Series

Books like The Poppy War: 9 series to read next

The Poppy War is grimdark and epic fantasy, about war, 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 Poppy War is 4 books, 2018–2021.

“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

The The Poppy War page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
Malazan
The Circle of the World
Shattered Sea
The Second Apocalypse
The City (Gemmell)
Fallen Gods / Godkiller
The Acacia Trilogy
The Vengeance Trilogy

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 →

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 →

Shattered SeaSeries

seriesJoe Abercrombie4 books2014

“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 Second ApocalypseSeries

seriesR. Scott Bakker11 books2003

Challenging in tone, about faith and religion.

Start with The Knife of Many Hands →

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 →

Fallen Gods / GodkillerSeries

seriesHannah Kaner3 books2023

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

“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 →

The Acacia TrilogySeries

seriesDavid Anthony Durham3 books2007

Epic fantasy and fantasy, dark in tone, about war and political intrigue, 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 →

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 →

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 Poppy War?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to The Poppy War on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Poppy War?: The Poppy War. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Poppy War.
How big is The Poppy War?: The Poppy War is 4 books, 2018–2021.

Books like The Poppy War: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Poppy War

Why these

Questions readers ask

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