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Grimdark Books
Showing 1-50 of 5,984
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
by (shelved 689 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.22 — 339,898 ratings — published 2006
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
by (shelved 464 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.36 — 236,735 ratings — published 2007
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
by (shelved 454 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.37 — 218,338 ratings — published 2008
Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)
by (shelved 381 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.82 — 126,971 ratings — published 2011
Best Served Cold (Hardcover)
by (shelved 322 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.25 — 120,003 ratings — published 2009
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by (shelved 261 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.45 — 2,827,978 ratings — published 1996
A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1)
by (shelved 258 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.45 — 67,117 ratings — published 2019
The Heroes (ebook)
by (shelved 240 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.35 — 82,646 ratings — published 2011
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
by (shelved 232 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.15 — 558,241 ratings — published 2018
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
by (shelved 232 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.93 — 56,881 ratings — published 1984
Red Country (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 221 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.32 — 70,977 ratings — published 2012
King of Thorns (Broken Empire, #2)
by (shelved 213 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.17 — 72,203 ratings — published 2012
Emperor of Thorns (Broken Empire, #3)
by (shelved 198 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.22 — 59,054 ratings — published 2013
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
by (shelved 177 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.42 — 1,055,857 ratings — published 1998
The Trouble with Peace (The Age of Madness, #2)
by (shelved 172 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.60 — 50,837 ratings — published 2020
The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, #1)
by (shelved 164 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.85 — 24,846 ratings — published 2003
The Devils (The Devils, #1)
by (shelved 159 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.20 — 90,887 ratings — published 2025
The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness, #3)
by (shelved 156 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.59 — 45,494 ratings — published 2021
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
by (shelved 151 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.94 — 145,456 ratings — published 1999
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
by (shelved 149 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.55 — 874,504 ratings — published 2000
Beyond Redemption (Manifest Delusions, #1)
by (shelved 149 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.01 — 4,219 ratings — published 2015
A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)
by (shelved 147 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.18 — 816,074 ratings — published 2005
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
by (shelved 143 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.30 — 362,049 ratings — published 2006
Sharp Ends (Hardcover)
by (shelved 136 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.10 — 29,918 ratings — published 2016
Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)
by (shelved 131 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.05 — 36,047 ratings — published 2014
A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
by (shelved 127 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.35 — 758,541 ratings — published 2011
The Court of Broken Knives (Empires of Dust, #1)
by (shelved 119 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.45 — 3,474 ratings — published 2017
Blackwing (Raven's Mark, #1)
by (shelved 113 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.08 — 8,806 ratings — published 2017
Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)
by (shelved 111 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.97 — 77,819 ratings — published 2014
The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes, #1)
by (shelved 108 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.74 — 18,771 ratings — published 2008
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1)
by (shelved 107 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.16 — 64,771 ratings — published 2017
Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)
by (shelved 104 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.34 — 101,523 ratings — published 2021
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2)
by (shelved 102 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.33 — 255,382 ratings — published 2019
The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)
by (shelved 93 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.26 — 199,011 ratings — published 2020
The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue, #1)
by (shelved 90 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.18 — 55,549 ratings — published 2021
Priest of Bones (War for the Rose Throne, #1)
by (shelved 88 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.93 — 7,097 ratings — published 2018
The Grim Company (The Grim Company, #1)
by (shelved 84 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.74 — 7,650 ratings — published 2013
Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)
by (shelved 81 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.22 — 121,462 ratings — published 2016
Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)
by (shelved 78 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.19 — 47,702 ratings — published 2015
Between Two Fires (Hardcover)
by (shelved 77 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.17 — 111,036 ratings — published 2012
Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)
by (shelved 76 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.41 — 94,269 ratings — published 2011
Godblind (Godblind, #1)
by (shelved 74 times as grimdark)
avg rating 3.61 — 2,558 ratings — published
Shadows Linger (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #2)
by (shelved 73 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.18 — 22,453 ratings — published 1984
Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)
by (shelved 73 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.09 — 13,278 ratings — published 1998
The Liar's Key (The Red Queen's War, #2)
by (shelved 72 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.23 — 22,279 ratings — published 2015
Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)
by (shelved 69 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.28 — 88,691 ratings — published 2000
The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)
by (shelved 68 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.17 — 120,210 ratings — published 2021
The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)
by (shelved 68 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.14 — 438,955 ratings — published 1993
The Grey Bastards (The Lot Lands, #1)
by (shelved 67 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.05 — 9,257 ratings — published 2015
Half a War (Shattered Sea, #3)
by (shelved 66 times as grimdark)
avg rating 4.03 — 39,462 ratings — published 2015
“The day will come when you need them to respect you, even fear you a little. Laughter is poison to fear.”
― A Game of Thrones
― A Game of Thrones
“A Heaving of Hooves
by Stewart Stafford
Branches form a star-shaped dawn,
Hammering ale-soured heads forlorn.
Drunk to dull the bow-stave’s strain,
Bent low, then rose upon the battle plain.
When failing flesh and blood
collapses into dung and mud,
Fury’s flaying poleaxe blow
slashes and culls noble and low.
Hacking peasant adversaries,
Schooled by seasoned mercenaries,
Tavern-stale archers loosing at will—
Hooves thunder, death screams shrill.
The King and standard guard the rear;
Their presence quells each ragged fear,
Dismounted, routed—formation lost:
A butcher’s bill of carrion cost.
© 2026 Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
―
by Stewart Stafford
Branches form a star-shaped dawn,
Hammering ale-soured heads forlorn.
Drunk to dull the bow-stave’s strain,
Bent low, then rose upon the battle plain.
When failing flesh and blood
collapses into dung and mud,
Fury’s flaying poleaxe blow
slashes and culls noble and low.
Hacking peasant adversaries,
Schooled by seasoned mercenaries,
Tavern-stale archers loosing at will—
Hooves thunder, death screams shrill.
The King and standard guard the rear;
Their presence quells each ragged fear,
Dismounted, routed—formation lost:
A butcher’s bill of carrion cost.
© 2026 Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
―
