Universe

Books like Dark Sun: 9 series to read next

Dark Sun is fantasy and epic fantasy, about quests, set in secondary world, adventurous in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Dark Sun is 16 books across 5 series, 1991–2011.

“Under a dark and swollen sun, the world of Athas is dying — and has been dying so long that its people no longer remember the color green.”
from the catalogue description

The Dark Sun page →Narrow this list →

Tolkien's legendarium
Sparhawk
World of Ice and Fire
Shannara
Forgotten Realms
The Crescent Moon Kingdoms
Malazan
Cosmere
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

Tolkien's legendariumUniverse

universe163 books1923

Fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Before the seas were bent and the mountains raised, there was Music — and from that Music came Arda, and in the west of Middle-earth the long defeat and stubborn hope of those who dwell there.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

SparhawkUniverse

universe6 books1989

Epic fantasy and fantasy, adventurous in tone, about quests, set in secondary world.

“Sir Sparhawk is not a young man, and he has little patience for the pageantry his order pretends to.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Epic fantasy and fantasy, dark in tone, about political intrigue and war, set in secondary world.

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

Reading order →

ShannaraUniverse

universe50 books1977

Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Long after the world we know has burned itself to slag in the Great Wars, the Four Lands rise green over the bones of the old age.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Forgotten RealmsUniverse

universe526 books1987

Fantasy and epic fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Come in from the cold and mind the door — the wind off the Sword Coast has teeth.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Crescent Moon KingdomsSeries

seriesSaladin Ahmed1 book2012

About monster hunting.

“A handful of reluctant heroes must uncover the truth behind the killings before the kingdom tears itself apart.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Throne of the Crescent Moon →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

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

Reading order →

CosmereUniverse

universe54 books2005

Fantasy and epic fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Before the worlds, there was Adonalsium, and then there was not.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Final Empire →

Thomas Covenant the UnbelieverSeries

seriesStephen R. Donaldson11 books1977

Epic fantasy and fantasy, dark in tone, about quests, set in secondary world.

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 Dark Sun?: Tolkien's legendarium — the closest match to Dark Sun on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Dark Sun?: Dark Sun is 16 books across 5 series, 1991–2011.

Books like Dark Sun: 9 series to read next

Read next in Dark Sun

Why these

Questions readers ask

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