There comes a moment in every reader’s life—and you shall know it when it arrives—when the final page of a beloved tale turns, and one finds oneself quite bereft, rather like a child who has finished all the sweets and now stares mournfully at the empty jar. If you have wandered through Westeros and supped with its lords and scoundrels, you know this peculiar ache.
Fear not, dear reader. For the world of books is vast as any kingdom, and adventure awaits those brave enough to seek it. Here, gathered like treasures in a dragon’s hoard, are fifteen magnificent tales to fill that hollow place left by George R.R. Martin’s grand saga.
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Now here is a tale that understands something rather important: heroes are not always heroic, and villains are not always wrong. Joe Abercrombie has crafted a world where a barbarian with a terrible reputation, a crippled torturer with a sharper wit than any blade, and a pompous young officer walk together into war.
Sand dan Glokta, that bitter torturer, limps through corridors of power delivering observations so darkly amusing that one hardly knows whether to laugh or shudder. This is grimdark fantasy at its finest—where the humor cuts as deep as any sword, and every character you love may yet disappoint you wonderfully.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
Before there was Westeros, there was Osten Ard. Indeed, Martin himself has spoken of this very series as kindling for his own fire. Tad Williams crafted a sprawling epic of political turmoil and ancient magic that laid the stones upon which so much modern fantasy was built.
The tale begins slowly, as great tales often do, building its world with the patience of a master architect. From icy mountains to deep forests, Williams paints each setting with such care that you might catch cold simply reading of winter’s approach. The final volume is so tremendous it had to be split in two—rather like a pie too magnificent for any single plate.
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
Here we meet FitzChivalry, a king’s bastard raised in shadows and trained in the quieter arts of ending lives. Robin Hobb is famously unkind to her characters—she loves them fiercely and wounds them deeply, which is how you know she is telling the truth about life.
George R.R. Martin himself is a devoted reader of these books, and small wonder. If Jon Snow captured your heart, you shall find a kindred spirit in Fitz. The story unfolds through his eyes alone, intimate as a whispered secret, and therein lies its tremendous power.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson has constructed upon the world of Roshar something rather magnificent—a land where magical storms sculpt the very stone and ancient warriors called Knights Radiant once protected humanity before their mysterious fall.
The magic here follows rules as precise as any science, and yet the heart of the tale beats with themes of redemption and becoming better than one’s circumstances allow. Sanderson is building toward something enormous, and we are all fortunate enough to watch the cathedral rise.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
What if the prophesied hero failed? This is the question that ignites Sanderson’s earlier masterwork, set in a world of ash and oppression where hope itself seems a kind of rebellion.
Young Vin, a street urchin with extraordinary powers, and Kelsier, a revolutionary with a smile that masks considerable pain, lead us through a tale of heists and uprisings. The magic system—burning metals for power—is perhaps the cleverest invention in modern fantasy, scientific in its precision yet wondrous in its execution.
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Fourteen volumes! Three thousand years of history! Nearly three thousand named characters! Robert Jordan built not merely a story but an entire world, complete with cultures, prophecies, and a magic called channeling that divides the sexes in fascinating ways.
The tale follows young Rand al’Thor from simple village life into the grinding machinery of destiny. Some journeys through the middle volumes test one’s patience, but the destination—completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s passing—rewards every faithful reader magnificently.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Imagine Ocean’s Eleven set in a Venice of the fantastical sort, where a band of charming thieves pull elaborate cons on the nobility. Scott Lynch delivers heists wrapped in humor wrapped in sudden, devastating tragedy.
Locke Lamora is no warrior—he is clever, he is daring, and he talks himself into and out of trouble with equal facility. The dialogue sparkles like stolen jewels, and the brotherhood between the Gentleman Bastards will remind you why found family makes the very best stories.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Here lies perhaps the most ambitious undertaking in all of fantasy literature. Steven Erikson, drawing upon his training as an archaeologist and anthropologist, has created a saga spanning continents and millennia with over four hundred point-of-view characters.
This is not a gentle introduction to fantasy—Erikson does not hold your hand or explain his mysteries. Yet for those who persist, the rewards are extraordinary. One reviewer called it a once-in-a-generation achievement, and they were not exaggerating.
The Black Company by Glen Cook
Before grimdark had a name, Glen Cook was writing it. His Black Company follows an elite mercenary unit through years of brutal service, told in the clipped, unsentimental voice of their physician-chronicler.
There are no heroes here in the traditional sense—only soldiers doing a job in a world of malignant gods and terrible powers. Cook’s military experience infuses every page with authenticity. This is the book that inspired Steven Erikson and countless others who followed.
The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne
John Gwynne won the David Gemmell Award for Best Debut with Malice, and small wonder. Here is classic epic fantasy executed with tremendous skill—prophecies of good and evil, giant wars, young heroes growing into their destinies.
The world of the Banished Lands comes alive with fantastic beasts and brutal battles. Gwynne takes familiar ingredients and prepares them with such care that everything feels fresh. If you love the scope and stakes of Martin’s work, you shall find much to admire here.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Patrick Rothfuss writes prose that sings. His tale of Kvothe—legendary magician, musician, and possibly king-killer—unfolds as the man himself recounts his extraordinary life to a chronicler.
The storytelling itself becomes part of the pleasure, words arranged with a musician’s ear for rhythm and beauty. Ursula K. Le Guin praised the writing as having “real music in the words,” and George R.R. Martin counts himself among its admirers.
The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
N.K. Jemisin made history when each volume of this trilogy won the Hugo Award—no author had ever achieved such a feat. Her world is one of geological catastrophe and oppression, where those who can control earthquakes are both essential and reviled.
This is fantasy that challenges as much as it entertains, written with ferocious intelligence and deep humanity. The storytelling techniques are as innovative as the world-building, and the characters will haunt you long after the final page.
The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu
Ken Liu reimagines the founding of China’s Han Dynasty as silkpunk fantasy—a world of airships and kites and political genius. The tale follows two revolutionaries, best friends of utterly opposite temperaments, as they overthrow tyranny and then find themselves at odds.
Liu writes with the sweep and grandeur of classical epics, his prose graceful and intelligent. The scope is vast, the betrayals magnificent, the battles spectacular. This is fantasy that expands what the genre can accomplish.
Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare brings her considerable talents to adult fantasy with this tale of Castellane, a trading city of secrets and scheming. We follow Kel, trained as the prince’s body double, and Lin, a physician from a marginalized community with forbidden magical knowledge.
The world-building is extraordinarily rich, the political intrigue worthy of any Westerosi court. Martin himself praised it as containing “all the things that drew us into Westeros.” Clare proves herself as capable with adult fantasy as she was with the Shadowhunter books that made her famous.
The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon
And now, a confession: this is not fantasy at all but historical fiction. Yet Martin himself called The Accursed Kings “the original Game of Thrones,” and who are we to argue with such high praise?
These seven novels chronicle the downfall of the French Capetian dynasty in the fourteenth century—a tale of royal curses, scheming queens, and ruthless ambition that reads more dramatically than most invented worlds. If you suspect Martin borrowed liberally from history, here is delicious proof.
Finding Your Next Great Adventure
Every reader’s tastes differ, naturally. Perhaps you crave the dark humor and moral complexity of Abercrombie. Perhaps the intricate magic and hopeful themes of Sanderson call to you. Perhaps you wish for the literary ambition of Jemisin or the epic sweep of Erikson.
Whatever you seek, remember this: the greatest gift of finishing a beloved series is discovering how many more adventures await. The world of fantasy literature grows richer each year, and somewhere among these pages lies a story that shall become as dear to you as Westeros.
Now off you go. Adventure is waiting, and it does not do to keep it long.
