What should I read next?

The Rankings answer "what's the best?" This page answers the question most visitors actually have: given how much time you've got and what kind of read you're after, where do you start? Six shelves below, plus a full filterable table further down -- every one computed straight from the same published data as the rankings, never a hand-picked list.

Suggested picks

Hidden gems

Scored in the top quarter of the whole ranking (4.11 or higher), yet rated by fewer than 50,000 readers. Loved deeply, met rarely.

• La Horde du Contrevent Alain Damasio #16 · 4.42 · 10k ratings
• Troy David Gemmell, Stella Gemmell #23 · 4.37 · 40k ratings
• Glass Immortals Brian McClellan #26 · 4.39 · 9k ratings
• The Rigante David Gemmell #43 · 4.31 · 38k ratings
• The Hands of the Emperor Victoria Goddard #47 · 4.37 · 4k ratings
• Gwendalavir Pierre Bottero #48 · 4.31 · 20k ratings
• Ash and Sand Richard Nell #58 · 4.30 · 9k ratings
• Raybearer Jordan Ifueko #60 · 4.28 · 46k ratings

See the full list (66) →

Quick to finish

The smallest reading commitments in the canon: complete them in a book or two, not a shelf.

• The Hierarchy James Islington #3 · 4.49 · 2 books
• The Reformatory Tananarive Due #6 · 4.43 · 1 book · ~570 pages
• The Sword of Kaigen M.L. Wang #9 · 4.42 · 1 book · ~651 pages
• Shield of Sparrows Devney Perry #12 · 4.40 · 2 books · ~996 pages
• La Horde du Contrevent Alain Damasio #16 · 4.42 · 1 book · ~736 pages
• The Raven Scholar Antonia Hodgson #19 · 4.38 · 1 book
• Glass Immortals Brian McClellan #26 · 4.39 · 1 book · ~576 pages
• A Monster Calls Patrick Ness #28 · 4.34 · 1 book

See the full list (395) →

Big sagas worth the commitment

Seven or more core books, or four thousand plus pages: the worlds you move into rather than visit.

• Harry Potter J.K. Rowling #2 · 4.52 · 7 books · ~3,843 pages
• Cosmere Brandon Sanderson #4 · 4.46 · 18 books · ~12,432 pages
• Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas #5 · 4.43 · 7 books · ~4,492 pages
• A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin #10 · 4.41 · 5 books · ~5,206 pages
• Kate Daniels Ilona Andrews #24 · 4.35 · 10 books · ~3,196 pages
• Skulduggery Pleasant Derek Landy #25 · 4.35 · 18 books
• The Riordanverse Rick Riordan #27 · 4.34 · 25 books
• Riyria / Legends of the First Empire Michael J. Sullivan #29 · 4.33 · 20 books · ~8,744 pages

See the full list (130) → · See this same cut in Filter & explore →

Complete and ready to binge

Finished stories: every book is published, no waiting for the next volume.

• Harry Potter J.K. Rowling #2 · 4.52 · Complete
• Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas #5 · 4.43 · Complete
• The Reformatory Tananarive Due #6 · 4.43 · Complete
• Empire of the Vampire Jay Kristoff #8 · 4.42 · Complete
• The Sword of Kaigen M.L. Wang #9 · 4.42 · Complete
• Shield of Sparrows Devney Perry #12 · 4.40 · Complete
• Middle-earth J.R.R. Tolkien #13 · 4.39 · Complete
• La Horde du Contrevent Alain Damasio #16 · 4.42 · Complete

See the full list (703) →

The heavyweights

The most-rated universes on record. A count of readers, not a quality tier.

• Harry Potter J.K. Rowling #2 · 4.52 · 37.8M ratings
• The Riordanverse Rick Riordan #27 · 4.34 · 14.4M ratings
• A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas #11 · 4.40 · 13.3M ratings
• Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas #5 · 4.43 · 11.9M ratings
• Middle-earth J.R.R. Tolkien #13 · 4.39 · 10.0M ratings
• The Empyrean Rebecca Yarros #7 · 4.42 · 8.8M ratings
• Cosmere Brandon Sanderson #4 · 4.46 · 6.7M ratings
• A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin #10 · 4.41 · 6.3M ratings

See the full list (845) → · See the 100k+ ratings view in Filter & explore →

Off the mainstream

Every Core Canon book originally written in a language other than English, scored at or above the ranking's median (3.99). Not about visibility, about where the story was first written.

• La Horde du Contrevent Alain Damasio #16 · 4.42 · French-language original
• Gwendalavir Pierre Bottero #48 · 4.31 · French-language original
• Zamonia Walter Moers #53 · 4.29 · German-language original
• The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov #55 · 4.28 · Russian-language original
• Precious Stone Trilogy Kerstin Gier #62 · 4.27 · German-language original
• Jim Button Michael Ende #68 · 4.28 · German-language original
• The Moomins Tove Jansson #77 · 4.24 · Swedish-language original
• The Twelve Kingdoms Fuyumi Ono #86 · 4.27 · Japanese-language original

See the full list (35) →

Similar to...

Already know a universe you like? Pick it below and see the same mechanical "You might also like" suggestions shown on its own dossier page (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score in common) -- no new comparison, just the same one looked up here.