The Fantasy Review‘s list of 5 Dark Fantasy Books That Blur the Lines Between Light and Darkness.
Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
From the blurb:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price―and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .
The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
From the blurb:
Seven wizards… and someone who wants to take them down. Brandon Sanderson meets Deadpool in this unforgettable, darkly funny, deeply irreverent fantasy from the bestselling author.
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1) by Rachel Gillig
From the blurb:
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.…
Vicious (Villains, #1) by V.E. Schwab
From the blurb:
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates―brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.…
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) by Joe Abercrombie
From the blurb:
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian — leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.…
