You have ventured through the ten volumes of Steven Erikson’s magnificent Malazan Book of the Fallen, and now you find yourself bereft, bewildered, and desperately searching for something equally grand. Take heart, dear reader, for there exist other worlds as vast and intricate, other tales as philosophically rich and morally complex, waiting for those brave enough to seek them.
What follows is a carefully curated collection of epic fantasy series that share Malazan’s particular magic: the sprawling casts, the histories stretching back millennia, the moral greyness that makes heroes and villains quite difficult to distinguish. Each recommendation has been chosen for readers who relish complexity and refuse to be coddled by simple narratives.
The Black Company by Glen Cook
Here we must begin at the wellspring itself, for Glen Cook’s Black Company is the very godfather of all that Malazan would become. Steven Erikson himself has named these novels as his primary inspiration, and one reads them with the peculiar pleasure of recognizing a family resemblance.
The tale follows an elite mercenary company—last of the Free Companies of Khatovar—through decades of service to powers both terrible and magnificent. Cook writes from the perspective of Croaker, the company’s physician and historian, giving us that blue-collar soldier’s view that Malazan readers know so well. The prose is lean where Erikson’s is lush, but the moral ambiguity runs just as deep.
Start with: The Black Company (1984)
The Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker
If Malazan’s philosophical depths left you yearning for more, then R. Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing shall satisfy that hunger most admirably. The author, a near-PhD in philosophy, has crafted a world where ideas hold as much power as swords—where questions of consciousness, free will, and the nature of evil form the very bedrock of the narrative.
The story follows Anasûrimbor Kellhus, a warrior-monk of terrifying intelligence, who manipulates a holy war for purposes both mysterious and cosmic. The prose is dense and demanding, the themes dark as pitch, yet for readers who found Malazan’s meditations on mortality and meaning particularly nourishing, this series offers a feast of similar intellectual splendor.
Start with: The Darkness That Comes Before (2004)
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Here is a curious recommendation, for Brandon Sanderson’s voice differs markedly from Erikson’s—brighter, more hopeful, with magic systems so intricate they might have been designed by watchmakers. Yet in sheer scope and ambition, The Stormlight Archive stands as a worthy companion to Malazan.
The world of Roshar, where hurricanes shape civilization and men trade kingdoms for magical swords, represents over a decade of worldbuilding. Multiple viewpoint characters navigate politics, war, and an ancient threat spanning eons. If you loved Malazan for its vast canvas and interconnected narratives rather than its grimdark sensibilities, Sanderson offers that same magnificent scale with his own distinctive illumination.
Start with: The Way of Kings (2010)
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie writes with such wicked wit that one hardly notices how thoroughly he is dismantling every fantasy trope held dear. His First Law trilogy is grimdark perfected—dark, bloody, and unexpectedly hilarious, populated by characters so morally ambiguous they make Malazan’s cast seem positively saintly.
The Union faces war on two fronts while a crippled torturer, a barbarian trying to leave violence behind, and a vain nobleman discover that heroism is rather more complicated than the stories suggest. By trilogy’s end, readers find themselves uncertain whether anyone won, or whether victory meant anything at all. For those who loved Malazan’s cynicism about power and redemption, Abercrombie is essential reading.
Start with: The Blade Itself (2006)
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
This beloved trilogy inspired both George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss, and one reads it understanding why. Tad Williams created in Osten Ard a world of genuine depth—where the long-lived Sithi echo with melancholy, where history weighs upon the present, and where a kitchen boy named Simon must grow into something far greater than he imagined.
The tale concerns three legendary swords, an undead Storm King, and kingdoms falling into civil war. Williams writes with patience and care, building atmosphere until the very stones seem to breathe. For readers who appreciated Malazan’s sense of ancient history pressing upon the present moment, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn offers that same magnificent weight of ages.
Start with: The Dragonbone Chair (1988)
The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts
Janny Wurts has spent over thirty years crafting this eleven-book saga, and every word has been placed with the care of a master artisan. The Wars of Light and Shadow follows two half-brothers—Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, wielder of Light—whose conflict shapes the fate of a world, though who is hero and who villain remains deliciously uncertain.
The prose is dense and demanding, asking readers to pay close attention and be patient with complexity. Guy Gavriel Kay has called Wurts essential to contemporary fantasy, and for readers who loved Malazan’s moral ambiguity and refusal to offer easy answers, this series rewards the dedicated with profound riches.
Start with: Curse of the Mistwraith (1993)
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan’s fourteen-volume epic transformed fantasy in the 1990s and has since sold over ninety million copies. The tale of Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn destined to save the world and break it, unfolds across thousands of pages of intricate politics, ancient prophecy, and a magic system both beautiful and dangerous.
Jordan drew upon mythologies from around the globe—Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Arthurian legend—weaving them into something wholly original. While more traditionally heroic than Malazan, the Wheel of Time matches its scope and complexity, offering an immense tapestry for readers who hunger for vast worlds to lose themselves within.
Start with: The Eye of the World (1990)
The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
N.K. Jemisin accomplished what no author had before: winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel three consecutive years, once for each book in this trilogy. Set on a supercontinent plagued by catastrophic “Fifth Seasons,” the series follows orogenes—people who can control seismic activity and are therefore feared and enslaved.
The worldbuilding here is as original as anything in Malazan, the prose experimental and powerful, the themes of oppression and survival rendered with unflinching honesty. For readers who loved Malazan’s willingness to explore difficult themes through fantastical metaphor, The Broken Earth offers something genuinely revolutionary.
Start with: The Fifth Season (2015)
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Here is a different sort of complexity—not in scope but in cleverness. Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series follows elite con artists in a Renaissance-inspired city, executing elaborate heists against the wealthy and powerful while a mysterious figure threatens their world.
George R.R. Martin called it “fresh, original, and engrossing,” while Patrick Rothfuss declared it might be among his top ten favorite books ever. For readers who loved Malazan’s wit and the camaraderie among its soldiers, Lynch offers that same humor and heart wrapped in intricate criminal schemes.
Start with: The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006)
The Acts of Caine by Matthew Stover
Matthew Stover’s Acts of Caine series predates the modern grimdark wave yet embodies its spirit completely. The premise blends science fiction and fantasy: in a dystopian future, “actors” are sent to a parallel fantasy world called Overworld, their adventures broadcast as entertainment. Caine is the greatest of these actors—an assassin whose violence is legendary.
The series is a meditation on violent entertainment that is itself violently entertaining, exploring questions of heroism, power, and exploitation with brutal honesty. For Malazan readers who relished philosophical depth alongside visceral action, Stover delivers both in abundance.
Start with: Heroes Die (1998)
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
No list of complex fantasy would be complete without George R.R. Martin’s masterwork, though many Malazan readers will have already visited Westeros. Academic researchers have actually studied the series’ narrative structure, finding it mimics the mathematical patterns of real-world social networks—a testament to how carefully Martin constructed his sprawling cast.
The tale of warring noble houses, winter’s supernatural threat, and the true meaning of power has transformed modern fantasy. Martin himself considers it his masterpiece, declaring he shall never write anything on this scale again. For readers somehow yet to experience it, this remains essential reading for lovers of complex, morally grey epic fantasy.
Start with: A Game of Thrones (1996)
Finding Your Next Epic Adventure
Each of these series offers something Malazan readers cherish. Some lean darker, others brighter; some match Malazan’s philosophical depth, others its military scope or its dark humor.
The joy of finishing one great epic is discovering the next awaits. These eleven recommendations represent the finest complex fantasy has to offer—worlds as rich and demanding as Erikson’s, ready to claim hundreds of hours of your reading life. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
