Ten Dark Fantasy Books for Fans of The Witcher and Game of Thrones

Over the last two decades, dark fantasy has become one of literature’s most popular subgenres, powered by the massive success of George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire and Andrzej Sapkowski‘s The Witcher. While both gained global attention through television adaptations, the subgenre’s core themes resonate on their own. Dark fantasy centers on morally grey characters surviving violent, unjust worlds. Famous figures like Jon Snow and Geralt of Rivia lead the pack, yet unadapted classics like Glen Cook’s The Black Company and Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen stand just as tall.

Readers looking for magic paired with terrifying monsters have dozens of great options published over the past 20 years. From standalone historical reimaginings to gritty adventures about sharp-witted underdogs, here are 10 of the best dark fantasy books to read right now.

10. Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006)

Scott Lynch’s debut served as a primary inspiration for the heist tabletop roleplaying game Blades in the Dark. Set in a fantasy version of Venice, The Lies of Locke Lamora follows a crew of con artists scheming their biggest score while dodging a vicious rising crime lord. Lynch builds an intricate city of cutthroat factions fighting for supremacy. The novel balances sharp humor and lovable characters, which makes their brutal fates hit even harder.

9. Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself (2006)

The first entry in The First Law trilogy establishes Joe Abercrombie’s grim world and weaves together the paths of flawed protagonists. Fans of Game of Thrones will appreciate the rich ensemble and looming threat of war. Abercrombie rotates through four distinct viewpoints, giving each narrator a cynical humor and personal ambitions as they stumble into layered conspiracies.

8. James Islington, The Shadow of What Was Lost (2014)

James Islington originally self-published this opening volume of The Licanius Trilogy. The story unfolds across a land broken by civil war, where a student at a surviving magic academy discovers he commands forbidden power. Forced to run, the young mage races to prevent an invasion of horrific beasts. While the premise resembles traditional epic fantasy, Islington delivers intense stakes, severe plot twists, and a heavy body count. Readers fond of Islington’s Hierarchy series should explore his debut work.

7. Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes (2015)

Sabaa Tahir created a young adult fantasy inspired by the martial cruelty of ancient Rome. Laia, a member of a subjugated population, risks everything to free her brother after authorities arrest him for forging contraband weapons. Her mission requires infiltrating a lethal military academy where cadets battle for the imperial throne. The book relies little on magic, focusing instead on relentless tension as the characters confront the harsh reality of imperial rule.

6. V.E. Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic (2015)

Launching the Shades of Magic series, V.E. Schwab introduces Kell, a rare traveler who can slip between parallel dimensions of London. Kell ends up in grave danger after smuggling a forbidden artifact from a ruined realm into his own. The narrative moves fast through political intrigue, high stakes, and bitter betrayals.

5. N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season (2016)

N. K. Jemisin’s Hugo Award-winning novel opens with an apocalyptic cataclysm and tracks three women trying to survive the fallout. As the first volume of the Broken Earth trilogy, the book examines systemic oppression and ecological collapse. People with earth-shaping abilities face execution from fearful mobs, including their own relatives. Readers wanting a slightly less punishing introduction to Jemisin’s writing can check out her debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

4. Naomi Novik, A Deadly Education (2020)

Harry Potter featured hazardous schooling, but Naomi Novik cranks up the danger in her Scholomance series. Magical teenagers find themselves trapped inside an automated fortress infested with predatory creatures, where most students fail to survive until graduation. Wealthy students leverage family enclaves for protection, forcing outsiders to rely on risky bargains and dark curses. El, an outcast armed with catastrophic combat magic, partners with a star student to rewrite the institution’s deadly odds.

3. Christopher Buehlman, The Blacktongue Thief (2021)

Christopher Buehlman regularly blends fantasy with horror. Buehlman’s standalone work Between Two Fires offers a terrifying journey through the Black Death in medieval France. For an ongoing series, The Blacktongue Thief delivers an unsparing fantasy world recovering from a devastating war against merciless goblins. Indebted rogue Kinch Na Shannack accompanies a witch and a death-sworn warrior on a quest to rescue an abducted queen. The sequel, The Thrice-Bound Fool, arrives on Oct. 13, 2026.

2. R. F. Kuang, Babel, or the Necessity of Violence (2022)

R. F. Kuang’s Babel stands as a cornerstone of modern dark academia. Set in an alternate 1830s Oxford fueled by magic-infused silver bars, the Nebula-winning novel analyzes the imperial power of translation. Student scholars must choose between the luxuries granted by their colonial masters and the heavy cost of open rebellion.

1. Richard K. Morgan, No Man’s Land (2026)

Richard K. Morgan blends noir and dark fantasy in No Man’s Land. The story follows a haunted World War I veteran who tracks down children stolen by the fae and substituted with changelings. Bitter and secretive, Duncan Silver recruits witches, woodland spirits, and mechanics to fight unpredictable faerie entities while outmaneuvering greedy human power brokers.

Source: Polygon