Universe

Books like Pern: 9 series to read next

Pern is science fantasy, about music and coming of age, set in other star systems, hopeful in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Pern is 50 books across 5 series, 1967–2021.

“When the Red Star swings close in its long orbit, silver Thread falls from the sky and devours everything living it touches — and the one thing that sears it out of the air is dragonfire.”
from the catalogue description

The Pern page →Narrow this list →

Acorna
Dune
Pit Dragon
Hainish
Lord of Light
Chaos Walking
The Locked Tomb
Imperial Galaxy
WondLa

AcornaUniverse

universe16 books1997

Set in space.

“A silver-horned child drifts alone in an escape pod, and three grizzled asteroid miners haul her aboard, not yet knowing they have adopted a legend.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

DuneUniverse

universe78 books1963

Science fiction and space opera, about political intrigue, set in far future and other star systems.

“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 →

Pit DragonSeries

seriesJane Yolen5 books1980

Science fiction, adventurous in tone, about dragons, set in other star systems and far future.

“Dragon's Blood traces that bond between boy and dragon from theft to the pits; the sequels, Heart's Blood and A Sending of Dragons, follow Jakkin further as the stakes around the dragons and his own status widen.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dragon's Blood →

HainishSeries

seriesUrsula K. Le Guin33 books1964

Science fiction, reflective in tone, set in far future and other star systems.

“The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories by Ursula K. Le Guin.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Rocannon's World →

Lord of LightSeries

seriesRoger Zelazny, Shariann Lewitt & Steve Perry5 books1967

About gods and reincarnation.

“One of their own, called Sam, breaks with the pantheon to return forbidden knowledge to the ordinary people they rule, touching off a war among the self-styled gods.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dawn →

Chaos WalkingSeries

seriesPatrick Ness5 books2008

Dystopia, dark in tone.

Start with The Knife of Never Letting Go →

The Locked TombSeries

seriesTamsyn Muir6 books2019

About undead and identity, set in space.

“Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth follows Gideon Nav, an indentured swordswoman raised among nuns and skeletons in the Ninth House, who is drafted into a deadly imperial trial by Harrowhark, the necromancer she can't stand.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Gideon the Ninth →

Imperial GalaxySeries

seriesGarth Nix2 books2012

About identity, set in space.

“Garth Nix's A Confusion of Princes follows Khemri through the empire's ruthless military, its secret intelligence service, and a deadly, decades-long competition to determine who might one day take the throne.”
from the catalogue description

Start with A Confusion of Princes →

WondLaSeries

seriesTony DiTerlizzi3 books2010

Science fiction and fantasy, adventurous in tone, about coming of age and survival, set in other star systems and far future.

“Tony DiTerlizzi's WondLa trilogy follows Eva Nine, a twelve-year-old girl raised in isolation underground by a robot guardian, who emerges onto a surface world populated by strange alien life and sets out to find others like herself.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Search for WondLa →

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 Pern?: Acorna — the closest match to Pern on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Pern?: Pern is 50 books across 5 series, 1967–2021.

Books like Pern: 9 series to read next

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Why these

Questions readers ask

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