Universe

Books like Shannara: 9 series to read next

Shannara is fantasy and epic fantasy, about quests, 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.

Shannara is 50 books across 15 series, 1977–2026.

“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

The Shannara page →Narrow this list →

Tolkien's legendarium
World of Ice and Fire
Sparhawk
The Riftwar
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever
Malazan
Cosmere
The Codex Alera
Forgotten Realms

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 →

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

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

“Winter is coming, and the men who forget it die first.”
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 →

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 →

Thomas Covenant the UnbelieverSeries

seriesStephen R. Donaldson11 books1977

Epic fantasy and fantasy, dark in tone, about quests, set in secondary world.

Reading order →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

Epic fantasy, dark in tone, about war, set in secondary world.

“Pity the historian who tries to map this world; pity more the god who thinks he rules it.”
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 war and political intrigue, 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 →

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 →

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 Shannara?: Tolkien's legendarium — the closest match to Shannara on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Shannara?: Word and the Void. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Shannara, which is a whole world rather than one run.
How big is Shannara?: Shannara is 50 books across 15 series, 1977–2026.

Books like Shannara: 9 series to read next

Read next in Shannara

Why these

Questions readers ask

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