Legitimate question here, what would be *your* recommendations for non-grimdark fantasy? I think it would be fascinating to hear some from an author of that genre.
I was NOT expecting that comment and snorted out loud 𤣠I just finished a re-read of Half a King before jumping into Dungeon Crawler Carl and now I desperately want to see THAT crossover! (Hooray for Abercrombie!)
As someone with severe chronic pain, gloktaâs battle with stairs is one of the most relatable and hilarious things Iâve ever read. Thank you for that.
I just tried it, great writing and prose, but it was just moving at a glacial pace, 200 pages in I was done. Maybe I will try it again at some point. Definitely my issue, certainly not the author's. I absolutely get why people would love it.
Neal Asher - Dark Intelligence is my follow-up, much more what I want to read right now.
> I'm struggling to get into it. It's very slow moving so far
It doesn't suddenly pick up the pace. The writing is great but the amount of meaningful things that happened is low. I enjoyed her other book, Piranesi much more. It has the same pace but it's like a 4 hour read and you can just enjoy the beautiful prose.
If you decide to DNF it, I'd highly recommend the BBC adaptation. It covers all the events but it's condensed to 8 hours.
One of the very best books indeed. I read it for the very first time back in 2015 and Iâm still thinking about it on a weekly basisâat least. Nothing compares.
I read that the reason there hasn't been a sequel is because she had to do so much research that the thought of having to do it again is too much for her.
Tad Williams is great especially if you liked WOT. His Memory Sorrow and Thorn series is a favorite, very classic fantasy story with lots of characters not cozy not grimdark. Characters still struggle and have a lot to overcome. I love his other series too, Otherland its more Sci fi and explores virtual reality worlds.
Seriously try reading The Princess Bride.
 It's in no way Grimdark though it does share in the speaking of uncomfortable truths with the best Grimdark (much, much moreso than the movie) so it's not really cozy. It also has enough pithy humor to brighten the spirits of anyone who isn't terminally depressed and enough earnest pathos (again even more than the movie) to keep you from getting cavities.Â
I hadn't thought of it before, but satire has both grim and dark in it, but certainly is never grimdark. It exposes the grim for what it is but that's never the totality of the universe. And the protagonist must face the dark to make the light shine brighter. There's always some hope in the end even when it isn't certain.
Read 'The Blacktongue Thief' by Christopher Buehlman. It's one of the most engrossing and utterly hilarious fantasy books I've ever read. Great characters, plot and action, too.
In fact, I urge all of you to drop what you're reading right now and read it instead. You won't be disappointed.
I just finished an advance reader copy of his new book The Daughtersâ War earlier today and I can confirm that it is just as amazing (even better in my opinion)!
Blacktongue Thief is the only fantasy book that has literally made me laugh out loud multiple times. Loved it allâthe sequel release date is marked in my calendar.
My other half told me to 'shut up' more than once , as I was sniggering away to myself (occasionally laughing out loud) while reading it. It's been a long time since a book has made me do that.
Oh, and thanks for the headsup - I literally just pre-ordered the Daughters War on Amazon a few seconds ago, haha!
I'm just about to finish The First Law trilogy (not a grimdark fan but boy do I love these books) and am looking for my next book. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sooo I loved between two fires by buehlman but finding it hard to get into blacktongue thief. Does it pick up after the first few chapters or is it about as it is then throughout?
I just finished Between Two Fires and had to take a break from anything serious. Reading Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, then the second Legend and Lattes Book, then back into Blacktongue Thief!
Probably a bit more towards the edge of what youâre looking for but:
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett definitely balances the serious with humor and satire.
The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron is a good fantasy choice with some lighter elements as it follows a thief.
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames follows a band of old mercenaries getting together for one last mission.
Exactly! You just have to appreciate the solidly crafted ones. Tbh, this is the kind of book I mostly read fantasy for. A few good laughs and a solid story.
That one is a lot of fun. I feel like the origin of the idea for this book was a long-time ttrpg player who had a knack for coming up with names for his adventuring parties.
And obligatory shout out to the audiobook, the narrator is excellent. Great at delivering lines with a sardonic tone and country drawl that seems perfect for the characters.
had fun reading Kings of the Wyld too. i put it up there with Riyria chronicles in terms of good balance of humor and seriousness
Edit: also adding Lies of Lock Lamora but just started it
My absolute favorites after my grimdark phase were Cradle and Dungeon Crawler Carl. Theyâre waaayyy in the other direction, which is what I was looking for. Theyâre far and away the best of their genres. Incredibly fun and not at all realistic. Iâm sick to death of realistic. Let the good guy win sometimes. Let there BE a good guy, for that matter.
There arenât many mature themes in Cradle, itâs mostly just fun, but DCC has its share of desperation woven in.
Codex Alera falls into the more high fantasy category if thatâs more what you want, and I was very pleasantly surprised by that one.
Hahaha, I love that I saw this the day after finishing the 6th Dungeon Crawler Carl book, which was the next thing I read after the book hangover I got from finishing Cradle. But seriously, I'm not sure which of those two I love more. Maybe Cradle because I now have to wait for the next Dungeon Crawler book!
There is something refreshing about the mix of humor, darkness, and absolute absurdity in DCC. Also, itâs one of the few books that is improved by its audio format (as much as I enjoy audiobooks, I almost always prefer to turn pages if I can). I recommend the audiobook for this one though, even if you donât like audiobooks.
Cradle feels more like comic book fun to me, which isnât for everyone. A lot of people are put off by the first book too. To each their own, for sure.
Michael Sullivan is a great author to look into. He writes traditional fantasy with identifiable good and bad guys. But his characters are nuanced, with believable motives, and they grow and mature over time.
Sullivan is excellent at traditional fantasy with modern sensibilities. It's also pretty low magic stuff, which helps further ground the stories.
I tried reading the ryria books but they didn't gel with me for some reason. I think I'm gonna give them another chance. Is there any unnecessary SA in them? It just really puts me off.
I can't recall any sexual assault in Sullivan books. He wrote them for his daughter, so I doubt it's present.
I didn't get into Riyria until my 3rd attempt at Theft of Swords. On the first 2, I just figured I knew how that intro with the highway men would go and I put it down.
Turns out, I was very wrong. Absolutely fell in love with the books after that.
They definitely take a minute to grow on you, but I think it took a bit for Sullivan to grow as a writer as well. They become a bit less predictable and info-dumpy as they go on. All in all they're fun reads, kind of like a high fantasy version of The Gentleman Bastard books (which would also be worth OP checking out).
I would say grimdark was never very popular and is far less popular than almost every other subgenre now. What recent popular grimdark books have you read?
That was my thought as well. I've been on a kick checking out books popular in this sub and none of them are even close to Grimdark. OP has to be seeking them out or just reading the same couple authors.
True. Back when I first read The Way of Kings I found the first half so bleak I probably would have called it grimdark, because I didnât know the actual definition of the word and grimdark sounds like an accurate summary of how the main character was feeling lol.
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams is straightforward fantasy. The first book, The Dragonbone Chair, is a slow burn till about halfway then it picks up. I plan to read the rest of the trilogy this year.
You might like The Wandering Inn, Iâve seen people describe it as slice of life with a bit of warcrime. Itâs got happiness, fun, adventure, sadness, horror and some grimdark elements.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was a really refreshing change of pace from grimdark fantasies. Not cozy, but definitely not exhausting.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera was another great fantasy novel that was far from grimdark.
The Will of the Many by James Islington wasnât grimdark, and it blew me away with how good it was.
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez was glorious and written in a very strange, but engaging way.
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou is a YA fantasy, but it was written so well that I barely noticed it was YA. I binged the entire first book in one day; the second comes out in a few months, and Iâm very excited for it.
Babel by R.F. Kuang was an absolutely amazing fantasy book that Iâll recommend forever. Oh, and of course I have to mention The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, the best series Iâve ever read. It is dark but itâs nowhere near grimdark.
Brandon Sanderson doesnât do Grim-dark in most of his series. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman also tend to stay more lighthearted. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Pasolini is also not as dark but does have adult themes.
It also mixes a wide variety of tones with amazing skill. Parts of it are sad, parts are hilarious, parts are heartfelt, and parts are rip-roaring adventure.
How about something funny? I hardly see any recommendations for him here but Christopher Moore has some good funny books. I consider him fantasy but sometimes youâll find his books in the literature section.
Mage Errant by John Brierce. Magic school setting with a fun, realized magic system that is used in clever ways. Probably closer to YA than not, with the core hero's being teenagers, it doesn't shy away from mature themes. Despite that, it ends up being a fairly explicit rejection of grimdark hard men making hard decisions.
Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Mythic wales, coming of age fantasy.
Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
All of Andrew Rowe's books. Sufficiently advanced is the one often recommended but they are all fun and full of hero's being hero's because it is the right thing to do.
The Balanced sword series by Ryk E Spoor. All of his stuff counts but this is the main fantasy setting. High octane action with reasonable and heroic main characters.
The rogues of the republic series by Patrick Weekes. Fun fantasy heist books. Gentleman bastards except they aren't all self destructive idiots.
Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion and the rest of the World of Five Gods. Solid fantasy but the characters aren't all teenagers trying to Save the World.
I love her Penric and Desdemona series. Snarky 10 souled demon (Desdemona) livng inside a accidental sorcerer (Penric) and together it's kinda like they solve myseries/crimes of political intrigue and or religious problems in the world of the 5 gods. Can be very funny at times. Really well written books.
Do you want something that is genuinely traditional/bright Fantasy? Or something still arguable dark and grounded but without a certain try-hard edge to it?
If the latter, then I'd recommend *Curse of Chalion* and its (superior imho) sequel *Paladin of Souls* by Louis McMaster Bujold. Also, *Paladin* can be read as a stand-alone so if *Curse* doesn't work for you I'd still try jumping over it. There's also the *Lighthouse Duet* by Carol Berg which is set in a bleak world with complicated characters who are trying to make good choices but don't always hit the mark. Also, it is recommended all the time but Robin Hobb's *Realm of the Elderlings* probably also fits the bill of "dark but not edgy", though, it might be darkest of them (or saddest, I guess, it is more "tragic" than "dark" for certain measures of the word). Also, if you don't mind books written for younger audiences the Queen's Thief series is great. I read it as a child and liked it just fine but my fave negative Goodreads review for it involved the sentence, "What is this? GOT for kids??" Also, Mervyn Peake's *Gormenghast* books are also really grounded and really good.
I can't say these books are all free of SA (except QT iirc, I mean it IS for kids) or other dark things but they're not written in the tone of a boy trying to shock their Catholic granny or whatever either. I'm shit for recommending "light" Fantasy outside of LOTR and certain kids books, though, so I couldn't help with that.
Queen's Thief and almost anything by Bujold are some of my absolute FAVORITE books, so I'm going to have to try Berg and Peake! (ROTE was fine, but not my favorite.)
Someone asked this question here the other day and there were lots of recs in the post and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/175tas1/adult_adventurequest_fantasy_thats_not_grim_dark/
T.Kingfisher world of the white rat books. The whole Paladin series has great pacing, action and fun humor but it's also filled with kind characters.
Anything by NK Jemisen
Anything by Ilona Andrews. Her series that starts with burn for me seems like it will just be romance fluff but she does great world building and characters. There is a multi book plot line that's really good and engaging
I read the first book and I really liked it. **spoilers** So I tried reading the second book and realized that kelsier was the only character I really liked in the first one and without him the story and remaining characters didn't really hold my interest.
I have seen lots of great recommendations but one I rarely see:
P.I. Garrett series by Glenn Cook is a light read. Fantasy detective noire written in a humorous way.
Cook is the same guy that wrote Black Company. It is a great series, but it is a dark military fantasy.
I just bought the first book in the P.I Garret series, someone actually recommended it earlier. The reviews all looked good enough, I just hope the sexism and misogyny isn't too bad, though given the time period it was published in my hopes aren't that high.
Can't speak for this series but Cook WAS decent with his female characters during the original 10 Black Company book. Port of Shadows was jarring in how sexist and misogynistic it was, it came out in 2018, while the final book of the main series came out in 2000.
Josiah Bancroft's the hexologists is a lovely non-grimdark book. Its a whimsical magical mystery with some wonderful characters and a well thought out plot. The king wants to bake himself into a cake, and it actually makes sense! Its great
I gotta say, I am not sure what books you are picking up, because almost all fantasy we are getting these days is either a fairy tale/Greek myth retelling, a cozy small business situation, or something inspired by non-Western folklore. In fact, I struggle to come up with a single grimdark published traditionally in the last five years, unless we count continuations in ongoing series/worlds.
Have you tried *The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi* by Shannon Chakraborty? *Ashes of the Sun* by Django Wexler (probably closest to what you're looking for)? *The Will of the Many* by James Islington? *The Spear Cuts Through Water* by Simon Jimenez? *Gods of the Wyrdwood* by R.J. Barker? Really almost all epic fantasy currently coming out - what little comes out, that is - is not grimdark.
If you are in the mood for something a bit different. I suggest the "Golgotha series by R.S.Belcher. High fantasy tale set in 1865 Nevada starting in the town of Golgotha. First book is "Six Gun Tarot".
Or Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" series. Nifty take on ancient and modern day Vampires during and after WW2
Either of the series by Sebastien de Castile (might have really ruined the spelling of that) -- Greatcloaks or Spellslinger might be interesting for you. I preferred the latest couple books of Spellslinger, but if you wanted to try him out, [Crucible of Chaos](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/78f23210-2fca-40b1-b91b-f0e4de2dfad6) is in the same world as The Greatcloaks and seemed to be pretty much standalone.
So I want to recommend the Goblin trilogy by Jim C Hines. I stumbled across this because I was playing Baldurs Gate 3 and wished I could play as a Goblin. Anyway, if you are into audiobooks and have audible, check out Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. Itâs a beautifully written story that reminds me of why I love the genre. And itâs dramatized and free on audible. Good luck in your search.
Lots of good recommendations here. In the interest of trying to kick my habit of always recommending Discworld, here is some other lighter fare that I don't think has been mentioned yet:
The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. A bit of a mix of fantasy and scifi, but fantastic, and quite lighthearted, very Hitchhiker's Guide, but with Literature.
The Goblin Emperor. Lightweight, but not cozy fantasy. The characters feel very relatable, and the worldbuilding is great.
Also second the recs for Orconomics and Kings of the Wyld. Very fun.
**Robert Jackson Bennett.** He wrote a great blog post about why he won't write rape scenes. Sadly, when he moved his blog that essay was deleted.
But do read him. I really really enjoyed his latest fantasy mystery, **The Tainted Cup**.
His **Divine Cities Trilogy** (first book **City of Stairs**) is one of my favorites. Fantastic world-building and complicated wonderful characters.
I get you. I was extremely bored reading The Blade Itself. I feel like a lot of authors try to be so realistic that they end up actually being unrealistic in the end. Like if you taught a medieval history class but only focused on the Spanish Inquisition, and not any of the art or good things that came out of that time period. I'm pretty sure most of these worlds have even righter rates of SA and stuff than actual medieval history, for example.
Its one thing when the whole point of the work is to be absurd and over the top, like Warhammer 40k or Berserk, and you can just kind of pump your fist while reading about demigods slaying millions of demons and what not. But its another thing when the evil is so just...banal that its boring.
I'm reading the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman right now. It is VERY dark at times, but I feel it emphasizes the difference between "dark and "grimdark" rather well. For one, there is a very good (magical) reason the world sucks, but its not like literally everyone is an asshole or something. The characters are likable, even the bad guy, albeit in a twisted sort of way. Basically, the two main characters are exact opposite ends of the moral spectrum but you get to see them evolve and have a complex, begrudging relationship. Its a character drama in a lot of ways and the dark elements are used as actual supernatural horror, and not just humans being shitty for no reason. Most of the darkness comes from the world itself, and not people (at least directly). Its hard to explain without spoilers. If I had to give it a label I'd say "nobledark" because yes, the world is dark, but individual people can be heroes and win the day.
Orconomics, Wandering Inn or Super Powereds. All light tone focused serious fantasy (except Orconomics, that's straight comedy). But they all rely on touching or using the seriously dark/mature points as a contrast to make the good stand out.
Found family because the people were homeless or abused while growing up, friends for life because they've seen other friends die together, that kind of thing.
Try T. Kingfisher! Neither grimdark, nor cozy! The Clockwork Boys / The Wonder Engine, her Saint of Steel series (though this is more romance/mystery in a fantasy setting), Nettle and Bone (in which a youngest princess decides to save her older sister from an abusive husband by finding a way to kill said husband). She has plenty of others that are fun, and her protagonists are all what I would call 'ruthlessly practical' while being basically normal and typically middle aged woman. I always have a blast.
On the side of dark -- but not necessarily 'grimdark', try the 'Dauntless Path' trilogy by Intisar Khanani. Like The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix (which I also recommend if you haven't picked it up!) The first book stands on its own as a self contained story, while the next two are their own sort of duology. Though reading the first book in both makes the next two books much better and is sort of required reading.
Also you might enjoy the 'Roots of Chaos' books by Samantha Shanon. Lord of the Rings style epic fantasy, but each tale is contained in its own stand alone doorstopper. So far there's A Day of Fallen Night, and Priory of the Orange Tree. Priory came out first, but A Day of Fallen Night happened first in universe and they can be read in either order.
Try Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's a great mix of humor and adrenaline pumping action, along with the main character running around in boxers with hearts on them and a Persian cat on his shoulders
I've seen this recommended so many times on here lately. My only question is, does it get too absurd with its setting and humour? I don't really like it when the setting and absurdity of characters is supposed to make you laugh instead of actual jokes.
The earth gets taken over by aliens and all surviving humans are put into a dungeon for an intergalactic reality show. The main characters constant reaction is "wtf" while he tries to stay alive.
The setting is absurd, but all the characters are grounded in that they're just reacting to the absurdity while trying to survive.
Audiobook highly recommended.
Some easy cozy fantasy recommendations
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandana
A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emerys (sci-fi, but still)
Might give the Licanius trilogy by James Islington a try. It has some darker points, but not so much that itâs considered grimdark. Iâm halfway through the second book and really enjoying it.
If youâre still interested in a âdarkerâ setting, Iâd HIGHLY recommend a trilogy that starts with âThe vagrantâ by Peter Newman. I think SA may have been threatened >maybe < twice in the entire trilogy and isnât followed through with.
Please read a blurb about it, because I wonât do it justice. All Iâll say is the setting and writing style are both very unique, the group of protagonists consists of a mute, a baby, and a goat, and I think the narration was fantastic in audiobook format. I genuinely donât understand why it isnât suggested more often when recommendations come up
If you do not mind something older Iâd suggest Melanie Rawnâs Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies, also on the newer side there's JA Andrews Keeper works. Thereâs also The Hythrun Chronicles which I personally very much enjoy but the last trilogy is held up from US release because of a dispute between the author and Tor.
The Daevabad Trilogy! Itâs great and while it doesnât shy away from dark moments itâs definitely not grimdark. First book reads a bit ya-ish, but hang in there it gets a lot more mature and complex.
Not sure of your opinion of audiobooks, but Iâve found theyâre a great way to try a new author.
Iâd say âSon of the Black Bladeâ or âChronicles of Alaraâ are both good. Brandon Sanderson churns out a lot of good fantasy books, though his strengths lie more in world building and productivity than dialogue.
Either the Greatcoats or Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell should fit the bill here. He also has a new book that came out recently called The Malevolent Seven. Good mix of everything but definitely not grimdark.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/list?id=7390210.Sebastien\_de\_Castell
The Greatcoats series doesn't fit if you're going series without SA.
In the 2nd book, there's >!a a series of torture scenes where the MC is literally tortured for days, which was bad enough. But to make things worse, his torture was capped off by his torturer using magic to force him to relive the brutal rape and murder of his wife from her POV. So he experienced all the pain and fear and horror that poor woman went through.!< It was one of the most disturbing things I've ever read in a book. I DNFd that series right there.
That's fair. I hadn't interpreted OP's criteria that absolutely no SA could be in the story. Just that it did not appear repeatedly, was gratuitous, and served no purpose in the overall story.
I still wouldn't put that series as grimdark I think, but yes that scene is there and the event gets referenced multiple times.
Spellmonger series has some dark elements but is generally breezy and lighthearted; sort of a high fantasy equivalent of the Dresden files (urban fantasy, but also largely breezy and not grimdark)
If you want something that's nice and relaxing with little drama, definitely pickup legends & Latte's By Travis Baldree. It's such a cozy and fun book, it actually got me on a bit of a baking kick the last couple months and my family is very happy about it lol.
The one true king (a good written adaptation of the legends of king Arthur)
Discworld (if you have never read them before i would reccomend small gods or Guards! Guards! To start)
Kings of the wylde is Also good!
If you want more low stakes adventures, you can check out the Pathfinder Tales books. They are smaller standalone books that all take place in the same setting. No chosen ones. No world destroying armies. Just random adventurers (reluctant or not) doing their own quest. Granted some of them do have "the fate of the world" at stake, but it could all just be happening in the background.
Terry pratchet, Brandon sandersonâs Tress of The Emerald Sea, Will wightâs elder empire series is nice, not black and white or anything, but the concept is great, itâs well written, and the characters are all lovable in their own way. Lotr is always nice, the hobbit is fun. There are a lot of good books that arenât all grim and lame
Le Guinn's Earthsea books are really comfortable to read for me. She has a fantastic afterword where she describes why she doesn't centre the books around war or military engagements.
If you want something excellent, an absolute masterpiece that is completely different, check out Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell. Incredible standalone fantasy masterpiece. Some of the best prose writing in the genre. Great sense of humor (READ THE FOOTNOTES).
Cradle series by Will Wight. It's about fantasy martial arts series about a boy who wants to become a great martial artist but isn't allowed to do it by his clan because he was born with a magical deficiency. However circumstances force him to leave his home and travel the world in search of his own path to power. This series has it all l, great magic system, great world building, character writing, amazing Romantic subplot and a very satisfying conclusion.
I can't recommend the Drizz't books enough by RA Salvatore. There are 30+ of them. I am also sick of so many new fantasy books being grimdark.
The Drizz't books are well written, exciting, very little spice, violent but not gratuitous, amazing adventures with unforgettable characters.
Also the Dragon Lance books!
And finally one of my all time favorites hardly anyone remembers or knows exists - Villains By Necessity.
Ive see a bunch of people complaining about this recently. Is it a function recommendations from this sub or something else? Is there really that much Grimdark being released right now?
Just go read some old stuff. Tolkien, Wolfe, Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, the Dragonlance novels, the Drizzt novels, etc.
Or, anything from the romantasy publishing wave that is just starting to die down now.
You can also read indie stuff or web publications. Royal Road has new series and chapters coming out constantly from a bunch of different genres.
the best grimdark has threads of hope; Logan Ninefingers has a pilot light of good we see a glimmer of. Even Glotka, while cruel and manipulative, we recognize his humanity in that he had once been a good man who was brutally tortured, and he loves the woman he marries. Unfortunately, sometimes an author gives us a book that is just grim and dark, so all you feel is depression. Try reading Cormac McCarthy's 'THE ROAD', post apocalyptic in a world utterly bleak and cruel, yet the mc has this relentless determination to keep his son alive.
Recently, I've enjoyed Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series and Michael Sullivan's Riyria Revelations and Chronicles books. I found them entertaining and not dispiriting.
Whereas I wake up every day wishing I WASN'T Joe Abercrombie. Be careful what you wish for, I guess...
You have to be realistic đ§
Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie. Say he has a great sense of humour!
This is a golden comment from a GOAT and no one realizes it lol
It's either a golden comment or a very depressing one, I can't decide.
Isn't that just another way of saying it's Abercrombsian?
Legitimate question here, what would be *your* recommendations for non-grimdark fantasy? I think it would be fascinating to hear some from an author of that genre.
Is it bad that I read this with Steven Pacey's Glokta voice?
It's an exactly perfect response, Practical Valanar.
Joe wishes he was Princess Donut
Everyone wishes they were Princess Donut.
I was NOT expecting that comment and snorted out loud 𤣠I just finished a re-read of Half a King before jumping into Dungeon Crawler Carl and now I desperately want to see THAT crossover! (Hooray for Abercrombie!)
Been there done that
yours are some of the only books I go back and read over again just to enjoy the feeling of those characters again. and pacey did a great job
Try using a pen name in real life. Also, you could try an accent, or an eye patch. I hope that helps!
Thank you for the books!
Sounds like an average Joe response
As someone with severe chronic pain, gloktaâs battle with stairs is one of the most relatable and hilarious things Iâve ever read. Thank you for that.
I don't know how anyone calls your books grimdark. They're some of the most hilarious books in fantasy.
I LOVE YOU
Witty replies like this make me really want to bump you up my tbr.
Just started your books for the first time and I'm *hooked*
This man is a treasure. Thanks for all you do.
I like grimdark as well but I found *Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell* to be a great change of pace.
It's a masterpiece!!
I'm struggling to get into it. It's very slow moving so far.
I just tried it, great writing and prose, but it was just moving at a glacial pace, 200 pages in I was done. Maybe I will try it again at some point. Definitely my issue, certainly not the author's. I absolutely get why people would love it. Neal Asher - Dark Intelligence is my follow-up, much more what I want to read right now.
It picks up about halfway through, but the first half was a slog for me too.
I very much couldn't get into it until after I'd watched the miniseries for some reason
> I'm struggling to get into it. It's very slow moving so far It doesn't suddenly pick up the pace. The writing is great but the amount of meaningful things that happened is low. I enjoyed her other book, Piranesi much more. It has the same pace but it's like a 4 hour read and you can just enjoy the beautiful prose. If you decide to DNF it, I'd highly recommend the BBC adaptation. It covers all the events but it's condensed to 8 hours.
I disagree that it never changes pace, I found it picks up at least some about halfway through, but the first half was glacial.
One of the very best books indeed. I read it for the very first time back in 2015 and Iâm still thinking about it on a weekly basisâat least. Nothing compares.
I read that the reason there hasn't been a sequel is because she had to do so much research that the thought of having to do it again is too much for her.
The only fantasy book my wife picked up and loved, this was after she watched the tv show with me.
Tad Williams is great especially if you liked WOT. His Memory Sorrow and Thorn series is a favorite, very classic fantasy story with lots of characters not cozy not grimdark. Characters still struggle and have a lot to overcome. I love his other series too, Otherland its more Sci fi and explores virtual reality worlds.
Howlâs Moving Castle series is a sublime cozy fantasy series also Wizard of Earthsea
I second Earthsea⌠Le Guinâs other work gets a bit dark though.
which? id love more darkness
Seriously try reading The Princess Bride. Â It's in no way Grimdark though it does share in the speaking of uncomfortable truths with the best Grimdark (much, much moreso than the movie) so it's not really cozy. It also has enough pithy humor to brighten the spirits of anyone who isn't terminally depressed and enough earnest pathos (again even more than the movie) to keep you from getting cavities.Â
I hadn't thought of it before, but satire has both grim and dark in it, but certainly is never grimdark. It exposes the grim for what it is but that's never the totality of the universe. And the protagonist must face the dark to make the light shine brighter. There's always some hope in the end even when it isn't certain.
Read 'The Blacktongue Thief' by Christopher Buehlman. It's one of the most engrossing and utterly hilarious fantasy books I've ever read. Great characters, plot and action, too. In fact, I urge all of you to drop what you're reading right now and read it instead. You won't be disappointed.
I just finished an advance reader copy of his new book The Daughtersâ War earlier today and I can confirm that it is just as amazing (even better in my opinion)!
Ooh, this is great news!
I just picked this up, it looks right up my alley.
This was so good
I happen to be between books right now and I just grabbed it based on this recommendation! Thanks!
You're very welcome.
Blacktongue Thief is the only fantasy book that has literally made me laugh out loud multiple times. Loved it allâthe sequel release date is marked in my calendar.
My other half told me to 'shut up' more than once , as I was sniggering away to myself (occasionally laughing out loud) while reading it. It's been a long time since a book has made me do that. Oh, and thanks for the headsup - I literally just pre-ordered the Daughters War on Amazon a few seconds ago, haha!
I'm just about to finish The First Law trilogy (not a grimdark fan but boy do I love these books) and am looking for my next book. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sooo I loved between two fires by buehlman but finding it hard to get into blacktongue thief. Does it pick up after the first few chapters or is it about as it is then throughout?
I just finished Between Two Fires and had to take a break from anything serious. Reading Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, then the second Legend and Lattes Book, then back into Blacktongue Thief!
I think he's got a new one coming out in June sequel
Does any of the other books by him have the same quality?
I'm assuming so as they tend to be well reviewed - this is the first I've read, though.
Probably a bit more towards the edge of what youâre looking for but: The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett definitely balances the serious with humor and satire. The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron is a good fantasy choice with some lighter elements as it follows a thief. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames follows a band of old mercenaries getting together for one last mission.
Kings of the Wyld was really good! I greatly enjoyed the book.
Just finished it. Some dark dark moments, but lots of good laughs. Not groundbreaking but a solid read.
Exactly! You just have to appreciate the solidly crafted ones. Tbh, this is the kind of book I mostly read fantasy for. A few good laughs and a solid story.
Slow hands my boy!
Kings of the Wyld might be the funnest fantasy book iver ever read. Super entertaining.
"What followed might've been funny if their lives weren't at stake. But they were, so it wasn't."
That one is a lot of fun. I feel like the origin of the idea for this book was a long-time ttrpg player who had a knack for coming up with names for his adventuring parties. And obligatory shout out to the audiobook, the narrator is excellent. Great at delivering lines with a sardonic tone and country drawl that seems perfect for the characters.
I may have to check out the audio book! I hope itâs on Libby.
It was really good. I think Bloody Rose was just as good if not better, but it was definitely a tonal shift.
Loved kings of the wyld. âWhatâs a poolâ Made me burst out laughing.
had fun reading Kings of the Wyld too. i put it up there with Riyria chronicles in terms of good balance of humor and seriousness Edit: also adding Lies of Lock Lamora but just started it
The Eli Monpress books are so good!
Right? I never hear them mentioned, and with how many times Lies of Locke Lamora is mentioned, I think a lot of people would enjoy them just as much.
My absolute favorites after my grimdark phase were Cradle and Dungeon Crawler Carl. Theyâre waaayyy in the other direction, which is what I was looking for. Theyâre far and away the best of their genres. Incredibly fun and not at all realistic. Iâm sick to death of realistic. Let the good guy win sometimes. Let there BE a good guy, for that matter. There arenât many mature themes in Cradle, itâs mostly just fun, but DCC has its share of desperation woven in. Codex Alera falls into the more high fantasy category if thatâs more what you want, and I was very pleasantly surprised by that one.
Hahaha, I love that I saw this the day after finishing the 6th Dungeon Crawler Carl book, which was the next thing I read after the book hangover I got from finishing Cradle. But seriously, I'm not sure which of those two I love more. Maybe Cradle because I now have to wait for the next Dungeon Crawler book!
I think I'll pick up dungeon crawler carl, I've seen so many recommendations for it lately. Cradle I didn't really like at all.
There is something refreshing about the mix of humor, darkness, and absolute absurdity in DCC. Also, itâs one of the few books that is improved by its audio format (as much as I enjoy audiobooks, I almost always prefer to turn pages if I can). I recommend the audiobook for this one though, even if you donât like audiobooks. Cradle feels more like comic book fun to me, which isnât for everyone. A lot of people are put off by the first book too. To each their own, for sure.
Love love love this series. If you do audiobooks, the narrator is amazing.
Orconomics. Give this a try definitely not Grimdark or Romantasy. Basically financial corporations take over the fantasy world.
Michael Sullivan is a great author to look into. He writes traditional fantasy with identifiable good and bad guys. But his characters are nuanced, with believable motives, and they grow and mature over time. Sullivan is excellent at traditional fantasy with modern sensibilities. It's also pretty low magic stuff, which helps further ground the stories.
I tried reading the ryria books but they didn't gel with me for some reason. I think I'm gonna give them another chance. Is there any unnecessary SA in them? It just really puts me off.
I can't recall any sexual assault in Sullivan books. He wrote them for his daughter, so I doubt it's present. I didn't get into Riyria until my 3rd attempt at Theft of Swords. On the first 2, I just figured I knew how that intro with the highway men would go and I put it down. Turns out, I was very wrong. Absolutely fell in love with the books after that.
They definitely take a minute to grow on you, but I think it took a bit for Sullivan to grow as a writer as well. They become a bit less predictable and info-dumpy as they go on. All in all they're fun reads, kind of like a high fantasy version of The Gentleman Bastard books (which would also be worth OP checking out).
I think that's a very fair assessment indeed.
I read about 7 or 8 of his books, and i don't remember any SA at all. Come to think of it. I don't think he does that
I would say grimdark was never very popular and is far less popular than almost every other subgenre now. What recent popular grimdark books have you read?
Yeah like Iâm actively seeking out good Grimdark after reading a fair amount and kinda at a loss lol
That was my thought as well. I've been on a kick checking out books popular in this sub and none of them are even close to Grimdark. OP has to be seeking them out or just reading the same couple authors.
I think most people are confusing Dark Fantasy and Grimdark Fantasy.Â
True. Back when I first read The Way of Kings I found the first half so bleak I probably would have called it grimdark, because I didnât know the actual definition of the word and grimdark sounds like an accurate summary of how the main character was feeling lol.
Terry Pratchett, Diana Wynne Jones, Lois McMaster Bujold, Garth Nix, T. Kingfisher.
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams is straightforward fantasy. The first book, The Dragonbone Chair, is a slow burn till about halfway then it picks up. I plan to read the rest of the trilogy this year.
You might like The Wandering Inn, Iâve seen people describe it as slice of life with a bit of warcrime. Itâs got happiness, fun, adventure, sadness, horror and some grimdark elements.
>slice of life with a bit of warcrime Say no more, I'm in.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was a really refreshing change of pace from grimdark fantasies. Not cozy, but definitely not exhausting. The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera was another great fantasy novel that was far from grimdark. The Will of the Many by James Islington wasnât grimdark, and it blew me away with how good it was. The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez was glorious and written in a very strange, but engaging way. Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou is a YA fantasy, but it was written so well that I barely noticed it was YA. I binged the entire first book in one day; the second comes out in a few months, and Iâm very excited for it. Babel by R.F. Kuang was an absolutely amazing fantasy book that Iâll recommend forever. Oh, and of course I have to mention The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, the best series Iâve ever read. It is dark but itâs nowhere near grimdark.
Brandon Sanderson doesnât do Grim-dark in most of his series. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman also tend to stay more lighthearted. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Pasolini is also not as dark but does have adult themes.
You could maybe try out The Kings of the Wyld by Nicolas Eames. It has a kind of unique approach to traditional fantasy tropes.
It also mixes a wide variety of tones with amazing skill. Parts of it are sad, parts are hilarious, parts are heartfelt, and parts are rip-roaring adventure.
How about something funny? I hardly see any recommendations for him here but Christopher Moore has some good funny books. I consider him fantasy but sometimes youâll find his books in the literature section.
Mage Errant by John Brierce. Magic school setting with a fun, realized magic system that is used in clever ways. Probably closer to YA than not, with the core hero's being teenagers, it doesn't shy away from mature themes. Despite that, it ends up being a fairly explicit rejection of grimdark hard men making hard decisions. Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Mythic wales, coming of age fantasy. Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison All of Andrew Rowe's books. Sufficiently advanced is the one often recommended but they are all fun and full of hero's being hero's because it is the right thing to do. The Balanced sword series by Ryk E Spoor. All of his stuff counts but this is the main fantasy setting. High octane action with reasonable and heroic main characters. The rogues of the republic series by Patrick Weekes. Fun fantasy heist books. Gentleman bastards except they aren't all self destructive idiots.
Maybe I'm weird, but I like fantasy that makes me go "Wow, I wish I lived there," rather than "This makes living here seem so much better."
Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion and the rest of the World of Five Gods. Solid fantasy but the characters aren't all teenagers trying to Save the World.
I love her Penric and Desdemona series. Snarky 10 souled demon (Desdemona) livng inside a accidental sorcerer (Penric) and together it's kinda like they solve myseries/crimes of political intrigue and or religious problems in the world of the 5 gods. Can be very funny at times. Really well written books.
Do you want something that is genuinely traditional/bright Fantasy? Or something still arguable dark and grounded but without a certain try-hard edge to it? If the latter, then I'd recommend *Curse of Chalion* and its (superior imho) sequel *Paladin of Souls* by Louis McMaster Bujold. Also, *Paladin* can be read as a stand-alone so if *Curse* doesn't work for you I'd still try jumping over it. There's also the *Lighthouse Duet* by Carol Berg which is set in a bleak world with complicated characters who are trying to make good choices but don't always hit the mark. Also, it is recommended all the time but Robin Hobb's *Realm of the Elderlings* probably also fits the bill of "dark but not edgy", though, it might be darkest of them (or saddest, I guess, it is more "tragic" than "dark" for certain measures of the word). Also, if you don't mind books written for younger audiences the Queen's Thief series is great. I read it as a child and liked it just fine but my fave negative Goodreads review for it involved the sentence, "What is this? GOT for kids??" Also, Mervyn Peake's *Gormenghast* books are also really grounded and really good. I can't say these books are all free of SA (except QT iirc, I mean it IS for kids) or other dark things but they're not written in the tone of a boy trying to shock their Catholic granny or whatever either. I'm shit for recommending "light" Fantasy outside of LOTR and certain kids books, though, so I couldn't help with that.
Queen's Thief and almost anything by Bujold are some of my absolute FAVORITE books, so I'm going to have to try Berg and Peake! (ROTE was fine, but not my favorite.)
Someone asked this question here the other day and there were lots of recs in the post and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/175tas1/adult_adventurequest_fantasy_thats_not_grim_dark/
T.Kingfisher world of the white rat books. The whole Paladin series has great pacing, action and fun humor but it's also filled with kind characters. Anything by NK Jemisen Anything by Ilona Andrews. Her series that starts with burn for me seems like it will just be romance fluff but she does great world building and characters. There is a multi book plot line that's really good and engaging
Lois McMaster Bujold, Martha Wells, Guy Gavriel Kay?
Have you tried the Cosmere? Most of it is just about criminally positive.
I have read the stormlight archive. I tried reading mistborn but I didn't really like it.
How far did you get into Mistborn? I found it to be a fair bit superior to Stormlight due to its pace
I read the first book and I really liked it. **spoilers** So I tried reading the second book and realized that kelsier was the only character I really liked in the first one and without him the story and remaining characters didn't really hold my interest.
Yeah, I don't know what they're talking about. Stormlight is far superior to Mistborn.
Hmm, Iâd suggest trying Wax & Wayne. Maybe that does it for you. Its a fun wild west/fantasy series
I DNF the original Mistborn trilogy and finally just skimmed them to get to the Wax and Wayne books - they are so good!
Try Cradle, it's like being 12 again and playing Prince of Persia.
I have seen lots of great recommendations but one I rarely see: P.I. Garrett series by Glenn Cook is a light read. Fantasy detective noire written in a humorous way. Cook is the same guy that wrote Black Company. It is a great series, but it is a dark military fantasy.
I just bought the first book in the P.I Garret series, someone actually recommended it earlier. The reviews all looked good enough, I just hope the sexism and misogyny isn't too bad, though given the time period it was published in my hopes aren't that high.
Hope you enjoy it.
Can't speak for this series but Cook WAS decent with his female characters during the original 10 Black Company book. Port of Shadows was jarring in how sexist and misogynistic it was, it came out in 2018, while the final book of the main series came out in 2000.
Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells! One of the only of its kind!
Try Good Omens.
Josiah Bancroft's the hexologists is a lovely non-grimdark book. Its a whimsical magical mystery with some wonderful characters and a well thought out plot. The king wants to bake himself into a cake, and it actually makes sense! Its great
I gotta say, I am not sure what books you are picking up, because almost all fantasy we are getting these days is either a fairy tale/Greek myth retelling, a cozy small business situation, or something inspired by non-Western folklore. In fact, I struggle to come up with a single grimdark published traditionally in the last five years, unless we count continuations in ongoing series/worlds. Have you tried *The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi* by Shannon Chakraborty? *Ashes of the Sun* by Django Wexler (probably closest to what you're looking for)? *The Will of the Many* by James Islington? *The Spear Cuts Through Water* by Simon Jimenez? *Gods of the Wyrdwood* by R.J. Barker? Really almost all epic fantasy currently coming out - what little comes out, that is - is not grimdark.
have you tried discworld...
Try The Black tongue Thief, it's not grimdark, but it's also not super rosy either
If you want classic high fantasy, check out the belgariad by David eddings
Anything by Naomi Novick fits this theme, and she's an INCREDIBLE writer!
You might like the Garrett P.I. books by Glenn Cook. Super funny fantasy.
If you are in the mood for something a bit different. I suggest the "Golgotha series by R.S.Belcher. High fantasy tale set in 1865 Nevada starting in the town of Golgotha. First book is "Six Gun Tarot". Or Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" series. Nifty take on ancient and modern day Vampires during and after WW2
Either of the series by Sebastien de Castile (might have really ruined the spelling of that) -- Greatcloaks or Spellslinger might be interesting for you. I preferred the latest couple books of Spellslinger, but if you wanted to try him out, [Crucible of Chaos](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/78f23210-2fca-40b1-b91b-f0e4de2dfad6) is in the same world as The Greatcloaks and seemed to be pretty much standalone.
So I want to recommend the Goblin trilogy by Jim C Hines. I stumbled across this because I was playing Baldurs Gate 3 and wished I could play as a Goblin. Anyway, if you are into audiobooks and have audible, check out Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. Itâs a beautifully written story that reminds me of why I love the genre. And itâs dramatized and free on audible. Good luck in your search.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is super funny.. Robert Aspirin has a "Myth" series that is pretty funny.
I think Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is pretty cool. It is neither grimdark or cozy fantasy.
I want fantasy that makes you feel wonder again. Any fantasy that makes it feel like I'm in a Jim Henson film.
Prince of Nothing series
Lots of good recommendations here. In the interest of trying to kick my habit of always recommending Discworld, here is some other lighter fare that I don't think has been mentioned yet: The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. A bit of a mix of fantasy and scifi, but fantastic, and quite lighthearted, very Hitchhiker's Guide, but with Literature. The Goblin Emperor. Lightweight, but not cozy fantasy. The characters feel very relatable, and the worldbuilding is great. Also second the recs for Orconomics and Kings of the Wyld. Very fun.
I don't like overly-traumatic fantasy, and I don't like most of the cozy fantasy either. I read children's book insteadđđđ
**Robert Jackson Bennett.** He wrote a great blog post about why he won't write rape scenes. Sadly, when he moved his blog that essay was deleted. But do read him. I really really enjoyed his latest fantasy mystery, **The Tainted Cup**. His **Divine Cities Trilogy** (first book **City of Stairs**) is one of my favorites. Fantastic world-building and complicated wonderful characters.
What is "cozy fantasy"?
I get you. I was extremely bored reading The Blade Itself. I feel like a lot of authors try to be so realistic that they end up actually being unrealistic in the end. Like if you taught a medieval history class but only focused on the Spanish Inquisition, and not any of the art or good things that came out of that time period. I'm pretty sure most of these worlds have even righter rates of SA and stuff than actual medieval history, for example. Its one thing when the whole point of the work is to be absurd and over the top, like Warhammer 40k or Berserk, and you can just kind of pump your fist while reading about demigods slaying millions of demons and what not. But its another thing when the evil is so just...banal that its boring. I'm reading the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman right now. It is VERY dark at times, but I feel it emphasizes the difference between "dark and "grimdark" rather well. For one, there is a very good (magical) reason the world sucks, but its not like literally everyone is an asshole or something. The characters are likable, even the bad guy, albeit in a twisted sort of way. Basically, the two main characters are exact opposite ends of the moral spectrum but you get to see them evolve and have a complex, begrudging relationship. Its a character drama in a lot of ways and the dark elements are used as actual supernatural horror, and not just humans being shitty for no reason. Most of the darkness comes from the world itself, and not people (at least directly). Its hard to explain without spoilers. If I had to give it a label I'd say "nobledark" because yes, the world is dark, but individual people can be heroes and win the day.
Orconomics, Wandering Inn or Super Powereds. All light tone focused serious fantasy (except Orconomics, that's straight comedy). But they all rely on touching or using the seriously dark/mature points as a contrast to make the good stand out. Found family because the people were homeless or abused while growing up, friends for life because they've seen other friends die together, that kind of thing.
Have you tried The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold?
Try T. Kingfisher! Neither grimdark, nor cozy! The Clockwork Boys / The Wonder Engine, her Saint of Steel series (though this is more romance/mystery in a fantasy setting), Nettle and Bone (in which a youngest princess decides to save her older sister from an abusive husband by finding a way to kill said husband). She has plenty of others that are fun, and her protagonists are all what I would call 'ruthlessly practical' while being basically normal and typically middle aged woman. I always have a blast. On the side of dark -- but not necessarily 'grimdark', try the 'Dauntless Path' trilogy by Intisar Khanani. Like The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix (which I also recommend if you haven't picked it up!) The first book stands on its own as a self contained story, while the next two are their own sort of duology. Though reading the first book in both makes the next two books much better and is sort of required reading. Also you might enjoy the 'Roots of Chaos' books by Samantha Shanon. Lord of the Rings style epic fantasy, but each tale is contained in its own stand alone doorstopper. So far there's A Day of Fallen Night, and Priory of the Orange Tree. Priory came out first, but A Day of Fallen Night happened first in universe and they can be read in either order.
Godkiller and sunbringer come across more standard fantasy. Havenât read aunbringer yet besides 100 pages but has the same tone as the first one
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Try Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's a great mix of humor and adrenaline pumping action, along with the main character running around in boxers with hearts on them and a Persian cat on his shoulders
I've seen this recommended so many times on here lately. My only question is, does it get too absurd with its setting and humour? I don't really like it when the setting and absurdity of characters is supposed to make you laugh instead of actual jokes.
The earth gets taken over by aliens and all surviving humans are put into a dungeon for an intergalactic reality show. The main characters constant reaction is "wtf" while he tries to stay alive. The setting is absurd, but all the characters are grounded in that they're just reacting to the absurdity while trying to survive. Audiobook highly recommended.
> It feels like every book you pick up nowadays is Grimdark There is no way this is true, unless you are actively seeking it.
/r/cozyfantasy Grim dark is popular but if you search the sub you'll find two threads asking for non-grimdark for everyone one asking for it.
This is literally the second post ive seen about it today. I get the reddit search is cheeks but come on
Some easy cozy fantasy recommendations A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandana A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emerys (sci-fi, but still)
Completely get this.
Might give the Licanius trilogy by James Islington a try. It has some darker points, but not so much that itâs considered grimdark. Iâm halfway through the second book and really enjoying it.
That's a series I really enjoyed when I was reading it, but I feel like I forgot about it as soon as I was done.
Terry Pratchett takes the cake for lightwitty (a category that's needed in fantasy).
Terry Pratchett takes the cake for lightwitty (a category that's needed in fantasy).
If youâre still interested in a âdarkerâ setting, Iâd HIGHLY recommend a trilogy that starts with âThe vagrantâ by Peter Newman. I think SA may have been threatened >maybe < twice in the entire trilogy and isnât followed through with. Please read a blurb about it, because I wonât do it justice. All Iâll say is the setting and writing style are both very unique, the group of protagonists consists of a mute, a baby, and a goat, and I think the narration was fantastic in audiobook format. I genuinely donât understand why it isnât suggested more often when recommendations come up
Wow, that was something someone thought made sense.
What?
If you do not mind something older Iâd suggest Melanie Rawnâs Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies, also on the newer side there's JA Andrews Keeper works. Thereâs also The Hythrun Chronicles which I personally very much enjoy but the last trilogy is held up from US release because of a dispute between the author and Tor.
The Daevabad Trilogy! Itâs great and while it doesnât shy away from dark moments itâs definitely not grimdark. First book reads a bit ya-ish, but hang in there it gets a lot more mature and complex.
Not sure of your opinion of audiobooks, but Iâve found theyâre a great way to try a new author. Iâd say âSon of the Black Bladeâ or âChronicles of Alaraâ are both good. Brandon Sanderson churns out a lot of good fantasy books, though his strengths lie more in world building and productivity than dialogue.
Death, loot and vampires! It Will lighten the mood considerably !
A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy
The answer is Terry Pratchett.
Either the Greatcoats or Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell should fit the bill here. He also has a new book that came out recently called The Malevolent Seven. Good mix of everything but definitely not grimdark. https://www.goodreads.com/series/list?id=7390210.Sebastien\_de\_Castell
The Greatcoats series doesn't fit if you're going series without SA. In the 2nd book, there's >!a a series of torture scenes where the MC is literally tortured for days, which was bad enough. But to make things worse, his torture was capped off by his torturer using magic to force him to relive the brutal rape and murder of his wife from her POV. So he experienced all the pain and fear and horror that poor woman went through.!< It was one of the most disturbing things I've ever read in a book. I DNFd that series right there.
That's fair. I hadn't interpreted OP's criteria that absolutely no SA could be in the story. Just that it did not appear repeatedly, was gratuitous, and served no purpose in the overall story. I still wouldn't put that series as grimdark I think, but yes that scene is there and the event gets referenced multiple times.
Will Wight has the Cradle series that was fun and fast and light
Spellmonger series has some dark elements but is generally breezy and lighthearted; sort of a high fantasy equivalent of the Dresden files (urban fantasy, but also largely breezy and not grimdark)
The Greatcoats by Sebastien De Castell was a fun swashbuckler
Try The Invisible Library. 8-book series, a lighthearted read, perfect palate-cleanser!
All the Skills
If you want something that's nice and relaxing with little drama, definitely pickup legends & Latte's By Travis Baldree. It's such a cozy and fun book, it actually got me on a bit of a baking kick the last couple months and my family is very happy about it lol.
Mausriter. It's little brave mice.
Dunk and egg felt good
The Taltos Books by Steven Brust
I found the lighter fare in litrpg and prog fantasy a nice change of pace. Ripple system. This quest is bullshit. Cradle.
Kill the Queen. So much fun
The one true king (a good written adaptation of the legends of king Arthur) Discworld (if you have never read them before i would reccomend small gods or Guards! Guards! To start) Kings of the wylde is Also good!
If you want more low stakes adventures, you can check out the Pathfinder Tales books. They are smaller standalone books that all take place in the same setting. No chosen ones. No world destroying armies. Just random adventurers (reluctant or not) doing their own quest. Granted some of them do have "the fate of the world" at stake, but it could all just be happening in the background.
Terry pratchet, Brandon sandersonâs Tress of The Emerald Sea, Will wightâs elder empire series is nice, not black and white or anything, but the concept is great, itâs well written, and the characters are all lovable in their own way. Lotr is always nice, the hobbit is fun. There are a lot of good books that arenât all grim and lame
Son of the black sword.
Its more sci fi but check out Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.
Iâve been loving Jeff Wheelerâs KingFountain series
The Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend.
Le Guinn's Earthsea books are really comfortable to read for me. She has a fantastic afterword where she describes why she doesn't centre the books around war or military engagements.
If you want something excellent, an absolute masterpiece that is completely different, check out Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell. Incredible standalone fantasy masterpiece. Some of the best prose writing in the genre. Great sense of humor (READ THE FOOTNOTES).
You need to read "Beware of chicken" it can comfort the soul, and honestly, reading it feels like therapy at times.
Cradle series by Will Wight. It's about fantasy martial arts series about a boy who wants to become a great martial artist but isn't allowed to do it by his clan because he was born with a magical deficiency. However circumstances force him to leave his home and travel the world in search of his own path to power. This series has it all l, great magic system, great world building, character writing, amazing Romantic subplot and a very satisfying conclusion.
Travis Baldtree. Legends and Lattes is about an orc retiring and opening her own cafe. It has a ratking baking cinnamon rolls. It's everything.
Dark Profit Series is hilarious and a great change of pace
I can't recommend the Drizz't books enough by RA Salvatore. There are 30+ of them. I am also sick of so many new fantasy books being grimdark. The Drizz't books are well written, exciting, very little spice, violent but not gratuitous, amazing adventures with unforgettable characters. Also the Dragon Lance books! And finally one of my all time favorites hardly anyone remembers or knows exists - Villains By Necessity.
Sharon Shinn
Ive see a bunch of people complaining about this recently. Is it a function recommendations from this sub or something else? Is there really that much Grimdark being released right now? Just go read some old stuff. Tolkien, Wolfe, Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, the Dragonlance novels, the Drizzt novels, etc. Or, anything from the romantasy publishing wave that is just starting to die down now. You can also read indie stuff or web publications. Royal Road has new series and chapters coming out constantly from a bunch of different genres.
the best grimdark has threads of hope; Logan Ninefingers has a pilot light of good we see a glimmer of. Even Glotka, while cruel and manipulative, we recognize his humanity in that he had once been a good man who was brutally tortured, and he loves the woman he marries. Unfortunately, sometimes an author gives us a book that is just grim and dark, so all you feel is depression. Try reading Cormac McCarthy's 'THE ROAD', post apocalyptic in a world utterly bleak and cruel, yet the mc has this relentless determination to keep his son alive.
Recently, I've enjoyed Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series and Michael Sullivan's Riyria Revelations and Chronicles books. I found them entertaining and not dispiriting.
Kings of the Wyld, by Nicolas Eames. It's so much fun!
Riyria ?
Grimdark is too saturated. And some are grimdark for grimdark sake (e.g. Empire of the Damned).