More like Fire and Sword

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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
Start with A Game of Thrones →
includes A Song of Ice and Fire, Targaryen History
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
Start with Gardens of the Moon →
includes Malazan Book of the Fallen, Night of Knives, The Kharkanas Trilogy, Path to Ascendancy, Witness Trilogy
GrishaverseUniverse
universe19 books2012
“Saints are canonized here the way soldiers are buried elsewhere — quietly, and too often.”
from the catalogue
Start with Six of Crows →
includes The Nikolai Duology, Six of Crows, The Grisha
The Dagger and the CoinSeries
series6 books2011
About class conflict.
Start with The Dragon's Path →
The Poppy WarSeries
series4 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
Start with The Poppy War →
The Circle of the WorldUniverse
universe29 books2006
Grimdark.
“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