Series

Books like The Masquerade: 9 series to read next

The Masquerade is epic fantasy and fantasy, about political intrigue, 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 Masquerade is 4 books, 2011–2020.

The The Masquerade page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
Malazan
The Circle of the World
Shattered Sea
The Poppy War
The Vengeance Trilogy
The City (Gemmell)
Grishaverse
The Acacia Trilogy

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

Epic fantasy and 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 →

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

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 →

Shattered SeaSeries

seriesJoe Abercrombie4 books2014

About coming of age.

“Yarvi, el hijo menor del rey, nació con una malformación en una mano que ha llevado a todo el mundo, incluso a su propio padre, a considerarlo «medio hombre».”
from the catalogue description of Half a King
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Half a King →

The Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

Epic fantasy and fantasy, 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 →

The Vengeance TrilogySeries

seriesDevin Madson3 books2013

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

“At his command the last emperor was executed, but vengeance is coming...”
from the catalogue description of The Blood of Whisperers

Start with The Blood of Whisperers →

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 →

GrishaverseUniverse

universe19 books2012

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

Reading order →

The Acacia TrilogySeries

seriesDavid Anthony Durham3 books2007

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

“David Anthony Durham's trilogy, continuing through The Other Lands and The Sacred Band, follows the siblings as each confronts a different piece of the empire's hidden machinery.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Acacia: The War with the Mein →

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 Masquerade?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to The Masquerade on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Masquerade?: The Traitor Baru Cormorant. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Masquerade.
How big is The Masquerade?: The Masquerade is 4 books, 2011–2020.

Books like The Masquerade: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Masquerade

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one