More like The Wounded Shadow

anchored on:epic fantasysecondary worldquestspolitical intriguedarktense

but

Narrow

World of Ice and FireUniverse
universe19 books1980
About war.
“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
Thomas Covenant the UnbelieverSeries
series11 books1977
Epic fantasy and fantasy, dark in tone, about quests, set in secondary world.
Start with Lord Foul's Bane →
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
Start with The Fellowship of the Ring →
includes The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Fall of Gondolin, The History of Middle Earth, The History of the Lord of the Rings
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
MalazanUniverse
universe36 books1999
About war.
“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
The RiftwarUniverse
universe44 books1982
Epic fantasy and fantasy, set in secondary world.
“On the world of Midkemia a tear opens in the air itself, a rift hung between stars, and through it march the armies of an empire from another world entirely.”
from the catalogue
Start with Magician →
includes Serpentwar Saga, Kelewan Empire, The Riftwar Legacy, Darkwar Saga, Midkemian Trilogy [UK] / Chaoswar Saga [US], Krondor's Sons, Conclave of Shadows, Riftwar Saga