When it comes to a great piece of art, be it a book, a series, a movie, a game, or something else, it tends to leave a lingering itch that you simply can’t help. On the one hand, the story is over, sometimes satisfactory, sometimes less so, on the other – you are not over it just yet. Such is a familiar tale of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In a perfect world, you’d go right back to it or perhaps dive into some related media, but what if you don’t know where to turn or what to explore? That’s where we come in to help. Note that there is no other media that is perfectly LotR trilogy in its nature, even when you look at other Middle-Earth related creations, let alone completely different franchises.
Some people would suggest Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Narnia – and have others rightfully raise their eyebrows, yet there are certain overlaps regardless. So, to make it easier to narrow choices down, every point down below will get a short overview, a list of similarities to the trilogy, and a number of differences.
The main tropes of the trilogy include the quest narrative, unlikely hero/reluctant protagonist, the wise old guide, deep worldbuilding, great battles and more. Those are the ones that will be used for the comparison’s sake, starting with sprawling book series.
The Lord of the Rings Saga & Expanded Middle-Earth
Needless to say, the closest book series to the trilogy would be the one that it is built on. Penned by J.R.R. Tolkien, the main saga consists of The Hobbit (1937), The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1954) and The Return of the King (1955).
While many moments will be familiar, there are plenty that the trilogy chose to adapt out: Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry, Glorfindel, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, just to name a few characters. Naturally, their actions also offer entirely new scenes and context, such as Denethor’s despair in Gondor.
The expanded universe includes The Silmarillion (1977) which outlines the creation of the world and its First Age, and The Children of Húrin (a standalone epic from the First Age). This is where the finished narrative content ends, and you can move into more academic parts of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works: Unfinished Tales, Beren and Luthien/Fall of Gondolin, Fall of Numenor, and more.
If you just want a fantasy epic, that might be too much for you – but hey, why not try it? Perhaps you will end up falling in love with this universe even deeper than before.
Dune
A cycle of novels written by Frank Herbert, the core series follows young Paul Atreides and his descendants across a thousands years-long saga of political intrigue, religion, fate and prophecies, all involving the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis.
In the ways of similarities to the LotR trilogy and books, Dune has a great, complex worldbuilding, with in-universe histories, languages, mythologies, appendices, prophecies and more. The series also follows an unlikely hero thrust into a destiny larger than himself, left with a burden of saving an entire civilization.
However, there are also plenty of key differences: LotR is a classic high fantasy, while Dune is strictly sci-fi that focuses more on ruthless human politics rather than on the war between good and evil. Paul’s path also differs greatly from that of Frodo or Aragorn.
So if you were looking for an epic to keep you glued to the books or the screen for hours upon hours, featuring complex worldbuilding and morality, shining the light on the flaws of human nature and environmentalism, Dune has all of that and more.
But epic fantasy with virtuous brotherhood taking on corrupted monsters and mythic overlords, that is certainly not Dune.
The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time is a spanning high fantasy saga written by Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson being the co-author for the final three installments.
The Wheel of Time spans 14 books, in addition to a prequel novel New Spring, following an unlikely and at times unwilling protagonist in an epic world filled with magic, wonder, horror, intrigue, politicking and much more. Among the entire list of the books, The Wheel of Time shares the most with The Lord of the Rings, although it is still its own unique and distinct universe.
The tale begins with a mysterious and powerful Aes Sedai (a mage) arriving in a remote village of Emond’s Field to find the Dragon Reborn, the prophesied savior or destroyer of the world. But she is not the only one looking for the messiah: the forces of the Dark One are on the move, and they are more insidious than monsters that pursue the fleeing group.
The cycle features an ancient primordial evil entity, the Dark One, acting in a similar role to Sauron: you do not see him taking part in the battles directly, but his hand is felt all throughout the series. He seeks to break free and destroy the world.
Another similarity is a humble young protagonist from a small village that has to face an impossible destiny while following a wise mentor figure and fighting against monstrous armies.
The differences come in The Wheel of Time closely exploring the concept of time, its change, its effect and cyclical nature. Additionally, it is much harder to split the good from the evil, a lot of characters that are supposed to be on the “good” side end up sabotaging each other and the protagonist out of their own agendas and beliefs. And, while Rand might start not all that different from Frodo at a first glance, his journey is quite different and so is its outcome.
Still, if you were looking for an epic fantasy tale to keep you company for hours upon hours upon hours as you follow the adventures of the prophesied savior, The Wheel of Time is certainly up there. Grand battles, feats of magic and skill, politicking, and more await you.
The Stormlight Archive
Coming from Brandon Sanderson, the co-author of The Wheel of Time, The Stormlight Archive is a high fantasy cycle of novels that is still being written. At the moment, there are five entries, but the plans include ten novels. It is set within Sanderson’s larger Cosmere universe that also includes Mistborn, Elantris, and more, so if you get into it, there is plenty of content to keep you occupied.
The events of the novels take place in the harsh world of Rashar that is dominated by supernatural storms. The magic is in and around you at all times – just at your fingertips, and the series has an incredibly detailed magic system that has strict rules.
Stormlight follows Kaladin, a young surgeon apprentice and a talented soldier that got betrayed and enslaved. Now he tries to save himself and others and revive the Knights Radiant. Although there are plenty of incredibly important characters that can stake their own claim on the protagonist role: Dalinar, the general that strives to follow the code; scholar and artist Shallan; and Navani, an inventor and a noblewoman.
Both The Lord of the Rings and Stormlight Archive are continent-spanning epic tales of ancient wars and battles against god-like evil. The cycle boasts impressive worldbuilding, full of long-forgotten history, artifacts of the eras past, and diverse cultures. Despite plenty of dark events that Kaladin witnesses or goes through, the tone of the books remains hopeful.
Unlike LotR, however, The Stormlight Archive is much more action-driven and direct, has a larger cast with each character having lengthy stories and depths, and focuses on the ideas of mental health and trauma, and learning from your past mistakes and moving on.
The Farseer Trilogy
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is an epic fantasy that follows Fitz, the illegitimate son of a crown prince trained as an assassin. In this more character-driven trilogy, Fitz will have to grow, learn, navigate political intrigue, explore magic and struggle between his duty and the desire for normal life.
The first book begins with Fitz still being a child and making his first steps around the royal court – or, rather, outside of its disdain, secretly trained as a royal assassin. The second and third follow an older Fitz as he struggles with betrayals, politics, the kingdom falling apart at the seams – and his duties.
The scale of the trilogy is much more personal and intimate, with players seeing Fitz grow and come to realizations regarding his family, the kingdom, his powers and the morality of his duties, and much more. He does not lead armies or have a prophecy pronouncing his importance, instead Fitz is shunned and cast to the shadows, but he has his duties still.
A Song of Ice and Fire
An ongoing fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire cycle is taking place in a brutal medieval world and focuses on the fighting, both political and martial, for the Iron Throne of Westeros. There are dragons, magic and supernatural monsters, but there are also plenty of messed up things that The Lord of the Rings chose to ignore to focus on the uplifting story of hope.
Still, I could not leave this list without this sprawling fantasy saga, even if it portrays a much darker, violent world ruled by underhanded political realism and the principle “might makes right”.
