Universe

Books like Riyria: 9 series to read next

Riyria is epic fantasy and fantasy, about friendship, 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.

Riyria is 14 books across 2 series, 2008–2024.

“Royce Melborn can pick any lock and end any life without troubling his pulse; Hadrian Blackwater is the finest blade in the kingdom and would rather sheathe it.”
from the catalogue description

The Riyria page →Narrow this list →

Tolkien's legendarium
Sparhawk
Forgotten Realms
The Riftwar
Lord of the Isles
Shannara
Cosmere
The Codex Alera
Kyralia series

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 →

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 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 →

Lord of the IslesSeries

seriesDavid Drake10 books1997

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

“In 1997, Drake began his largest fantasy series, Lord of the Isles, using elements of Sumerian religion and medieval-era technology.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Lord of the Isles →

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 →

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 →

The Codex AleraSeries

seriesJim Butcher6 books2004

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

“Jim Butcher's six-book series, continuing through Academ's Fury, Cursor's Fury, Captain's Fury, Princeps' Fury, and First Lord's Fury, builds from small-scale political maneuvering into full-scale war.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Furies of Calderon →

Kyralia seriesUniverse

universe8 books2001

Fantasy and epic fantasy, about political intrigue and wizards, set in secondary world.

“Once a year the magicians of Kyralia sweep the beggars out of the capital, and once a year the beggars throw stones.”
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 Riyria?: Tolkien's legendarium — the closest match to Riyria on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Riyria?: Riyria Revelations. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Riyria, which is a whole world rather than one run.
How big is Riyria?: Riyria is 14 books across 2 series, 2008–2024.

Books like Riyria: 9 series to read next

Read next in Riyria

Why these

Questions readers ask

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