Series

Books like The Free: 9 series to read next

The Free is set in secondary world. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

The Free is 4 books, 2014–2016.

“Led by Yulan, their charismatic captain, the Free have spent years selling their martial and magical skills to the highest bidder -- winning countless victories that have shaken the foundations of the world.”
from the catalogue description

The The Free page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
Malazan
The Circle of the World
The Broken Empire
Grishaverse
The Poppy War
Fallen Gods / Godkiller
Rigante
Stephen King multiverse

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Fantasy and epic 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 →

MalazanUniverse

universe36 books1999

“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

Fantasy and grimdark, 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 Broken EmpireUniverse

universe27 books2011

Grimdark, dark in tone, set in secondary world.

“What looks like sword-and-castle medievalism is the ash of our own age, and the magic is only physics that learned to listen.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

GrishaverseUniverse

universe19 books2012

“Saints are canonized here the way soldiers are buried elsewhere — quietly, and too often.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

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 →

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 →

RiganteSeries

seriesDavid Gemmell4 books1998

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

“Fierce and proud, the Rigante dwell deep in the green mountain lands, worshiping the gods of air and water, and the spirits of the earth.”
from the catalogue description of Sword in the Storm

Start with Sword in the Storm →

Stephen King multiverseUniverse

universe46 books1967

Dark in tone.

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Gunslinger →

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 Free?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to The Free on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Free?: The Free. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Free.
How big is The Free?: The Free is 4 books, 2014–2016.

Books like The Free: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Free

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one