Books like The Black Company
30 fantasy books to read after The Black Company, by Cook, Glen, the closest match first.
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 1 Start here
1. Black Company
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
- On the same lists
This epic fantasy series is quite a bit different from your standard fantasy fare. If you want an epic military fantasy series where good and bad are not so clearly...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 9
2. Water Sleeps
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
The survivors of the Black Company attempt to rescue some of their cohorts, long imprisoned.
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 6
3. Dreams Of Steel
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
After the Company's defeat at Dejagore, Lady, one of the few survivors, sets out to avenge herself and the Company against the Shadowmasters, and she joins forces with an ancient...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 1.5
4. Port Of Shadows
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
A lot of things happened in back rooms, dark corners and out of the way places before the civil authorities became involved. Even when a young girl walked into the...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 10
5. Soldiers Live
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
The members of the Black Company are faced with a number of old enemies, while an evil spirit, a forvalaka, attacks them at a shadowgate, igniting a chain of repercussions...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 3
6. The White Rose
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
The Selection meets The Handmaid’s Tale in the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling author Amy Ewing’s The Jewel. Violet is on the run. She’s escaped the Duchess...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 5
7. Shadow Games
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan plunges readers into the darkest recesses of the mind as a man and a woman discover the terrifying power—and the forbidden passion—that...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 7
8. Bleak Seasons
by Cook, Glen
- Same series
- Same author
A fantasy on a band of brothers-in-arms who hire themselves out ot fight evil wizards. Their adventures take the reader on a tour of strange races and cultures.
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9. 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 Acts Of Caine book 1 Start here
10. 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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11. 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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A Song Of Ice And Fire book 1 Start here
12. 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
13. 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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14. 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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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 Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever book 1 Start here
16. Lord Foul's Bane
by Donaldson, Stephen R.
- On the same lists
Epic Fantasy that's also very High Fantasy. Features an antihero hero.
Lord Foul's Bane begins the epic Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, a series in which a leprosy-stricken man in the real world is transported to a stereotypical fantasy world....
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17. The Coldfire Trilogy
by Friedman, C.s.
- On the same lists
Influenced by Isaac Asimov, the magical force in these novels is derived from natural forces and governed by consistent rules, a force that humans must learn to control.
There are few things harder to control than emotion and this makes magic in The Cold Firetrilogy immensely difficult. The planet Erna is controlled by a force known as the...
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The Prince Of Nothing book 1 Start here
18. The Darkness That Comes Before
by Bakker, R. Scott
- On the same lists
This book and the Prince of Nothing trilogy, as well as the other books that follow, are so dark that you'll need a shower after reading them. And therapy. This...
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Gentleman Bastards book 1 Start here
19. 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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First Law World book 1 Start here
20. The Blade Itself
by Abercrombie, Joe
- On the same lists
Abercrombie's work has become synonymous with the growing sub-genre of grimdark fantasy Naturally there's a lot of crossover between grimdark fantasy (which subverts the tropes of traditional heroic fantasy) and...
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The Dark Tower book 7
21. 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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A Land Fit For Heroes book 1 Start here
22. 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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23. Chronicles Of Amber
by Zelazny, Roger
- On the same lists
A 10 book chronicle--these stories combine other worlds, magical elements, mystery, shadow, and science.
The Amber Chronicles is a complex blend of genres and plot. It starts like a murder mystery, drawing the reader in, then it moves on to a mixture of sci-fi...
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Watch book 1 Start here
24. 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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25. Sword Of Shadows
by Jones, J. V.
- On the same lists
I can't say enough good things about this amazing fantasy series except that the author has gone completely AWOL and, as of 2015, looks like she's pretty much abandoned writing...
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26. The Long Price Quartet
by Abraham, Daniel
- On the same lists
This is NOT your standard epic fantasy. But oh man, there's a lot to love about this one. If you want to take a much needed break from the standard...
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27. 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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28. The Dagger And The Coin
by Abraham, Daniel
- On the same lists
Five books in now, this series is turning out to be one of the best in the genre. If you are expecting another sort of Wheel of Time or Stormlight...
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Grim Company book 1 Start here
29. 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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Ghormenghast book 2
30. Gormenghast
by Peake, Mervyn
- On the same lists
The first real Fantasy of Manners series and is set in a Byzantium kingdom rife with intrigue, treachery, manipulation and murder.
A startling work of imagination that will evoke feeling when you read it. Reading Gormenghast is like feasting your eyes on a masterfully drawn painting -- you might not always...
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 Black Company.
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