More like Strange Gateways

anchored on:fantasyshort story cyclehorrorweird fictionmiddle easteerie

but

Narrow

Tolkien's legendariumUniverse
universe163 books1923
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
Start with The Fellowship of the Ring →
includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The History of Middle Earth, The Fall of Gondolin, The History of the Lord of the Rings
EarthseaUniverse
universe19 books1964
Epic fantasy, reflective in tone, set in secondary world.
“There is a lesson every wizard of Earthsea learns young: to know a thing's true name is to hold its whole being, and to speak it is to move the balance of the world.”
from the catalogue
Start with A Wizard of Earthsea →
includes Earthsea Cycle
Prospero and Roger BaconSeries
series2 books1969
completed
Dark in tone, about quests, set in secondary world.
“The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs's only adult fantasy novel, follows two aging wizards, Prospero and Roger Bacon, as they track down a rising magical evil that has started to unravel the world around them.”
from the catalogue
Start with The Face in the Frost →
Howl's CastleSeries
series3 books1986
completed
Whimsical in tone, set in secondary world.
Start with Howl's Moving Castle →
World of Septimus HeapSeries
series12 books2005
Set in secondary world.
Start with Magyk →
TortallUniverse
universe25 books1983
About coming of age, set in secondary world.
“In Tortall she does it anyway — and earns the right the hard way, through bruises, cold mornings in the training yard, and the slow winning-over of people who swore she'd fail.”
from the catalogue
Start with Alanna: The First Adventure →
includes The Immortals, Song of the Lioness, Protector of the Small, Beka Cooper / Provost's Dog, Daughter of the Lioness, The Numair Chronicles