Books like The Grim Company
30 fantasy books to read after The Grim Company, by Scull, Luke, the closest match first.
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Grim Company book 2
1. Sword Of The North
by Scull, Luke
- Same series
- Same author
The City of Shades is drowned. The Grey City enslaved. The barrier between the worlds is failing and only the Magelord of the City of Towers still lives to protect...
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Grim Company book 3
2. Dead Man's Steel
by Scull, Luke
- Same series
- Same author
"The Ancients have arrived. In the third volume of Luke Scull's "gripping"* fantasy epic, the Grim Company must face the immortal race known as the Fade, who seek nothing less...
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3. 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 Traitor Son Cycle book 1 Start here
4. The Red Knight
by Cameron, Miles
- On the same lists
The first in its series, this book introduces readers to a mysterious character who returns from a campaign and fights for money.
The Red Knight and the Traitor Son Cycle it begins are the most historically-accurate depictions of medieval-era warfare that I've ever read. In fact, if you want to continue enjoying...
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5. The Grim Company
by Scull, Luke
- Same author
If you love grimdark, Scull is putting out some of the best stuff in the genre right now â equal in every way to Abercrombie. Scull's Grim Company series is...
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A Land Fit For Heroes book 1 Start here
6. 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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7. Legend
by Gemmell, David
- On the same lists
Drawing heavily on the culture of the ancient Norsemen, Gemmell takes familiar archetypes and crafts them into a well-told tale of sacrifice and dying well. Druss and his once-possessed axe...
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8. 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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9. 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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The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever book 1 Start here
10. 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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Low Town book 1 Start here
11. Low Town
by Polansky, Daniel
- On the same lists
Low Town (titled the Straight-Razor Cure in the UK), is the first instalment in the Low Town series, and is a noir detective mystery transplanted to a fantasy setting. The...
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12. 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 Acts Of Caine book 1 Start here
13. 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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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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Gentleman Bastards book 1 Start here
15. 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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Raven's Shadow book 1 Start here
16. Blood Song
by Ryan, Anthony
- On the same lists
One of the best fantasy novels in recent times, Blood Song also happens to have many school-like elements. Left as a child at the gates of the Sixth Order, Vaelin...
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17. The Shadow Campaigns
by Wexler, Django
- On the same lists
First book in The Shadow Campaigns series and a military fantasy.
The first book was pure awesomeness -- that pure intersection between military strategy, adventure, and unbridled action with a cast of interestingly complex characters. The first book's desert setting was...
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18. A Tale Of The Kin
by Hulick, Douglas
- On the same lists
A gritty novel, the first in the Tales of Kin series, that centers on a relic smuggler who happens upon a very powerful ancient book.
It's not often you get a likable murderer, but in his Tales of the Kin series Douglas Hulick manages to do just that. Drothe lives in a world of snitches,...
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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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20. The Demon Cycle
by Brett, Peter V.
- On the same lists
At night, Peter V. Brett’s world changes. Demons rise from the planet’s core, infused with supernatural powers and with a hunger for human flesh.Constant bombardment has knocked humans back into...
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The Chronicles Of The Black Company book 1 Start here
21. 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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22. 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 Powder Mage book 1 Start here
23. Powder Mage
by Mcclellan, Brian
- On the same lists
Like many books on this list, The Powder Mage Cycle doesn’t contain just one magic system. However, the one synonymous with its name stands out the most, and it’s easy...
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The Red Queen's War book 1 Start here
24. Prince Of Fools
by Lawrence, Mark
- On the same lists
This first entry into the Red Queen's War trilogy is about a layabout, womanizing, alcoholic prince. He's also just funny enough not to think he's an utter bastard. Okay, he's...
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Manifest Delusions book 1 Start here
25. Beyond Redemption
by Fletcher, Michael R.
- On the same lists
In a world where belief defines reality, the world could be a paradise, right? Not in Fletcher's world of Manifest Delusions, where corpses line the streets and narcissists spawn false...
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The Crimson Empire book 1 Start here
26. A Crown For Cold Silver
by Marshall, Alex
- On the same lists
The Crimson Empire trilogy, of which there are two instalments published at the time of writing, is one of the best additions to darker fantasy in recent years. It's the...
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27. The Incorruptibles
by Jacobs, John Horner
- On the same lists
This book is an odd mix of Western, Ancient Roman, steampunk, demons, elves and dwarves. It's a one of a kind book primarily just about the fates of a small...
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28. 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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29. The Lightbringer
by Weeks, Brent
- On the same lists
The Lightbringer series holds one of the best magic systems in fantasy, straight from the mind of Brent Weeks. It manages to be simple in concept, yet holds tons of...
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The Book Of The New Sun book 1 Start here
30. 1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer
by Wolfe, Gene
- On the same lists
The sun has dimmed, the Earth is cooler and has been transformed in wondrous ways.
'The Shadow of the Torturer' is the first book in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun tetralogy. Narrated by Severian, a member of the Guild of Torturers, the...
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