Books like 'The Briar King'
Readers who enjoyed The Briar King by Greg Keyes also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy high fantasy action / adventure dark fantasy alternate history epic dark magic sword-sorcery heroic-fantasy
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Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsThe land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It's inhabited by the race that rose from the seed of angels, and they live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phèdre nó Delaunay was sold into indentured servitude as a child. Her bond was purchased by a nobleman who recognized that she was pricked by Kushiel's dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one... -
![Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey]()
Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsHaving learned a lesson about thwarting the will of the gods, Imriel and Sidonie publicly confess their affair, only to see the country boil over in turmoil. Younger generations, infatuated by their heart-twisting, star-cross romance, defend the couple... -
![Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell]()
Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsHe is a man of many names. Some call him the Golden One; others, the Lord of the Silver Bow. To the Dardanians, he is Prince Aeneas. But to his friends, he is Helikaon. Strong, fast, quick of mind, he is a bold warrior, hated by his enemies, feared even by his Trojan allies. For there is a darkness at the heart of the Golden One, a savagery that, once awakened, can be appeased only with blood... -
![Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey]()
Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsMighty Kushiel, of rod and wealLate of the brazen portalsWith blood-tipp'd dart a wound unhealedPricks the eyen of chosen mortalsThe land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. The inhabiting race rose from the seed of angels and men, and they live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.Phèdre nó Delaunay was sold into indentured servitude as a child... -
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![Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey]()
Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsMy blood beat hard in my veins and hammered in my ears, like the sound of bronze wings clashing. And I understand for the first time what it meant that Kushiel, the One God's punisher, had loved his charges too well...Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phèdre and Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions... -
![Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell]()
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsFierce and proud, the Rigante dwell deep in the green mountain lands, worshiping the gods of air and water, and the spirits of the earth. Among them lives a warrior who bears the mark of fate. Born of the storm that slew his father, he is Connavar, and tales of his courage spread like wildfire... -
![Bright We Burn by Kiersten White]()
Bright We Burn by Kiersten White
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsHaunted by the sacrifices he made in Constantinople, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever . . . and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed . . -
![Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey]()
Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsImriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse Phèdre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions.Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in art, beauty, and desire... -
![The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron]()
The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsTHE RED KNIGHT was one of the most acclaimed fantasy debuts of 2012 - and now he rides again. Prepare for one epic battle...In The Fell Sword the Red Knight and his company go across the mountains to the Morea and Thrake - those are the kingdoms to the east of Alba - to put down what appears to be a local rebellion and proves to be larger... -
![Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey]()
Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsReturning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world... -
![Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay]()
Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsCrispin is a master mosaicist, creating beautiful art with colored stones and glass. Summoned to Sarantium by imperial request, he bears a Queen's secret mission, and a talisman from an alchemist...Categorized as:
epic magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey]()
Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsJacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of the Kushiel's Legacy series, delivers book two in her new lushly imagined trilogy featuring daughter of Alba, Moirin.Far from the land of her birth, Moirin sets out across Tatar territory to find Bao, the proud and virile Ch'in fighter who holds the missing half of her diadh-anam, the divine soul-spark of her mother's people... -
![Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey]()
Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsOnce there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn, the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke a sacred oath sworn in the name of all his people. Now only small gifts remain to them. Through her lineage, Moirin possesses such gifts—the ability to summon the twilight and conceal herself, and the skill to coax plants to grow... -
![The Scrying by Jaci Miller]()
The Scrying by Jaci Miller
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe compelling debut of author Jaci Miller and the first in an exciting fantasy trilogy, The Scrying is a dark, romantic tale of perseverance and self-sacrifice where one destiny is defined by both a forgotten past and the fate of the future. A modern witch, an ancient warrior, two worlds about to collide... -
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![The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling]()
The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn his novels of the Change, New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling presents “a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF...Categorized as:
dark epic sword-sorcery 21st-century action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic -
![Now I Rise by Kiersten White]()
Now I Rise by Kiersten White
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants... -
![Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers]()
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsAnnith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent...Categorized as:
dark female-mc magic paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc alternate-history assassins -
![Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey]()
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsThe land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye... -
![Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers]()
Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom New York Times best-selling author Robin LaFevers comes the follow up to “sharp and breathless” (Kirkus Reviews) historical fantasy Courting Darkness. Set in the world of the beloved His Fair Assassin series, this is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Game of Thrones...Categorized as:
dark female-mc magic paranormal sword-sorcery action-adventure alpha-mc alternate-history -
![Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky]()
Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe first casualty of war is truth . . .First, Denland's revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict. Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family's young men...Categorized as:
epic female-mc magic sword-sorcery action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![The Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn]()
The Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe first book of the Exiles trilogy introduces a magical world of political intrigue and family secrets that may determine the fate of an entire nation.A thousand years ago, Mageborns fled prejudice and persecution to colonize the planet Lenfell—pristine, untouched, a perfect refuge for those whose powers were perceived as a threat by people not gifted with magic... -
![Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker]()
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThis is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all... -
![The Best of Robert E. Howard: Grim Lands (Volume 2) by Robert E. Howard]()
The Best of Robert E. Howard: Grim Lands (Volume 2) by Robert E. Howard
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“[Behind Howard’s stories] lurks a dark poetry and the timeless truth of dreams.” –Robert Bloch “Howard’s writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks.”–Stephen KingThe classic pulp magazines of the early twentieth century are long gone, but their action-packed tales live on through the work of legendary storyteller Robert E. Howard...Categorized as:
classics dark epic heroic-fantasy sword-sorcery action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Duke Elric by Michael Moorcock, Michael Chabon]()
Duke Elric by Michael Moorcock, Michael Chabon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Michael Moorcock’s work as a critic, as an editor and as a writer has made it easier for me and a whole generation of us to roam the ‘moonbeam roads’ of the literary multiverse...Categorized as:
dark epic heroic-fantasy sword-sorcery action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies -
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![Foreign Devils by John Hornor Jacobs]()
Foreign Devils by John Hornor Jacobs
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe world is on the brink of war. Fisk and Shoe - mercenaries, very much not wanting to get caught in the middle of a political whirlwind - must deliver a very important message, and find a very dangerous man. They have caught the eye of the powerful men of the world, and now the stakes are higher than they like... -
![Dragonvein Book Two by Brian D. Anderson]()
Dragonvein Book Two by Brian D. Anderson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWith new friends and allies fighting by his side, Ethan Dragonvein must find a way to overcome the might of the Eternal Emperor Shinzan. As the voices of the dragon’s call to him, he is driven to seek them out in the faint hope that they can help him fulfill his destiny and save the people of Lumnia. But he must hurry...Categorized as:
dark epic magic paranormal sword-sorcery action-adventure alternate-history audiobook -
![Bloodrush by Ben Galley]()
Bloodrush by Ben Galley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Prime Lord Hark is found in a pool of his own blood, his only son Merion Hark finds his world turned upside down and inside out. The Prime Lord’s last will and testament forces Merion west across the Iron Ocean, to the very brink of the Endless Land and all civilisation. To a place they call Wyoming... -
![Von Bek by Michael Moorcock]()
Von Bek by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe founders of modern literary fancy deserve their own place in the light. The Borealis Legends line is a tribute to the creators of the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres as we know them today.Contents: The war hound and the world's pain --The city in the autumn stars --The pleasure gardens of Felipe Sagittarius... -
![The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker]()
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsBasso the Magnificent. Basso the Great. Basso the Wise. The First Citizen of the Vesani Republic is an extraordinary man.He is ruthless, cunning, and above all, lucky. He brings wealth, power and prestige to his people. But with power comes unwanted attention, and Basso must defend his nation and himself from threats foreign and domestic... -
![Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass]()
Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsCreated by gods. Destroyed by revenge. Reborn in the darkest magic of all. THE TROY GAME. The ancient Aegean sorcery lives on.Theseus bested the Minotaur with the aid of Ariadne, Mistress of the Labyrinth. So when Theseus betrays her, Ariadne turns her wrath upon him and all his world, the catastrophe strikes the Mediterranean... -
![Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass]()
Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAncient Greece: A place where the gods hold mortal life cheap, mere playthings to amuse, delight, and abuse at their will. But those puny mortals are not wholly devoid of power and at the core of their fabulous city-states lies the Labyrinth, where they can shape the powers of the heavens to their own design... -
![Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass]()
Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsCreated by gods. Destroyed by revenge. Reborn in the darkest magic of all. THE TROY GAME. The ancient Aegean sorcery lives on.Theseus bested the Minotaur with the aid of Ariadne, Mistress of the Labyrinth. So when Theseus betrays her, Ariadne turns her wrath upon him and all his world, the catastrophe strikes the Mediterranean... -
![The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson]()
The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA breathtaking geopolitical fantasy as fraught as Game of Thrones, The Monster Baru Cormorant is the long-anticipated sequel to Seth Dickinson gut-wrenching debut, The Traitor Baru Cormorant.Baru Cormormant's world was shattered by the Empire of Masks... -
![Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers]()
Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsDeath wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now... -
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![The Dragon in the Sword by Michael Moorcock]()
The Dragon in the Sword by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 3.84 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe third novel in the History of John Daker, The Eternal Champion... -
![The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock]()
The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe novel is set at some indeterminate time in a post-nuclear holocaust future, where science and sorcery co-exist and the Dark Empire of Granbretan (Great Britain) is expanding across Europe... -
![The Wolf by Leo Carew]()
The Wolf by Leo Carew
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Wolf is a thrilling, savagely visceral, politically nuanced, and unexpectedly wry exploration of power - and how far one will go to defend it.Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky.The Anakim dwell in the desolate forests and mountains beyond the black river, the land under the Northern Sky... -
![Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories by Garth Nix]()
Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories by Garth Nix
Rated: 3.84 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsNicholas Sayre will do anything to get across the Wall.Thoughts of Lirael and Sam haunt his dreams, and he has come to realize that his destiny lies with them, in the Old Kingdom. But here in Ancelstierre, Nick faces an obstacle that is not entirely human, with a strange power that seems to come from Nicholas himself...Categorized as:
dark epic magic paranormal 21st-century action-adventure alternate-history anthologies -
![The Dreamthief's Daughter: A Tale of the Albino by Michael Moorcock]()
The Dreamthief's Daughter: A Tale of the Albino by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAs Nazism engulfs the Fatherland, the albino Ulric von Bek, last Count of Bek, battles to keep the dark sword Ravenbrand from being taken by Adolf Hitler...As an unhuman army engulfs Tanelorn, the albino Elric, last sorcerer-king of Melniboné, fights to keep the black sword Stormbringer from being taken by Gaynor the Damned...They both fail...Categorized as:
dark epic heroic-fantasy sword-sorcery action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![And I Darken by Kiersten White]()
And I Darken by Kiersten White
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 51 ratingsNo one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival... -
![The Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook]()
The Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWelcome to the world of the Instrumentalities of the Night, where imps, demons, and dark gods rule in the spaces surrounding upstart humanity. At the edges of the world stand walls of ice which push slowly forward to reclaim the land for the night. And at the world's center, in the Holy Land where two great religions were born, are the Wells of Ihrain, the source of the greatest magics... -
![Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard]()
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYear One-Knife, Tenochtitlan the capital of the Aztecs. The end of the world is kept at bay only by the magic of human sacrifice. A Priestess disappears from an empty room drenched in blood. Acatl, High Priest, must find her, or break the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead... -
![Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian]()
Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMany are called...She alone can save the world and become Death's bride.Cobweb Bride is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world... -
![Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan]()
Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Viking King Authun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately but Authun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy. A prophecy that tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the Gods. If Authun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory... -
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![The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett]()
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Rated: 3.58 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsRaised in a genteel but impoverished household, Ivy Lockwell, eldest of three daughters, is desperate to save her father, a former magician, from the madness that has overwhelmed him and finds the key to saving both him and the entire land from darkness lies in the secrets she uncovers while serving as governess to the wards of the enigmatic Mr. Quent. A first novel. 30,000 first printing...
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