Books like 'Middlegame'
Readers who enjoyed Middlegame by Seanan McGuire also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy urban fantasy horror mystery dark fantasy action / adventure supernatural time-travel magic
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Dark Days by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsMeet Skulduggery Pleasant: detective, sorcerer, warrior.Oh yes. And dead.Skulduggery Pleasant is gone, sucked into a parallel dimension overrun by the Faceless Ones. If his bones haven’t already been turned to dust, chances are he’s insane, driven out of his mind by the horror of the ancient gods. There is no official, Sanctuary-approved rescue mission. There is no official plan to save him...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship low-fantasy magic paranormal action-adventure audiobook -
The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe third bone-breaking, belly-busting adventure in the series that puts the “funny” back in, um, funny series...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark friendship low-fantasy magic paranormal action-adventure audiobook -
Crowbones by Anne Bishop
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this engrossing and gripping fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her friends must find a killer-before it's too late... -
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsA budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking crossover series...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark dark-academia friendship low-fantasy magic paranormal action-adventure -
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The Waste Lands by Stephen King
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsSeveral months have passed, and Roland’s two new tet-mates have become proficient gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But while battling The Pusher in 1977 New York, Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s where and when—has already died... -
Only Ashes Remain by Rebecca Schaeffer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAfter escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she’s still a prime target on the black market.There’s only one way to keep herself safe...Categorized as:
dark dystopia friendship magic magical-realism paranormal action-adventure anti-hero -
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsWhile pursuing his quest for the Dark Tower through a world that is a nightmarishly distorted mirror image of our own, Roland, the last gunslinger, encounters three mysterious doorways on the beach. Each one enters into the life of a different person living in contemporary New York... -
Last Breath by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsWith her boss preoccupied researching the Founder Houses in Morganville, student Claire Danvers is left to her own devices when she learns that three vampires have vanished without a trace. She soon discovers that the last person seen with one of the missing vampires is someone new to town-a mysterious individual named Magnus... -
Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsReturn to New York Times best-selling author Anne Bishop’s world of the Others - where supernatural entities and humans struggle to co-exist, and one woman has begun to change all the rules.…After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them... -
The End of the World by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSkulduggery and Valkyrie are back, in an exclusive World Book Day novelette, set after the momentous events of Death Bringer…Hey, punks! Skulduggery and Valkyrie are about to make your day…15-year-old Ryan is running away from home, looking for escape and adventure. But unfortunately, sometimes people DO get what they wish for... -
Our Dark Duet by Victoria E. Schwab
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsKate Harker isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.August Flynn once yearned to be human. But no longer. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.The war has begun.The monsters are winning.Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in... -
Ghost Town by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsDeep in the heart of Texas, Morganville is a small college town full of laid-back students and eccentric townies, not to mention the sort of creatures you wouldn't want to run into after dark. Despite their obvious differences, the human and vampire residents of Morganville have learned to coexist, but that doesn't stop genius student Claire Danvers from keeping up her guard... -
Lake Silence by Anne Bishop
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy, set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, Vicki DeVine and her lodger, the shapeshifter Aggie Crowe, stumble onto a dead body . . . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly... -
Lord of the Shadows by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsBook 11 of The Saga Of Darren Shan. Darren's going home. Back to where everything started. The town's changed a lot in the years that he's been away -- but then, so has Darren... -
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Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Charles de Lint, a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal action-adventure anthologies audiobook classics -
Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsThe Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before; both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes... -
Sons of Destiny by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe stunning finale to the "New York Times" bestselling series brings Darren face-to-face with his archenemy, Steve Leopard. One of them will die. The other will become the Lord of the Shadows and destroy the world...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark magic paranormal suspense time-travel 21st-century action-adventure -
Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong has bewitched audiences with her Otherworld series of supernatural thrillers. Now, in this new collection of shorter fiction, some of Armstrong's most tantalizing lead characters appear alongside her unforgettable supporting players, who step out of the shadows and into the light... -
Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong has bewitched audiences with her Otherworld series of supernatural thrillers. Now, in this new collection of shorter fiction, some of Armstrong's most tantalizing lead characters appear alongside her unforgettable supporting players, who step out of the shadows and into the light... -
The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn outstanding array—52 pieces in all—of selected fiction from the multiple-award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, curated by his readers around the world, and introduced with a foreword by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon JamesSpanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating collection from one of the world’s most beloved...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 21st-century action-adventure anthologies -
Bite Club by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine is "a first-class storyteller" (#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris). After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble... -
Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsFor centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community..Categorized as:
dark dystopia friendship magic paranormal suspense action-adventure alternate-history -
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise... -
The Black Reckoning by John Stephens
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe final book in the bestselling Books of Beginning trilogy that began with "The Emerald Atlas," which the "New York Times" called "a new Narnia for the tween set... -
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Our Dark Duet by Victoria E. Schwab
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsTHE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.KATE HARKER isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.THE WAR HAS BEGUN.THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in... -
The Lake of Souls by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 38 ratings"If you step through after Harkat, you might never come back. Is your friend worth such an enormous risk?"Darren and Harkat face monstrous obstacles on their desperate quest to the Lake of Souls. Will they survive the savage journey? And what awaits them in the murky waters of the dead? Be careful what you fish for.. -
Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsDexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired... -
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsTwin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.This is the story of what happened first…Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark family magic magical-realism paranormal action-adventure audiobook -
Imajica by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsImajica is an epic beyond compare: vast in conception, obsessively detailed in execution, and apocalyptic in its resolution. At its heart lies the sensualist and master art forger, Gentle, whose life unravels when he encounters Judith Odell, whose power to influence the destinies of men is vaster than she knows, and Pie 'oh' pah, an alien assassin who comes from a hidden dimension... -
The Talisman by Stephen King, Peter Straub
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsOn a brisk autumn day, a twelve-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change... -
The Broken Clock by P.T. Hylton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrank Hinkle and his friends must stop Zed from achieving his ultimate goal: saving the world. In King's Crossing, Wisconsin, lives a nine-year-old girl who can pull on time. Residents of the town know odd details about the future, and there's a twisting tree growing in a park near the center of town... -
The Minority Council by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMatthew Swift, sorcerer, Midnight Mayor, is in charge. Or so he'd like to think. London, being London, is having its issues. Drug use is rampant. Teenage vandalism is driving away business. Violent crimes are on the rise. Once upon a time, Matthew Swift wouldn't have cared. Now it's his mess to clean up... -
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsA missing God.A library with the secrets to the universe. A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts... -
Long Lost by Jacqueline West
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEleven-year-old Fiona has just read a book that doesn’t exist. When Fiona’s family moves to be closer to her older sister’s figure skating club—and far from Fiona’s close-knit group of friends—nobody seems to notice Fiona’s unhappiness. Alone and out of place, Fiona ventures to the town’s library, a rambling mansion donated to the town by the long-dead heiress... -
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Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsClive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world --- and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results... -
Nightrise by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe third heart-pounding book in #1 NYT bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's spellbinding The Gatekeepers series A gate has been opened. The Old Ones have been released. And now the third and fourth of The Five -- twins with a mysterious psychic bond -- are joining the fight... -
Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsCirque du Freak is the saga of a young boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires. Filled with grotesque creatures, murderous vampires, and a petrifying ending, Cirque du Freak will chill, thrill, and leave readers begging for more... -
Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHong Kong has been taken over by the Old Ones and has become Necropolis, City of the Dead. Once in, there is no way out… Evil has been unleashed on the world and only five children – with special powers – can save it... -
Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe third book in the bestselling Russian trilogy that is part fantasy, part vampire story, and part detective story, tells of an ancient race of humans who have supernatural powers and swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. In Twilight Watch, they face their greatest threat yet...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 21st-century action-adventure adult -
Deep State by Christopher Farnsworth
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s been four years since a new president ascended to the White House. Zach Barrows has not seen Nathaniel Cade, the President’s Vampire, since being fired from his position as Cade’s handler and sent to a small, cramped office in a government building in Nebraska.Once, he and Cade fought a shadow war against the monsters, spies, and demons that threatened the United States... -
I’m Glad You’re Dead by Hunter Blain
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter helplessly witnessing the execution of his family, John is approached by a strange man that promises the power of revenge, for a price; his life for the ability to walk the mortal plane for eternity. Fast forward several hundred years where John finds himself with an unlikely ally, Father Thomes Philseep... -
Crushed by Eliza Crewe
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMeda's back. This time she has a friend. The battle is over; the choice has been made. Meda Melange has officially hung up her monstrous mantle and planted her feet firmly on the holy and righteous path of a Crusader-in-training. Or, at least, she’s willing to give it a shot. It helps that the Crusaders are the only thing standing between her and the demon hordes who want her dead... -
The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. Resurrected sorcerer Matthew Swift is about to discover that this isn't so far from the truth...One by one, the protective magical wards that guard the city are falling: the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti, the ravens found dead at the Tower, the London Stone destroyed...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal 21st-century action-adventure adult -
Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsMORGANVILLE IS SUCH A NICE PLACE TO LIVE... AND DIE. IF YOU DON'T MIND THAT SORT OF THING. When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy... -
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Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Ukrainian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy with "the potential to be a modern classic" (Lev Grossman), combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.Our life is brief . .Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark dark-academia dystopia magic magical-realism paranormal 21st-century -
This Savage Song by Victoria E. Schwab
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThere’s no such thing as safe.Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father. After five years and six boarding schools, she’s finally going home to prove that she can be.August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn’t. He’s a monster, one that can steal souls with a song. He’s one of the three most powerful monsters in a city overrun with them. His own father’s secret weapon... -
A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsEight centuries ago the first Knight of the Word was commissioned to combat the demonic evil of the Void. Now that daunting legacy has passed to John Ross - along with powerful magic and the knowledge that his actions are all that stand between a living hell and humanity's future.Then, after decades of service to the Word, an unspeakable act of violence shatters John Ross's weary faith...Categorized as:
dark dystopia low-fantasy magic paranormal action-adventure alternate-history apocalyptic -
Evil Star by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsMatt thought his troubles were over when he closed Raven's Gate . . . but in fact they were just beginning. His fate -- and the fate of the world -- is tied to four other kids across the globe. The second is a street kid in Peru. He and Matt have never met; they don't even speak the same language. But destiny is going to throw them together as the evil threat of the Old Ones grows . . -
A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsView our feature on Marjorie Liu’s A Wild Light.For too long Maxine Kiss has felt an inexplicable darkness inside her-a force she channels into hunting the demons bent on destroying the human race. But when she finds herself covered in blood and crouched beside her grandfather's dead body with no memory of what happened, Maxine begins to fear that the darkness has finally consumed her... -
Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHigh school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend...
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