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The Grimdarks
Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, or violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40,000: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only WAR." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimdark
See also: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/grimdark
See also: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/grimdark
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A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
1 |
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
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Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #1)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
3.84 avg rating — 116,101 ratings
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A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
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4.44 avg rating — 2,522,147 ratings
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4 |
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
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4.34 avg rating — 164,325 ratings
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5 |
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
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4.35 avg rating — 177,867 ratings
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6 |
King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #2)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.18 avg rating — 66,889 ratings
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7 |
Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 54,141 ratings
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8 |
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
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4.54 avg rating — 792,667 ratings
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9 |
Best Served Cold
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4.23 avg rating — 93,664 ratings
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10 |
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
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4.42 avg rating — 946,723 ratings
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11 |
The Heroes
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4.33 avg rating — 63,857 ratings
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12 |
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
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Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 301,936 ratings
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13 |
A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)
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4.16 avg rating — 739,418 ratings
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14 |
Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)
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Anthony Ryan (Goodreads Author)
4.42 avg rating — 86,791 ratings
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15 |
Red Country
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4.31 avg rating — 54,263 ratings
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16 |
The Warded Man (The Demon Cycle, #1)
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Peter V. Brett (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 125,049 ratings
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17 |
A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
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4.34 avg rating — 659,778 ratings
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18 |
The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
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Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.48 avg rating — 720,888 ratings
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19 |
Chronicles of the Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1-3)
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4.23 avg rating — 25,601 ratings
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20 |
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
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3.93 avg rating — 50,442 ratings
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21 |
Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 33,257 ratings
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22 |
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 121,767 ratings
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23 |
Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.27 avg rating — 75,026 ratings
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24 |
The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes, #1)
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3.74 avg rating — 17,534 ratings
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25 |
The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, #1)
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3.83 avg rating — 21,545 ratings
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26 |
Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)
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3.97 avg rating — 66,637 ratings
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27 |
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)
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Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.54 avg rating — 444,962 ratings
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28 |
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)
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Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.38 avg rating — 488,975 ratings
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29 |
Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)
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4.09 avg rating — 12,316 ratings
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30 |
Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.46 avg rating — 59,698 ratings
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31 |
The Grim Company (The Grim Company, #1)
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Luke Scull (Goodreads Author)
3.74 avg rating — 7,360 ratings
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32 |
The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)
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4.13 avg rating — 361,329 ratings
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33 |
The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)
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Brian Staveley (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 40,226 ratings
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34 |
Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2)
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Anthony Ryan (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 48,787 ratings
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35 |
The Books of the South (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5-5)
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4.28 avg rating — 11,759 ratings
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36 |
The Cold Commands (A Land Fit for Heroes, #2)
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3.95 avg rating — 9,303 ratings
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37 |
Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastard, #2)
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Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 145,932 ratings
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38 |
The Daylight War (Demon Cycle, #3)
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Peter V. Brett (Goodreads Author)
4.20 avg rating — 62,238 ratings
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39 |
Beyond Redemption (Manifest Delusions, #1)
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4.01 avg rating — 3,233 ratings
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40 |
The Bonehunters (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #6)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.48 avg rating — 40,779 ratings
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41 |
Lord Foul's Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1)
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3.72 avg rating — 48,302 ratings
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42 |
The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)
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Django Wexler (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 19,496 ratings
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43 |
The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3)
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Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)
4.22 avg rating — 110,202 ratings
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44 |
Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.41 avg rating — 42,636 ratings
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45 |
Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)
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4.19 avg rating — 40,304 ratings
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46 |
Reaper's Gale (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #7)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 35,438 ratings
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47 |
Shadows Linger (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #2)
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4.18 avg rating — 19,652 ratings
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48 |
The White Rose (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3)
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4.20 avg rating — 19,858 ratings
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49 |
Assassin's Quest (Farseer Trilogy, #3)
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Robin Hobb (Goodreads Author)
4.20 avg rating — 162,644 ratings
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50 |
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 58,492 ratings
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51 |
Kings of the Wyld (The Band, #1)
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Nicholas Eames (Goodreads Author)
4.28 avg rating — 53,243 ratings
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52 |
The Heresy Within (The Ties That Bind, #1)
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Rob J. Hayes (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 2,894 ratings
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53 |
Half a War (Shattered Sea, #3)
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4.03 avg rating — 32,986 ratings
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54 |
Shadow Games (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #4)
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4.11 avg rating — 12,164 ratings
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55 |
The Silver Spike (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5)
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3.96 avg rating — 8,787 ratings
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56 |
The Wheel of Osheim (The Red Queen's War, #3)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 17,022 ratings
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57 |
The Left Hand of God (The Left Hand of God, #1)
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3.65 avg rating — 18,559 ratings
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58 |
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
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R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 283,370 ratings
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59 |
A Dance of Cloaks (Shadowdance, #1)
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David Dalglish (Goodreads Author)
3.75 avg rating — 13,104 ratings
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60 |
Blade of Tyshalle (The Acts of Caine #2)
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4.06 avg rating — 5,166 ratings
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61 |
Dreams of Steel (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #5)
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4.11 avg rating — 10,409 ratings
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62 |
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
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Patrick Rothfuss (Goodreads Author)
4.52 avg rating — 978,859 ratings
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63 |
The Vagrant (The Vagrant, #1)
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Peter Newman (Goodreads Author)
3.66 avg rating — 8,371 ratings
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64 |
Queen of the Darkness (The Black Jewels, #3)
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4.37 avg rating — 28,829 ratings
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65 |
The Grey Bastards (The Lot Lands, #1)
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Jonathan French (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 8,220 ratings
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66 |
Blackwing (Raven's Mark, #1)
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Ed McDonald (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 7,469 ratings
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67 |
Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)
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4.06 avg rating — 41,054 ratings
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68 |
The Mirror’s Truth (Manifest Delusions, #2)
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4.28 avg rating — 1,180 ratings
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69 |
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)
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Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 618,288 ratings
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70 |
God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha, #1)
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Kameron Hurley (Goodreads Author)
3.67 avg rating — 5,298 ratings
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71 |
Herald of the Storm (Steelhaven, #1)
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Richard S. Ford (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 1,697 ratings
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71 |
The Liar's Key (The Red Queen's War, #2)
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Mark Lawrence (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 20,554 ratings
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73 |
Caine Black Knife (The Acts of Caine, #3)
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4.06 avg rating — 3,375 ratings
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74 |
Caine's Law (The Acts of Caine, #4)
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4.05 avg rating — 2,819 ratings
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75 |
Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings, #1)
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Kel Kade (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 22,265 ratings
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76 |
A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows, #1)
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3.88 avg rating — 9,169 ratings
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77 |
Soldiers Live (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #9)
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4.26 avg rating — 7,878 ratings
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78 |
The Beating of His Wings (The Left Hand of God, #3)
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3.61 avg rating — 5,337 ratings
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79 |
The Black Guard (The Long War, #1)
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A.J. Smith (Goodreads Author)
3.77 avg rating — 1,932 ratings
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80 |
Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues
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3.82 avg rating — 727 ratings
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81 |
The Last Four Things (The Left Hand of God, #2)
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3.53 avg rating — 9,092 ratings
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82 |
Dark Crusade
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4.15 avg rating — 1,275 ratings
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82 |
Steel, Blood & Fire (Immortal Treachery, #1)
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Allan Batchelder (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 313 ratings
score: 877,
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84 |
Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #8)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.37 avg rating — 34,052 ratings
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85 |
Eisenhorn (Eisenhorn, #1-3)
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Dan Abnett (Goodreads Author)
4.43 avg rating — 8,851 ratings
score: 847,
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86 |
Swords of Good Men (The Valhalla Saga, #1)
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Snorri Kristjansson (Goodreads Author)
3.56 avg rating — 772 ratings
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87 |
The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)
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N.K. Jemisin (Goodreads Author)
4.31 avg rating — 277,033 ratings
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88 |
The Warrior Prophet (The Prince of Nothing, #2)
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3.98 avg rating — 14,501 ratings
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89 |
House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.34 avg rating — 49,300 ratings
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90 |
Dust of Dreams (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #9)
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Steven Erikson (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 30,079 ratings
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91 |
Berserk, Vol. 1 (Berserk, #1)
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4.48 avg rating — 49,007 ratings
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92 |
Heir to the Shadows (The Black Jewels, #2)
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4.32 avg rating — 28,019 ratings
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93 |
The Ten Thousand (The Macht #1)
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3.80 avg rating — 3,668 ratings
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94 |
The Road
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3.99 avg rating — 921,284 ratings
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95 |
Enemy of God (The Warlord Chronicles, #2)
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Bernard Cornwell (Goodreads Author)
4.41 avg rating — 26,009 ratings
score: 780,
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96 |
Darkness Weaves
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4.07 avg rating — 1,522 ratings
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97 |
The Child Thief
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Brom (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 19,308 ratings
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97 |
Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders, #1)
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Robin Hobb (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 86,242 ratings
score: 763,
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99 |
A Dance of Death (Shadowdance, #3)
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David Dalglish (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 6,981 ratings
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100 |
Seven Forges (Seven Forges, #1)
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3.73 avg rating — 3,055 ratings
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455 books ·
1,210 voters ·
list created April 6th, 2013
by Arve Kvaloy (votes) .
Arve
519 books
7 friends
7 friends
Richard
97 books
144 friends
144 friends
Roshan
197 books
1 friend
1 friend
Luci
1736 books
41 friends
41 friends
Hrishikesh
1027 books
126 friends
126 friends
Wren1066
463 books
0 friends
0 friends
Akshay
2772 books
55 friends
55 friends
Sheilah
529 books
73 friends
73 friends
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Comments Showing 1-31 of 31 (31 new)
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Ellen wrote: "Love Grimdark but would love to know if there is any grimdark our there that does not feature a war in any shape or form, just for a change."
comes to mind.
Try The Gap series by Stephen Donaldsson (mostly known for his fantasy series about Thomas Covenant), thats pretty gritty and dark :)
"Grimdark consists of two components.
One, grim. This is the nature of the people of the world. In 40K, most people are desperate for survival. They’re neutral in the same way a squat city in Mumbai is neutral; they will do whatever it takes to survive another day in a raging shithole.
Most of the people in power are either psychotic, sociopathic, megalomaniacal, or greedy beyond sanity. Oftentimes, more than one. The more powerful they are, the more massive their character flaws and the collateral damage of their mistakes. (...)
The Good people are antiheroes at best, where the ends almost justify the means, and the villains are horrific beyond belief.
Dark is how much the world itself sucks, and here it is very much suck. The universe is a cold and uncaring place that is so hostile to life it is insane that it even exists let alone thrives, and it will grind you into oblivion without ever noticing you were there. If you do manage to get the attention fo the world, it will only crush you much harder, slower, and more painfully.
Grimdark settings have small heroes who achieve little, vast villains who are often genuinely unstoppable and who always win in the end, and no matter how hard or how well you fight, the uncaring galaxy will never know your name or record your deeds. The greatest good you can accomplish will be undone in days, and often leave things worse than had you tried to do your worst, and when you do your worst, the consequences are cruel beyond belief and very nearly permanent."
Not sure which books you are referring to? Robin Hobb is Classic Epic Fantasy? Kate Elliot (not read much of her) is also in the same genre. Elisabeth Moon have some really great books with loads of grit...but in my opinion more Heroic than Grimdark? Paksenarion is a classic Paladin hero?
Which books of Kurtz would you reccomend for this list? She's a prolific writer...
I think Robin Hobb's Tawny Man series AND Liveship Traders fits in with grimdark. I mean, in Liveship one of the main themes is the unbreakable cycle of childhood sexual abuse. The main characters are all deeply flawed people. Both Tawny Man (and to some extent the rest of the Farseer books) are violent and not at all optimistic. FitzChivalry is kind of a bastard, literally and figuratively. But, it's interesting to figure out where to draw the line between grimdark and dark fantasy. I mean, does the fact that we root for the Starks make Martin less grimdark? That we are happy at Theon Greyjoy's rehabilitation? Some might try to argue that Martin is more like classic epic fantasy, too. Kate Elliott is perhaps less clearly grimdark. Her characters are all very grey and there's a lot of violence, but she's definitely more invested in morality as an author. Also on the argument of Moon...she is a good counterbalance to Abercrombie, whose battle scenes are very individualistic and feature "heroes" while Moon wrote a book that smashed that fantasy convention. You don't get even many grimdarks that bleak, if you remember reading Moon. But, you are the king of this list, so you are free to have it reflect your personal view! Cheers.
I think Robin Hobb's Tawny Man series AND Liveship Traders fits in with grimdark. I mean, in Liveship one of the main themes is the unbreakable cycle of childhood sexual abuse. The main c..."
Thank you Joy! Your comments are very insightful! I came to realize that my personal understanding of Grimdark mainly revolves around the hero/protagonist in each story. This understanding has evolved from younger years where I enjoyed the writings of Karl E. Wagner very much and his stories about Kane. Kane is not your typical hero, in most of the books the reader’s sympathy would be with the antagonists who are usually “the good guys”. This approach I felt I found new and fresh when I started reading Abercrombie, Lawrence, Hoffman and Morgan. If you look at Moon’s Gird or Paksenarion, I find that they are clearly the “good guys n’ gals” compared to Glockta, Ringil, Jorg or Thomas Cale.
What I realized when reading your comment and thinking about this, was that my view of Grimdark is limited and should include more than just how the hero(s) is portrayed. So Hobb’s Tawny Man/Liveship series should be included for the reasons you mentioned, even if I find the Farseer series more classic epic/heroic fantasy (with Fitz as a coming of age story, not too far removed from Feists Magician).
My main idea with creating this list was to collect books and suggestions that would help find more of the same to read, than to precisely define a sub genre in Fantasy. I don’t think a Goodreader would be disappointed picking up Martin if you enjoy Abercrombie. So hopefully no “King of the Grimdark List” but instead a fellow reader looking to share some suggestions to further reading and picking up more of the same from the community...
I think Robin Hobb's Tawny Man series AND Liveship Traders fits in with grimdark. I mean, in Liveship one of the main themes is the unbreakable cycle of childhood sexual abuse..."
I appreciate your open-minded response! And, it's a cool list. I've already discovered some new things I want to read. Cheers!
I absolutely agree that Harry Potter should not be here - despite its antagonist being wholly evil, the story still has the whiff of the public school around it: Great reads, but not grim-dark! In a sense, if we accept Harry Potter as a grim-dark, we would have to add Lord of the Rings and perhaps even Narnia?
I would like to suggest Soldier Son Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Boy, it there was ever a grim-dark story, it would be this one.
Arve- glad you removed Warhammer!
Thanks very much for your list.
Akame Ga Kill - Some of the imagery in this series is just super bleak, and (view spoiler)[none of the heroes are safe (hide spoiler)]. It would not be a good place to live. If I recall, the emperor (view spoiler)[rounds up regular citizens to.... cook... them. A lot of the people serving under him are insane too. Even if you served under the emperor, you have enemies with Teigus, these holy style weapons of incredible destruction, opposing you in Night Raid, so you better have your own Teigu to even attempt to match them to a draw or maybe take someone out. (hide spoiler)]
Berserk - It's dark, take my word for it if you hate spoilers: (view spoiler)[Because of one man's selfishness, demons are able to walk the lands and destroy humans and their civilization for some sort of power gain. The main two cast members, Casca and Guts are branded with a mark that makes it certain they can't just settle down in an area away from the chaos or run as ghosts and the undead are drawn their way. The common citizenry and even named heroes besides the main two are all fodder for the enemies. Even our two lead heroes lose things they can't gain back to the demons, so overall, it's a pretty awful mood. Up through volume 15, there isn't much hope yet. (hide spoiler)]
The Road - It's the apocalypse. I don't know if this counts under some strict definition of grimdark (if it has to be fantasy?), but this world is a living hell. The food is scarce, you have few friends, many enemies, and the environment in general is a wreck. If you don't starve to death, maybe you can live long enough to see the end of the human race. You wouldn't want to have a child in this world I don't think.
and I really never knew that Sandra Field writes Grimdark stuff.
I may now ROFLMAO
- Dark world (not necessarily dark story)
- Amoral protagonist(s)
- Dry humor
- Graphic scenes (violence, sex, etc.)
If it doesn't have most of the above mentioned, it is probably Gritty Fantasy, or simply Fantasy with a darker tone.
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Ann Bishop isn't grimdark, its just bad porno.
*/soapbox*