Brian Staveley
Brian Staveley has published 10 books across 4 series. The recommended reading order starts with The Emperor's Blades (2014).
Brian Staveley, an American author, debuted as a novelist in 2014 with The Emperor's Blades, initiating the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy. With a MA in Creative Writing from Boston University and a background teaching literature, religion, history, and philosophy, his writing deeply intertwines these subjects. His books have been translated into multiple languages and garnered several awards. Set in the crumbling Annurian Empire, Staveley’s forthcoming novel, The Empire's Ruin, launches a new trilogy. He lives in southern Vermont, where he splits his time between writing, fatherhood, splitting wood, mountain biking, and deterring bears from his trash. Staveley maintains a web presence through his Twitter account @brianstaveley and a personal website, www.brianstaveley.com.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of Anthologies
- Tagsfantasysci-fiDescriptionUnbound is a fantasy and science fiction anthology published in 2015 that collects twenty-three original stories from writers working without a unifying theme. The 549-page collection offers readers the chance to return to Landover with Terry Brooks, follow Harry Dresden into a courtroom trial with Jim Butcher, enter the Citadel with Rachel Caine, survive a plague alongside John Marco's robot companion Echo, and witness Mary Robinette Kowal paint among the stars. Each contributor was free to submit the tale they most wanted readers to encounter. The variety becomes the strength. Some stories arrive to move readers to emotion; others unfold across late nights and refused sleep. The anthology gathers both familiar voices and writers waiting to be discovered, each story as distinct as the person who shaped it. What binds them is only how fully they hold attention and how deeply they reach.Publication dateDecember 1, 2015Amazon rating4.2/5Print length549LanguageEnglishPublisherGrim Oak Press
- Tagsshort-storiesfantasysci-fiDescriptionSome of the Best from Tor.com, 2015 Edition gathers twenty-one original science fiction and fantasy short stories, each first published on Tor.com in 2015. The collection spans worlds where starship pilots navigate impossible choices, children inherit curses that rewrite their bodies, and cities fold under the weight of their own histories. A woman discovers what her grandmother buried in the backyard. A diplomat must choose between two species, knowing one will not survive the decision. A boy learns that the monster in his house has always known his name. The anthology includes work by Nino Cipri, Seth Dickinson, Jeffrey Ford, Yoon Ha Lee, Maria Dahvana Headley, David Herter, Kameron Hurley, Noah Keller, David D. Levine, Michael Livingston, Usman T. Malik, Haralambi Markov, Daniel José Older, Malka Older, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kelley Robson, Veronica Schanoes, Priya Sharma, Brian Staveley, Sabrina Vourvoulias, and Ray Wood. First published in 2016 as part of the Order of Anthologies series, the 791-page volume collects stories that ask what happens when the familiar world cracks open and something else looks back.Publication dateFebruary 2, 2016Amazon rating4.1/5Print length791LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
- Tagsshort-storiesfantasyDescriptionArt of War is a fantasy anthology built on a simple proposition: forty authors contribute war stories, and every dollar of profit goes to Doctors Without Borders. The charity works across conflict zones to treat the wounded and the sick, which means the book exists because its contributors agreed to write about war in order to help repair its damage. The anthology gathers forty short stories on the theme of war, each one written by a different fantasy author. The print edition includes forty black and white interior art pieces, one for each story. Published in 2018 as part of the Order of Anthologies series, the collection runs 502 pages and features work from Mark Lawrence, Ed Greenwood, Brian Staveley, Miles Cameron, John Gwynne, Sebastien De Castell, and thirty-four others. The foreword is by Brian D. Anderson. The stories range across bloodshed, strategy, survival, and the human cost of conflict. Some lean toward gore and pathos; others find dark humor in the chaos. The anthology does not argue a single position on war. It offers forty different angles on what war does to the people who fight it, survive it, or try to mend what it breaks.Publication dateJan. 17 2018Amazon rating4.2/5Print length502LanguageEnglishPublisherCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Order of Ashes Of The Unhewn Throne Books
- Tagsepic-fantasyfantasyDescriptionOne of the last surviving Kettral must sail beyond the edge of the known world to save an empire that is falling apart. The Empire's Ruin is an epic fantasy in which the Annurian Empire has lost the advantages it relied on for millennia — the ranks of its elite Kettral soldiers have been decimated from within, and the kenta gates that once allowed instantaneous travel across vast distances no longer work. The mission is desperate: cross a land that warps and poisons all living things to reach the nesting ground of the giant war hawks the Kettral once rode into battle. Meanwhile, a monk turned con-artist may hold the secret to restoring the kenta gates. But time is running out. Deep in the southern reaches of the empire, an ancient god-like race has begun to stir — a force that could finish what the empire's collapse has started. What the Kettral soldier and the con-artist discover will change them and the Annurian Empire forever, if they can survive long enough to bring it back.Publication dateJuly 6, 2021Amazon rating4.7/5Print length752LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
Order of Chronicle Of The Unhewn Throne Books
- Tagsepic-fantasyfantasychildrenmysterycrimesuspenseDescriptionThe emperor of Annur is dead, murdered by enemies unknown, and his three children are scattered across the world with targets on their backs. The Emperor's Blades is a fantasy novel that follows each of them as they try to stay alive, unmask the assassins, and navigate the destinies their father set in motion. Kaden, heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years in a remote mountain monastery learning the discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it's too late. An ocean away, his brother Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. Before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one final test. At the heart of the empire, their sister Adare has been elevated to minister by one of her father's last acts. She believes she knows who killed him, and she will stop at nothing to see justice done. Each of them carries a piece of the truth. Whether they can survive long enough to find one another — and whether their fractured loyalty can hold against ancient enemies and inscrutable gods — is the question that drives this first book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne.Publication dateAugust 26, 2014Amazon rating4.4/5Print length496LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
- Tagsepic-fantasyfantasymysterysuspensethrillerDescriptionAdare has learned who murdered her father, and the knowledge sends her fleeing the Dawn Palace. The Providence of Fire, the second novel in Brian Staveley's Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, follows three siblings whose choices after their father's assassination may force them into war with one another. Adare searches for allies to challenge the coup against her family, but few trust her until the people begin to believe she has been touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire. With that belief, they rally to help her retake the capital. As her armies gather, barbarian hordes threaten invasion, and rival forces must decide whether to unite against a common enemy. What Adare does not know is that her brother Valyn, a renegade elite soldier, has allied with those same invading nomads. Between them stands their brother Kaden, the rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the capital with two strange companions. They carry knowledge of a secret history that shapes everything now unfolding across the empire. What they know could save Annur or destroy it, and the terrible choices all three siblings have made may already have set them on a path to war.Publication dateDecember 8, 2015Amazon rating4.4/5Print length624LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
- Tags---DescriptionValyn, Adare, and Kaden are three imperial siblings whose empire is collapsing around them. The Last Mortal Bond is the final volume in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy, and the war that has been building across two books now engulfs the Annurian capital. The ancient csestriim have returned to finish their purge of humanity. Armies march on the city. Leaches — individuals who draw power from the natural world to fuel extraordinary abilities — maneuver on all sides to shape the outcome. Gods walk the earth in human guise, pursuing agendas no mortal can predict. The three siblings stand at the center of the conflict, each carrying a different vision of what their world should become. Surviving the war may be possible. What comes after — whether Valyn, Adare, and Kaden can reconcile the futures they each believe in — may not be. The question the novel leaves open is whether saving an empire means anything when the people who hold it cannot agree on what it is for.Publication dateMarch 15, 2016Amazon rating4.4/5Print length656LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
- Tagsepic-fantasyfantasyDescriptionSkullsworn is a fantasy novel set in the world of the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, following a priestess of the God of Death through the strangest trial imaginable. Pyrre Lakatur has trained to kill since she was eight years old, studying with some of the deadliest people alive. The killing has never been the problem. The problem is love. To pass her final trial and become a full priestess, Pyrre has ten days to kill seven people named in an ancient song. One of them must be the person who makes her mind and body sing with love, who will not come again. Pyrre has never been in love. If she cannot find someone who draws that passion from her, or if she cannot kill that person once she does, her order will give her to their god. She returns to the city where she was born, where she once killed an abusive father and left behind a battered brother, hoping to find what she needs. Pyrre is not afraid to die. She hates to fail. Now she has ten days to fall in love and ten days to end it on the edge of her sword.Publication dateApril 25, 2017Amazon rating4.5/5Print length320LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
Order of Short Stories/Novellas
- Tags---DescriptionThe Last Abbot of Ashk'lan is a 2015 novella in the Order of Short Stories/Novellas series.Publication date2015
- TagsfantasycrimeDescriptionThe Log Goblin is a fantasy short story in which a goblin caught stealing firewood on a cold winter's night becomes the start of something stranger. The theft itself is simple enough — logs taken in the dark, a thief apprehended — but what follows defies the ordinary logic of crime and punishment. The night grows colder, the situation more unsettling, and the goblin at the center of it all is no longer just a petty thief. What began as a straightforward case of stolen firewood turns into something no one expected, and the question becomes not what the goblin took, but what happens when the familiar rules stop applying. Part of the Order of Short Stories/Novellas series, first published in 2015.Publication dateDecember 8, 2015Amazon rating4.1/5Print length13LanguageEnglishPublisherTor Books
Frequently Asked Questions about Brian Staveley
Brian Staveley's books are best read in publication order, which also aligns with the internal chronology of his connected series. Begin with The Emperor's Blades, the first book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series. Follow this with The Providence of Fire and The Last Mortal Bond, the subsequent books in that same series. After finishing that trilogy, you can move to Skullsworn, which is a prequel novel set within the same world. The next chronological series is The Empire's Ruin, the first book in the Order of Ashes of the Unhewn Throne series. Short stories and anthologies can be read at any point after becoming familiar with the main series.
A good starting point for Brian Staveley's work is The Emperor's Blades, published in 2014. This is the first novel in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series and introduces readers to the world and its central characters. This series is followed by two more novels that conclude the main arc. Reading these books in publication order provides a clear narrative progression. His short fiction and other series can be explored after the initial trilogy.
While some readers might enjoy dipping into Brian Staveley's shorter works or anthologies without a specific order, the main narrative arcs of his novels are best experienced sequentially. The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series, in particular, is designed as a continuous story. Reading these books out of order would likely result in confusion regarding plot points, character development, and the overall unfolding of the world's history. Publication order is recommended for the fullest experience.
Brian Staveley primarily writes novels that are part of interconnected series. His major works, such as the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne and the Order of Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, are structured as multi-book narratives. While individual books within these series might offer some self-contained elements, they are designed to be read as part of a larger story arc. He has also contributed to anthologies and published standalone short stories and novellas.
Brian Staveley has written a number of novels, novellas, and short stories. His major series include the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, which comprises four books: The Emperor's Blades, The Providence of Fire, The Last Mortal Bond, and Skullsworn. He also has the Order of Ashes of the Unhewn Throne series, beginning with The Empire's Ruin. Additionally, he has contributed to various anthologies and published individual short fiction pieces.
The first book Brian Staveley wrote and published was The Emperor's Blades, released in 2014. This novel marked the beginning of the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series. It introduced readers to the world of Annur and the complex political and magical landscape. This book set the stage for the subsequent installments in the trilogy, establishing the characters and conflicts that would drive the narrative forward.
The most recent book published by Brian Staveley is The Empire's Ruin, which came out in 2021. This novel is the first in his Order of Ashes of the Unhewn Throne series. It continues his work within the same universe established in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series, though it focuses on different characters and a later period in the world's history. This book expands upon the established lore and introduces new conflicts.
Brian Staveley writes epic fantasy novels. His books are characterized by intricate world-building, complex political intrigue, and compelling character arcs, often featuring elements of magic, war, and ancient orders. The settings often involve vast empires, diverse cultures, and significant historical conflicts. His work is known for its detailed exploration of power dynamics and the consequences of ambition within a richly imagined fantasy world.
Alec Hutson
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James G. Anderson
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Christopher Paolini
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We verified the reading order for Brian Staveley's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: July 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “Brian Staveley Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/brian-staveley