Series

Books like Sarantine Universe: 9 series to read next

Sarantine Universe is historical fantasy, about political intrigue, reflective in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Sarantine Universe is 8 books, 1995–2025.

“Each novel stands alone, but together they trace centuries of the same fictional world, distinct from Kay's separate Sarantine Mosaic duology.”
from the catalogue description

The Sarantine Universe page →Narrow this list →

Under Heaven
World of Ice and Fire
Deryni
The Circle of the World
Earthsea
Elemental Logic
The Radiant Emperor
The World of Riverside
His Dark Materials

Under HeavenSeries

seriesGuy Gavriel Kay2 books2010

Set in east asia.

“Set in Kitai, a fantasy analogue of Tang-dynasty China centered on the capital Xinan, it is a story of court intrigue and personal survival rather than epic-fantasy world-war.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Under Heaven →

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Fantasy and epic fantasy, dark in tone, about political intrigue and war, set in secondary world.

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

Reading order →

DeryniUniverse

universe44 books1970

Tense in tone.

“In the kingdom of Gwynedd, power is at once a sacrament and a heresy.”
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 →

EarthseaUniverse

universe19 books1964

About wizards.

“There is a lesson every wizard of Earthsea learns young: to know a thing's true name is to hold its whole being, and to speak it is to move the balance of the world.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Elemental LogicSeries

seriesLaurie J. Marks4 books2002

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

“Blending elemental magic, political intrigue, and rich character dynamics, the series spans four novels published between 2002 and 2019.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Fire Logic →

The Radiant EmperorSeries

seriesShelley Parker-Chan2 books2021

About rebellion and revolution, set in east asia.

“The Radiant Emperor reimagines the rise of the founder of a Chinese dynasty as a peasant girl who takes on her dead brother's identity and destiny to survive famine and war, rising through ambition and deception toward the throne.”
from the catalogue description

Start with She Who Became the Sun →

The World of RiversideSeries

seriesEllen Kushner, Joel Derfner, Tessa Gratton, Karen Lord, Delia Sherman, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Liz Duffy Adams, Racheline Maltese, Malinda Lo, Paul Witcover, Juliet Ulman, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Patty Bryant & Kelly Robson72 books1982

Fantasy, about political intrigue, set in secondary world.

“The wider World of Riverside has since expanded into shared-world short fiction and anthologies, such as Swords of Riverside, contributed to by numerous other writers.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Swordspoint →

His Dark MaterialsUniverse

universe13 books1995

Adventurous in tone, about coming of age, set in parallel universe.

“In a world like ours and unlike it, every human soul walks outside the body in the shape of an animal — a daemon, who speaks, who cannot be lied to, and who settles into one fixed form only when childhood ends.”
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 Sarantine Universe?: Under Heaven — the closest match to Sarantine Universe on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Sarantine Universe?: The Last Light of the Sun. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Sarantine Universe.
How big is Sarantine Universe?: Sarantine Universe is 8 books, 1995–2025.

Books like Sarantine Universe: 9 series to read next

Read next in Sarantine Universe

Why these

Questions readers ask

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