Books Like The Library at Mount Char
If you finished The Library at Mount Char and want more gods and mythology, morally gray, 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. The Poppy War
Shares: gods and mythology, grimdark, revenge
It starts as a school story about a war orphan who aces the exam into a military academy. Then the war arrives. Based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, including the Nanjing Massacre. Read the warnings, seriously.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Gods and Mythology
- Grimdark
- Revenge
Content warnings
Genocide, War, Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse, Graphic violence, Torture
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2. Gardens of the Moon
Shares: grimdark, gods and mythology, morally gray
Erikson drops you into the middle of an empire's war with zero explanation and expects you to swim. Sorcerers level cities, gods meddle in Darujhistan's politics, and the Bridgeburners just want to survive. Book one is the roughest. It gets much better.
- Grimdark
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Assassins
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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3. Godblind
Shares: grimdark, gods and mythology, 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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4. 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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5. Empire of the Vampire
Shares: grimdark, revenge, morally gray
The sun hasn't risen in 27 years and vampires rule. Gabriel de León, the last silversaint, tells his life story to a vampire historian the night before his execution. Huge, swaggering and very gory. Kristoff's style is a lot, in the best way if it works for you.
- Vampires
- Grimdark
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Torture, Death of a loved one, Harm to children
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6. Between Two Fires
Shares: grimdark, gods and mythology
France, 1348. The plague is killing everyone, and a disgraced knight ends up protecting an orphan girl who says angels speak to her. Fallen angels are making war on the world and the imagery is straight out of a medieval nightmare. Proper horror.
- Demons
- Grimdark
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Gore, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Sexual assault, Harm to children
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7. The Blade Itself
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
A torturer, a barbarian and a vain nobleman walk into a war. Abercrombie is funny, which is the only reason the darkness goes down so easily.
- Grimdark
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Torture, Graphic violence, War
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8. The Black Company
Shares: grimdark, morally gray
Croaker, the company's doctor and record keeper, writes down what a mercenary band does after signing on with the Lady, who is pretty clearly the villain. Dry, cynical and short. The book half of modern grimdark is quietly copying.
- Grimdark
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Torture, Murder
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9. 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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10. 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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11. The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Shares: revenge, morally gray
Baru wants to destroy the empire that conquered her island, so she joins it as an accountant. Yes, accountant. Colonialism, ledgers and a rebellion she can't afford to care about. The ending is cold enough that some readers never forgave it.
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Genocide, Torture, War, Gore, Death of a loved one
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12. Babel
Shares: morally gray, revenge
Robin is taken from Canton as a child and raised to study at Oxford's translation institute, where silver bars powered by mistranslation run the British Empire. Long, footnoted and furious about colonialism. The friendship at the center is the part that hurts.
- Dark Academia
- Found Family
- Morally Gray
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one, Physical or emotional abuse
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13. 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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14. Ninth House
Shares: revenge, morally gray
Yale's secret societies do real magic, and Alex can see the ghosts who watch them. Bardugo for adults: grimy, angry and a lot darker than Grisha.
- Dark Academia
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse, Murder, Harm to children
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15. 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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