The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson finished The Wheel of Time, and this opener shares its huge scale, multiple viewpoints, rich history and slow-building sense of a world-ending threat returning.
12 books to read next
Books Like The Eye of the World
If you loved The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Readers love The Eye of the World for its classic quest structure: farm-village friends swept from home into a vast, dangerous world, guided by a mysterious woman of power. They relish the deep worldbuilding, the detailed magic system split between men and women, the sense of ancient history and cyclical prophecy, and a cast that grows as the journey widens. It is long, immersive and unhurried, the opening of a sprawling epic that rewards readers willing to settle in for many volumes.
Sprawling epic series openers
A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
Another doorstop series opener with a vast map, many point-of-view characters and an ancient danger stirring, though grittier and more political than Jordan's farm-boy quest.
Gardens of the Moon
Steven Erikson
For readers who loved the depth of Jordan's history and magic, Malazan offers an even denser world, with armies, gods and sorcery on an enormous canvas.
Farm boy meets destiny
The Fellowship of the Ring
J. R. R. Tolkien
Jordan openly echoes Tolkien: humble villagers flee pursuing dark creatures with a wise guide. Go back to the source of the quiet-home-to-perilous-road structure.
Pawn of Prophecy
David Eddings
A farm boy with a hidden destiny, a protective sorceress figure and a prophecy-driven journey make this a lighter, warmer cousin to The Eye of the World.
Magician
Raymond E. Feist
Two boys from a quiet keep are pulled into an interplanetary war; like Rand and Mat, their friendship and diverging paths drive a classic coming-of-age epic.
Magic with rules and cost
Mistborn
Brandon Sanderson
If you enjoyed the One Power's structure and its dangers, Allomancy offers a precise, inventive magic system in a world where the dark lord already won.
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
A gifted young man studying a learned, rule-bound magic recalls the channeling lessons Jordan's heroes face, told in a lyrical, immersive voice.
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin
A short classic about a village boy whose raw power draws a shadow after him, exploring the price of magic Jordan's world takes so seriously.
Newer epic fantasy
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Samantha Shannon
A standalone epic with an ancient evil rising, prophecy, multiple kingdoms and powerful women at its heart, echoing the Aes Sedai and the Dark One's return.
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
A cyclical, catastrophe-haunted world and feared wielders of power controlled by an institution will intrigue readers drawn to Jordan's turning Ages and the White Tower.
The Ruin of Kings
Jenn Lyons
A young man who may be a prophesied destroyer, layered histories and dense worldbuilding make this a modern series opener in the Wheel of Time tradition.
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