Powder Mage Reading Order: How to read Brian McClellan’s Series?

Written by American author Brian McClellan, The Powder Mage trilogy is a series of epic fantasy novels taking place in the kingdom of Adro, one of the Nine Kingdoms founded by Kresimir, a semi-mythical figure now worshiped as a deity. Civil unrest cripples the citizens of Adro in the aftermath of the revolution that obliterated the monarchy.

Now, Field Marshal Tamas and his lieutenants must confront the true cost of freedom. The Powder Mages like Tamas are wizards with the ability to metabolize gunpowder and use it as fuel for various magical powers, including telekinesis.

Read the Powder Mage Books in Order:

The Original Powder Mage Trilogy

1. Promise of Blood – It’s a bloody business, overthrowing a king. Now, amid the chaos, a whispered rumor is spreading. A rumor about a broken promise, omens of death and the gods returning to walk the earth. No one really believes these whispers. Perhaps they should.
2. The Crimson Campaign – Field Marshal Tamas’s invasion of Kez has ended in disaster. Stranded behind enemy lines and hounded by the enemy’s finest, Tamas must lead his remaining men on a reckless retreat through northern Kez to safety. In Adro, Inspector Adamat wants only to rescue his wife. To do so, he must hunt down and confront the enigmatic Lord Vetus – but the truth he learns is far darker than he could have imagined.
3. The Autumn Republic – Field Marshal Tamas has finally returned to Adopest, only to find the capital in the hands of a foreign power. With his son Taniel presumed dead, Tamas must gather his beleaguered forces and formulate a plan to defeat the Kez – no easy task when you’re outnumbered and can’t tell friend from foe. With their enemy bearing down on them, the Adran command is in disarray. Someone, it seems, is selling secrets to the Kez. Inspector Adamat is determined to flush out the traitor, but as the conspiracy unravels, he will learn a horrifying truth.

The Gods of Blood and Powder Trilogy

A new epic fantasy trilogy about a young nation at odds with the ancient forces that have begun to stir as fortune seekers and sorcerers flock to the frontier.

4. Sins of Empire – The nation of Fatrasta is a haven for criminals, rebels, adventurers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. As insurrection grows, only the iron will of the Lady Chancellor holds the capital city of Landfall together. Yet an ancient power as old as time is rising, and the fate of this young nation now rests in the hands of a spy, a disgraced war hero, and a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall’s present.
5. Wrath of Empire – The country is in turmoil. With the capital city occupied, half a million refugees are on the march, looking for safety on the frontier, accompanied by Lady Flint’s soldiers. But escaping war is never easy, and soon the battle may find them, whether they are prepared or not. Back in the capital, Michel Bravis smuggles even more refugees out of the city. But internal forces are working against him. With enemies on all sides, Michael may be forced to find help with the very occupiers he’s trying to undermine.
6. Blood of Empire – The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them from using its power; from sewing dissension among the enemy ranks to rallying the Palo population. Ben Styke’s invasion of Dynize is curtailed when a storm scatters his fleet. Coming ashore with just twenty lancers, he is forced to rely on brains rather than brawn – gaining new allies in a strange land on the cusp of its own internal violence.

The Full Powder Mage Series in Order (including novellas & short stories)

1. “The Siege of Tilpur“
2. “Forsworn“
3. “Servant of the Crown“
4. “Murder at the Kinnen Hotel“
5. “Hope’s End” (collected in In the Field Marshal’s Shadows)
6. “The Girl of Hrusch Avenue” (collected in In the Field Marshal’s Shadows)
7. “Green-Eyed Vipers” (collected in In the Field Marshal’s Shadows)
8. “The Face in the Window” (collected in In the Field Marshal’s Shadows)
9. “The Mad Lancers“
10. “Ghosts of the Tristan Basin“
11. Promise of Blood
12. “Return to Honor” (collected in In the Field Marshal’s Shadows)
13. The Crimson Campaign
14. The Autumn Republic
15. Sins of Empire
16. Wrath of Empire
17. Blood of Empire

If our article about reading the Powder Mage Series in Order is useful to you, don’t forget to bookmark it! You may also want to check out the Cosmere series.