I wanna read something that’s fucking brutal with fighting and sex and all the things, but also WELL WRITTEN (so NOT George R.R. Martin, I can’t stand his shit). I want Lord of the Rings on crack and steroids.
Saving this thread because I’m curious
I read John Ringo when I was younger (early 20’s); it has a lot of what you are looking for.
I wouldn’t call it high art, but the writing is fairly good.
It’s not as much violent but Weaveworld by Clive Barker is in that dark fantasy vein, very good, very long.
Also dark, kinda cosmic, very good, is Imajica, also by Clive Barker. It’s almost 900 pages tho so you’ve been warned.
The Bound Gods series by Rachel Dunne is pretty brutal and bleak. Not a lot of sex but there’s baby killing, eye gouging, and enslavement. Zero characters make it unscathed and most simply don’t make it. It’s quite a ride.
Absolutely “The Library at Mount Char” by Scott Hawkins
Lot’s of really good recommendations here already. One series I don’t see discussed much is the Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover and I think it’s exactly what you’re after: shit talking, badass, tortured anti-hero in a deeply depraved and corrupt world with copious violence and sex and a deep and well written story.
Each of the 4 books is self contained but they are worth reading chronologically, starting with Heroes Die. The audio book is also fucking terrific.
Lies of Locke Lamora is beautifully written gritty fantasy. Thus far there are 3 books in the series.
I’ve never read the Warhammer 40K books so I can speak to the quality of writing, but the series definitely matches the genre of interest.
The Gentleman Bastard sequence is fantastic, Lies of Locke Lamora hooked me so hard. Can’t wait for the other 4 books. Highly recommend it.
I really enjoyed reading 40k books when I was younger, but they’re generally shit writing. The kind of complete schlock that is good when you want to turn off the brain.
NK Jemisen’s the fifth season was amazing. It won a Hugo. Then the sequel was amazing and different and won the Hugo.
Then the last book in the trilogy was crazier and won the Hugo.
Truly wild magic and a very very brutal world.
Is it necessary to read the previous four seasons as well or can you skip those?
Heh, nice one.
Mark Lawrence - Prince of Thorns. Loose fit but it scratches that itch for me anyway. Maybe it will for you too.
The Blade Itself
I came here to recommend The First Law trilogy. It’s the definition of gritty
I’m actually re-reading it right now. It’s been years since I originally read it, and I started the second follow-up series to the First Law Universe and couldn’t remember some of the characters. So I decided to re-read the first book, but it’s good enough that I’m going to read the whole trilogy again.
I didnt like the ending, but yeah. I guess the follow on books are good too but I haven’t tried them.
I’m with you, the ending of the 3rd book deflated me and actually lowered my opinions on the first 2 books. I’m curious whether the follow-up books do anything to fix it, but I can’t find the motivation to read them now.
They don’t fix it but they’re good. Really enjoyed Best Served Cold.
The follow up book about Caul Shivers is possibly even better than the original trilogy. Check it out.
I’ve been hyping up Dresden Files in damn near every book thread for the last four months, but damn if it doesn’t fit here too. There’s sex and murder in nearly every one of the books. The murder is very rarely clean, and the stakes are never low. Jim Butcher is one of my very favorite authors now, by a significant margin.
Dresden Files are great. One of my favourite series. I am going through all the books slowly, don’t want to run out of them before the next one releases. Generally read a book every month or so. Last one I read was White Night. Going to start Small Favor when I am done with my current book.
My guilty pleasure. His books draw me in but some of the sexism/arrogance (especially in earlier books) makes me cringe. Doesn’t stop me from staying up too late to finish one if I’ve started. Butcher knows how to keep me hooked.
His newer series the cinder spires is quite good as well.
I just finished reading through the entire series a month or two ago - what a fantastic series.
It has completely consumed my life for the last several months. I’m partway through Changes right now. I can’t remember the last time I was this completely absorbed in a book series.
Might I recommend the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks?
Not too gory IMO. Nemesis, the new one, is a real brain bender though.
“Malazan: The Book of the Fallen” by Steven Erikson has probably got what you need.
The main series is 10 books long, and they are amongst the most violent, brutal, but ultimately very well-written series I’ve ever (so far) read (still on Book 5).
Books 2 and 3 were too dark for my tastes but I plugged on through and I’m loving it. Great characters, wonderful dialogue, and way less obsessed with Food as GRRM
I listen to audio books while I work and have been hunting for new long stories to listen to. I’ll definitely be grabbing this one.
Saving this for future references as well
I’ll definitely check it out! Sounds like what I’m looking for!
I bounced off of book 1 multiple times but just finished it last week and it is fantastic. The book just drops you in the middle of everything and largely lets you piece it together rather than give you a fresh faced character that everyone explains everything to. 50-150 pages was when I started to feel grounded and like I understood the world well enough to say I liked it.
Malazan is my favorite fantasy series but it ruined other fantasy for me. I’ve found nothing else that can compare in the scope, breadth, world building, and detail.
The world was developed by these guys as their tabletop rpg setting in college. The series takes place over hundreds of thousands of years but is written with the density of a short story.
I’d recommend keeping Tor’s re-read blog handy if you start getting lost. There are chapter summaries and discussions by both a first time reader and a rereader which are spoiler free but include foreshadowing and things to pay attention to. The user discussion below each post could contain spoilers though.
https://reactormag.com/columns/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/?WT_mc.id=10586
The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is a fine example of grimdark high fantasy. It isn’t overflowing with sex scenes, but carnal relationships are definitely in play.
I’m no stranger to dark fantasy but reading best served cold even I was like “God damn, he’s going there too?” So that’s a +1 from me
And it definitely ticks the box for “fucking brutal.”
I loved this and the other trilogy of his that I’ve read, brutal and dark certainly, but his character writing is mint. I need to read more of his stuff!
I don’t like what he does with his characters. Poor characters of Joe Abercrombie’s world!
I’ll add it to the list! Thank you!
Another vote for anything Steven Erikson or R Scott Bakker
