The Fantasy Review’s list of 7 Bloodthirsty Dark Fantasy Books To Die For.
Kings of Paradise (Ash and Sand, #1) by Richard Nell
From the blurb:
A deformed genius plots vengeance while struggling to survive. A wastrel prince comes of age, finding a power he never imagined. Two worlds are destined to collide. Only one can be king.
We Are the Dead (The Last War, #1) by Mike Shackle
From the blurb:
The war is over. The enemy won.Jia’s people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia’s armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day…
Blood Song (Raven’s Shadow, #1) by Anthony Ryan
From the blurb:
Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order to be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate and dangerous life of a warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.
Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the Unified Realm—and Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright knows no bounds. Even his cherished memories of his mother are soon challenged by what he learns within the Order…
A Gathering of Ravens (Grimnir, #1) by Scott Oden
From the blurb:
To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas; to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind―the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days…
The Way of Shadows (Night Angel, #1) by Brent Weeks
From the blurb:
For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art — and he is the city’s most accomplished artist.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly — and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint…
The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Staveley
From the blurb:
The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods…
The City of Dusk (The Dark Gods, #1) by Tara Sim
From the blurb:
DARKNESS FALLS. GODS RISE.
The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the City of Dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.
But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving metropolis. And without it, all the realms are dying…
