Dark fantasy is great, but even the most jaded of us sometimes finish a book feeling like someone took a baseball bat to our brand-new PS5. While darkness can be fun, it’s usually best when it ends, or at least, subsides at some point. Here are a few novels that take you into a land of darkness, but don’t keep you there forever.

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

For many, Brandon Sanderson is the undisputed master of fantasy and science fiction. The Mistborn Trilogy is among his most revered works, and with good reason. With a compelling and unique magic system, it won’t leave you doubting the world or its inhabitants. Sanderson’s world-building is excellent, and while it contains plenty of darkness, the darkness isn’t the entire character—the characters take that role, and they do it well. Everyone is memorable and well thought out.

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Witcher is famous now, because it was a Polish book that became a video game, that later became a book marketed to American and English-speaking audiences. Sadly, this means that, while the core concepts within Sapkowski’s series are solid and proven, the reading experience isn’t quite what it might have been.

Whether translators could have done a better job if given more liberty is up for debate, but it isn’t a complete mess. It’s still an entertaining read or listen if you have the time. And if you’ve played the games, you know that the world is a compelling combination of darkness and light. If this makes it worth it for you, give it a try.

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

Kings of the Wyld is a fresh take on traditional fantasy tropes. Rather than a budding gang of upstarts, the story follows a handful of veteran warriors on their last adventure.

The characters each have interesting and interwoven relationships, and they often make humorous quips that balance what might otherwise be just another dark, moody fantasy. It’s clear that Eames is a fan of metal and classic rock, as he includes plenty of references, which range from subtle to hamhanded.

Some of the humor is hit-or-miss, and stay away from the audiobook version if you prefer Dave-Chappelle-quality delivery. Still, if this one sounds like your thing, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Redemption's Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Like some of the other items on our list, Redemption’s Blade is a different take on a tired genre. A calamitous event has already happened and has been resolved, and now the world is grappling with the consequences.

There’s a superb balance of darkness and light. For example, an entire winged race has had the wings ripped from their bodies, but this is counteracted by engaging action, humor, and romance. It’s not exactly targeted at the hardcore/metal audience like the above, but it’s worthy of checking out anyway.

The Elder Wyrm by K.R. VanderBrooke

The Elder Wyrm, our latest production, is specifically intended to straddle the line between humor and darkness. A satire in its essence, it explores the journey of Jorn Vjostersson, a former galley slave, as he returns to his home to find it populated by pompous oppressors.

Across an epic journey, Jorn discovers that not all bad guys are the obvious ones, and those who swear by non-violence can make life annoyingly difficult.

The Elder Wyrm is inspired by both classic fantasy works and doom metal musicians, and it has everything you love in a fantasy novel, from dragonlike creatures to twisted and corrupt wizards. There are high highs and low lows, but at the end of the day, it’s a satisfying read that we think you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

Avoid

You’re more than likely familiar with these, but we’ll list them anyway:

A Saga of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

Also known as Game of Thrones, this series was written by an angry incel who doesn’t believe in trust, love, positivity, and maybe even puppy dogs. The whole thing is basically a very long, very convoluted piece of Andy Kaufman-esque practical humor designed to make readers waste their time on an unsatisfying, annoying, and pointless plot.

To be clear, the series is compelling and simply written. There are characters you love, those you root for but don’t know why, and those you hate. So what’s the problem? Well, justice rarely, if ever, happens, so the series has an emotional effect similar to watching someone make out with that girl you like.

It all promises, though, to conclude in a satisfying crescendo, in which all of the bad guys finally meet their maker. Sadly, Martin hasn’t seen fit to finish the books, so all you can do is watch the abysmally written, grossly unfulfilling final season of the show instead.

The First Law Series by Joe Abercrombie

The first law series isn’t as popular as Game of Thrones, and this makes sense. There are less hot people, and the story is more personality-driven. There’s only a few POV characters, but each is interesting and seriously flawed.

As you read through Abercrombie’s adventure, you may begin to like some of them, but it’s a tentative feeling. You understand where they’re coming from, but they aren’t exactly relatable. In the end, you hope that they might learn their lessons, reconcile with one another, and live better lives.

Sadly, they mostly wind up—spoiler alert—in their versions of hell, or at least purgatory. This isn’t as gut-wrenching as it is in George R.R. Martin’s work, but if you’re the sensitive type, you might not want to commit the many hours to reading the whole series.

That’s it for today’s post. Maybe you have a new reading list—or lack thereof, As always, if you’re into balanced darkness, check out our books.

5 Dark(ish) Fantasy Books That Won’t Leave You Feeling Like Your Dog Died