The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 17 books · 1998 to 2022

K. J. Parker

FantasyEpic and high fantasyGrimdarkComic fantasy

K. J. Parker, the pen name of Tom Holt, writes clever, cynical fantasy without magic, about engineers, siege-makers, bankers and swordsmen in invented worlds that echo Byzantium and Renaissance Italy.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The spreadsheet lists recurring engineered-world casts; characters recur only within trilogies, so standalone leads are charted. Tom Holt's comic novels are on their own page.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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K. J. Parker books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Fencer

3 books · Set in invented worldsGrimdarkEpic and high fantasy
  1. 1Colours in the Steel1998With Bardas LoredanBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Belly of the Bow1999With Bardas LoredanBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Proof House2000With Bardas LoredanBuy on Amazon

Scavenger

3 books · Set in invented worldsGrimdarkEpic and high fantasy
  1. 1Shadow2001Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Pattern2002Buy on Amazon
  3. 3Memory2003Buy on Amazon

Engineer

3 books · Set in invented worldsGrimdarkEpic and high fantasy
  1. 1Devices and Desires2005With Ziani VaatzesBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Evil for Evil2006With Ziani VaatzesBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Escapement2007With Ziani VaatzesBuy on Amazon

Siege

3 books · Set in invented worldsGrimdarkComic fantasy
  1. 1Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City2019With OrhanBuy on Amazon
  2. 2How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It2020With NotkerBuy on Amazon
  3. 3A Practical Guide to Conquering the World2022With OgusBuy on Amazon

Standalone

5 books · Set in invented worldsGrimdark
  1. 1The Company2008Buy on Amazon
  2. 2The Folding Knife2010With Basso the MagnificentBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Hammer2011Buy on Amazon
  4. 4Sharps2012Buy on Amazon
  5. 5Savages2015Buy on Amazon

Characters

6 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The Fencer

The Engineer

The Siege

Standalone leads