Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where a new top ten list hits the web every week!

This week our topic is …

Ten Book Series I Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough

10. Clash of Eagles Trilogy by Alan Smale

All lovers of alternate history should pick up this story of Roman general Gaius Marcellinus, who leads an army to explore and conquer the newly discovered North America.  Things don’t go quite as planned in Rome though, leading to Gaius becoming a prisoner to the native population and having to trade his knowledge of Roman technology and skills (specifically fighting tactics) to his captors in return for a new lease on life.

Purchase the books at Amazon.

9) The Powder Mage Series by Brian McClellan

I’m putting this flintlock fantasy series on here because it is one I’ve enjoyed so far and desperately want to continue with.  (Nope, I haven’t finished it yet, but I did just buy The Crimson Campaign this weekend.)  Why?  Powder mages, flintlock muskets, French Revolution-esque storylines, and loads of great characters.  It really is a great series.

Purchase the books at Amazon.

8) The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett

Mr. Bennett’s series, so far, has taken readers to two cities upon the Continent: a place where the gods once lived, using their magic to create magical realities to suit their whims.  And while the gods were destroyed years ago, there are still vestiges of their divine handiwork remaining in isolated places across the land, which leads to some interesting sleuthing, pulse-pounding action, and more than a few head scratching moments as you try to keep up with this amazing story.

Purchase the books at Amazon.

7) Echoes of Empire by Mark T. Barnes

Filled with great idea after great idea, this trilogy also has more than a few amazing characters to keep you interested as the story evolves into a vicious civil war between the ancient dynasties of the Great Houses and the Hundred Families that rule the land. All of the mayhem sparked by one man’s lust for power and a desire to cheat death.  It is really entertaining.  Go pick it up.

Purchase the books at Amazon.

6) Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher

A mesmerizing magical system where delusions shape reality.  A cast of characters who run the gamut from vile to just despicable.  A story which revolves around the creation of a god.  Mr. Fletcher mixes it all together to concoct a grimdark delight which will entertain even while it shocks.

Purchase the book at Amazon.

5) Seven Forges by James A. Moore

Sword and sorcery stories are a guilty pleasure for me.  A taste I acquired at a very early age from reading authors like Michael Moorcock and Robert E. Howard, and even today, I get excited when I can dig into a good one.  All of which brings me to Seven Forges; the best sword and sorcery series going right now, in my opinion.

Purchase the books at Amazon.

4) Chronicle of the Exile by Marc Turner

Reminding some of Steven Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Marc Turner’s sweeping epic jumps from one pulse-pounding story to another with new casts of characters who live in the same world, are impacted by the same events, but are as different as shells on the seashore.  And that is what makes the series so fun to read, because you never know where Mr. Turner is going to take you this time.

Purchase the book at Amazon.

3) The Grim Company by Luke Scull

Now, some people like to say this series is too similar to Joe Abercrombie’s grimdark classic The First Law, but to me, all resemblances are irrelevant, because Luke Scull does something here that Lord Grimdark never did in his series: make the grimness fun.  Don’t believe me?  Read it and see what I’m talking about.

Purchase the book at Amazon.

2) Greatcoats by Sebastien de Castell

The grimdark Three Musketeers is what some have dubbed this swashbuckling epic.  I suppose there is some truth in that description.  However, the Greatcoats series is much more than just that.  Rather, it is a brilliant epic, filled with mesmerizing characters, epic plots, and more than a few monumental twists and turns.  Which is why you already had it on your “to be read” list, right?

Purchase the books at Amazon.

1) Bloodsounder’s Arc by Jeff Salyards

Mr. Salyards starts this grimdark trilogy off slowly and meticulously, immersing you in the life of the young scribe Arki as he takes a position with a band of Syldoon soldier lead by Captain Killcoin.  In book two and three, the tale picks up speed and transforms into an epic grimdark tour de force; one which I was very sad to see end.  And now you can experience it too, just go find the series and purchase it wherever fine grimdark books are sold.

Purchase the books at Amazon.