The Blade Itself cover

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The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie

FantasyDark & GrittyWarPower & Ambition

What to Read Next

What to read after The Blade Itself

Books matched by the same qualities that made The Blade Itself unforgettable: dark & gritty tone, balanced pacing, and themes of War and Power & Ambition.

Ninth House cover
01 Ninth House Leigh Bardugo

A girl with a troubled past earns a scholarship to Yale and is recruited to monitor the secret societies that practice actual magic -- and cover up what the magic costs.

FantasyDark & GrittyPower & Ambition
Gideon the Ninth cover
02 Gideon the Ninth Tamsyn Muir

The greatest swordsperson in her dying house is sent to help her necromancer unlock the secrets of eight haunted mansions -- if they can survive the other competitors.

FantasyDark & GrittyIdentity
Vicious cover
03 Vicious V.E. Schwab

Two former college roommates, both now superhuman, have spent ten years trying to kill each other. The novel tells both stories simultaneously.

FantasyDark & GrittyPower & Ambition
The Poppy War cover
04 The Poppy War R.F. Kuang

A war orphan from the rural south aces the imperial exam and is accepted into the country's most prestigious military academy -- and discovers she has powers she does not want.

FantasyDark & GrittyWar
The Magicians cover
05 The Magicians Lev Grossman

A Narnia-obsessed teenager discovers a secret college for magicians -- and finds that real magic is technically brutal and emotionally does not save you from yourself.

FantasyDark & GrittyIdentity

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