Earthsea and 9 more epic sci-fi and fantasy series to read in lockdown

2. The First Law and The Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie

If darker, grittier fantasy is more your cup of tea, then allow me to introduce you to your new favorite author. Joe Abercrombie has a reputation for subverting the tropes of traditional fantasy in dark and intriguing ways, and it is well earned. The main series he’s known for, The First Law, is a compelling trilogy that basically leaves you questioning if there was ever anything good in the world in the first place. It’s twisty, complicated, and pulls no punches when it comes to delivering scathing analysis of how corruption and personal demons can seep into every level of society. To use a Game of Thrones analogy, there are very few Ned Starks in this world, and a whole lot of Lannisters.

But the best thing is that there’s more than just that original trilogy to sink your teeth into. The first three books mainly follow the battles and scheming of thinking man’s barbarian Logen Ninefingers, crippled war hero turned sarcastic torturer Sand dan Glokta, and sheltered, snot-nosed noble Jezel dan Luthar. Each is manipulated in their own way by Bayaz, Abercrombie’s cynical take on the classic fantasy wizard. Bayaz is blunt, ruthless and utterly realistic about how to navigate the gritty world of The First Law.

Since wrapping up those first three books with 2008’s The Last Argument of Kings, Abercrombie has gone on to write three standalone books set in the same universe: Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country. Each is a different sort of story: Best Served Cold is a vengeance tale in the vein of The Count of Monte Cristo, The Heroes is a war story told over the course of a single three-day-long battle, and Red Country is a frontier tale. But despite being standalones, they also feature plenty of characters from The First Law.

Then there’s The Age of Madness, Abercrombie’s newest work. Set almost three decades after the end of The First Law, this newest trilogy sees the world of the North and the Union progressing toward industrial revolution. It follows new characters as well as the descendants of some of the original trilogy’s heroes. The first two books are already out, and book three, The Wisdom of Crowds, is set to release next fall.

All told, that’s nine books of grimdark fantasy. And hey, if you’ve starting to go a little crazy in lockdown, you can console yourself that at least you’re not as crazy as some of Abercrombie’s darker characters…

Yet.