Black Stone Heart

Some of the grimmest grimdark I have read! The main protagonist is a reborn fragment of a previous super powerful despot, who ruled the world using demons and fear. He wakes up with only a fragment of his memory. Encounters with other fragments of himself lead to him gradually reassembling his obsidian heart and regaining memories.

This story is bleak, violent and definitely at the darker end of the spectrum. The characters are extremely flawed, all of them operating in various shades of grey. The main protagonist obviously has a horrific past. The theme of predestination is played on a lot, but obviously from a darker angle (ie if you were previously a violent despot are you destined to become one again?)

I am a massive grimdark fan and this really ticks all the boxes for me. I am really looking forward to continuing the series and seeing where it ends up!