Books like 'The World Maker Parable (Adjacent Monsters #1)'
Readers who enjoyed The World Maker Parable (Adjacent Monsters #1) by Luke Tarzian also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy dark fantasy horror dark lgbtq wlw myths romantic-love retellings
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The Magnus Archives: Season 3 by Jonathan Sims
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
![A Cage of Kingdoms by K.F. Breene]()
A Cage of Kingdoms by K.F. Breene
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe resolution of Weston's story in the Wall Street Journal Bestselling Deliciously Dark Fairytales world.He wasn't supposed to fall in love.Weston has made a mess of things. Since he realized the woman he was supposed to find and bring to justice was his true mate, things have spiraled out of control... -
![As Yet Unsent by Tamsyn Muir]()
As Yet Unsent by Tamsyn Muir
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCulled from Judith Deuteros’ secret report on Blood of Eden activities, this story was originally published in the trade paperback edition of Harrow the Ninth... -
![Sourdough and Other Stories by Angela Slatter]()
Sourdough and Other Stories by Angela Slatter
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWelcome to the beautiful magic, restless passion and exquisite horror of Angela Slatter's impeccably imagined tales. In the cathedral-city of Lodellan and its uneasy hinterland, babies are fashioned from bread, dolls are given souls and wishes granted may be soon regretted. There are ghosts who dream, men whose wings have been clipped and trolls who long for something other... -
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![Herald by Rob J. Hayes]()
Herald by Rob J. Hayes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA thousand years ago, humanity's greatest heroes killed God. Across the land of Helesia, the iron grasp of the Godless Kings is failing. Demons stalk the deep forests, monsters break free of their prisons beneath the World Vein, and terrors of the old world rise again... -
![Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire]()
Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFrom fairy tale forest to gloomy gothic moor, from gleaming epidemiologist’s lab to the sandy shores of Neverland, Seanan McGuire’s short fiction has been surprising, delighting, confusing, and transporting her readers since 2009. Now, for the first time, that fiction has been gathered together in one place, ready to be enjoyed one twisting, tangled tale at a time... -
![The Complete Tolkien Companion by J.E.A. Tyler]()
The Complete Tolkien Companion by J.E.A. Tyler
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFor all those who journey to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, here is the complete guide to its lands, legends, histories, languages, and people... -
![From the Shadows of the Owl Queen's Court by Benedict Patrick]()
From the Shadows of the Owl Queen's Court by Benedict Patrick
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIf you value your life, stay out of the forest. As a captive of the Owl Queen’s Court, Nascha’s life has always been one knife’s edge away from disaster. But when she is threatened for nothing more than the colour of her hair, Nascha attempts the unthinkable: escape through the dreaded Magpie King’s forest... -
![Shadow of the Lantern Bearer by Chris R. Underwood]()
Shadow of the Lantern Bearer by Chris R. Underwood
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMagic is a disease. It spreads like a plague and drives the infected mad with power.Death is the only cure.Seventeen-year-old Kole Felmen is destined for a life spent executing infected sorcerers and disposing of their tainted remains.But his first execution ends in disaster... -
![Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords by Benedict Patrick]()
Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords by Benedict Patrick
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDon't draw your blade in the City of Swords, unless you're willing to kill… or ready to die.Young and filled with idealistic fervor, Arturo packs his blade and travels to the fabled City of Swords in the hopes of joining the dashing Bravadori. Yet upon arriving he discovers these masked vigilantes have more in common with brutal thugs than noble monster slayers... -
![Blood & Brujas by Mikayla D. Hornedo]()
Blood & Brujas by Mikayla D. Hornedo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the moment Dayanara could wield a blade, she's been used as a weapon for Caldera, a kingdom of fierce brujas. Whenever her mother, the all-powerful Acna, points her in the direction to kill, Dayanara follows.After centuries of war against the vampire kingdom at their border, her mother offers their king Dayanara's hand in marriage as a truce... -
![And They Were Never Heard From Again: A Yarnsworld Tale by Benedict Patrick]()
And They Were Never Heard From Again: A Yarnsworld Tale by Benedict Patrick
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe woods are not safe. Especially at night. Felton takes his younger brother for a walk through the Magpie King’s forest, hoping to change his life for the better. Things do not go as planned. And They Were Never Heard From Again is set in Benedict Patrick’s Yarnsworld, and is the perfect introduction to the world readers are calling a ‘delightfully weird, dark fairytale’... -
![Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore]()
Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe sixth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.The Necromancer is dead. Long live the Necromancer... -
![Blood of the Lost by J.D. Franx]()
Blood of the Lost by J.D. Franx
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBook 2 from JD Franx's epic new saga! Few people survive the suffering that Kael Symes has experienced. Hot steel, demonic magic, and the loss of those he loves. After escaping the horrors of Arkum Zul, Kael and his companions survive a terror-filled night on the ocean only to find themselves shipwrecked and stranded in the Wildlands... -
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![The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher]()
The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsR. S. Belcher’s debut novel, The Six-Gun Tarot, was enthusiastically greeted by critics and readers, who praised its wildly inventive mixture of dark fantasy, steampunk, and the Wild West. Now Belcher returns to Golgotha, Nevada, a bustling frontier town that hides more than its fair share of unnatural secrets.1870... -
![Undercover by Tamsyn Muir]()
Undercover by Tamsyn Muir
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhen a stranger comes to town, secrets are sure to come out. New York Times bestselling author Tamsyn Muir spins a twisty—and twisted—short story of revenge and survival.A fresh-faced newcomer arrives in an isolated, gang-run town and soon finds herself taking a job nobody else wants: bodyguard to a ghoul. Not just your average mindless, half-rotted shuffler, though... -
![The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe]()
The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsI spent most of my life feeling dead inside -- until I met Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.It wasn't until Pan and Neverland that I finally felt alive. But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There's something darker and more sinister haunting the forest... -
![House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland]()
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar... -
![Two Worlds and in Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan, Volume One by Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
Two Worlds and in Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan, Volume One by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCaitlín R. Kiernan’s short fiction was first published in 1995. Over the intervening decade and a half, she has proven not only one of dark fantasy and science fiction’s most prolific and versatile authors, but, to quote Ramsey Campbell, “One of the most accomplished writers in the field, and very possibly the most lyrical.” S. T... -
![The Ammonite Violin & Others by Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
The Ammonite Violin & Others by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn Caitlín R. Kiernan's The Ammonite Violin & Others, one of contemporary dark fantasy s most bewitching and distinctive voices is back with another banquet of the weird and unexpected. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer (City of Saints and Madmen, Finch) writes, Kiernan creates her own light in this remarkable collection, and shines it on dark places... -
![Where the Waters Turn Black by Benedict Patrick]()
Where the Waters Turn Black by Benedict Patrick
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen gods and monsters battle, her music will not protect her…What lurks beneath the waves?The Crescent Atoll is a remote string of tropical islands, connected by long canoe journeys and a love of stories.When Kaimana, a young ocarina player, discovers the lair of a taniwha – a legendary monster – she finds herself inspired... -
![Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap]()
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Am I dead?”Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'... -
![Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford]()
Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHair bright as gold...Lips red as blood...Heart black as sin...Truth sharp as bone.. -
![The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart, Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart, Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century's most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own... -
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![Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire]()
Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsChildren have always disappeared under the right conditions—slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere . . . else. Adventures are always interesting, but they’re not always happy.From the worlds of Wayward Children comes a story of love, of devotion, of bones wrapped in flesh... -
![A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson]()
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, A Dowry of Blood is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation. Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king... -
![Beneath the Loch by S.D. Simper]()
Beneath the Loch by S.D. Simper
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBeneath the Loch: A Novella: A Dark Lesbian RomanceAs a child, Mairi made a deal with a young fae - a kiss in exchange for gills.Now, betrothed to a man she hardly knows, Mairi is desperate to escape her fate. When she finds that same fae at the river's edge, she's offered a proposal that makes her skin grow cold . . . and her blood run hot.Romance meets horror in this lesbian fairytale... -
![Night's Sorceries by Tanith Lee]()
Night's Sorceries by Tanith Lee
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the age of demons, when the Earth was still flat, Prince Chuz, Delusion’s Master, stole Azhriaz, daughter of the Demon Lord of Night, from the underworld citadel meant to be her eternal prison. Pursued by the vengeful Lord of Night, Chuz and Azhriaz fled to the world above, to the lands of mortal men, seeking a haven for their love... -
![October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween by Richard Chizmar, Robert Morrish]()
October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween by Richard Chizmar, Robert Morrish
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsClassic novellas, never-before-published stories, essays on the history, literature, and films of Halloween, and real-life memories of October 31st-from today's best practitioners of fear:Dean Koontz * Peter Straub * Poppy Z. Brite * Rick Hautala * Steve Rasnic Tem * Elizabeth Engstrom * Thomas Ligotti * Gary A. Braunbeck * Jack Ketchum * Thomas F. Monteleone * Hugh B... -
![Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue by Wendy N. Wagner, Chuck Palahniuk]()
Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue by Wendy N. Wagner, Chuck Palahniuk
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror... -
![Before the Devil Knows You're Here by Autumn Krause]()
Before the Devil Knows You're Here by Autumn Krause
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA deliciously dark folk horror for fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Erin Craig, blending the tall tales of Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan with Faustian elements, and centering a fierce Mexican-American poet on a quest to rescue her brother.1836. Wisconsin Territory. All Catalina has left is her little brother—Mama died years ago, and Papa was buried just yesterday... -
![The World of Tolkien by David Day]()
The World of Tolkien by David Day
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGo on a fascinating journey through the history of Middle-earth!The Lord of the Rings is commonly regarded as a work of fantasy. Yet Tolkien himself saw his work as a body of myth with an inherent veracity at its core, not an invention, but a recovered truth. In the Middle-earth of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created not an imaginary world, but an imaginary history of our own world... -
![Wrong Things by Poppy Z. Brite, Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
Wrong Things by Poppy Z. Brite, Caitlín R. Kiernan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis short collaborative collection contains "The Crystal Empire," an original novella by Poppy Z. Brite, "Onion," an original novella by Caitlín R. Kiernan, and "The Rest of the Wrong Things," a brand-new collaborative story by Caitlín and Poppy set in Poppy's fictional stomping grounds of Missing Mile, North Carolina... -
![The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatter]()
The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA stunning, emotional and eclectic collection of fantasy and dark tales. These are the stories told to warn children, entertain adults and beguile all... -
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![Dead Girl's Ashes by Annathesa Nikola Darksbane, Shei Darksbane]()
Dead Girl's Ashes by Annathesa Nikola Darksbane, Shei Darksbane
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAshley Currigan is dead...and it’s the best thing that ever happened to her. Ashley just went from the day to day drudgery of a job she hates to powerful vampire in a single instant of suffering. But now, even more powerful monsters want her dead for good. Her girlfriend is missing. Strange human hunters hound her every step... -
![Pan by Francesco Dimitri]()
Pan by Francesco Dimitri
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNelle notti romane ci sono bambini che sognano, e che nel sogno, ogni volta, ripetono il viaggio verso una grande isola che non c'è. Nelle notti romane ci sono ville borghesi illuminate dalla luna piena, e dai loro giardini spesso s'innalzano, non visti, mastodontici galeoni pirata... -
![The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn]()
The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Hounds of Avalon are coming... For these are the twilight days, when eternal winter falls and the gods destroy themselves in civil war... when an invasion force of ghastly power threatens to eradicate all life. Humanity's last chance lies with two friends, as different as night and day, but bound together by an awesome destiny... -
![The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney]()
The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood.For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget... -
![This Wicked Fate by Amanda Aggie]()
This Wicked Fate by Amanda Aggie
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of The Witcher and Brave, this fantasy romance, featuring a fierce heroine and a druid with Golden Retriever energy, is both steamy and swoon worthy! I’m the Princess of Solaria, a realm full of beasts that could make the Devil cower. Except that title means nothing, because I’ll be dead by the week’s end... -
![High Moor by Graeme Reynolds]()
High Moor by Graeme Reynolds
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhen John Simpson hears of a bizarre animal attack in his old home town of High Moor, it stirs memories of a long forgotten horror. John knows the truth. A werewolf stalks the town once more, and on the night of the next full moon, the killing will begin again. He should know. He survived a werewolf attack in 1986, during the worst year of his life... -
![Terms of Surrender by Craig Schaefer]()
Terms of Surrender by Craig Schaefer
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFelix Rossini is a man with a thousand enemies. Framed for murder, hunted by Mirenze's protectors as well as the criminal underworld, he struggles to survive and fight back against the conspiracy that has marked him for death. A conspiracy of another kind is brewing across the ocean, as the corrupt aristocracy draws Livia Serafini’s oldest friends into a plot to destroy her... -
![In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire]()
In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsJack Wolcott was only twelve years old when she and her twin sister Jill, descended the impossible staircase and found herself in the Moors, a world of drowned gods and repugnant royals... -
![L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente]()
L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the award-winning, bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland comes Catherynne M. Valente's dark fantasy tale "L’Esprit de L’Escalier", a Tor.com Original.In this provocative and rich retelling of the Greek myth, Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope, successfully rescues his wife Eurydice from Hades after her untimely death... -
![A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher]()
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call―a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms―there are no secrets in this house―and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend... -
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![Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller]()
Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires... -
![Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore]()
Hungry Ghosts by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsNecromancer Eric Carter's problems keep getting bigger. Bad enough he's the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, has come back -- and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places. As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade, Carter is slowly turning to stone... -
![The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher]()
The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsR.S. Belcher launches a gritty new urban fantasy series about the mysterious society of truckers known only as, The Brotherhood of The Wheel.In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon--a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land... -
![The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper]()
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsNew York City, 1990: When you slip through the cracks, no one is there to catch you. Monique learns that the hard way after her girlfriend Donna vanishes without a trace. Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.Donna isn’t missing. She was taken... -
![The Devil You Know by Poppy Z. Brite]()
The Devil You Know by Poppy Z. Brite
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTHE DEVIL YOU KNOW is a tradepaperback edition of the sold-out limited edition of Poppy's latest short story collection. In her third short story collection, Poppy Z. Brite finds fresh ways of exploring territory both familiar and strange... -
![The Takers by R.W. Ridley]()
The Takers by R.W. Ridley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNever say their name! If you do, they will find you! If they find you, they will eat you! Thirteen-year-old Oz Griffin knows it's his fault that the Takers are eating everyone in sight. He also knows that a comic book written by a neighborhood boy is the key to defeating them. But every time he and his band of survivors try to read the comic book, the Takers draw closer...
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