Series

Books like The First History: 9 series to read next

The First History is historical fantasy and alternate history, about war, set in renaissance and early modern, dark in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

The First History is 8 books, 1999–2006.

The The First History page →Narrow this list →

Cassandra Palmer
Heirs of Alexandria
The Radiant Emperor
Malazan
Age of Unreason
World of Ice and Fire
Sarantine Universe
The Milkweed Triptych
The Conqueror's Trilogy

Cassandra PalmerUniverse

universe40 books2006

Urban fantasy, set in contemporary.

“Cassie Palmer sees dead people, reads the future, and was raised by vampires who'd have sold her to the highest bidder — and that's before the job offer.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Heirs of AlexandriaSeries

seriesDave Freer, Eric Flint & Mercedes Lackey7 books2002

About witches.

“The books combine elements from the styles of all three authors, such as Lackey's approach to tolerance and magic and Flint's sense of history alteration.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with The Shadow of the Lion →

The Radiant EmperorSeries

seriesShelley Parker-Chan2 books2021

Fantasy, about rebellion and revolution, set in east asia and medieval.

“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 →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

Epic fantasy, 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 →

Age of UnreasonSeries

seriesGreg Keyes4 books1998

Fantasy, adventurous in tone.

“As English armies push nearer to Paris, Louis calls for a new weapon - a mysterious device known only as Newton's Cannon.”
from the catalogue description of Newton's Cannon
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Newton's Cannon →

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.

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

Reading order →

Sarantine UniverseSeries

seriesGuy Gavriel Kay8 books1995

Historical fantasy, reflective in tone, about political intrigue.

“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

Start with The Last Light of the Sun →

The Milkweed TriptychSeries

seriesIan Tregillis3 books2010

Set in early 20th century and british isles.

Start with Bitter Seeds →

The Conqueror's TrilogySeries

seriesKiersten White3 books2016

Historical fiction, about sibling rivalry, set in middle east.

“Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival.”
from the catalogue description of And I Darken

Start with And I Darken →

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 First History?: Cassandra Palmer — the closest match to The First History on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is The First History?: The First History is 8 books, 1999–2006.

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one