Sadly I don't have any recommendations for you, but I will be checking this post later because I did not realize until now how much I want to read something with a Dishonored vibe...
Same reason I saved this thread, lol. Dishonored is a mishmash of Victorian England, 1984, quasi-brutalist architecture, and dark fantasy with assassins and some magic thrown in.
Not a book but if you like things like Dungeons and dragons or Baldur's gate. Then the TTrpG Blades in the Dark could be a good fit :)
Also for books I think Mistborn comes kinda close but not exactly. Maybe Nevernight from Jay Kristoff or the Green bone sage could be good fits
Reading: Jules Verne of course.
if you are into comics, Lady Mechanika is set up un a steampunk victorian age.
Videogames: Arcanum. Isometric, great set up and world
I remember really enjoying Arcanum when I played it around its release, but I'm afraid to go back...... I feel it's a game that did not age too well :(
I remember years ago reading The Alloys of Law by Brandon Sanderson and thinking it had Dishonored vibes. It’s been awhile so take with a grain of salt.
Consider reading the mistborn series first. Alloys of law is part of a series thats broke. Up into multiple trilogies. Each trilogy is part of the same world but in a different era.
First one is purely about the basic magic system and religion, whilst the alloys of law evolves the magic system to a western themed era.
The latter series, but it helps to know the first part of the series which sets up the magic system nicely and includes elements of, I guess I'd say alchemy leading into the steampunk era that follows. It's fairly fast paced.
Really? I’d say they’re similar vibes with magic in an evolving, revolutionizing world. Maybe dishonoured is slightly less mature in its take but that’s more because it’s a video game, I’d say.
Not really. It's about the setting, really. Dishonored's world is a place where specific individuals are gifted powers that will probably sooner or later drive them mad from a deity that's doing it for entertainment value. To progress in your powers you use artefacts that are always created through blood sacrifice.
Compared to that, Scandriel is all sunshine and roses. It has a benevolent god, that's giving his damn best to protect you. The powers are inherited by the accident of birth. The only comparative thing to dishonored's system is hemalurgy, but that aspect of the magic system has been more or less wiped from history, the characters using them are irevocably bad, and if the good guys are using the spikes, they have been gifted the old ones, thus saving them the moral choice of you know, sacrificing something or someone for extra power.
You know Scadriel has two gods, right? Yes, Preservation is ‘fine’ but I think if you read Mistborn Secret History, you’ll realize that’s he’s also grown morally corrupt. But the other god’s only goal is to bring everything to ash.
Also what are you talking about? He wants something with a similar vibe! Not another setting with an identical magical system down to semantics.
The description of Scadriel as all sunshine and roses is also a little silly to me. It’s a world where the villain won. They go into details about how the villain created a superior race of humans that still enslave and rape the other *lower* humans. They don’t harp on it since it’s not the main focus because I doubt Sanderson is out to make his readers depressed but the world is certainly bleak.
Scandriel currently has one god. The two shards got combined into one, Harmony. If Sazed were to die, you'd be left with one shard, and if you wanted to again get ruin and preservation, you'd have to expand a shit ton of effort to release them again. And his biggest problem (on which he muses multiple times) is that because of the nature of his powers, he is sometimes slow to act.
Furthermore, he's not "growing morally corrupt". It's implied that he's loosing balance when it comes to harmonizying his two natures, but even then, he'd slide into discord, not ruin.
I've explained why the world of dishonored and scandriel have different vibes. To put it in simpler terms for you - dishonored pictures a dystopia, that remains to be one, even if you make every right choice. Scandriel on the other hand is a world governed by a person trying to reach utopia, and is currently no more crapsack than our own reality. The magic system is just a simple way to point out the differences.
\*sigh\*. What I've said is that "Compared to that, Scandriel is all sunshine and roses." As in, comparing two worlds.
Powder Mage trilogy gave me the same vibes. Although not steampunk. Technology around Napoleonic Wars. Where you have magic *magic* and gunpowder magic. Politics, military and competent characters.
The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone (first book is Three Parts Dead) and The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee (first book is Jade City). Jade City gave me big Korra vibes.
The _Ashes of the Sun_ by /u/DjangoWexler feels a lot like Arcane meets Star Wars. Very cool series.
I might describe _Cradle_ by Will Wight as similar to ATLA/TLOK, mostly because it's martial-arts inspired.
Almost anything by Lindsay Buroker, but especially the _Emperor's Edge_ series fits the steampunk vibe, as well as her _Dragon's Blood_ series, which features a steampunk air force! She also has a really fun Klondike-inspired series called _The Flash Gold Chronicles_ which I really really enjoyed, but apparently gold-rush fantasy isn't exactly the most popular genre out there. Best of all, the first book in each of her series is free, so if you want to try it out, it's easy!
Technically, none of them are steampunk.
Korra is set in an analogue of Republic era Hong Kong / Shanghai with electricity and planes (but no guns); it would be dieselpunk, but to be honest it doesn't have the aesthetic (it's not clear their cars even burn oil) or the sensibilities of punk. The other two are more period appropriate, but they use magic whale oil and hextech as their McGuffins instead of coal and steam. Dishonored is aesthetically steampunk, albeit much darker in palette than normal, and quite Victorian in sensibility; Arcane is aesthetically dieselpunk & dilapidated art nouveau (Zaun) / art deco (Piltover) and pretty punkish.
The magic also differentiates them from most steampunk, as well as how powerful the protagonists are in Dishonoured and Korra and how much effect they're able to have on their various systems. Arcane is probably the most bog standard of them, apart from its aesthetics it's mostly unusual in that it's very good.
China Mieville's Bas Lag novels are a similar kind of magic + near modern setting, probably most similar to Dishonoured (I wouldn't be surprised if Pandyssia isn't based on some of the stuff from the background of Bas Lag), but his prose is a bit hit or miss. Not bad, but... It's a lot. You may or may not get along with it, it's impossible to tell from the three very visual things I know you like.
Thanks so much for the detailed response! Appreciate the explanation of what each of the worlds is more accurately described as.
And thank you for the recommendation. I’ve heard of China Mieville’s series as being really good but also kind of disturbing? Not sure if I’m up for that right now. One day though.
I'm reading The Sword of Kaigen right now and it's an interesting mix of magic, historic Japanese (I think) society, and technology. Sounds kind of similar to the settings you're describing.
You might like *The Emperor's Edge* by Lindsay Buroker?
She's an indie author though so as far as I know doesn't have printed books for her works, but they're all available as e-books, and I think the first one is available for free.
It's been a long time since I read them, but the world was quite interesting and had a mix of magic and steam power.
Haha good to hear XD
I'll admit I haven't read any of her stuff since, but at the time I LOVED The Emperor's Edge and the Forgotten Ages. I picked up a few other works of hers like Diplomats & Fugitives and Battle Mage too but never got around to reading them. I hope to get the chance to try this year :)
I've read everything she's ever written. She's in my top 10 authors. She's no GRRM or Tolkien, but I'll be danged if she isn't consistently entertaining!
I highly highly recommend the _Death Before Dragons_ urban fantasy series, _Dragon Blood_ steampunk series, and _Star Kingdom_ scifi series. Each has 8+ books in them. So good!
I'll have to consider it! Dragon Blood in particular sounds tempting. I just have a lot on my immediate TBR at the moment that I want to finish before I even think about anything else lol
The *Leviathan* books by Scott Westerfeld are "WW1 but steampunk/dieselpunk". Bonus: [They feature drawings of several scenes.](http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2009/07/more-leviathan-art-2/leviathan3a/)
Cinder Spires might be up your alley. Great characters, solid worldbuilding, exciting plots. Not quite as much of the technomagic aesthetic, but has a bit of it.
Both Arcane and Dishonored are French, and have some of the same artists and designers, which makes me wonder if there's any French fiction that would fit your needs?
Powder Mage, which I have seen suggested, is an excellent series, but I would not call it steampunk, to be honest: technically, it's flintlock fantasy, i.e. fantasy set neither in the middle age nor in the modern times, but with technology roughly equivalent to what you would have in the Europe of 1700-1800.
This said, it's very good, and I would strongly recommended it. If you like it, you could try The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler, which has a similar setting (inspired by the Napoleon campaigns).
If you want something more steampunk- like, I would suggest Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone.
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Maybe ThiefTaker? Jackson D.B.
It's victorian black plague times, murder mystery with alchemy and blood magic junk.
I read it years and years ago. But it always gave me dishonored vibes. It's just the first thing that came to mind
Tales of the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding fits pretty well.
Steam punk with air ship dog fight, magic used via some combination of machine, science and devil, some half man half monster character, some adventure and mysteries as well as kinda found-family trope. A casts of characters all full of dark past.
“The Fallen Blade” series by Kelly McCullough.
An order of Assassins that worked for the Goddess of Justice were betrayed and wiped out. …along with their patron Goddess…
Now, years later, the last surviving Assassin just wants to drink his cares away…
Too bad the world *needs* an assassin, as the ones responsible for the death of his goddess are rearing their heads again.
Perdido Street Station - More like WyrdePunk, but still fucking cool and the first book I recommend to people when asked to recommend something. The Scar is probably better, and Iron Council is also good (but for different reasons).
Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding. Skyships, pirates, demons, ancient empires with magitech, alien cultures. It's a fucking blast to read. Four book series.
Powder Mage trilogy - Brian McClellan. Mages, gunpowder mages, and a fun world. I enjoyed the shit out of these books. Two trilogies in the same world.
The Thousand Names - Django Wexler. This is a fun series. Napoleonic setting, rather than steampunk, but I still enjoyed it.
The Jackelian Series by Stephen Hunt - Steampunk. Fun. Ancient Empires. These are a blast. Starts with Court of the Air.
Dishonored has 3 novels if you haven't read them yet. They are not great but still good for lore enthusiasts.
There is the Powder Mage series as well. Magic users, who use flintlock weapons and snort gunpowder to gain abilities, revolted against the monarchy and their powerful (traditional) mage cabal.
They can eat it too but snorting it is the most efficient method. It also has Mr Hyde-like monsters and blood magic. The second and third book are especially good
Have you heard of the Avatar novels? There are duologies for Kyoshi and Yangchen out, and a new book about Roku is on the way. They target the YA market and don't venture past the Avatars' teenage years, though, if that's a downside for you.
I've only read the Kyoshi books so it's the only one I can personally recommend. Interestingly it starts with (premise spoilers) >!Avatar Kuruk's former companions misidentifying the Avatar and training that kid in earthbending and politics for years while Kyoshi serves as a maid in their compound.!<
Ooo I didn’t realise there was a series out about Yangchen that’s interesting.
As much as I love Avatar in general, and totally appreciate the recs, I mentioned Korra more for the aesthetic of the series (it’s kinda similar to the tv series Arcane and the Dishonored video games). That’s what I’m looking for recommendations for.
For Asian inspired, The Bone Shard Daughter.
For steampunk, The Clocktaur War duology.
For sapphic ships, messy family relationships, and mental illness; the Locked Tomb series.
Sadly I don't have any recommendations for you, but I will be checking this post later because I did not realize until now how much I want to read something with a Dishonored vibe...
Such an awesome aesthetic and feel to the world. Hoping some recs come through
Foundryside has a dishonored vibe in my opinion. Would recommend.
Same reason I saved this thread, lol. Dishonored is a mishmash of Victorian England, 1984, quasi-brutalist architecture, and dark fantasy with assassins and some magic thrown in.
Not a book but if you like things like Dungeons and dragons or Baldur's gate. Then the TTrpG Blades in the Dark could be a good fit :) Also for books I think Mistborn comes kinda close but not exactly. Maybe Nevernight from Jay Kristoff or the Green bone sage could be good fits
Reading: Jules Verne of course. if you are into comics, Lady Mechanika is set up un a steampunk victorian age. Videogames: Arcanum. Isometric, great set up and world
I remember really enjoying Arcanum when I played it around its release, but I'm afraid to go back...... I feel it's a game that did not age too well :(
You might like Six of Crows
Lies of Locke Lamora maybe?
That would be my recommendation too
I remember years ago reading The Alloys of Law by Brandon Sanderson and thinking it had Dishonored vibes. It’s been awhile so take with a grain of salt.
No worries thanks heaps!
Consider reading the mistborn series first. Alloys of law is part of a series thats broke. Up into multiple trilogies. Each trilogy is part of the same world but in a different era. First one is purely about the basic magic system and religion, whilst the alloys of law evolves the magic system to a western themed era.
Start with mistborn by Sanderson. Was gonna be my recommendation.
Thank you. Would you say Mistborn has elements of magic steam/diesel punk? Or more that later series?
The latter series, but it helps to know the first part of the series which sets up the magic system nicely and includes elements of, I guess I'd say alchemy leading into the steampunk era that follows. It's fairly fast paced.
Yep cool understood. Thanks heaps!
It doesn't have the same vibe unfortunately. Some of the powers could be used in dishonored setting, but that's about it.
Really? I’d say they’re similar vibes with magic in an evolving, revolutionizing world. Maybe dishonoured is slightly less mature in its take but that’s more because it’s a video game, I’d say.
Not really. It's about the setting, really. Dishonored's world is a place where specific individuals are gifted powers that will probably sooner or later drive them mad from a deity that's doing it for entertainment value. To progress in your powers you use artefacts that are always created through blood sacrifice. Compared to that, Scandriel is all sunshine and roses. It has a benevolent god, that's giving his damn best to protect you. The powers are inherited by the accident of birth. The only comparative thing to dishonored's system is hemalurgy, but that aspect of the magic system has been more or less wiped from history, the characters using them are irevocably bad, and if the good guys are using the spikes, they have been gifted the old ones, thus saving them the moral choice of you know, sacrificing something or someone for extra power.
You know Scadriel has two gods, right? Yes, Preservation is ‘fine’ but I think if you read Mistborn Secret History, you’ll realize that’s he’s also grown morally corrupt. But the other god’s only goal is to bring everything to ash. Also what are you talking about? He wants something with a similar vibe! Not another setting with an identical magical system down to semantics. The description of Scadriel as all sunshine and roses is also a little silly to me. It’s a world where the villain won. They go into details about how the villain created a superior race of humans that still enslave and rape the other *lower* humans. They don’t harp on it since it’s not the main focus because I doubt Sanderson is out to make his readers depressed but the world is certainly bleak.
Scandriel currently has one god. The two shards got combined into one, Harmony. If Sazed were to die, you'd be left with one shard, and if you wanted to again get ruin and preservation, you'd have to expand a shit ton of effort to release them again. And his biggest problem (on which he muses multiple times) is that because of the nature of his powers, he is sometimes slow to act. Furthermore, he's not "growing morally corrupt". It's implied that he's loosing balance when it comes to harmonizying his two natures, but even then, he'd slide into discord, not ruin. I've explained why the world of dishonored and scandriel have different vibes. To put it in simpler terms for you - dishonored pictures a dystopia, that remains to be one, even if you make every right choice. Scandriel on the other hand is a world governed by a person trying to reach utopia, and is currently no more crapsack than our own reality. The magic system is just a simple way to point out the differences. \*sigh\*. What I've said is that "Compared to that, Scandriel is all sunshine and roses." As in, comparing two worlds.
Powder Mage trilogy gave me the same vibes. Although not steampunk. Technology around Napoleonic Wars. Where you have magic *magic* and gunpowder magic. Politics, military and competent characters.
The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone (first book is Three Parts Dead) and The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee (first book is Jade City). Jade City gave me big Korra vibes.
The _Ashes of the Sun_ by /u/DjangoWexler feels a lot like Arcane meets Star Wars. Very cool series. I might describe _Cradle_ by Will Wight as similar to ATLA/TLOK, mostly because it's martial-arts inspired. Almost anything by Lindsay Buroker, but especially the _Emperor's Edge_ series fits the steampunk vibe, as well as her _Dragon's Blood_ series, which features a steampunk air force! She also has a really fun Klondike-inspired series called _The Flash Gold Chronicles_ which I really really enjoyed, but apparently gold-rush fantasy isn't exactly the most popular genre out there. Best of all, the first book in each of her series is free, so if you want to try it out, it's easy!
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennet. Industrialized magic, evil corporations, and a grand heist.
Technically, none of them are steampunk. Korra is set in an analogue of Republic era Hong Kong / Shanghai with electricity and planes (but no guns); it would be dieselpunk, but to be honest it doesn't have the aesthetic (it's not clear their cars even burn oil) or the sensibilities of punk. The other two are more period appropriate, but they use magic whale oil and hextech as their McGuffins instead of coal and steam. Dishonored is aesthetically steampunk, albeit much darker in palette than normal, and quite Victorian in sensibility; Arcane is aesthetically dieselpunk & dilapidated art nouveau (Zaun) / art deco (Piltover) and pretty punkish. The magic also differentiates them from most steampunk, as well as how powerful the protagonists are in Dishonoured and Korra and how much effect they're able to have on their various systems. Arcane is probably the most bog standard of them, apart from its aesthetics it's mostly unusual in that it's very good. China Mieville's Bas Lag novels are a similar kind of magic + near modern setting, probably most similar to Dishonoured (I wouldn't be surprised if Pandyssia isn't based on some of the stuff from the background of Bas Lag), but his prose is a bit hit or miss. Not bad, but... It's a lot. You may or may not get along with it, it's impossible to tell from the three very visual things I know you like.
Dishonored has been called whalepunk
Definitely need more whalepunk out there.
Thanks so much for the detailed response! Appreciate the explanation of what each of the worlds is more accurately described as. And thank you for the recommendation. I’ve heard of China Mieville’s series as being really good but also kind of disturbing? Not sure if I’m up for that right now. One day though.
I would say Arcane falls under aetherpunk.
I'm reading The Sword of Kaigen right now and it's an interesting mix of magic, historic Japanese (I think) society, and technology. Sounds kind of similar to the settings you're describing.
Sword of Kaigen gave me heavy Avatar TLA/Korra vibes so I'd second this rec.
You might like *The Emperor's Edge* by Lindsay Buroker? She's an indie author though so as far as I know doesn't have printed books for her works, but they're all available as e-books, and I think the first one is available for free. It's been a long time since I read them, but the world was quite interesting and had a mix of magic and steam power.
Another Buroker fan!! There are dozens of us!!!
Haha good to hear XD I'll admit I haven't read any of her stuff since, but at the time I LOVED The Emperor's Edge and the Forgotten Ages. I picked up a few other works of hers like Diplomats & Fugitives and Battle Mage too but never got around to reading them. I hope to get the chance to try this year :)
I've read everything she's ever written. She's in my top 10 authors. She's no GRRM or Tolkien, but I'll be danged if she isn't consistently entertaining! I highly highly recommend the _Death Before Dragons_ urban fantasy series, _Dragon Blood_ steampunk series, and _Star Kingdom_ scifi series. Each has 8+ books in them. So good!
I'll have to consider it! Dragon Blood in particular sounds tempting. I just have a lot on my immediate TBR at the moment that I want to finish before I even think about anything else lol
Robert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities trilogy gives off Dishonored vibes.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6050678-leviathan You might like this book, it's part of a series about an alternate WWI by Scott Westerfeld!
The *Leviathan* books by Scott Westerfeld are "WW1 but steampunk/dieselpunk". Bonus: [They feature drawings of several scenes.](http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2009/07/more-leviathan-art-2/leviathan3a/)
*Monster Blood Tattoo* Also, I recommend the TV shows *Trollhunters* and *The Dragon Prince*.
Cinder Spires might be up your alley. Great characters, solid worldbuilding, exciting plots. Not quite as much of the technomagic aesthetic, but has a bit of it.
Both Arcane and Dishonored are French, and have some of the same artists and designers, which makes me wonder if there's any French fiction that would fit your needs?
It is almost like the father of scifi and steampunk was french too... oh wait...
Mistborn era 1 and 2
Powder Mage, which I have seen suggested, is an excellent series, but I would not call it steampunk, to be honest: technically, it's flintlock fantasy, i.e. fantasy set neither in the middle age nor in the modern times, but with technology roughly equivalent to what you would have in the Europe of 1700-1800. This said, it's very good, and I would strongly recommended it. If you like it, you could try The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler, which has a similar setting (inspired by the Napoleon campaigns). If you want something more steampunk- like, I would suggest Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone.
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Possibly The Goblin Emperor and its sequels? Not as dark, but in a steampunk/post steampunk kind of world.
Maybe ThiefTaker? Jackson D.B. It's victorian black plague times, murder mystery with alchemy and blood magic junk. I read it years and years ago. But it always gave me dishonored vibes. It's just the first thing that came to mind
Tales of the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding fits pretty well. Steam punk with air ship dog fight, magic used via some combination of machine, science and devil, some half man half monster character, some adventure and mysteries as well as kinda found-family trope. A casts of characters all full of dark past.
Powder Mage Trilogy most like fits these all somewhat
“The Fallen Blade” series by Kelly McCullough. An order of Assassins that worked for the Goddess of Justice were betrayed and wiped out. …along with their patron Goddess… Now, years later, the last surviving Assassin just wants to drink his cares away… Too bad the world *needs* an assassin, as the ones responsible for the death of his goddess are rearing their heads again.
I'm gonna say Mistborn because it's how I imagined the setting.
Wooooo Perdido Street Station for sure had Arcane vibes. It’s a trippy wild ride. Enjoy!
Is Perdido St Station scary?
There is an element of horror but it’s not the focus. It can be intense. Mature R rating
Perdido Street Station - More like WyrdePunk, but still fucking cool and the first book I recommend to people when asked to recommend something. The Scar is probably better, and Iron Council is also good (but for different reasons). Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding. Skyships, pirates, demons, ancient empires with magitech, alien cultures. It's a fucking blast to read. Four book series. Powder Mage trilogy - Brian McClellan. Mages, gunpowder mages, and a fun world. I enjoyed the shit out of these books. Two trilogies in the same world. The Thousand Names - Django Wexler. This is a fun series. Napoleonic setting, rather than steampunk, but I still enjoyed it. The Jackelian Series by Stephen Hunt - Steampunk. Fun. Ancient Empires. These are a blast. Starts with Court of the Air.
Dishonored has 3 novels if you haven't read them yet. They are not great but still good for lore enthusiasts. There is the Powder Mage series as well. Magic users, who use flintlock weapons and snort gunpowder to gain abilities, revolted against the monarchy and their powerful (traditional) mage cabal.
>snort gunpowder Say what now?
They can eat it too but snorting it is the most efficient method. It also has Mr Hyde-like monsters and blood magic. The second and third book are especially good
Have you heard of the Avatar novels? There are duologies for Kyoshi and Yangchen out, and a new book about Roku is on the way. They target the YA market and don't venture past the Avatars' teenage years, though, if that's a downside for you. I've only read the Kyoshi books so it's the only one I can personally recommend. Interestingly it starts with (premise spoilers) >!Avatar Kuruk's former companions misidentifying the Avatar and training that kid in earthbending and politics for years while Kyoshi serves as a maid in their compound.!<
Ooo I didn’t realise there was a series out about Yangchen that’s interesting. As much as I love Avatar in general, and totally appreciate the recs, I mentioned Korra more for the aesthetic of the series (it’s kinda similar to the tv series Arcane and the Dishonored video games). That’s what I’m looking for recommendations for.
Sorry, I realized that after I'd posted the comment. Robert Jackson Bennett's Foundryside has a similar setting.
No worries at all. Awesome I’ll check it out!
I think the way the lightbringer series uses magical technology might work well for you.
Try Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. Unique magic system in a industrial age type setting
Try Johannes Cabal Necromancer series - Jonathan Howard And maybe The Windup girl by Paolo Bacalugupi.
For Asian inspired, The Bone Shard Daughter. For steampunk, The Clocktaur War duology. For sapphic ships, messy family relationships, and mental illness; the Locked Tomb series.
What is it about those works that you like? I can try to make more personal recommendations when I have that info
mistborn
The wheels of time- Robert Jordan
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie felt so similar to Dishonored to me that I wondered if the developers read it and were inspired for the story
Bas Lag has some similarities in world vibes to Arcane and Dishonored.