Just finished the eleventh cycle and man is it dark. Probably has the darkest scene over ever read. But man is it good. It got me out of a reading slump after the will of many made the following books I read seem bad.
Just discovered your channel so not really familiar with your taste, but I will still say do your self a favor and get to Prince of Nothing ASAP. R. Scott Bakker is pure genius, at least from where I am half way through book 3 of Aspect Emperor series which is even better than Prince of Nothing and continues the story from it. Stunning prose, beautiful dialog, fleshed out characters, very detailed world building slowly bur surely unveiled. Yes it's deeply philosophical and very, very dark. I have not read Malazan yet but fans of that seem to love it and Steve Erikson himself has glowing quotes on all the books. Cheers.
Awesome! I’m excited to get to it, it’ll be a few months but I’ve got all the books and have heard great things like you’ve mentioned! I’ll definitely be sharing my thoughts on it, thanks for watching 🤘🏽
That is an ambitious list you have! I've read some, am currently reading some (Deadhouse Gates and Eleventh Cycle), and most of the rest are on my list also. I'll be checking in to see how you like them as you get to them.
Hey Usman! So many great series on this list. First Law is my all time favorite series, can’t wait to see if you enjoy it. Not to add another series to the list, but if you find yourself loving some of these grimdark series and need more, I highly recommend the Ash & Sand trilogy. Self-pub, heavy on the grimdark, and was my favorite series I read in 2022.
Hope you enjoy the 5 Warrior Angel Series, Usman, it was one of my favorite series as a whole for 2023. I also want to reread Black Company at some point but probably not while Malazan is going on. I believe I'm going to buddy-read Gunmetal Gods in Oct/Nov with Steve from SteveTalksBooks. I need to reaffirm, but if you are interested, I'll let you know!
Looking forward to your thoughts on Malazan. I plan to start The Blade Itself sometime this year too. GoT book series intimidates me a bit, but I'd still love to read them. Great list!
Love this video!! Are you reading Prince of Nothing with us in Aug.? Also, I dying to read Gunmetal Gods and Trials of Ashmount so if your down let me know.
Ohh I loved ASOIAF and Broken Empire! I just finished wrapping up with the First Law trilogy and thought it was fairly good but not a favourite. I am planning to continue on with the standalones as well and will probably get to the first one of those in August. If you have room on your August TBR, Justin and I have a buddy read slotted for the first Bakker book -The Darkness that Comes Before, and we'll likely do 1/month for the first trilogy. Definitely feel free to join us if you'd like! :) You've also convinced me to give Mistland a go! :) If you want a dark fantasy standalone (not grimdark really but definitely dark throughout a lot of it) I'd highly recommend The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang! It has a big of a rough beginning but gets soooo good and it has one of the most cathartic moments in that I've ever read!
Black Company and Malazan are great. I’m looking forward to getting my to more Forst Law and Five Warrior Angels. I’m not sure of the label of Grimdark but it’s worked it away into fantasy discourse. Maybe check out the Grimnir trilogy by Scott Oden, it’s sword and sorcery but many readers today would probably call it Grimdark.
An excellent top 10. I want to read some Grimdark Fantasy and review it on my channel. I have left a poll on my community space, so hopefully more of my viewers will vote Grimdark. It is a good thing to have some variety in your reading or you burn out far to easily. I do want to start with Game Of Thrones.
You just poped-up in my feed 😊. That’s Some serious list you got there. Mazalan I own it but unread, very daunting for me. The Blade itself, i adore abercrombie, i’d give this prio. R. Scott baker is awesome stuff, very , very good but very heavy. I’m halfway in the 2nd apocalypse but may have to reread What I read, it’s been a While. Durfee I’ve been on the fence, not bought / read yet. Prince of Thorns, read it upon release. I enjoyed the trilogy but a its devisive one. G R R Martin’s stuff is a masterpiece but Will remain unfinished sadly.. Glen cook is granddaddy of grimdark indeed, on mountain tbr . The other ones on your list I haven’t heard about at all, I May have to check them out, i’m intrigued by the GoT Arabian nights comparison. So , i gotta say (again) great list but I think with all those heavy hitters and a couple of not easy Books you have your work cut out for you. Anyway, kudos from Belgium
Thanks so much! I’ll be getting to Abercrombie in August, I’m excited! It’s definitely a massive undertaking but I’ll slowly be working my way through. I appreciate the info, cheers!🤘🏽
Also there's ZERO rush to start ASOIAF since the books aren't even done lol. Martin is taking his sweet ass time with the sixth book. I bet by the time you finish all these books on your list he'll STILL not have book six out 🤣
These are some interesting series. I am in the middle of the black company and I am loving it. It's easy to see how they influenced modern day grimdark. I also read Eleventh cycle. I loved it! Great video.
The Malazan world is amazing. The world itself is Erikson's best character. The characters themselves take a LONG while to really start to grow on you. In book 4 & then again in book 6 I really start to like a couple of them. Before book 4 I didn't much like anyone really. First Law has the best characters of any of the ones I've read that you mention here. By a long ways. The world is ok but not as expansive as Malazan. Not sure where you heard there were demons in it because there isn't, lol. Barely even any magic at all to be honest; there is some but it happens very infrequently. None of the POV characters are magic users. But regardless of that it's still one of my all time favorite series; the stand alones are even better than the first trilogy; haven't finished the 2nd trilogy yet. If you could combine Erikson's world building with Abercrombie's character work you would have the best fantasy series ever written, lol.
This sounds great! I just started Malazan and finding I need to read slower than normal to make sure I understand everything, even then it gets confusing but I know I’ll get the hang of things as I progress. First Law is the one I’ll get to next! I thought I read somewhere that it had demons 😅 regardless, I’m all about character work so have a feeling I will absolutely love it! Cheers 🤘🏽
Malazan is shaping up to be awesome, I’m 3 books in. I’m stoked for Prince of Nothing and will definitely have to set aside some time to focus on it. Should get to Broken Empire soon, cheers 🤘🏽
@@bardsandbooks I don't think he cares. But I don't like the term grimdark because it doesn't really mean anything lol. Most so called grimdark authors don't even know what grimdark is lol.
Just finished the eleventh cycle and man is it dark. Probably has the darkest scene over ever read. But man is it good. It got me out of a reading slump after the will of many made the following books I read seem bad.
Absolutely agree, so dark but so good! I’m looking forward to The Will Of The Many as well, cheers 🤘🏽
Prince of Nothing/Aspect Emperor is my favorite fantasy
Glad to hear that, I’m thinking it might be one of my favourites too from all I’ve heard🤘🏽
Same here, it sets the bar very high. Joe Abercrombie and GRRM are up there as well but Bakker’s world is truly unlike anything else.
@@yellowcityflyfishing sweet! I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing all his work!
Just discovered your channel so not really familiar with your taste, but I will still say do your self a favor and get to Prince of Nothing ASAP. R. Scott Bakker is pure genius, at least from where I am half way through book 3 of Aspect Emperor series which is even better than Prince of Nothing and continues the story from it. Stunning prose, beautiful dialog, fleshed out characters, very detailed world building slowly bur surely unveiled. Yes it's deeply philosophical and very, very dark. I have not read Malazan yet but fans of that seem to love it and Steve Erikson himself has glowing quotes on all the books. Cheers.
Awesome! I’m excited to get to it, it’ll be a few months but I’ve got all the books and have heard great things like you’ve mentioned! I’ll definitely be sharing my thoughts on it, thanks for watching 🤘🏽
It's officially a grimdark rule of thumb that the books with the coolest titles are also the thickest ones. Fun video! I enjoyed the list.
Lol that’s definitely an awesome rule! Thanks for watching!🤘🏽
Nice with a list with some books i never heard of! My " Want to read" list on goodreads just got bigger!
Awesome! Glad I could help and hope you love them!
Man, those are some ambitious plans! You're hitting all the big boys! Love me some Black Company.
It really is ambitious 😅
Looking forward to it 🤘🏽
This is a fricken awesome list man!! I’m gonna have to hop on board for some of these no doubt. Great video brother 🤘
Cheers, Colin! Looking forward to it 🤘🏽
Gunmetal Gods is amazing! It also has the angels you're looking for 👀
That’s perfect! Thanks so much, Taylor 🤘🏽
That is an ambitious list you have! I've read some, am currently reading some (Deadhouse Gates and Eleventh Cycle), and most of the rest are on my list also. I'll be checking in to see how you like them as you get to them.
Thank you! Oh, I’m excited to hear your thoughts on those! Cheers 🤘🏽
Great list. Hope you love First Law and ASOIAF! Ill be starting Five Warrior Angels next month.
Thanks, Kyle! I just read The Blade Itself and absolutely loved it! I’m so eager to get to the next one
Phew! That is a lot of fantastic and hefty reading you've got coming up. Looking forward to your thoughts on all of them!
Thanks, J! It’s intimidating but I’ll be sure to buckle down and pace myself accordingly 🤘🏽
Great list! I will be cracking open Blade Itself this month.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it and looking forward to discussing it 🤘🏽
@@bardsandbooks Look forward to comparing notes with you for sure.😃
I've had my eye on a lot of these books as well. Awesome list! And I'm excited for our Malazan read!
Thanks, Caleb! Looking forward to it 🤘🏽
oooh so many of these are on my tbr! I'm definitely prioritizing First Law and ASOIAF. I hope you enjoy all these books when you read them!
Thanks, Rebecca! Can’t wait to share our thoughts 🤘🏽
Hey Usman! So many great series on this list. First Law is my all time favorite series, can’t wait to see if you enjoy it. Not to add another series to the list, but if you find yourself loving some of these grimdark series and need more, I highly recommend the Ash & Sand trilogy. Self-pub, heavy on the grimdark, and was my favorite series I read in 2022.
Thanks so much, Pat! So stoked for First Law and I’m looking up and adding Ash & Sand to my TBR immediately! Cheers 🤘🏽
Hope you enjoy the 5 Warrior Angel Series, Usman, it was one of my favorite series as a whole for 2023. I also want to reread Black Company at some point but probably not while Malazan is going on. I believe I'm going to buddy-read Gunmetal Gods in Oct/Nov with Steve from SteveTalksBooks. I need to reaffirm, but if you are interested, I'll let you know!
Awesome! I’ll definitely have to wait for Black Company until after Malazan too. Keep me posted for Gunmetal Gods, I’d love to buddy read it 🤘🏽Cheers
Looking forward to your thoughts on Malazan. I plan to start The Blade Itself sometime this year too.
GoT book series intimidates me a bit, but I'd still love to read them.
Great list!
Thanks so much! It’ll be fun discussing our thoughts on The Blade Itself and Malazan should be epic (I hope) 🤘🏽
Hoping to get my book on some grimdark lists soon too! Can't wait to hear what you think of the Blade Itself!
I just heard about Malfus a little while ago through Discord. Definitely peaked my interest!
@@bardsandbooks awesome! Well you've clearly got good taste in books from this video :D
Love this video!! Are you reading Prince of Nothing with us in Aug.? Also, I dying to read Gunmetal Gods and Trials of Ashmount so if your down let me know.
Yes, Prince of Nothing in August! I’m so bad at mentioning and providing details 😅
Five Warrior Angels!!! Yass!!
ASOIAF is definitely on my list to read. Everyone raves about the books so desperately want to jump in. May have to tag along when you pick them up
Awesome! It’s a big one for sure. I’ll keep you updated 🤘🏽
@@bardsandbooks excellent, looking forward to it
Ohh I loved ASOIAF and Broken Empire!
I just finished wrapping up with the First Law trilogy and thought it was fairly good but not a favourite. I am planning to continue on with the standalones as well and will probably get to the first one of those in August.
If you have room on your August TBR, Justin and I have a buddy read slotted for the first Bakker book -The Darkness that Comes Before, and we'll likely do 1/month for the first trilogy. Definitely feel free to join us if you'd like! :)
You've also convinced me to give Mistland a go! :)
If you want a dark fantasy standalone (not grimdark really but definitely dark throughout a lot of it) I'd highly recommend The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang! It has a big of a rough beginning but gets soooo good and it has one of the most cathartic moments in that I've ever read!
That’s so funny that you mention Prince of Nothing in August! I’ll DM you
I will definitely move The Sword of Kaigen up my list now! Cheers! 🤘🏽
I need to read more Grimdark. Just such a huge TBR. Haha
I understand 100%
The struggle is real!
Black Company and Malazan are great. I’m looking forward to getting my to more Forst Law and Five Warrior Angels. I’m not sure of the label of Grimdark but it’s worked it away into fantasy discourse. Maybe check out the Grimnir trilogy by Scott Oden, it’s sword and sorcery but many readers today would probably call it Grimdark.
Oh I used that label quite loosely 😅 I’ll definitely be checking out Grimnir! Cheers 🤘🏽
An excellent top 10. I want to read some Grimdark Fantasy and review it on my channel. I have left a poll on my community space, so hopefully more of my viewers will vote Grimdark. It is a good thing to have some variety in your reading or you burn out far to easily. I do want to start with Game Of Thrones.
Awesome, Cliff! When I saw that, I immediately clicked Grimdark 😂
Variety is absolutely important 🤘🏽
I suggest you check out , the queen of grimdark , anna smith spark
I will definitely check out her work and add it to the list! Thanks🤘🏽
Yo I gotta read FWA soon - I can’t wait for that one.
Hell yes! Looking forward to it 🤘🏽
You just poped-up in my feed 😊. That’s Some serious list you got there. Mazalan I own it but unread, very daunting for me. The Blade itself, i adore abercrombie, i’d give this prio. R. Scott baker is awesome stuff, very , very good but very heavy. I’m halfway in the 2nd apocalypse but may have to reread What I read, it’s been a While. Durfee I’ve been on the fence, not bought / read yet. Prince of Thorns, read it upon release. I enjoyed the trilogy but a its devisive one. G R R Martin’s stuff is a masterpiece but Will remain unfinished sadly.. Glen cook is granddaddy of grimdark indeed, on mountain tbr . The other ones on your list I haven’t heard about at all, I May have to check them out, i’m intrigued by the GoT Arabian nights comparison. So , i gotta say (again) great list but I think with all those heavy hitters and a couple of not easy Books you have your work cut out for you. Anyway, kudos from Belgium
Thanks so much! I’ll be getting to Abercrombie in August, I’m excited!
It’s definitely a massive undertaking but I’ll slowly be working my way through. I appreciate the info, cheers!🤘🏽
Also there's ZERO rush to start ASOIAF since the books aren't even done lol. Martin is taking his sweet ass time with the sixth book. I bet by the time you finish all these books on your list he'll STILL not have book six out 🤣
Hahaha it’s definitely not the biggest priority on this list!
These are some interesting series. I am in the middle of the black company and I am loving it. It's easy to see how they influenced modern day grimdark. I also read Eleventh cycle. I loved it! Great video.
Heck yeah! I read Malazan book 1 and the influence from Cook is strong in that.
Thanks for watching!🤘🏽
Usman, where you from bro? I sense a neighbourly accent…
I’m in Canada 🇨🇦
Grew up in Toronto but have lived in Vancouver BC for most of my life now 🤘🏽
@@bardsandbooks makes sense - I’m in Van as well. 🤙🏻
The Malazan world is amazing. The world itself is Erikson's best character. The characters themselves take a LONG while to really start to grow on you. In book 4 & then again in book 6 I really start to like a couple of them. Before book 4 I didn't much like anyone really.
First Law has the best characters of any of the ones I've read that you mention here. By a long ways. The world is ok but not as expansive as Malazan. Not sure where you heard there were demons in it because there isn't, lol. Barely even any magic at all to be honest; there is some but it happens very infrequently. None of the POV characters are magic users. But regardless of that it's still one of my all time favorite series; the stand alones are even better than the first trilogy; haven't finished the 2nd trilogy yet.
If you could combine Erikson's world building with Abercrombie's character work you would have the best fantasy series ever written, lol.
This sounds great! I just started Malazan and finding I need to read slower than normal to make sure I understand everything, even then it gets confusing but I know I’ll get the hang of things as I progress. First Law is the one I’ll get to next! I thought I read somewhere that it had demons 😅 regardless, I’m all about character work so have a feeling I will absolutely love it! Cheers 🤘🏽
🤙
The title makes it sounds like you're gonna list upcoming and new grimdark books coming out in 23 lol
Oh no, I had a feeling that might be the case! 😅 I’ll have to change it, thanks for the heads up 🤘🏽
Malazan is spectacular. Prince of Nothing is the greatest and most epic grimdark series of all time. Totally bleak.
Broken Empire is short and great.
Malazan is shaping up to be awesome, I’m 3 books in. I’m stoked for Prince of Nothing and will definitely have to set aside some time to focus on it. Should get to Broken Empire soon, cheers 🤘🏽
Erikson would be very mad at you calling his books grim dark lol.
I’m not surprised 😆 I used that term very loosely here but I do apologize 😅
@@bardsandbooks I don't think he cares. But I don't like the term grimdark because it doesn't really mean anything lol. Most so called grimdark authors don't even know what grimdark is lol.
@@currangill430 fair enough, I know many people who feel the same
Couldn’t get through first book of Malazan, just boring, Fisrt Law, mic drop!!
I’m nearly done book 2 of First Law and I think I have a new favourite series!! 🎉🔥
@@bardsandbooks I couldn’t put them down, boat raced that series, might read first one again, lol