Books Like The Way of Kings: 9 Epic Fantasy Series

Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings is the towering first volume of The Stormlight Archive, one of the most ambitious epic fantasy series of the modern era. Set on the storm-scoured world of Roshar, it follows a broken soldier, a scholar chasing forbidden knowledge, and a brilliant, haunted assassin, weaving their stories into a vast tapestry of war, magic, and mystery. With its rigorous “hard magic” system, its enormous scope, and Sanderson’s signature accelerating climaxes, it is the gold standard for readers who love immersive, intricately built fantasy worlds.

The series below deliver that same epic experience — sprawling secondary worlds, deep magic systems, large casts followed across thousands of pages, and the deep satisfaction of long-term immersion. Some match Sanderson’s optimism and clarity; others are darker or more lyrical; all reward readers hungry for the next great fantasy obsession.

Immersive Epic Fantasy Worlds

#1 — The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The most beloved fantasy of its generation alongside Sanderson’s work. Rothfuss tells the story of Kvothe, a legendary figure recounting his life from gifted child to notorious wizard, in prose far more lyrical than Sanderson’s. Its magic system, its university setting, and its sheer storytelling beauty make it essential for Way of Kings readers who want immersive world-building with a more poetic voice.

#2 — The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

The opening volume of The Wheel of Time, the fourteen-book epic that helped define modern fantasy and which Sanderson himself completed after Jordan’s death. Vast in scope, rich in world-building, and built around a sprawling cast and a detailed magic system, it is the natural next mountain to climb for readers who relish total immersion in an enormous fantasy saga.

#3 — The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

To stay in Sanderson’s own connected Cosmere universe, the first Mistborn novel is the place to go. More self-contained than The Way of Kings, it pairs an ingenious metal-based magic system with a heist plot and a world where the dark lord already won. It showcases everything Sanderson does best — clever magic, twists, and explosive climaxes — at a more approachable length.

Grand Sagas of Power and War

#4 — A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The epic that brought grand, morally complex fantasy to a mass audience. Martin’s sprawling tale of warring noble houses is grittier and more unpredictable than Sanderson’s, with a huge cast and a willingness to kill anyone. For Way of Kings readers who want epic scale with sharper political intrigue and darker stakes, it is indispensable.

#5 — Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

The first volume of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, perhaps the most ambitious and complex epic fantasy ever written. Erikson throws readers into a vast, ancient world with little hand-holding, rewarding patience with staggering scope, deep history, and immense payoff. It is the ultimate challenge for Way of Kings fans who want their epics even bigger and more demanding.

#6 — The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Jemisin’s Hugo-winning novel reinvents epic fantasy with a shattering, original world of catastrophic geology and oppressed magic-users. Inventive in structure and rich in world-building, it offers Way of Kings readers a more literary, emotionally intense epic with a magic system as rigorous and original as Sanderson’s own.

Darker and Faster Fantasy

#7 — The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

The grimdark counterpoint to Sanderson’s more hopeful epics. Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy delivers morally grey characters, biting wit, and unflinching violence, subverting fantasy conventions while still providing the immersive world and unforgettable cast that Way of Kings readers crave.

#8 — The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

A dazzling fantasy heist in a Venice-inspired city of thieves, Lynch’s novel offers epic-scale world-building with the pace and wit of a caper. Its clever plotting, vivid setting, and charismatic cast make it a thrilling, more propulsive companion for fans of Sanderson’s intricate plotting.

#9 — The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Kuang’s dark, ambitious epic draws on twentieth-century Chinese history to tell a brutal story of war, power, and terrible magic. Grittier and more harrowing than Sanderson, it offers the same epic scope and rigorous world-building with a sharper historical and moral edge, for readers ready for a darker journey.

#10 — The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

A massive, self-contained epic fantasy for readers who want Way of Kings-scale world-building without committing to an ongoing series. Shannon builds a sweeping world of warring queendoms, dragons, and ancient magic across a single enormous volume, with multiple viewpoints and a richly imagined mythology. Its standalone completeness makes it a satisfying choice for fans of Sanderson’s epic ambition who crave a whole world delivered in one book.

Worth a Look

For readers who want to keep building their fantasy queue, Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear continues the Kvothe saga begun in The Name of the Wind, and Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice offers a more intimate, character-driven epic beloved for its emotional depth — a perfect change of pace from Sanderson’s grand scale while still delivering the long, immersive series experience. Whichever you choose next, each delivers the deep pleasure that makes The Way of Kings so beloved: a vast, fully realized world, a magic system with real rules and consequences, and a long, immersive story worth living inside for hundreds of pages. For readers who measure a fantasy by how completely it swallows them, these are among the very best the genre has to offer.

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