade politics. At 769 pages it's the longest book in the trilogy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Mad Ship - Book 6:
Ship of Destiny
Ship of Destiny closes out the Liveship Traders trilogy in 2000, the sixth entry in the Realm of the Elderlings at 683 pages. This trilogy sets up dragon-world mechanics and characters the later Rain Wild Chronicles and finale depend on, even though Fitz barely appears in it.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ship of Destiny - Book 7:
Fool's Errand
Fool's Errand, from 2001, opens the Tawny Man trilogy and returns the series to FitzChivalry Farseer after the Liveship Traders detour, the seventh Realm of the Elderlings entry at 620 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fool's Errand - Book 8:
Golden Fool
Golden Fool followed in 2002 as the eighth Realm of the Elderlings novel, continuing the Tawny Man trilogy's return to Fitz's story. It runs 640 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Golden Fool - Book 9:
Fool's Fate
Fool's Fate closes the Tawny Man trilogy in 2003, the ninth entry in the Realm of the Elderlings and, at 805 pages, one of the longest books in the saga so far.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fool's Fate - Book 10:
Dragon Keeper
Dragon Keeper opens the Rain Wild Chronicles after a six-year gap, becoming the tenth Realm of the Elderlings novel in 2009. It shifts to newly hatched dragons and their reluctant keepers, expanding the world again after the Tawny Man trilogy's return to Fitz. It runs 560 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dragon Keeper - Book 11:
Dragon Haven
Dragon Haven followed in 2010 as the eleventh Realm of the Elderlings entry, continuing the Rain Wild Chronicles' story of newly hatched dragons and their keepers. It runs 570 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dragon Haven - Book 12:
City of Dragons
City of Dragons, published 2012, is the twelfth Realm of the Elderlings novel and the shortest of the Rain Wild Chronicles at 334 pages, continuing the dragon-and-keepers story that trilogy built on the Liveship Traders' groundwork.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of City of Dragons - Book 13:
Blood of Dragons
Blood of Dragons closes out the Rain Wild Chronicles in 2013, the thirteenth Realm of the Elderlings entry at 496 pages, before Hobb returns to Fitz one last time for the Fitz and the Fool trilogy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood of Dragons - Book 14:
Fool's Assassin
Fool's Assassin opens the Realm of the Elderlings' final trilogy, Fitz and the Fool, in August 2014 -- the fourteenth entry, bringing the saga back to FitzChivalry Farseer for the last time after the Rain Wild Chronicles' detour into dragons. It runs 722 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fool's Assassin - Book 15:
Fool's Quest
Fool's Quest followed in August 2015 as the fifteenth Realm of the Elderlings novel, continuing the Fitz and the Fool trilogy that closes out Fitz's decades-long story. It runs 800 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fool's Quest - Book 16:
Assassin's Fate
Assassin's Fate concludes the Realm of the Elderlings in May 2017, the sixteenth and final entry in a saga that began with Assassin's Apprentice in 1995 and follows Fitz across more than two decades of real-world publication. At 903 pages it's the longest book in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Assassin's Fate
About the Realm of the Elderlings series
Realm of the Elderlings is Robin Hobb's umbrella name for sixteen novels across five trilogies and quartets, all set in the same world and connected above all by FitzChivalry Farseer — a royal bastard trained as a covert assassin, bonded against every rule of his society to a wolf, and forced across decades to keep choosing duty over the one thing he actually wants. The saga opens with the Farseer trilogy's court intrigue and blood magic, widens into the Liveship Traders trilogy's sentient, memory-hungry sailing ships and slave-trade politics (a separate cast, same world, and the books where dragons truly enter the story), narrows back to Fitz for the Tawny Man trilogy, expands again into the Rain Wild Chronicles' newly hatched dragons and their reluctant keepers, and finally returns to Fitz one last time for the Fitz and the Fool trilogy.
Hobb writes some of fantasy's most patient, interior character work — Fitz in particular is a genuinely flawed, frequently frustrating narrator whose worst decisions the books never let him off the hook for — married to a magic system built on real emotional cost (the Skill and the Wit both extract something from the people who use them). It's a slow burn by design, spanning over twenty years of real-world publication and in-story time, and it rewards readers willing to stay with one world and one core relationship across a genuinely huge canvas.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in Realm of the Elderlings?
Sixteen novels across five trilogies and quartets: the Farseer trilogy (3), the Liveship Traders trilogy (3), the Tawny Man trilogy (3), the Rain Wild Chronicles (4), and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy (3).
What order should I read Realm of the Elderlings in?
Publication order, trilogy by trilogy: Farseer, then Liveship Traders, then Tawny Man, then Rain Wild Chronicles, then Fitz and the Fool. Each sub-series should be read in its own internal order; skipping Liveship Traders is not recommended even though its cast is mostly different from Fitz's story.
Can I just read the Farseer trilogy and stop?
Yes. The original Farseer trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest) is a complete, satisfying story on its own, and many readers treat it as a standalone. The later trilogies expand the world considerably but aren't required to enjoy Farseer.
Is Realm of the Elderlings finished?
Yes. The saga concluded with Assassin's Fate in 2017, closing out the Fitz and the Fool trilogy and the wider sixteen-book sequence.
Do I need to read the Liveship Traders trilogy if I only care about Fitz?
You'll miss important setup if you skip it. Liveship Traders barely features Fitz, but it introduces dragons, several characters and world mechanics that the Rain Wild Chronicles and the final trilogy build directly on — skipping it will leave real gaps later.
If you like the Realm of the Elderlings series
Reading order last verified .