Books like “Between Two Fires”

What to read after “Between Two Fires” by Christopher Buehlman: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

About “Between Two Fires”

Another favorite book?

Or start with a well-known book

1
The Library at Mount Char
Scott Hawkins · 2015
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
Carolyn and a dozen other orphans were raised by a man they call Father, who taught them strange arts from a library that may hold the secrets of creation. When Father vanishes, the siblings turn on one another for his power, and Carolyn must decide what she will trade to win.
2
Empire of the Vampire
Jay Kristoff · 2021
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
For nearly thirty years the sun has not risen, and vampires have built an empire on the ruins of humanity. Gabriel de León, last of a holy brotherhood sworn to hunt them, is imprisoned and forced to tell the story of his life and the secret he has guarded.
3
The Blacktongue Thief
Christopher Buehlman · 2021
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
Kinch Na Shannack owes his guild of thieves more than he can ever pay. To settle the debt he tags along with a scarred knight on a journey to find women taken by goblins, through a world of old wars, hungry gods and creatures that would happily eat a thief.
4
The Black Company
Glen Cook · 1984
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
- Grimdark
- Morally Grey Character
The Black Company is a band of mercenaries who once served the light and now fight for one side in a war of dark powers. Croaker, the company's physician and annalist, records their grudging days, where the line between good and evil has blurred and surviving matters more than any truth.
5
The Ballad of Black Tom
Victor LaValle · 2016
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
- Creeping Dread
- Morally Grey Character
New York, 1924. Tommy Tester runs small errands and plays guitar for money, one of the few Black men willing to do business with a sorcerer. Hired by a strange wealthy man in Flatbush, he is drawn toward the Sleeping King and the Great Old Ones, and chooses what kind of power he is willing to serve.
6
Best Served Cold
Joe Abercrombie · 2009
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
- Grimdark
- Morally Grey Character
Mercedes Murcatto, a mercenary general, survives an ambush by the duke she served and loses her brother in the same fall. Assembling a crew of killers and madmen, she begins a patient campaign of revenge in which no method is too cruel and no ally is safe.
7
The Warded Man
Peter V. Brett · 2008
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
- Grimdark
By day the world belongs to people; at night, demons rise from the ground. Three children, Arlen, Leesha and Rojer, grow up in the shadow of the wards that keep the corelings out, and each finds a different way to fight back.
8
Prince of Thorns
Mark Lawrence · 2011
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
- Grimdark
- Morally Grey Character
Nine-year-old Jorg watched raiders murder his mother and brother. By thirteen he leads a band of killers, and by fifteen he means to take his father's throne. Ruthless and brilliant, he treats cruelty as a tool and will pay any price for the crown he believes is his.
9
The Blade Itself
Joe Abercrombie · 2006
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
- Grimdark
- Morally Grey Character
Logen Ninefingers only wants to be left alone, but his past will not release him. Elsewhere a spoiled nobleman, a crippled inquisitor who tortures for the state, and an old magician are drawn into a conspiracy that could decide the fate of the Union itself.
10
The Shadow of the Gods
John Gwynne · 2021
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
After the gods fell, their monstrous children and the warlike humans left behind inherited a harsh land. A thrall seeking freedom, a huntress avenging her family and a noblewoman with a company of mercenaries are drawn into a new age of blood and gods.
11
Priest of Bones
Peter McLean · 2018
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark”
Army priest and crime boss Tomas Piety returns from war to find his businesses stolen and his people starving. With his old gang, the Pious Men, he sets out to take back Ellinburg, and is pulled into a web of politics and foreign agents that turns his home into a new battlefield.
12
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville · 2000
Similar atmosphere: “Grimdark” and “Creeping Dread”
- Grimdark
- Creeping Dread
In the vast industrial city of New Crobuzon, the scientist Isaac agrees to restore flight to a creature who has lost its wings. The experiment releases something that feeds on dreams and minds, and the city is soon sliding toward disaster.