Dark Fantasy All-Time Greats

When Rin aced the imperial examinations she earned a place at the elite Sinegard military academy. There she discovers she has a talent for shamanism — the ability to commune with gods. But the divine power she awakens is a curse that will plunge her and her empire into war.

Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. Prince Jorg of Ancrath leads a band of bloodthirsty outlaws through a fractured empire in pursuit of vengeance—and a throne.

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead. Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...

WAR. POLITICS. REVOLUTION. THE AGE OF MADNESS HAS ARRIVED . . . 'Funny and sardonic, violent and compelling' Guardian 'A tale of brute force and subtle magic on the cusp of an industrial revolution ... Buckle your seat belts for this one' Robin Hobb * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On the battlefields of the North, the next generation of would-be heroes rushes to make the same bloody mistakes as the last. While the age of the machine dawns, the age of magic refuses to die. One might glimpse the future, through the curse of the Long Eye, but changing it is another matter altogether. The chimneys of industry rise, the cities seethe with opportunity, and even kings must kneel before the new power of the banks. But in the slums, anger is brewing, and soon it will boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control . . . Introducing a cast of unforgettable new characters, A LITTLE HATRED begins a new First Law trilogy which will have you gripped from the very start ... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 'Crammed with characters and detail, the intricately woven story never slackens its merciless grip' Daily Mail 'A masterpiece of fantasy fiction' Starburst 'Could scratch an itch for anyone missing Game of Thrones' Den of Geek 'One of Abercrombie's best books yet' SFX 'Will keep you up long after bedtime' The Sun

Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, is the most feared mercenary general in the Styrian wars. When she is betrayed by the Grand Duke she serves and left for dead, she begins a ruthless campaign of revenge—one where the line between justice and monstrosity is dangerously thin.

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls. A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass's care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family--and new enemies. Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona's secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself. Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

Mia Corvere is barely sixteen years old when she is given a chance to train at a secret school for killers. She has spent years preparing for this, fueled by a thirst for revenge against the men who destroyed her family. But the Red Church is no place for the faint of heart—and the competition is deadly.

This is the way the world ends. Again. Three women are torn apart by catastrophe on a continent long familiar with apocalypse, where the power of the earth can be wielded for destruction or salvation. Their stories interweave into a tale of survival, power, and the lengths a mother will go for her child.

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them. Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced master swordsman, has sworn to reclaim his stolen honour on the battlefield. Obsessed with redemption and addicted to violence, he's far past caring how much blood gets spilled in the attempt. Even if it's his own. Prince Calder isn't interested in honour, and still less in getting himself killed. All he wants is power, and he'll tell any lie, use any trick, and betray any friend to get it. Just as long as he doesn't have to fight for it himself. Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him? Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts, or even the strongest arms that prevail. Three men. One battle. No Heroes.

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, betrayal and murder. The armies of the Empress have shattered long-established kingdoms and taken over the world. Now the gods themselves are taking sides. The Bridgeburners—a company of battered soldiers—find themselves pawns in a game between mortals and immortals, caught in a siege of the fabled city of Darujhistan.

The thrilling third volume in Steven Erikson's epic fantasy sequence, The Malazan Book of the Fallen.The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire: the Pannion Domin. Like a fanatical tide of corrupted blood, it seethes across the land, devouring all who fail to heed the Word of its elusive prophet, the Pannion Seer. In its path stands an uneasy alliance: Dujek Onearm's Host and the Bridgeburners ­ each now outlawed by the Empress ­ alongside their enemies of old including the grim forces of Warlord Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, and his Tiste Andii, and the Rhivi people of the Plains.But more ancient clans too are gathering. As if in answer to some primal summons, the massed ranks of the undead T'lan Imass have risen. For it would seem something altogether darker and more malign threatens the very substance of this world. The Warrens are poisoned and rumours abound of the Crippled God, now unchained and intent on a terrible revenge...Marking the return of many favourite characters from GARDENS OF THE MOON and introducing a host of remarkable new players, MEMORIES OF ICE is a thrilling new chapter in Erikson's magnificent epic fantasy and another triumph of storytelling.

Logen Ninefingers, a scarred barbarian. Jezal dan Luthar, a vain young officer angling for glory. Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled torturer who once endured the same. Three very different people are drawn together by the First of the Magi as a dark power stirs in the North.

In a famine-stricken village in 14th-century China, a girl disguises herself as her dead brother to claim his fate—greatness—and survive. Masquerading as a monk, she must rise through the ranks of a rebellion against the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty to become the person destiny intended her brother to be.

In this dark and gripping debut fantasy that Miles Cameron called "gritty and glorious!" the exiled son of the king must fight to reclaim his throne no matter the cost. It is the richest empire the world has ever known, and it is also doomed. Governed by an imposturous Emperor, decadence has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The Yellow Empire is on the verge of invasion--and only one man can see it. Haunted by prophetic dreams, Orhan has hired a company of soldiers to cross the desert to reach the capital city. Once they enter the Palace, they have one mission: kill the Emperor, then all those who remain. Only from the ashes can a new empire be built. The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers, for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Young, ambitious, and impossibly charming, something dark hides in Marith's past--and in his blood Dark and brilliant, dive into this new fantasy series for readers looking for epic battle scenes, gritty heroes, and blood-soaked revenge.

A darkly imaginative writer in the tradition of Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, and Neil Gaiman conjures a gritty mind-bending fantasy, set in a world where delusion becomes reality . . . and the fulfillment of humanity’s desires may well prove to be its undoing. When belief defines reality, those with the strongest convictions—the crazy, the obsessive, the delusional—have the power to shape the world. And someone is just mad enough to believe he can create a god . . . Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken—men and women whose delusions manifest. Sustained by their own belief—and the beliefs of those around them—they can manipulate their surroundings. For the High Priest Konig, that means creating order out of the chaos in his city-state, leading his believers to focus on one thing: helping a young man, Morgen, ascend to become a god. A god they can control. Trouble is, there are many who would see a god in their thrall, including the High Priest’s own doppelgangers, a Slaver no one can resist, and three slaves led by possibly the only sane man left. As these forces converge on the boy, there’s one more obstacle: time is running out. Because as the delusions become more powerful, the also become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath. The question, then, is: Who will rule there?

The Empire of Masks has swallowed Baru Cormorant's home, erased her father, and sent her to a distant country to serve as an Imperial Accountant. Baru has a plan: she will climb to a position of power in the Empire and use that power to destroy it. But the Imperial system is far more clever than she anticipated—and far more seductive.

The Omehi people have been at war for two hundred years. Every generation, a handful of women are chosen as Gifted—able to call down dragons during battle. Tau knows exactly what he wants: to fight in the war to avenge his father's death, no matter the cost to himself or those around him.

Return to the world of the Stormlight Archive as the Alethi armies have finally breached the tower city of Urithiru. Shallan Davar travels to the Shattered Plains to find proof of her missing betrothed, and Kaladin continues his transformation from slave to soldier to something far greater.

'A ground-breaking and extraordinary novel . . . Hanrahan has an astonishing imagination' Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones 'Mind-blowingly stellar in every respect . . . Fantasy readers, be wise and buy this book, because there's simply nothing like it' Novel Notions ***** The city of Guerdon stands eternal. A refuge from the war that rages beyond its borders. But in the ancient tunnels deep beneath its streets, a malevolent power has begun to stir. The fate of the city rests in the hands of three thieves. They alone stand against the coming darkness. As conspiracies unfold and secrets are revealed, their friendship will be tested to the limit. If they fail, all will be lost and the streets of Guerdon will run with blood. SET IN A WORLD OF DARK GODS AND DANGEROUS MAGIC, THE GUTTER PRAYER IS AN EPIC TALE OF SORCERERS AND THIEVES, TREACHERY AND REVENGE, FROM A REMARKABLE NEW VOICE IN FANTASY. ***** 'An absolutely stunning debut. Insanely inventive . . . I loved it!' Michael R. Fletcher, author of Beyond Redemption 'Utterly brilliant . . . Hanrahan is a total genius' Liz Loves Books 'Captivating . . . Guerdon is a city that seethes with history, horror and hidden secrets' Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld 'Already one of my favourite books from 2019 . . . Put simply, you need to read this.' The Fantasy Inn 'I'm confident that I won't find a greater book this year' BookNest 'Compelling . . . rich with dark and original wonders' Anthony Ryan, author of Blood Song 'A gripping, darkly inventive tale' James Islington, author of The Shadow of What was Lost

International bestselling author Mark Lawrence continues the bold new world of dark fantasy he created in the Broken Empire trilogy with the first book of the Red Queen's War... For all her reign the Red Queen has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all. The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Content with his role as a minor royal, Jal pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war with the undead is coming, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks that nothing that will affect him. He's wrong... After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game—and the Red Queen controls the board.