What are your favorite dark fantasy books?

Fantasy spans the spectrum from lighthearted fun to kick-you-in-the-teeth realism. When done right dark fantasy explores themes that are often taboo or emotional. Exploring these dark themes in fantasy offers a safe space to explore concepts like these in a new world without the limits of our own reality. What dark fantasy books do you recommend to other readers?

Books50

Answers133

Readers67

Vote	Details	Readers Count
	Interview With The Vampire Anne Rice	456 reads
	Coraline Neil Gaiman	705 reads
	The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe	112 reads
	A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	1,937 reads
	Gideon the Ninth Tamsyn Muir Jelena Katić Živanović (Translator)	634 reads
	The Poppy War R. F. Kuang	646 reads
	The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson	165 reads
	The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie	726 reads
	Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey	123 reads
	Blood of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski	467 reads
	Berserk Volume 1 Kentaro Miura	103 reads
	Tales from Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin	61 reads
	The Malazan Empire Series Ian C. Esslemont	2 reads
	The Gunslinger Stephen King	813 reads
	Stormbringer Michael Moorcock	16 reads
	Berserk Volume 6 Kentaro Miura Makoto Fukami	57 reads
	The Raven Tower Ann Leckie	111 reads
	The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe	142 reads
	Perdido Street Station China Miéville	190 reads
	A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab	743 reads
	The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin	848 reads
	She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan	203 reads
	The Book Eaters Sunyi Dean	89 reads
	The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka David Wyllie (Translator)	193 reads
	Brother Red Adrian Selby	5 reads
	Black Sun Rising C.S. Friedman	52 reads
	The Vampire Genevieve Kim Newman Jack Yeovil	10 reads
	The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods, #1) Trudie Skies	6 reads
	Dragonsbane Barbara Hambly	12 reads
	Rubicon J.S. Dewes	6 reads
	One Dark Window Rachel Gillig	183 reads
	The Night Watch Sergei Lukyanenko Vladimir Vassilyev Andrew Bromfield (translator)	79 reads
	Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor	55 reads
	The Vagrant Peter Newman	21 reads
	Between Two Fires Christopher Buehlman	89 reads
	Vita Nostra Marina Dyachenko	80 reads
	The Winter Road Adrian Selby	5 reads
	I racconti del Necronomicon - Volume secondo H.P. Lovecraft Susanna Bini (Translator)	1 read
	Nicolas Eymerich, inquisitore Valerio Evangelisti	3 reads
	The Bone Doll's Twin Lynn Flewelling	28 reads
	Priest of Bones Peter McLean	41 reads
	Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy #1) Marlon James	98 reads
	I racconti del Necronomicon - Volume primo H.P. Lovecraft Susanna Bini (Translator)	1 read
	To Bleed a Crystal Bloom Sarah A. Parker	5 reads
	Magic's Pawn Mercedes Lackey	43 reads
	A Little Hatred Joe Abercrombie	176 reads
	Merchants of Knowledge and Magic Erika McCorkle	0 reads
	The Drawing of the Three Stephen King	445 reads
	Prince of Thorns Mark Lawrence	261 reads
	Our Share of Night Mariana Enríquez Megan McDowell (Translator)	53 reads

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Vote	Details	Readers Count
	Interview With The Vampire Anne Rice	456 reads
	Coraline Neil Gaiman	705 reads
	The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe	112 reads
	A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	1,937 reads
	Gideon the Ninth Tamsyn Muir Jelena Katić Živanović (Translator)	634 reads
	The Poppy War R. F. Kuang	646 reads
	The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson	165 reads
	The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie	726 reads
	Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey	123 reads
	Blood of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski	467 reads
	Berserk Volume 1 Kentaro Miura	103 reads
	Tales from Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin	61 reads
	The Malazan Empire Series Ian C. Esslemont	2 reads
	The Gunslinger Stephen King	813 reads
	Stormbringer Michael Moorcock	16 reads
	Berserk Volume 6 Kentaro Miura Makoto Fukami	57 reads
	The Raven Tower Ann Leckie	111 reads
	The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe	142 reads
	Perdido Street Station China Miéville	190 reads
	A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab	743 reads
	The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin	848 reads
	She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan	203 reads
	The Book Eaters Sunyi Dean	89 reads
	The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka David Wyllie (Translator)	193 reads
	Brother Red Adrian Selby	5 reads
	Black Sun Rising C.S. Friedman	52 reads
	The Vampire Genevieve Kim Newman Jack Yeovil	10 reads
	The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods, #1) Trudie Skies	6 reads
	Dragonsbane Barbara Hambly	12 reads
	Rubicon J.S. Dewes	6 reads
	One Dark Window Rachel Gillig	183 reads
	The Night Watch Sergei Lukyanenko Vladimir Vassilyev Andrew Bromfield (translator)	79 reads
	Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor	55 reads
	The Vagrant Peter Newman	21 reads
	Between Two Fires Christopher Buehlman	89 reads
	Vita Nostra Marina Dyachenko	80 reads
	The Winter Road Adrian Selby	5 reads
	I racconti del Necronomicon - Volume secondo H.P. Lovecraft Susanna Bini (Translator)	1 read
	Nicolas Eymerich, inquisitore Valerio Evangelisti	3 reads
	The Bone Doll's Twin Lynn Flewelling	28 reads
	Priest of Bones Peter McLean	41 reads
	Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy #1) Marlon James	98 reads
	I racconti del Necronomicon - Volume primo H.P. Lovecraft Susanna Bini (Translator)	1 read
	To Bleed a Crystal Bloom Sarah A. Parker	5 reads
	Magic's Pawn Mercedes Lackey	43 reads
	A Little Hatred Joe Abercrombie	176 reads
	Merchants of Knowledge and Magic Erika McCorkle	0 reads
	The Drawing of the Three Stephen King	445 reads
	Prince of Thorns Mark Lawrence	261 reads
	Our Share of Night Mariana Enríquez Megan McDowell (Translator)	53 reads

What are your favorite dark fantasy books?

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