Universe

Books like Istros: 9 series to read next

Istros is epic fantasy, set in secondary world. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Istros is 25 books across 6 series, 2015–2025.

“The Empire does not ask whether a man is ready, only whether he will hold — and the thing coming across the field is not always another army of the living.”
from the catalogue description

The Istros page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
The Riftwar
Tolkien's legendarium
Cosmere
Sparhawk
Malazan
Sword of Truth
Forgotten Realms
Paksenarrion

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Dark in tone.

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

Reading order →

The RiftwarUniverse

universe44 books1982

Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.

“On the world of Midkemia a tear opens in the air itself, a rift hung between stars, and through it march the armies of an empire from another world entirely.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 →

CosmereUniverse

universe54 books2005

Epic fantasy and 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 →

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 →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

Dark in tone.

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

Reading order →

Sword of TruthUniverse

universe27 books1994

Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Truth is a blade, and it cuts the hand that grips it carelessly.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Forgotten RealmsUniverse

universe526 books1987

Epic fantasy and 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 →

PaksenarrionUniverse

universe31 books1988

Epic fantasy, set in secondary world.

“A sheepfarmer's daughter refuses the marriage her father arranged, walks off the farm with nothing but a good knife, and signs her name to a mercenary company's roll.”
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 Istros?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to Istros on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Istros?: Istros is 25 books across 6 series, 2015–2025.

Books like Istros: 9 series to read next

Read next in Istros

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one