Fourth Craft Wars book announced - updated 2026
Update August 2026: Although we haven’t had an official update (to the best of my knowledge, at least), I think it is safe to assume that Craft Wars #4 has been postponed. I was thinking it would be a few months ago given the lack of a title or cover, but recently Gladstone has been fairly active online and has mentioned that he is still writing the final book.
Decided to update this post today because we had the most definitive update thus far in his 7 August 2026 newsletter:
“The plan—toward the fulfillment of which I am directing a vicious killing ki—is to publish one final, capstone volume, even if that volume strains the physical constraints of glue a bit. Yes, the current draft is getting a bit long, but we’re nowhere near even one volume of To Green Angel Tower yet. There are just a lot of threads, is all. And I always write long in the first draft.
Is what I’m telling myself.
But more on that later.”
Later did not come in the same newsletter, so I eagerly await an update!
I had speculated previously that the final book may be split in two like Wicked Problems was, but it seems that Gladstone is trying to avoid that (though there will be enough text for multiple books).
When I know more, I will share it here!
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In his 8 March 2024 newsletter update, Max Gladstone announced that the Craft Wars TRILOGY was becoming the Craft Wars SERIES, with the addition of a fourth book. Bolding my own:
In the run-up to Wicked Problems, I think it’s time to share the launch schedule for the rest of the Craft Wars. Here we go:
- Book 2, Wicked Problems, April 9, 2024
- Book 3, Dead Hand Rule, Fall 2025
- Book 4, Fall 2026
- Oh, right, speaking of which: there’s going to be a book four!
Here’s what happened: I wrote Wicked Problems in a fugue state during the Pandemic, mostly waking up at 4:30 to get a solid day’s writing in before our kiddo woke up. In that year, any attempt at planning seemed to be an exercise in futility. Anything less than pure immersion and the exhaustion and distraction of the moment would overwhelm. The only way forward was to write a story that tugged me along with demonic energy.
There’s a funny thing about writing longhand, though: you don’t know quite how much you’ve written. It’s longhand, right, so it must be shorter than if I were typing? Which works fine until you sit down to type it up.
On the one hand, I found myself a manuscript of Tad Williams-esque length, enough to strain Tor’s budget for ink and paper, not to mention the material limits of binding glue. On the other—there was a clear break point two thirds of the way through the manuscript, and the back third had a really fun core concept that I had known, even as I wrote it, did not have enough narrative room to unfold to its most perfect shape in that draft—even as the first section bulged oddly where I set up characters and setting for the second. So, really, I’d written two books, neither of which was quite done.
I’ve spent most of the last year finishing them both, so they’ll land as a one-two punch, each full-formed in its character. I’m re-reading Book 3 right now and it’s great—more full, unified, pacy, and deep than it was in first draft. And once that’s off to Tor, pretty soon… Whew! Book 4 will be a wild ride. I can’t wait to share it with you.
As yet we don’t have a title or cover, but hopefully that will come soon.
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