Dark Fantasy

At its most basic, dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element. A stricter definition is difficult to pin down, as authors, publishers, and readers have used "dark fantasy" in various contexts throughout the years.

Dark fantasy is often used as a synonym for supernatural horror. Some authors and critics also apply the term to high fantasy stories that feature anti-heroic or morally ambiguous protagonists. Fantasy works by writers typically associated with the horror genre are sometimes described as "dark fantasy." Conversely, the term is also used t
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The Girl with a Thousand Faces
Verity Guild
Bone of My Bone
Death's Daughter (Children of the Old Ones, #1)
All Hail Chaos (Time of Iron, #2)
Mortedant's Peril (The Trials of Irody Hasp, #1)
A Queen Crowned in Flames (Bonded to Beasts #2)
A Dark and Wild Wood
A Mark Cursed by Stars (The Cursed Celestials Book 1)
Crown Me Dead (Heartstring Duet, #1)
The Wicked Sea (The Wicked Sea, #1)
Deathbringer (Deathbringer, #1)
An Arcane Study of Stars
Honor & Heresy
Bloodsinger (The Fire That Binds, #2)
Crown Me Dead (Heartstring Duet, #1)
Alchemised
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2)
Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)
The Poet Empress
Blood Over Bright Haven
Anathema (The Eating Woods, #1)
The Bond That Burns (Bloodwing Academy, #2)
Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy, #1)
The Devils (The Devils, #1)
Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1)
Storm of Secrets and Sorrow (Legacy, #2)
The Ascended (Aesymarean Duet, #1)
The Shattered King (The Shattered King, #1)
Six of Crows by Leigh BardugoVicious by V.E. SchwabThe Cruel Prince by Holly BlackPrince of Thorns by Mark  LawrenceThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Villain Protagonist
392 books — 663 voters
Kindred by Octavia E. ButlerParable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerBeloved by Toni MorrisonThe Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinThe Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Speculative Fiction by Authors of Color
743 books — 478 voters

Angelfall by Susan EeSwitched by Amanda HockingMy Blood Approves by Amanda HockingThe Darkest Frost, Vol. 1 by Tanya HolmesHell's Teeth by James Fahy
Indie Books - Paranormal Fiction
3,196 books — 3,975 voters
Coilhunter by Dean F. WilsonThe Gunslinger by Stephen  KingBloodrush by Ben GalleyBloodmoon by Ben GalleyBloodfeud by Ben Galley
Weird Westerns
290 books — 267 voters


The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)
Alchemised
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1)
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
The Gunslinger (Dark Tower, #1)
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)
The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)
Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
King of Thorns (Broken Empire, #2)

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