Song of the Last Kingdom Books in Order

This reading order guide provides the complete list of Song of the Last Kingdom books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!

About the Song of the Last Kingdom Series

You’ll be immersed in an epic fantasy world that is at once a blend of magic, love, rebellion, and heartbreak, when reading the Song of the Last Kingdom series by Amélie Wen Zhao. Drawn from the ancient Chinese myths and legends, this series is steeped in a world of blood and history, where a fallen kingdom, in its struggle to remember who it once was, is tested to its capacity. Coming from a place of identity, free will, and the painful price of liberty, the novels also explore it’s clear that what happens when a culture’s background is wiped out, yet refuses to be forgotten.

At the center of this narrative, we have Song, a young woman, living under the occupation by unyielding conquerors who decimated her homeland and outlawed its magical practices. Known to others as Sora, she spends her nights as a song girl, singing for the entertainment of her oppressors, and her days scavenging for forgotten history, under a name that wasn’t hers. Inheriting a mysterious brand on her arm left by her dying mother is her bond to a magic considered gone. But when Song meets Zen, one of the few last adepts of the forbidden art, her life gets completely turned around. She is brought into a cryptic world of demons, ancient orders and terrible truths. As Lan and Zen search the misty mountains and silent forests for the answers to their worlds’ fate they can’t escape the uncertainty that their powers may either save or destroy everything they hold dear.

In the second book, Dark Star Burning, the series takes a darker and more intense turn as the war for the Last Kingdom is underway, and the Demon Gods have started to wake up. Coming from very different paths even though they’re still connected at the heart, Lan and Zen are now no longer on the same track. One of them believes that the gods have to be eradicated so that the violence will never end, and the other is prepared to give up everything to use their power to take down the colonizers. They are racing towards the fabled city and along the way the story goes into the themes of betrayal, faith and impossible decisions. The collision of love and destiny is painful and the difference between a hero and a bad guy gets blurred. Well-known as the stakes rise and the characters’ emotions run deeper, the series poses a haunting question, how far would you go to liberate your people, and what part of yourself are you willing to let go of.

The Song of the Last Kingdom series is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys epic fantasy with deep emotions, slow burning romance and characters that are not black-and-white. It’s about how our memories define us, resistance and the quiet strength of those who won’t be erased.