Sigil Books in Order

Mike Carey's Sigil takes a broad science-fantasy setting and makes it personal through a single disruptive event. A young woman named Samantha Rey suddenly finds herself marked by the Sigil, a mysterious power that pulls her out of ordinary life and into a much larger conflict. From there the story opens into interstellar war, ancient forces, and the uneasy feeling that she has inherited something dangerous before she understands any of the rules.

That sense of being thrown in headfirst is the hook.

Rather than starting from a place of total mastery, Sam has to learn while under pressure. Carey uses that to make the world easier to enter, even though the backdrop is full of big lore and cosmic politics. The books move quickly, but they still make room for the question at the center of a lot of his work: what does power do to a person who never asked for it?

If you like science fiction and fantasy blended together, with portals, war, destiny, and a protagonist trying to stay grounded while the universe shifts under her feet, Sigil is an enjoyable detour in Carey's catalogue.