Where to start
Begin with Book One
In Dark Service
The doorway into the trilogy — a world betrayed and the people who push back.
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Reading order
1
In Dark Service
Ordinary families torn apart by powers they barely understand — survival becomes rebellion, truth becomes a weapon.
2
Foul Tide's Turning
The truth ignites civil war at home and invasion from abroad — two brothers forced back into history's jaws.
3
The Stealers' War
Jacob Carnehan still wants revenge — but victory may poison the future of the nation he is trying to save.
Far-called — FAQ
Which Far-called book should I read first?
In Dark Service. Book One is the recommended starting point for almost every reader — it introduces the world, the cast and the engine of the empire.
Do I need to read them in order?
Yes. The three published novels form a single continuing arc; each picks up where the last ended and assumes you've met the cast. Start with In Dark Service.
Are the Far-called books epic fantasy?
Yes, and properly so — a long multi-volume arc, a large ensemble cast and a complete invented cosmology. The register is flintlock-and-airship rather than medieval, with a science-fictional mystery running underneath the fantasy.
How many Far-called novels are there?
Three published novels — In Dark Service, Foul Tide's Turning and The Stealers' War — with a concluding fourth novel in preparation.
How do they compare to the Jackelian novels?
Family, in different rooms. Both are multi-volume invented-world fantasies that think hard about politics and theology, but the Jackelian books are gaslamp/steampunk while Far-called is flintlock/airship — and Far-called runs grittier, especially around slavery and civil war.
Where can I buy the books?
Direct from the author at StephenHunt.net — your purchase helps fund the writing of the next book.
Glossary · sample entries
Pellas
The endless world the series unfolds across — so vast that no single map of it is ever complete.
The Vandian Imperium
The slaver empire on the far side of the Lancean Ocean, whose sky-mines run on captive labour.
Rodal
The mountain wind-republic, built into vertical cliffs and defended by pilots who read — and summon — the wind.
The Nijumeti
The blue-skinned, cold-resistant confederated nomads of the eastern steppes.
The gasks
The quilled, peaceful, mathematical forest people of Quehanna, who can see a step ahead in probability.
The stealers
The ancient power the frontier only whispers about — the deep-time antagonist the trilogy is named for.
Ready to set off?
Buy the Far-called books direct from the author.