Books Like Empire of the Vampire
If you finished Empire of the Vampire and want more vampires, grimdark, revenge, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.
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The picks
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1. Nevernight
Shares: revenge
Mia watched her father hang, so she enrolls at the Red Church, a school for assassins where failing usually means dying. The narrator talks to you in snarky footnotes, which people either adore or hate. Bloody, horny and very sure of itself.
- Assassins
- Academies and War Colleges
- Revenge
- Deadly Trials
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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2. The Library at Mount Char
Shares: morally gray, revenge, grimdark
Carolyn and her adopted siblings were raised by a godlike man called Father, who taught each of them one catalog of forbidden knowledge and punished them horribly. Now Father is missing. Go in blind. It's deeply strange, very upsetting and weirdly funny.
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
- Grimdark
Content warnings
Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, Harm to children, Murder
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3. Prince of Thorns
Shares: grimdark, revenge, morally gray
Jorg is fourteen and leads a band of murderers. He's the narrator and he's awful, and you'll keep reading anyway. Short chapters and no mercy.
- Grimdark
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Harm to children, Gore
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4. The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Shares: vampires, morally gray
A human girl raised by the vampire king enters a deadly tournament where the prize is a goddess's favor. Hunger Games energy, gorgeous writing and a rival who's very hard not to like.
- Vampires
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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5. A Dowry of Blood
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Constanta, Dracula's first bride, writes to him about how she came to want him dead. Short, gothic and lush. It's really a book about getting out of an abusive relationship.
- Vampires
- Why Choose
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Murder, Gore
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6. Godblind
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
The Red Gods' followers are planning to invade Rilpor, and a dozen narrators get caught up in it. Short chapters, a huge cast and some of the most graphic torture in the genre. Know that going in.
- Grimdark
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Torture, Gore, Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence
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7. The Court of Broken Knives
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
A band of mercenaries is hired to assassinate the emperor of a rotting empire, and one of them, Marith, turns out to be something much worse. The prose is fevered and fragmented, close to poetry. You either love the style or you can't get through it.
- Grimdark
- Morally Gray
- Assassins
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Sexual assault, Harm to children, War
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8. The Darkness That Comes Before
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
A holy war is forming, and a monk named Kellhus, trained for generations to read and steer people, walks out of the wilderness to use it. Dense, philosophical and relentlessly bleak, especially toward its women. Some readers find it profound and others bounce off hard.
- Grimdark
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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9. The Grey Bastards
Shares: morally gray, grimdark
Half-orcs riding war hogs patrol the badlands like a biker gang, and Jackal thinks his chief has gone soft. Crude, violent and a lot of fun if you can handle the language. The other two books in the trilogy are better.
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Grimdark
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Sexual assault, Gore, Murder
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10. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
Shares: vampires, morally gray
Three women turned into vampires across five centuries: María in 1500s Spain, Charlotte in 1800s London, Alice in modern Boston. Their stories wind together slowly. Addie LaRue's structure with much more blood and some genuinely toxic sapphic relationships.
- Vampires
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Murder, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
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11. Jade City
Shares: morally gray, revenge
The Godfather with martial arts magic. The Kaul family's warriors draw power from jade, a rival clan wants their territory, and a new drug lets anyone use it. Slow start while it builds the city, then the clan war hits and it doesn't let up.
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Death of a loved one
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12. Perdido Street Station
Shares: morally gray, grimdark
A scientist in the filthy city of New Crobuzon takes a commission from a birdman whose wings were cut off, and accidentally releases something that feeds on dreams. The city itself is the star. The prose is thick, so give it 100 pages.
- Morally Gray
- Grimdark
- Found Family
Content warnings
Drug or alcohol abuse, Gore, Graphic violence, Sexual assault
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13. She Who Became the Sun
Shares: morally gray, revenge
A peasant girl takes her dead brother's name and his destiny during a famine, and decides she'll become the first Ming emperor. Her rival is a eunuch general with a revenge plan of his own. Queer, ambitious and ruthless about what wanting something costs.
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Torture, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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14. The Gunslinger
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
The man in black fled across the desert, and Roland followed. A weird, dusty, half-dreamed western that King revised years later. It's the thinnest book in the series and the strangest. The Tull chapter is still one of his nastiest.
- Grimdark
- Morally Gray
- Demons
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Harm to children, Dubious or non-consent
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15. The Warded Man
Shares: morally gray, revenge
Every night demons rise from the ground, and people survive behind magic wards. Arlen watches his mother die because his father froze, and decides he'll fight back. Great first half. The handling of sexual violence in the back half is a common complaint.
- Demons
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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