Series

Books like The Empty Throne: 9 series to read next

The Empty Throne is epic fantasy and grimdark, about rebellion and revolution, set in secondary world, dark in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

The Empty Throne is 2 books, 2015–2016.

“Tall, strong, perfect - for three thousand years Those Above have ruled over their human subjects.”
from the catalogue description of Those Above

The The Empty Throne page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
The Poppy War
Malazan
The Circle of the World
The City (Gemmell)
The Second Apocalypse
The Dagger and the Coin
An Ember in the Ashes
Fallen Gods / Godkiller

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 →

The Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

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

“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 →

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 →

The Circle of the WorldUniverse

universe29 books2006

Grimdark and fantasy, set in secondary world.

“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 →

The City (Gemmell)Series

seriesStella Gemmell2 books2013

Set in big city.

“Built up over the millennia, layer upon layer, the City is ancient and vast.”
from the catalogue description of The City

Start with The City →

The Second ApocalypseSeries

seriesR. Scott Bakker11 books2003

Challenging in tone, about faith and religion.

Start with The Knife of Many Hands →

The Dagger and the CoinSeries

seriesDaniel Abraham6 books2011

Epic fantasy and fantasy, tense in tone, about war and class conflict, set in secondary world.

Start with The Dragon's Path →

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 →

Fallen Gods / GodkillerSeries

seriesHannah Kaner3 books2023

About gods.

“Hannah Kaner's Godkiller follows Kissen, who lost her family to zealots of a fire god and now kills gods for a living, until she meets Skedi, a small god of white lies bound against his will to a young noble and hunted by assassins.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Godkiller →

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 The Empty Throne?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to The Empty Throne on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Empty Throne?: Those Above. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Empty Throne.
How big is The Empty Throne?: The Empty Throne is 2 books, 2015–2016.

Books like The Empty Throne: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Empty Throne

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one