Books like “The Traitor Baru Cormorant”

What to read after “The Traitor Baru Cormorant” by Seth Dickinson: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson · 2006
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
In an ash-covered empire, a street thief is trained in allomancy, the magic of burning metals. She joins a crew planning to overthrow the immortal Lord Ruler, though the prophecy around her may be a lie.
2
The Shadow of the Torturer
Gene Wolfe · 1980
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
Severian is raised in the guild of torturers and exiled from his city after an act of mercy. He narrates his own travels across a dying world, but his perfect memory is perfect only in his own account, and the past conceals far more than he admits.
3
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
N. K. Jemisin · 2010
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
Yeine Darr is summoned from her northern homeland to the city of Sky, where she is named an heir to the Arameri throne after her mother's death. As she learns the rules of a court that keeps gods as servants, she finds that the contest for the succession is also a trap.
4
The Unspoken Name
A. K. Larkwood · 2020
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
Csorwe was raised to be a sacrifice to the Unspoken One, until the wizard Belthandros offers her another life. Trained as his assassin and servant, she is sent to find a lost city and a door between worlds, and begins to wonder whether her second life is any freer than her first.
5
The Way of Shadows
Brent Weeks · 2008
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
Azoth survives as a guild rat in the slums of Cenaria, where life is cheap. To escape he apprentices himself to Durzo Blint, the city's most feared assassin, and must abandon his old name and life to become Kylar Stern, a killer schooled in dangerous magic and politics.
6
Nevernight
Jay Kristoff · 2016
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
Mia Corvere survives the murder of her family and is taken in by the Red Church, a hidden order of assassins. To earn her place she must pass brutal trials, while her shadow companion and her hunger for revenge push her toward a choice she may not survive.
7
The Rage of Dragons
Evan Winter · 2017
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
The Omehi have fought an unwinnable war for generations, where a rare few can call dragons or transform into killing giants. Giftless Tau plans to escape, until betrayal murders those he loves. To avenge them he trains to become the greatest swordsman alive, whatever it costs.
8
The Ninth Rain
Jen Williams · 2017
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
For years the invading Jure'lia have been beaten back, but the cost has drained the empire. Tormalin, an exiled Eboran, and Vintage, a scholar, are hunting the truth about the fell-witches when they find Noon, a woman carrying a power the Jure'lia have waited centuries to claim.
9
The Warded Man
Peter V. Brett · 2008
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
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.
10
The Black Company
Glen Cook · 1984
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- 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.
11
Kushiel's Dart
Jacqueline Carey · 2001
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
Born with a scarlet mote in one eye, Phedre is sold into servitude and raised as a spy and courtesan. When she uncovers a plot against her home, she is captured in a barbarian land and must endure pain, betrayal and exile to warn her people and stop an invasion.
12
The Library at Mount Char
Scott Hawkins · 2015
Similar atmosphere: “Dark Fantasy”
- Dark Fantasy
- Morally Grey Character
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.