Ugh, my head still hurts from trying to figure this out when I first picked up the series. I saw 'The Godless Crown' with a cool cover at a bookstore and bought it, not realizing it was book two. Got so lost. My totally non-official, made-up-in-my-head order that worked for me was a hybrid. I read 'A Throne of Absence' first to meet the main cast. Then, when they started referencing the ancient Void Emperor and the Shattering, I paused and read the two prequels. It was like taking a deep historical flashback detour. Then I returned to finish the trilogy. It was a bit stop-and-start, but it made the finale of 'Whispers' incredibly powerful because I had just spent time in the era they were all mourning. Maybe not the most elegant method, but it felt like solving a mystery alongside the characters.
Okay, I'm gonna be the contrarian here and say ignore everyone telling you to follow the original messy publication order for your FIRST time. If you're new to the series, chronological is the way to go. Start with 'Ashes of the First Dawn'. Yeah, it was written later, but it sets up the world and the rules of void magic so much clearer. Jumping into 'A Throne of Absence' first throws you into the deep end with all these assumed historical events and fallen empires. It's confusing! I tried to get my friend into it that way and she gave up after two chapters. When she started with 'Ashes', it clicked. The emotional payoff in the later books isn't ruined by knowing the past; it's enhanced, because you understand the weight of the tragedy. You see the seeds of the empire's collapse being sown. Reading it the other way feels like putting together a puzzle backwards.
Man, that's a question that's probably caused more forum arguments than any other in the fandom. The 'official' publishing order is a total mess, honestly, because 'The Tale of the Void Emperor' started as a webnovel, got picked up for physical publication in a weird order, and the author later wrote prequels. If you want the pure, unadulterated, how-we-all-read-it-back-in-the-day experience, you go with the original webnovel order: start with 'A Throne of Absence', then 'The Godless Crown', followed by 'Whispers in the Empty City'. That's the trilogy that made the series famous.
After that, you can loop back for the prequel duology 'Ashes of the First Dawn' and 'The Last King's Shadow'. They're good, but they hit different when you already know the fate of the empire. Some people swear by chronological order, starting with the prequels, but I think that ruins the central mystery of what actually happened to the Void Emperor himself. The big reveal in 'Whispers in the Empty City' just doesn't land the same way if you've already gotten his backstory spoon-fed. The newest book, 'Echo of the Silent Star', is a direct sequel to the original trilogy, so save that for last regardless of which path you take.
Honestly, my advice? Stick to publication order for your first read. It's how the lore was drip-fed to us, and the sense of discovery is part of the charm. You can always do a chronological re-read later.
The reading order debate is eternal, but for a streamlined experience that balances plot and clarity, I'd recommend: 1) 'Ashes of the First Dawn' (prequel), 2) 'A Throne of Absence', 3) 'The Godless Crown', 4) 'Whispers in the Empty City', and finally 5) 'Echo of the Silent Star'. This gives you a solid foundation before the main trilogy and slots the sequel in where it belongs. Skip 'The Last King's Shadow' on your first pass—it's more of a side novella focused on a minor character.
Honestly? Don't overthink it. The author themselves said in an interview there's no single 'correct' order; they wrote it to be approachable from multiple angles. If you prefer a tight, mystery-driven narrative, go original trilogy first. If you love rich world-building and history, start with the prequels. You can't really go wrong. Just pick a book and jump in. The fan wiki has a timeline if you get confused later.
2026-07-22 13:52:03
9
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
Supreme Emperor of Swords
Luan Shi Kuang Dao,
9.7
202.2K
Before going to college, an ordinary high school student went to celebrate and got drunk. When he woke up, he found himself in a completely different world. There was a big sect, the approaching sect entrance examination, a slum where his body’s previous owner lived, and a shared memory about a missing young girl.When he got tangled in a fight with a few punks in this different world, he fell off a cliff and miraculously found himself still alive, with two more voices ringing inside his head. They were Sword Master and Saber Master. In the company of them, he continued to find out more about this whole new world. He took the sect entrance examination, entered the sect, met a strange man in black, and even participated in a major competition of the sect to have a chance to win over his peers!In this whole new world, he was born again and got to explore the fantastic martial world!
A lifetime ago, Chu Xun was shackled and thrown in jail on false charges. For three whole years, he suffered extraordinary torment from his cellmates every day. Even though he had escaped death many times, he still died from his cellmates' fists the day before he was to be released.After death, Chu Xun transmigrated to a different world of cultivation, where cultivation was the one true path. Carrying the weight of his hatred, Chu Xun began to cultivate in hopes of becoming an Immortal Emperor, who could manipulate heaven and earth and travel through time. After painstaking cultivation of three thousand years, he succeeded. Then he sacrificed all his cultivation without hesitation and returned to the day before he was to be released.This life, he wanted to find out the truth and the one behind his murder in last life. He would continue to cultivate and strengthen himself so that the tragedy would not repeat itself. He wanted to master his own destiny.In this life, what people would Chu Xun encounter and what experience of love and hate would he have with them? What difficulties would he encounter and how would he overcome? The answer is the book.
The Obsidian Covenant #1: The Rejected Mate's Ruin
Evve
0
4.6K
In a world where the moon shattered and the strong devoured the weak, Neoma Solstice is nothing. A scentless Null. A ghost. A mistake.
Until the day she saves a dying Lycan warrior with a touch, and her secret is revealed: she's Void-Born, the rarest mutation in existence. The same power that makes her invisible makes her invaluable—a living weapon that can cure the incurable Feral Rot plaguing the Lycan Ascendancy.
Captured and collared, Neoma is forced to serve as "Tether" to Unit Vanguard: four elite soldiers on the brink of madness. Barzil, the ruthless Commander who sees her as a mission. Wolfy, the cold Tactician who sees her as a puzzle. Viggo, the feral Berserker who sees her as salvation. Guller, the fallen Priest who sees her as redemption.
They own her contract. They control her life. They swear she's just a tool.
But tools don't make their masters kneel.
As Neoma's power grows, so does the threat she poses to the regime that enslaved her. When the prophesied Blood Moon rises, she'll have to choose: remain the Ascendancy's battery, or become the Void that devours them whole.
Some bonds are forged in blood. Some in magic. Theirs was forged in desperation—and it might be the only thing strong enough to save a dying world.
The Obsidian Covenant is a dark dystopian reverse harem romance featuring a morally gray FMC, four obsessive MLs, found family dynamics, enemies-to-lovers, rejected mate redemption, and a slow-burn that explodes into high heat. Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince meets Den of Vipers in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
No choosing. No apologies. No mercy.
Set after the war between the Dragon Emperor and the Blood Emperor, in which the two emperors united to protect all realms and the underworld. In a small world where no immortal beings dwell, a married couple lives with their only son.
That life of happiness came to an end with the destruction of their village and the deaths of its inhabitants. The child, having lost his parents, tries to find traces of them, who disappeared when the village was destroyed. The further he walks down the path of cultivation, the more he realizes that he has actually been trapped in a difficult fate. Will he be able to walk that path? Or will he end up losing his own life? This is the story of a young man named Tian Sen, who walks a bloody path to discover who he is and where his parents are. But he must become stronger to reach a point where even fate itself cannot control him.
“Why? Why don’t they care about people like us? Why? I, Tian Sen, will not accept any of this. I will walk toward the summit even if my hands are drenched in blood. Loneliness will not let me be swayed by the nonsense called fate!”
First met by fate. Separated by duty. Reunited in war. A love that started with betrayal.
"The woman who manages to become pregnant with the Crown Prince’s child will be immediately promoted to the Empress" … and the only one that he wants is me...
"The world paints him in red. But before that—he only saw the world in black and white."
A re-imagining of Emperor Caligula's life, history's infamous mad ruler...
Was he made, or was he born?
Told from multiple perspectives, Love and Honor explores the violent, intimate bond between a broken prince and the boy who dares to love him.
Before the blood, before the madness, there was silence.
There was pain.
And there was love.
If you want to jump into 'Talisman Emperor' without headaches, treat it like any serialized epic: read the main volumes in publication order first, then enjoy the extras.
Start with Volume 1 and proceed straight through Volume 2, 3, and so on — the main volumes form the spine of the story and will make the character growth, worldbuilding, and plot twists land properly. After each major arc (usually at the end of a collected volume), take a detour to any side chapters or specials that the author published around that time; they often expand on a supporting character or explain a confusing artifact, and they’re best appreciated when you already know the core context.
Once you’ve finished the current main line, go back to read author notes, bonus one-shots, and any artbook commentary. If there’s a web-novel original or an alternate medium version, I like to read that after the collected volumes — it’s fun to compare pacing and deleted scenes, but the printed volumes are where the polished narrative sits. Honestly, following that order made the reveals hit harder for me and let me savor the side material rather than getting spoiled early.