If you have journeyed through the vast and wondrous expanse of Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen—with all its gods and warrens, its Bridgeburners and Bonehunters, its convergences that shake the very heavens—you find yourself, dear reader, in a most peculiar predicament. For having scaled such heights, where does one venture next?
Fear not, for there exist other worlds equally grand, populated by characters equally magnificent, with prose that shall sweep you away as surely as a highstorm sweeps across the Shattered Plains. Allow us to guide you to them.
The Black Company by Glen Cook
Here we must begin, for this is the very wellspring from which Erikson himself drew deep draughts of inspiration. Glen Cook’s chronicles follow a mercenary company—physicians and soldiers, cynics and dreamers—through decades of brutal warfare in service to powers both terrible and magnificent.
The Company serves the Lady, a sorceress of unfathomable power, and her tale is told not through the eyes of kings and heroes, but through Croaker, the company annalist and physician. It is fantasy told from the trenches, as it were—men who grumble about rations and worry over gambling debts whilst the fate of empires hangs in the balance. Cook pioneered what many now call “grimdark,” and his influence upon Erikson’s own work cannot be overstated.
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Should you fancy yourself someone who appreciates the particular darkness of Malazan—the cynicism, the moral complexity, the characters who are neither wholly good nor delightfully evil—then Joe Abercrombie’s world awaits you with a sardonic grin.
Here you shall meet Logen Ninefingers, a barbarian of fearsome reputation; Glokta, a torturer who was himself once tortured; and Jezal, a vain young officer with dreams of glory. Abercrombie writes with wit as sharp as any blade, and his examination of power, corruption, and the impossibility of change shall linger with you long after the final page. Many readers find his character work even surpasses the master of Malaz himself—though such comparisons are, of course, a matter of the heart.
The Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker
For those who savored the philosophical depths of Erikson’s work, R. Scott Bakker offers something extraordinary. His Second Apocalypse series begins with this trilogy—dense, challenging, and magnificent in its ambition.
At its center stands Kellhus, a monk trained in an isolated monastery where rationality and the manipulation of causality have been honed to supernatural precision. When he emerges into a world preparing for holy war, everything changes. Bakker draws upon Hellenistic Greece, the Crusades, and serious philosophical inquiry to create something unlike anything else in fantasy. Be warned: this is dark and demanding reading, but for those who appreciate such depths, it rewards handsomely.
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
If scale is what your heart desires—that grand sweep of history and prophecy, that enormous cast of characters whose fates interweave across continents—then Robert Jordan’s fourteen-volume masterwork beckons.
The worldbuilding here rivals anything in fantasy literature. Jordan created cultures, histories, and a magic system of extraordinary intricacy. The story follows young people from a small village as they discover they are pivotal figures in a battle against the Dark One himself. Jordan’s attention to detail in geography, culture, and tradition creates a world you may inhabit fully. Brandon Sanderson completed the final three volumes after Jordan’s passing, bringing this monumental tale to its prophesied conclusion.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Speaking of Sanderson, his own magnum opus deserves particular attention. Set on Roshar, a world of stone battered by magical storms, this series represents modern epic fantasy at its most ambitious.
Here you will find Kaladin, a slave turned soldier; Shallan, a scholar with dangerous secrets; and Dalinar, a warlord haunted by visions. Sanderson’s magic systems are intricate and satisfying, his worldbuilding meticulous, and his scope genuinely epic. At over a thousand pages per volume, these books demand commitment—but they reward it with a richness that Malazan fans will recognize and appreciate.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
One cannot compile such a list without acknowledging the series that brought epic fantasy to millions through its television adaptation. Martin’s tale of warring noble houses, scheming queens, and approaching supernatural winter changed the genre itself.
Martin writes with the realism of historical fiction—his Wars of the Roses inspiration evident throughout—whilst maintaining the wonder of the fantastic. His characters live and breathe and die (often unexpectedly), and his moral ambiguity ensures that heroes and villains blur together in most satisfying ways. The world awaits the remaining volumes with patience that has become legendary in its own right.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
This trilogy holds a special place in fantasy’s history, for it inspired both George R.R. Martin and a generation of writers who followed. Williams tells the story of Simon, a kitchen boy thrust into a world-spanning conflict involving ancient races, legendary swords, and the fate of nations.
The series bridges classic Tolkienian fantasy and the grittier modern era, creating a template that countless authors have followed. Williams’ prose is beautiful, his world richly imagined, and his influence upon the genre has been significant indeed. If you seek to understand where modern epic fantasy began its evolution, this is essential reading.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
A change of pace, perhaps, but a delightful one. Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series follows a band of elite con artists in a Venice-like city of canals and glass towers. Locke Lamora is the most audacious thief in a city full of them, and his schemes are as entertaining as they are intricate.
George R.R. Martin himself praised this book for capturing him from the first page. Patrick Rothfuss placed it among his favorite books ever written. The wit crackles, the heists thrill, and the found family at its heart will charm you thoroughly. While less “epic” in traditional scope, it offers the intelligence and complexity that Malazan fans appreciate.
The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts
This magnificent eleven-volume series spans thirty years of publication and tells the tale of two half-brothers—one wielding light, one shadow—cursed to eternal enmity by a malevolent Mistwraith.
Wurts’ prose is dense and beautiful, demanding attention but rewarding it richly. Her examination of moral complexity, the nature of heroism, and the tragedy of conflict driven by forces beyond individual control echoes many themes Erikson explores. Wurts was inspired to write against the romanticization of war after viewing a documentary about the Battle of Culloden, and that sensibility—war is tragedy, not glory—resonates deeply with Erikson’s own themes. This is a series for patient readers who savor every carefully chosen word, and such readers will find themselves richly rewarded.
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
A classic that has influenced generations, Le Guin’s Earthsea offers something different—a magic system based on true names, a world of islands and sea, and profound meditations on power, balance, and coming of age.
Beginning with Ged, a young wizard whose pride unleashes a shadow he must confront, the series expands across six books into explorations of mortality, gender, and what magic truly costs. Le Guin’s prose is elegant, her philosophy profound, and her influence upon fantasy—including the very concept of wizard schools—immeasurable. The BBC named these books among the hundred most influential novels ever written.
The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence
For those who appreciate Malazan’s darker moments, Mark Lawrence offers something genuinely transgressive. His protagonist Jorg Ancrath is an antihero of the deepest dye—a prince turned bandit leader at thirteen, with ambitions to rule the shattered remnants of an empire.
The twist is that this medieval-seeming world is actually far-future Earth after some great catastrophe. Lawrence blends grimdark fantasy with post-apocalyptic elements to create something startling and original. This is not for the squeamish, but for those who appreciate darkness with purpose, Jorg’s journey offers unexpected depths.
There you have it, dear reader—eleven doorways into other worlds, each magnificent in its own fashion. Some will challenge you with philosophical density; others will charm you with wit and warmth. All share with Malazan that quality of ambition, that refusal to offer simple answers to complex questions, that sense of worlds too large and rich to ever fully exhaust.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen may be behind you, but countless adventures still await. Choose your next journey wisely—and remember that in the best fantasy, as in life itself, the destination matters far less than who you become along the way.
