Series

Books like Coldfire: 9 series to read next

Coldfire is dark fantasy and science fantasy, set in secondary world, dark and tense in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Coldfire is 5 books, 1991–2023.

“C. S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy is set on the human colony world of Erna, where settlers survive alongside the fae, a reality-warping force that gives physical shape to belief and fear.”
from the catalogue description

The Coldfire page →Narrow this list →

Malazan
World of Ice and Fire
Stephen King multiverse
The Circle of the World
The Poppy War
Deepgate Universe
Fallen Gods / Godkiller
Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne Universe
Grishaverse

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

Epic fantasy, about war.

“Pity the historian who tries to map this world; pity more the god who thinks he rules it.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Epic fantasy, about war.

“Winter is coming, and the men who forget it die first.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Stephen King multiverseUniverse

universe46 books1967

Dark in tone.

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Gunslinger →

The Circle of the WorldUniverse

universe29 books2006

Grimdark.

“What sets it apart is the honesty of its cynicism — close, sardonic points of view, gallows humour, and a flat refusal to let anyone stay clean.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Blade Itself →

The Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

Grimdark and epic fantasy, about war.

“The Poppy War follows Rin, a war orphan who tests into an elite military academy and discovers a talent for shamanic power tied to a pantheon of vengeful gods.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Poppy War →

Deepgate UniverseSeries

seriesAlan Campbell5 books2006

Dark fantasy, dark in tone, about gods, set in secondary world.

Reading order →

Fallen Gods / GodkillerSeries

seriesHannah Kaner3 books2023

Epic fantasy, about war.

“Hannah Kaner's Godkiller follows Kissen, who lost her family to zealots of a fire god and now kills gods for a living, until she meets Skedi, a small god of white lies bound against his will to a young noble and hunted by assassins.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Godkiller →

Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne UniverseSeries

seriesBrian Staveley6 books2014

Epic fantasy.

“Skullsworn is Brian Staveley's standalone prequel novel, set in the same world as his epic fantasy trilogy The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Better Than Breath →

GrishaverseUniverse

universe19 books2012

“Saints are canonized here the way soldiers are buried elsewhere — quietly, and too often.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Coldfire?: Malazan — the closest match to Coldfire on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Coldfire?: Coldfire is 5 books, 1991–2023.

Why these

Questions readers ask

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