Looking for another series similar to WOK/WOR

[Mizerab1e]

Hello everyone, I stumbled across Way of King last week and was instantly hooked, managed to just finish WOR just now and I must say, I NEED MORE!!!!

 

I was wondering if anyone can recommend another series similar to WOK / WOR while I wait impatiently for the next book. I'm a big fan of fantasy based mainly on 'Swords' and I would truly appreciate it if anyone can guide me in the right direction. 

[Newan he/him]

Well, there's nothing quite like the Stormlight Archive.  But if you want another epic fantasy with lots of characters, deep worldbuilding, and a depth of history, I would recommend Wheel of Time.  It's fantastic.

 

Edit: also, welcome to the forum, Miserab1e!  Have an upvote.

Edited October 3, 2014 by New One

[Moogle]

Malazan Book of the Fallen might be up your alley, though it's quite unlike Stormlight.

• Lots of high-powered magic battles, including swordfights with magical swords with ridiculous power (which form a central part of the plot in many books).
• Very dark relative to Stormlight. As an example, there is a sword which, if you are killed by it, condemns you to be chained to a cart you have to pull through a different dimension forever. On the plus side, you get to do it with everyone else the sword killed. It's not all straight up depressing, though: when Tehol and Bugg were introduced I basically spent a week straight laughing.
• Very, very complex. Unlike Sanderson, Erikson does zero handholding and you will probably be lost amongst the (literally) thousands of characters and huge world. This may or may not appeal to you.

Wheel of Time, as already recommended, is quite similar to Stormlight in many aspects, but it has its downsides. Mainly, Jordan knew where he started, and where he wanted to end, but he had no idea what to do in the middle so he just sort of meandered... which makes for a lot of pointless plot I wish I could have skipped.

 

If you haven't read it, the basic recommendation for epic fantasy is Lord of the Rings. Somewhat dated, but it did pioneer the genre, and is very worth a read.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM is very non-magical, and focuses a lot on medieval warfare. There's plenty of swordfights. Like Malazan, though, things tend to be grim, and it's also complex (though not as bad as Malazan). I'd be careful if you're mainly expecting things to revolve around the wars, though: ASOIAF is in many ways more about the characters and their plots and intrigue rather than wars (though there's enough of those). Characters you hate at the start you might love by the end.

 

If you want more recommendations, you could try http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Moogle

[Mizerab1e]

Thank you so much for the recommendation, I'll definitely check it out, but I have a feeling that it won't be up to par with WOK/WOR. This is simply the best fantasy novel I've ever read, I cant stop picturing Adolin and Dalinar in their shardplate just destroying people left and right with shardblade, I would love to see it made into a movie/animation! 

[Titan Arum]

Mizerab1e, have you had a chance to read any of the other Sanderson books? I couldn't put down the Mistborn series when I first read it. Granted, there aren't any swords, because the magic system would abuse that (but people do have dueling canes!). If you want a Brandon book with an interesting sword, try Warbreaker. 

 

The interesting sword in Warbreaker is sentient and actually seen in WoR!

 

If you're looking for a good fantasy Sword series, try the aptly named The Book of Swords series by Fred Saberhagen (he even has a sword in his name!). I haven't personally read this series, but I've heard great things about it. Brandon even mentions it in a Warbreaker annotation. 

 

On a completely different form of fantasy, try the dystopian fantasy Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey. That entire series was amazing to me because the concept and characters were well executed.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Titan Arum

[Guimond777]

Malazan Book of the Fallen might be up your alley, though it's quite unlike Stormlight.

• Lots of high-powered magic battles, including swordfights with magical swords with ridiculous power (which form a central part of the plot in many books).
• Very dark relative to Stormlight. As an example, there is a sword which, if you are killed by it, condemns you to be chained to a cart you have to pull through a different dimension forever. On the plus side, you get to do it with everyone else the sword killed. It's not all straight up depressing, though: when Tehol and Bugg were introduced I basically spent a week straight laughing.
• Very, very complex. Unlike Sanderson, Erikson does zero handholding and you will probably be lost amongst the (literally) thousands of characters and huge world. This may or may not appeal to you.

Wheel of Time, as already recommended, is quite similar to Stormlight in many aspects, but it has its downsides. Mainly, Jordan knew where he started, and where he wanted to end, but he had no idea what to do in the middle so he just sort of meandered... which makes for a lot of pointless plot I wish I could have skipped.

 

If you haven't read it, the basic recommendation for epic fantasy is Lord of the Rings. Somewhat dated, but it did pioneer the genre, and is very worth a read.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM is very non-magical, and focuses a lot on medieval warfare. There's plenty of swordfights. Like Malazan, though, things tend to be grim, and it's also complex (though not as bad as Malazan). I'd be careful if you're mainly expecting things to revolve around the wars, though: ASOIAF is in many ways more about the characters and their plots and intrigue rather than wars (though there's enough of those). Characters you hate at the start you might love by the end.

 

If you want more recommendations, you could try http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy.

 

I actually recentley attempted to start the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and only made it through 1 1/2 of the books.  It is definitley not for everyone.  My main issues with the series is that it throws SO much at you (and never explains any of it), and the complete lack of character depth.  Personally, I find it incredibly hard to stay engaged in a story when I don't care about the characters, and the Malazan series throwns 800 POV's at you, all in which have no character backstory or depth.  If you like large, expansive and complex worlds, than it's up your alley.  But if you like engaging characters you can get invested in, then stay clear. 

 

The Ice and Fire series, IMO, is like the Malazan series but better written.  GRRM created a deep and vast world, full of characters that all have backstories and depth to them.  I highly recommend reading the books and not taking the TV series literally...the Books are much better IMO.