Dark Fantasy

At its most basic, dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element. A stricter definition is difficult to pin down, as authors, publishers, and readers have used "dark fantasy" in various contexts throughout the years.

Dark fantasy is often used as a synonym for supernatural horror. Some authors and critics also apply the term to high fantasy stories that feature anti-heroic or morally ambiguous protagonists. Fantasy works by writers typically associated with the horror genre are sometimes described as "dark fantasy." Conversely, the term is also used t
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The Girl with a Thousand Faces
Verity Guild
Bone of My Bone
Death's Daughter (Children of the Old Ones, #1)
All Hail Chaos (Time of Iron, #2)
Mortedant's Peril (The Trials of Irody Hasp, #1)
A Queen Crowned in Flames (Bonded to Beasts #2)
A Dark and Wild Wood
A Mark Cursed by Stars (The Cursed Celestials Book 1)
Crown Me Dead (Heartstring Duet, #1)
The Wicked Sea (The Wicked Sea, #1)
Deathbringer (Deathbringer, #1)
An Arcane Study of Stars
Honor & Heresy
Bloodsinger (The Fire That Binds, #2)
Crown Me Dead (Heartstring Duet, #1)
Alchemised
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2)
Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)
The Poet Empress
Blood Over Bright Haven
The Bond That Burns (Bloodwing Academy, #2)
Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy, #1)
Anathema (The Eating Woods, #1)
Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1)
The Devils (The Devils, #1)
The Ascended (Aesymarean Duet, #1)
Storm of Secrets and Sorrow (Legacy, #2)
One Small Echo (Shadowsong, #1)
Moon Called by Patricia BriggsHalfway to the Grave by Jeaniene FrostMagic Bites by Ilona AndrewsDead Until Dark by Charlaine HarrisDark Lover by J.R. Ward
Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Books
1,971 books — 4,537 voters
The Blade Itself by Joe AbercrombiePrince of Thorns by Mark  LawrenceA Game of Thrones by George R.R. MartinLast Argument of Kings by Joe AbercrombieBefore They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
The Grimdarks
486 books — 1,206 voters

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn MuirCarmilla by J. Sheridan Le FanuHell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph WhiteThe Luminous Dead by Caitlin  StarlingWilder Girls by Rory Power
Queer Horror
715 books — 449 voters

Coilhunter by Dean F. WilsonThe Gunslinger by Stephen  KingBloodrush by Ben GalleyBloodmoon by Ben GalleyBloodfeud by Ben Galley
Weird Westerns
292 books — 267 voters
The Way of Shadows by Brent WeeksThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasGraceling by Kristin CashoreAssassin's Apprentice by Robin HobbPoison Study by Maria V. Snyder
SF/F Assassins!
317 books — 813 voters

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)
Alchemised
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
The Gunslinger (Dark Tower, #1)
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)
The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)
Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
King of Thorns (Broken Empire, #2)

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