Looking for "R-rated", gritty, gorey high fantasy books (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago by grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world to c/books@lemmy.world

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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.

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[-] kat_angstrom@lemmy.world 32 points 9 months ago

"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

[-] Kingofclubs615@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 3 points 9 months ago

Saving this for future references as well

[-] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I'll definitely check it out! Sounds like what I'm looking for!

[-] Fonderthud@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] statler_waldorf@sopuli.xyz 3 points 9 months ago

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

[-] Hotspur@lemmy.ml 14 points 9 months ago

Richard k. Morgan’s foray into to fantasy “the steel remains” trilogy might meet that requirement. He’s the guy who wrote the altered carbon books, so it’s basically hard-boiled pulp fiction applied to swords and sorcery fantasy. Similarly Joe Abercrombie’s books operate similarly. Genre is… Grimdark I think.

Steven Erickson’s “Malazan book of the fallen” series also would meet the definition, but watch out—there’s a ton of them, and they can be a bit narratively challenging sometimes.

[-] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Man I got stuck on like book 4 of Malazan I think, it's been a long time. Still have the books though, I should take another stab at it.

[-] Hotspur@lemmy.ml 3 points 9 months ago

I’m still slowly working my way… think I’m in book 7 maybe? I sometimes find it hard with series where they change focuses and stories a lot, and malazan does that every book (the whole changing location every other book thing) and I also sometimes have trouble keeping track or who all the characters are, and who is dead, alive, or only sorta dead. But they are very high quality, even if I don’t always understand what is going on. Anyhow there’s so much of it I just dip in and out and will read other stuff for a while—definitely a marathon series haha

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[-] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 12 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] Ganeshaix@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

I just finished reading through the entire series a month or two ago - what a fantastic series.

[-] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] dresden@discuss.online 2 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] lemmyng@lemmy.ca 11 points 9 months ago

It's not exactly R rated, but Gideon the Ninth (and its sequels) don't shy away from gore and raunchy language.

[-] runner_g 9 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] Hasherm0n@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

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.

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[-] earlgrey0@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 months ago

I guess T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series. It may not hit the “fucking brutal” mark but it does cover a lot of dark themes like loss very well for a fantasy, also not afraid to get racy. I enjoy T. Kingfisher as an author so I highly recommend.

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[-] Curdie@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

Mark Lawrence - Prince of Thorns. Loose fit but it scratches that itch for me anyway. Maybe it will for you too.

[-] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

The Black Company by Glenn Cook is pretty dark. It's about a band of mercenaries taking part in a world war where there are basically no good guys. The first book stands well on its own, but it is part of a trilogy.

[-] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

Gods yes, awesome series for sure.

[-] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I'll add it to the list!

[-] dresden@discuss.online 3 points 9 months ago

The world and the story is interesting, but for some reason I didn't like how the book is written. Have only read the first book though, got the whole trilogy as omnibus, so will eventually get to the next two books.

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[-] UsefulIdiot@sh.itjust.works 8 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

The Poppy Wars which had an eastern theme.

The Prince of Nothing series which is quite grimdark in a fantasy setting.

The Crimson Empire series is a darkish revenge story.

The Covenant of Steel about a poor boy rising through the ranks.

The Rhenwar Saga involves more magic than the rest.

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[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant

Cenotaph Road series by Robert E. Vardeman. More sci fi than fantasy, but fantasy adjacent sci-fi.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/74984-cenotaph-road

[-] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

I'll look into it. I'm a little sc-fi'd out at the moment, but if it's adjacent, it might do. Thanks for the recommendation!

[-] swab148@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

Covenant is fantasy, so that might be the ticket

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[-] zSpider@lemmy.zip 6 points 9 months ago

Might I recommend the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks?

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I remember a book series called "something of Krondor" or "Krondor the something" that was really violent and brutal. They made some RPGs based on it too, but I don't think they were ever popular; I have never encountered anyone else who ever read the books or played the games.

Read 'em in highschool and I haven't really thought about it since which is why I can't really remember the complete title or who the author was.

[-] lemmyng@lemmy.ca 8 points 9 months ago

I have never encountered anyone else who ever read the books or played the games.

Well now you have. I played (and finished) Betrayal at Krondor.

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[-] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Krondor the Betrayal by Raymond E Feist

All his books are great and most are connected in one big world (though you don’t have to read them as one epic series to enjoy them). Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master are commonly 2 of my top recommendations for people getting into fantasy.

A bunch are on sale on Kobo right now too.

[-] dessimbelackis@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Another vote for anything Steven Erikson or R Scott Bakker

[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

TIL there's a sub here for books.

Terry Goodkind wrote the Sword of Truth series beginning with The Wizard's First rule in 1994, with 17 books in the main series and I believe still ongoing. Not much sex, but it has the brutality down, and is very well written.

[-] musky_occultist@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

I regret that I have but one downvote to give. Wizard's First Rule is literally the worst book I ever read. (A lot of people do seem to like it, though.)

[-] rhadamanth_nemes@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

Wizard's First Rule is the only tolerable book, if barely. They're all thinly veiled (not thinly veiled) fetish writing, or high school level political theory.

At a certain point it's clear that Terry fired enough editors that the remaining ones stopped trying.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 points 9 months ago

Yeah Wizard's First Rule even had a decent stopping point at the end, iirc? That or by the third or so. Good enough read if you're an edgy teen.

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[-] Lightor@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Love the series, read it multiple times. It seems to get a lot of hate but I don't get why. I like the story, hate the villains, and can get invested in the characters. Plus it's very adult. My favorites series hands down.

[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I absolutely understand why people hate it. on lemmy, probably because of themes that could be interpreted as being anti communist. In the real world, because of how it mocks religion quite viciously, and promotes critical thinking.

Also multiple strong female characters who are well written, that really pisses people off.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Lol, the "strong female characters" and critical thinking of The Sword of Truth series. Might as well push Atlas Shrugged because "it's got a female author"

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[-] Timecircleline@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 months ago

If you'd be up for modern fantasy you might enjoy Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, or American Gods.

For high fantasy, Brando Sando has violence aplenty but not sex. I really like the Stormlight Archives.

I also wouldn't write off the Shattered Sea series by Joe Abercrombie. Yes, they're labelled YA but it just makes them easier to binge.

[-] Sylence@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 9 months ago

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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/311864.Heroes_Die

[-] JackiesFridge@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

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.

[-] Boozilla@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Do you like swords and sorcery? Sounds more like that genre than high fantasy. Not that I'm the genre police.

[-] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I didn't even know that was a thing, so yes, I'll take it!

[-] dumples@midwest.social 3 points 9 months ago

Check out the work of Fritz Lieber especially his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Series. They are short stories but compiled into books now. Great intro to sword and sorcery.

Also the book series as a huge influence on DnD since Gary Gygax was a big fan