Books Like The Poppy War
If you finished The Poppy War and want more academies and war colleges, gods and mythology, grimdark, 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 Library at Mount Char
Shares: gods and mythology, 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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2. Prince of Thorns
Shares: grimdark, revenge
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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3. 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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4. Red Sister
Shares: academies and war colleges, revenge
Nona is eight, about to be hanged, and gets rescued by a convent that trains nuns to kill. Murder nuns, friendship and some very nasty politics. Gentler than Prince of Thorns but still Lawrence, so nobody is safe.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Assassins
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Harm to children, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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5. The Gilded Ones
Shares: academies and war colleges, gods and mythology
Deka bleeds gold at her purity ceremony, which means she's a demon. Her village kills her over and over, and she keeps coming back. Then the empire offers her a way out: fight in an army of girls like her. YA, but the abuse is on the page.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse
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6. The Shadow of the Gods
Shares: gods and mythology, revenge
Norse-flavored and set in a land where the gods killed each other and their bones still litter the land. Three narrators: a mother hunting her stolen son, a thrall with a dangerous secret, and a mercenary. The shield walls are the best in the genre.
- Gods and Mythology
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, War, Human trafficking, Death of a loved one
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7. Gardens of the Moon
Shares: grimdark, gods and mythology
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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8. Godblind
Shares: grimdark, gods and mythology
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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9. The Raven Tower
Shares: gods and mythology, revenge
Hamlet, more or less, narrated by a god who is a very old rock. Eolo comes home with his prince to find the ruler gone and his uncle on the throne. The second-person narration throws people at first. The ending is worth it.
- Gods and Mythology
- Court Intrigue
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, War, Death of a loved one
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10. Blood Song
Shares: academies and war colleges, gods and mythology
Vaelin Al Sorna's father drops him at the gates of a warrior order as a boy and never comes back. The training years are the best part, harsh and full of dead kids. Books two and three don't hit the same way, so treat this as a near-standalone.
- Academies and War Colleges
- Found Family
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, War, Harm to children, Torture
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11. Empire of the Vampire
Shares: grimdark, revenge
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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12. Nevernight
Shares: academies and war colleges, 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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