The Tyrant Philosophers

Adrian Tchaikovsky's grimdark fantasy quintet follows the expansion of the Palleseen, a fascistic empire that claims to be rational and orderly, across a different setting in each book. Most entries work as standalones, set in different places and with different casts, and the series opens in the haunted city of Ilmar and returns there for its conclusion. It includes a novella and a short story that bridge the novels.