Books like The Coldfire Trilogy
30 fantasy books to read after The Coldfire Trilogy, by Friedman, C.s., the closest match first.
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1. Dominion
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same series
- Same author
Argues for responsible action in the treatment of animals, challenging popular conceptions about animal feeling and awareness and profiling a safari convention, factory farm, and the works of top writers.
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The Coldfire Trilogy book 3
2. Crown Of Shadows
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same series
- Same author
While the people of Erna struggle against the cataclysmic powers of the fae, a force of nature that transforms nightmares into reality, the pain-hungry demon Calesta plots to remake humankind...
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3. The Magister Trilogy
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same author
- On the same lists
Friedman has featured on this list already, but like all good world-builders, she has more than one idea floating around. The trilogy’s first book, Feast of Souls, ends up being...
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4. Broken Empire / Red Queens War
by Lawrence, Mark
- On the same lists
The first in The Broken Empire series, this gritty and violent novel focuses on a single character, who is an anti-hero, with a very dark past.
Mark Lawrence doesn’t use an abundance of technical explanations and diagrams, but that doesn’t make his magic system any less interesting. In fact, it lets him focus on his astonishing...
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The Dark Tower book 7
5. The Dark Tower
by King, Stephen
- On the same lists
The multiverse, parrellel universes, and a gun slinger that can save the multiverse. What more can you ask for? The Dark Tower is the single body of work that ties together every book ever created by King. Read it.
"The Dark Tower" is a series of books by Stephen King that blends elements of multiple genres, including horror, western, fantasy, and science fiction. The series follows the quest of...
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The Acts Of Caine book 1 Start here
6. Heroes Die
by Stover, Matthew Woodring
- On the same lists
A novel about two worlds that blends Science Fiction and Fantasy. An action packed adventure filled with real danger, sorcery, and a complex social system.
The Acts of Caine series takes adventure fantasy and drags it sixteen miles through the mud, and then tortures what's left. In a dystopian future, humanity has discovered a way...
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7. Man Of His Word
by Duncan, Dave
- On the same lists
A beloved fantasy series by all who've read it, though few modern fantasy readers have read it. This is probably one of the best hidden epic fantasy gems out there...
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8. Malazan Book Of The Fallen
by Erikson, Steven
- On the same lists
A grand and epic series with a huge cast of characters with epic battles, sieges, mages, and carnage.
Steven Eriksen has been both lauded and criticized for his extreme detail, and that extends to his magic system. In Malazan, magic comes from warrens, a realm from which mages...
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The Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1 book 3
9. Crown Of Shadows
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same author
More than a millennium after the human race forges an uneasy stalemate against the demonic human-psyche feeders known as the fae, a pain-hungry demon called Calesta declares war on all...
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The Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1 book 2
10. When True Night Falls
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same author
Seeking to destroy an evil force that threatens the planet Erna, warrior priest Damien Vryce renews a dangerous alliance with an immortal sorcerer known as the Hunter, and begins a...
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The Magister book 2
11. Wings Of Wrath
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same author
A masterwork of fantasy from the author of Feast of Souls... Kamala, a peasant woman, has claimed the powerful sorcery of the Magisters as her own-the ability to draw on...
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The Magister book 3
12. Legacy Of Kings
by Friedman, C.s.
- Same author
Kamala, a young peasant woman, has taken the most powerful of the Magisters' sorcery for herself, and the Magisters are hunting her for the killing of one of their own....
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Watch book 1 Start here
13. Night Watch
by Lukyanenko, Sergei
- On the same lists
The unusual Moscow setting of Night Watch is echoed by its magic system. Lukyanenko’s contemporary world is inhabited by both humans and ‘Others’, supernatural beings who can attune to Dark...
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14. The Prince Of Nothing
by Bakker, R. Scott
- On the same lists
In a world saturated by religious fanaticism, Maithanet, enigmatic spiritual leader of the Thousand Temples, declares a Holy War against the infidels. Ikurei Conphas, military genius and nephew to the...
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15. The First Law
by Abercrombie, Joe
- On the same lists
This series takes place in an epic fantasy world at war and contains gritty violence and realistic characters.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny,...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 1 Start here
16. The Black Company
by Cook, Glen
- On the same lists
An elite mercenary unit is the focus of this series. It is a mix of fantasy, gritty realism, and military fiction. It is often cited as an inspiration for the Grimdark sub-genre.
In an era when fantasy was about honorable farm boys with magic swords and a noble destiny, Glen Cook said 'fuck that mess; let's have some amoral pricks doing bad...
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Gentleman Bastards book 1 Start here
17. The Lies Of Locke Lamora
by Lynch, Scott
- On the same lists
Not all Grimdark lacks humor. This series blends the darkness of Grimdark Fantasy with some lighter, comedic moments.
There's so much about this wonderful series that's right. From a thrilling Robin Hood caper story (think a magical Oceans 11), compelling and complex characters, deep and expansive world-building, fascinating...
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A Song Of Ice And Fire book 1 Start here
18. A Game Of Thrones
by Martin, George R. R.
- On the same lists
While Martin's epic contains a lot of brutality towards women, it also shows how women, surviving in a man's world, can use their cunning, charm, and looks to run the...
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Elric book 1 Start here
19. Elric Of Melnibone
by Moorcock, Michael
- On the same lists
The first of the Elric Saga, this novel is signficant because the protagonist is a magic user and a bit frail—not quite the typical Sword and Sorcery hero.
Elric is the prince of a dying race, a pale, morose champion of right, despite the cards stacked against him. He's a physical weakling who needs to take drugs and...
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A Land Fit For Heroes book 1 Start here
20. The Steel Remains
by Morgan, Richard K.
- On the same lists
An incredibly dark and gritty epic fantasy that embodies the reaction to shiny fantasy stories. It subverts most traditional fantasy tropes.
This book is a thoroughly grimdark adventure, following a world-weary PTSD sufferer on his quest to save the world he doesn't much care for. It's messy, gross, intense, brooding and...
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21. Monarchies Of God
by Kearney, Paul
- On the same lists
A lot of people call Kearney's Monarchies of God 'A Game of Thrones Lite.' And for the most part, this is true. There are a five books (each only a...
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22. The Kingkiller Chronicle
by Rothfuss, Patrick
- On the same lists
The Name of the Wind is a stunning work of imagination and storytelling triumph and currently ranks very near the top of my Top 25 Best Fantasy List. I won't...
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23. The Chronicles Of The Unhewn Throne
by Staveley, Brian
- On the same lists
A new epic fantasy series that just hits pitch perfect notes. This is really one of the best new fantasy series to come out the past decade.There's royal siblings separated...
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24. The Barrow
by Smylie, Mark
- On the same lists
The Barrow was a 2014 release of pure, unadulterated grimdark with a cast of antiheroes. Vicious, action-packed, brutal with more bad language throne in than Eminem song. And did I...
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25. Herald Of The Storm
by Ford, Richard
- On the same lists
A new author who pays some serious tribute to Abercrombie with his style of grimdark. Do read if you like depressing, action ridden fantasy with a cast of troubled heroes....
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26. The Killing Moon
by Jemisin, N. K.
- On the same lists
A series that's immensely well written and one that takes quite a few of the epic fantasy archetypes and runs away with them in a slightly new direction.Expect complex politics,...
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27. The Wheel Of Time
by Jordan, Robert
- On the same lists
This award winning magical realism novel creates a complex world that is literal and magical, that has a history of unrest, and chronicles human experience.
The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave...
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Grim Company book 1 Start here
28. The Grim Company
by Scull, Luke
- On the same lists
With 'grim' in the title, it's not hard to guess that this book is clearly camped in the grimdark sub-genre, and it hits all the right beats for gritty, amoral...
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29. The Traitor Son Cycle
by Cameron, Miles
- On the same lists
Epic fantasy meets medieval historical fiction.And about fucking time.No more cutting off heads with butter knives, riding days in full plate armor without feeling a scratch of discomfort, fighting for...
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Dresden Files book 1 Start here
30. Storm Front
by Butcher, Jim
- On the same lists
A crime version of the Urban Fantasy sub-genre. Harry Dresden is a wizard and a private investigator
Harry Dresden is a wizard. He has decided to use his power to solve minor crimes to make a living, so he opens up his own private eye firm, the...
Matches come from series and authors, from the lists the books share, and from the books readers open together. They are rebuilt every night. Back to The Coldfire Trilogy.
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