More like Empire Ascendant

anchored on:epic fantasywarsecondary worlddarkdark fantasyrebellion and revolution+3 more

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World of Ice and FireUniverse
universe19 books1980
About political intrigue.
“Winter is coming, and the men who forget it die first.”
from the catalogue
Start with A Game of Thrones →
includes A Song of Ice and Fire, Targaryen History
MalazanUniverse
universe36 books1999
“Pity the historian who tries to map this world; pity more the god who thinks he rules it.”
from the catalogue
Start with Gardens of the Moon →
includes Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Kharkanas Trilogy, Night of Knives, Path to Ascendancy, Witness Trilogy
The Poppy WarSeries
series4 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
Start with The Poppy War →
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
Start with The Blade Itself →
includes The First Law Trilogy, The Age of Madness
The City (Gemmell)Series
series2 books2013
About political intrigue, set in big city.
“Built up over the millennia, layer upon layer, the City is ancient and vast.”
from the catalogue
Start with The City →
The Acacia TrilogySeries
series3 books2007
About political intrigue.
“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
Start with Acacia: The War with the Mein →