Series

Books like Ilium: 9 series to read next

Ilium is science fiction and space opera, about gods, set in far future, challenging in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Ilium is 2 books, 2003–2005.

“The events are set in motion by beings who appear to be ancient Greek gods.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

The Ilium page →Narrow this list →

Kefahuchi Tract Trilogy
Dune
Jean le Flambeur
Singularity Sky
Radix Tetrad
Helliconia
Thistledown
The Culture
Xeelee

Kefahuchi Tract TrilogySeries

seriesM. John Harrison3 books2002

Science fiction and space opera, challenging in tone, set in far future and other star systems.

“M. John Harrison's Kefahuchi Tract trilogy circles a strange, physics-breaking anomaly in deep space that draws scientists, smugglers, and drifters into its pull across different eras.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Light →

DuneUniverse

universe78 books1963

About political intrigue.

“The desert planet, where empire runs on a single substance: the spice melange, which folds space, prolongs life, and unlocks prescience, and which exists nowhere else in the known universe.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dune →

Jean le FlambeurSeries

seriesHannu Rajaniemi3 books2010

Hard science fiction, about virtual reality.

“Jean le Flambeur is a master thief broken out of a virtual prison to pull off one more impossible heist, in a solar system reshaped by uploaded minds, post-human factions, and economies built on memory and privacy themselves.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Quantum Thief →

Singularity SkySeries

seriesCharles Stross2 books2003

Tense in tone, about technological singularity.

“Charles Stross uses the setup for a mix of space opera, economics, and diplomatic intrigue.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Singularity Sky →

Radix TetradSeries

seriesA. A. Attanasio4 books1981

Science fiction, challenging in tone, set in far future.

“The Radix Tetrad is a group of four science fiction books by A. A. Attanasio.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Radix →

HelliconiaSeries

seriesBrian W. Aldiss4 books1982

Reflective in tone, about space colonization and ecological collapse.

Start with Helliconia Spring →

ThistledownSeries

seriesGreg Bear5 books1978

Hard science fiction, about space exploration.

Start with The Wind from a Burning Woman →

The CultureUniverse

universe21 books1987

Set in galactic scale.

“No money, no laws, no hunger, no death you didn't choose; a galaxy-spanning anarchy of humans and drones administered, gently and with enormous irony, by superintelligent Minds who name their warships things like *Frank Exchange Of Views*.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

XeeleeSeries

seriesStephen Baxter & uncredited89 books1987

Hard science fiction.

“The Xeelee are described as symbiotic entities composed of spacetime defects, Bose–Einstein condensates, and baryonic matter.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Raft →

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 Ilium?: Kefahuchi Tract Trilogy — the closest match to Ilium on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Ilium?: Ilium. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Ilium.
How big is Ilium?: Ilium is 2 books, 2003–2005.
Is Ilium finished?: Yes — 2 books, 2003–2005.

Books like Ilium: 9 series to read next

Read next in Ilium

Why these

Questions readers ask

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