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Series · epic fantasy

Truth

by Dawn Cook

The Truth series by Dawn Cook has 4 known books (4 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with First Truth (2002).

Books
4 known books (4 novels)
Published
4
First published
2002
Status
completed
Shelved under
Fantasy
Last checked

Start here: First Truth (2002) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of First Truth

First Truth (2002)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. First Truth

    Novel

    The first entry in the Truth series, First Truth was published in 2002 and runs 336 pages under the byline Dawn Cook -- Kim Harrison's legal name before The Hollows made her famous under her pen name. It introduces Alissa, a headstrong foothills girl searching for the Hold, a mountain fortress where gifted people are trained in magic, following stories left behind by her long-vanished father.

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  2. Hidden Truth

    Novel

    Released in 2002, Hidden Truth sits between First Truth and Forgotten Truth in the Truth reading order, running 359 pages. The story continues directly from the first book, with Alissa and Strell facing Bailic, a Keeper obsessed with finding the First Truth's world-altering power.

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  3. Forgotten Truth

    Novel

    At 376 pages, Forgotten Truth is the longest entry in Truth and appeared in 2003. The conflict widens beyond the besieged Hold into a larger struggle over who controls magical knowledge, carried by the same instinct for institutional intrigue that later defined Dawn Cook's Hollows novels under the Kim Harrison pen name.

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  4. Lost Truth

    Novel

    Lost Truth closes out the published run of Truth to date, following Forgotten Truth in 2004 at 356 pages. It completes Alissa's coming-of-age quest, resolving the continuous four-book story of her discovery that the magic she never believed in is real.

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About the Truth series

Alissa is a headstrong foothills girl whose father vanished when she was five, leaving behind stories of the Hold, a mountain fortress where gifted people are trained as Keepers of knowledge and magic by mysterious Masters. When her mother finally sends her to find it, Alissa falls in with Strell, a wary plainsman musician carrying one of her father's old maps, and the two discover the Hold nearly emptied: its Masters sent on a false errand and its remaining Keepers being systematically murdered by Bailic, a Keeper obsessed with finding the First Truth, a book of world-altering power he believes Alissa and Strell can lead him to.

Dawn Cook -- the byline Kim Harrison used before The Hollows made her famous under her pen name -- builds a classic coming-of-age quest fantasy around Alissa's discovery that the magic she never believed in is real, and that she has more of it than anyone expects. Across four books the series widens from a single besieged fortress into a larger conflict over who controls magical knowledge and how it should be used, carried by the same instinct for institutional intrigue and slow-earned competence that later defined Harrison's Hollows novels. It's for readers who want a grounded, character-first epic fantasy quest rather than a sprawling multi-POV saga.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Truth series?

Four: First Truth (2002), Hidden Truth (2002), Forgotten Truth (2003), and Lost Truth (2004).

What order should I read the Truth series in?

Publication order, starting with First Truth. It's one continuous quest-fantasy story across all four books.

Is Dawn Cook the same person as Kim Harrison?

Yes. Dawn Cook is Kim Harrison's legal name, used for this earlier epic-fantasy work before she adopted the Kim Harrison pen name for The Hollows.

Is the Truth series connected to The Hollows?

No. It's an entirely separate epic-fantasy world with no shared characters or setting, published under the author's legal name rather than her later pen name.

Is the Truth series finished?

Yes, it's a complete quadrilogy concluding with Lost Truth (2004).

Reading order last verified .