Reading orders / The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time reading order
Start with The Eye of the World and read the fourteen main books in publication order. Save the prequel New Spring for later, or skip it.
- The Eye of the World1990
- The Great Hunt1990
- The Dragon Reborn1991
- The Shadow Rising1992
- The Fires of Heaven1993
- Lord of Chaos1994
- A Crown of Swords1996
- The Path of Daggers1998
- Winter's Heart2000
- Crossroads of Twilight2003The famous slow one. Book eleven picks back up.
- Knife of Dreams2005
- The Gathering Storm2009Sanderson takes over from here.
- Towers of Midnight2010
- A Memory of Light2013
Standalone. Read after book six at the earliest, or after the whole series.
- New Spring2004Set twenty years before book one. Mild spoilers if read early.
Why the order is argued about
Nobody seriously argues about the main order. The arguments are about where the slog is and whether to skip it. Books eight through ten move slowly, and Crossroads of Twilight in particular tests people.
Do not skip them. Knife of Dreams and everything Sanderson wrote pay off threads planted in exactly those books. If you need a break, take it between books, not mid-arc.
Settling in for all 15? A page marker you do not mind losing track of helps. We like these the maker on Etsy, and Dragonmount is worth a look for release news.
Questions readers ask
Should I read New Spring first?
No. It spoils relationships that book one asks you to wonder about.
Can I skip the slow books?
Not cleanly. They set up the final four. Push through or take a break between them.
How many Wheel of Time books are there?
Fourteen main novels plus one prequel.