Best Anti-Hero Fantasy Books

Tired of fantasy where the hero is always noble and good and the perfect gentleman? Want a hero that's a bit of a dick, occasionally selfish or maybe even a complete amoral bad-ass? Then this list of the best fantasy books with anti-heroes is made just for you.

What is Anti-Hero Fantasy?

Most fantasy tends to feature the perfect hero – handsome, muscular, charming (if somewhat shy), and always willing to do the right thing, even at the cost of self. This perfect vision of a hero is not the way the world works though – the line between heroism and villainy is often pretty thin. Enter the anti-hero.

Antihero vs Hero vs Villain 

Anti-hero: Anti-heroes don’t always do the right thing; they may be selfish, in fact, and do the wrong thing – if not always, then occasionally. In extreme cases, anti-heroes might even qualify as the villain. In fiction, an anti-hero (feminine: anti-heroine) is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis. One common error people seem to make is to confuse the anti-hero with the villain. In fact, they play different roles. Generally, the motives of the anti-hero are impure, yet at the same time, sympathetic. The usual motivating drive would be revenge; thus the anti-hero will commit all manner of atrocities to achieve revenge.

Hero: the good guy, often (but not always) the protagonist of the story. A hero's role (in fantasy) is to save the day and upon his or her shoulders may rest the fate of the world, a kingdom, or some other weighty responsibility to which only the hero has the means to a solution. A hero will usually commit to his duty out of a sense of responsibility, justice, or because of some emotional impetus (revenge, grief, justice, etc.). The typical hero will (usually) take the higher road, or if a moral dilemma is offered, the best of the worst choices. If a hero is driven by darker emotions or/and presented choices which are all bad, then you may see the intersection between where a hero and anti-hero meet. Anti-heroes, you see, are heroes driven by strong emotions, usually negative ones.

Villain:  the villain, on the other hand, is usually driven by the thirst for unabated power – an unsympathetic motive. Anti-heroes are often portrayed as underdogs and who doesn't like to root for the underdog. So even if the anti-hero breaks laws and commits crimes to accomplish a means, we often still root for him by virtue of the underdog quality; basically, the anti-hero has the odds stacked against him and must use any means possible to overcome them. 

Also make sure you check out our Best Grimdark Fantasy Books list -- there are some similarities between the two lists as a number of great grimdark fantasy books feature antihero characters.