Series

Books like Parallel Universe: 9 series to read next

Parallel Universe is fantasy, about political intrigue, 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.

Parallel Universe is 5 books, 1991–2000.

“Eliste is the pampered young daughter of the vicious Marquis vo Derrivalle.”
from the catalogue description of Illusion

The Parallel Universe page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
Malazan
The Circle of the World
Cosmere
Grishaverse
The Lotus War
An Ember in the Ashes
The Poppy War
The Powder Mage

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

About war.

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

Reading order →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

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 →

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 →

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 →

GrishaverseUniverse

universe19 books2012

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

Reading order →

The Lotus WarSeries

seriesJay Kristoff4 books2012

Fantasy, dark in tone, about rebellion and revolution, set in secondary world.

“Land and sky have been poisoned by industrialization, the Lotus Guild oppresses the populace and the nation's Shogun is lost to his thirst for power.”
from the catalogue description of Stormdancer

Start with Stormdancer →

An Ember in the AshesSeries

seriesSabaa Tahir4 books2015

“Sabaa Tahir's quartet, continuing through A Torch Against the Night, A Reaper at the Gates, and A Sky Beyond the Storm, follows the two toward a reckoning with the empire that trained one of them to enforce it.”
from the catalogue description

Start with An Ember in the Ashes →

The Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

Grimdark, 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 →

The Powder MageUniverse

universe19 books2013

About war.

“Load your powder, and pray your sorcery outruns their cannon.”
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 Parallel Universe?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to Parallel Universe on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Parallel Universe?: Illusion. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Parallel Universe.
How big is Parallel Universe?: Parallel Universe is 5 books, 1991–2000.

Books like Parallel Universe: 9 series to read next

Read next in Parallel Universe

Why these

Questions readers ask

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