Series

Books like The Tainted Realm: 9 series to read next

The Tainted Realm is epic fantasy, about slavery, set in secondary world, tense in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

The Tainted Realm is 4 books, 2010–2013.

“Twelve years ago, two children witnessed a murder that still haunts them as adults.”
from the catalogue description of Vengeance

The The Tainted Realm page →Narrow this list →

World of Ice and Fire
Malazan
The Poppy War
Tolkien's legendarium
An Ember in the Ashes
Grishaverse
Sword of Truth
The Powder Mage
Rigante

World of Ice and FireUniverse

universe19 books1980

About political intrigue.

“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 Poppy WarSeries

seriesR. F. Kuang4 books2018

Grimdark.

“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 →

Tolkien's legendariumUniverse

universe163 books1923

Fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Before the seas were bent and the mountains raised, there was Music — and from that Music came Arda, and in the west of Middle-earth the long defeat and stubborn hope of those who dwell there.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 →

GrishaverseUniverse

universe19 books2012

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

Reading order →

Sword of TruthUniverse

universe27 books1994

Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Truth is a blade, and it cuts the hand that grips it carelessly.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Powder MageUniverse

universe19 books2013

About political intrigue.

“Load your powder, and pray your sorcery outruns their cannon.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

RiganteSeries

seriesDavid Gemmell4 books1998

Epic fantasy and 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 →

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 Tainted Realm?: World of Ice and Fire — the closest match to The Tainted Realm on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Tainted Realm?: Vengeance. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Tainted Realm.
How big is The Tainted Realm?: The Tainted Realm is 4 books, 2010–2013.

Books like The Tainted Realm: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Tainted Realm

Why these

Questions readers ask

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