Books like 'Evil for Evil'
Readers who enjoyed Evil for Evil by K.J. Parker also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy mystery grimdark dark fantasy military, war & conflict steampunk industrial-era epic dark
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A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 96 ratingsA comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns... -
![Blood Song by Anthony Ryan]()
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 58 ratingsThe Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm.” Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith... -
![The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell]()
The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsHe was known as Druss. The Deathwalker. Though the blood of merciless butchers coursed through his veins, he had found a fragile peace through his love for beautiful, mystical Rowena. Then came the day when Druss returned to their village and found everyone dead--massacred by slavers who had stolen the women to sell for gold. Rowena was among the missing... -
![Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks]()
Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsA new queen has usurped the throne and is leading Cenaria into disaster. The country has become a broken realm with a threadbare army, little food and no hope. So Kylar Stern plans to reinstate his closest friend Logan as King, but can he really get away with murder?In the north, the Godking's death has thrown Khalidor into civil war... -
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![The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsThe world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down... -
![Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks]()
Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsThe second novel in the Night Angel trilogy, the breakneck epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Brent Weeks.Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession... -
![Waylander by David Gemmell]()
Waylander by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsAll of Waylander's instincts had screamed at him to spurn the contract from Kaem the cruel, the killer of nations. But he had ignored them. He had made his kill. And even as he went to collect his gold, he knew that he had been betrayed... -
![King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence]()
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsThe second book in the Broken Empire series, Lawrence takes his young anti-hero one step closer to his grand ambition.To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake... -
![The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender, in dark times, against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task, now, is to protect Ciri... -
![Winter Warriors by David Gemmell]()
Winter Warriors by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWinged demons gather, silent and unseen, above the city of Usa, their talons long and sharp. Their purpose is clear, as is the prophesy: Upon the deaths of the three kings, the demon riders of the Krayakin will become flesh, free to slake their thirst with human blood - and the stench of evil will cover the land. Two of the kings are already dead... -
![Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell]()
Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 37 ratings'One hell of a good book' Conn Iggulden The Greatcoats have found the heir to the throne . . . but now they must keep her alive, against all the odds. Falcio Val Mond has completed the final task given to him by the late King Paelis: he has found the King's Charoites (well, one at least)... -
![Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan]()
Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 44 ratings“The blood-song rose with an unexpected tune, a warm hum mingling recognition with an impression of safety. He had a sense it was welcoming him home.” Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer... -
![Free the Darkness by Kel Kade]()
Free the Darkness by Kel Kade
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsRaised and trained in complete seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows... -
![Shadows Linger by Glen Cook]()
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsMercenary soldiers in the service of the Lady, the Black Company stands against the rebels of the White Rose. They are tough men, proud of honoring their contracts. The Lady is evil, but so, too, are those who falsely profess to follow the White Rose, reincarnation of a centuries-dead heroine... -
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![The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks]()
The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsFrom New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks... For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist. For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint... -
![The Pariah by Anthony Ryan]()
The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsBorn into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army... -
![Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan]()
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsThe Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it. It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving... -
![Quest for Lost Heroes by David Gemmell]()
Quest for Lost Heroes by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThe Drenai stronghold had fallen. Now blood-hungry Nadir hordes spread desolation and despair across all the lands......even tiny Gothir, where slavers seized a young girl while the villagers looked the other way--all but the peasant boy Kiall. His unlikely rescue attempt would lead across the savage steppes and on through the Halls of Hell... -
![Tomorrow, the Killing by Daniel Polansky]()
Tomorrow, the Killing by Daniel Polansky
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOnce he was a hero of the Great War, and then a member of the dreaded Black House. Now he is the criminal linchpin of Low Town.His name is Warden.He thought he had left the war behind him, but a summons from up above brings the past sharply, uncomfortably, back into focus. General Montgomery's daughter is missing somewhere in Low Town, searching for clues about her brother's murder... -
![She is the Darkness by Glen Cook]()
She is the Darkness by Glen Cook
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe wind whines and howls with bitter breath. Lightning snarls and barks. Rage is an animate force upon the plain of glittering stone. Even shadows are afraid.At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure... -
![The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan]()
The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling Raven’s Shadow Trilogy was a perfect read for “fans of broadscale epic fantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels.”* Now, Anthony Ryan begins a new saga, The Draconis Memoria...Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes... -
![Cry Havoc by Mike Morris]()
Cry Havoc by Mike Morris
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThey say when the demons come, you either fight or you die. The Black Dogs know this all too well. For three hundred years, the warrior priests have sacrificed their lives to keep the island nation of Abios safe from the flesh-eating Nostros, while the rest of the world fell under the demons’ savagery. However, an armada now stands poised to invade mankind’s last bastion... -
![The Thousand Names by Django Wexler]()
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsEnter an epic fantasy world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic....Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life... -
![Priest of Bones by Peter McLean]()
Priest of Bones by Peter McLean
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety heads home with Sergeant Bloody Anne at his side. But things have changed while he was away: his crime empire has been stolen and the people of Ellinburg--his people--have run out of food and hope and places to hide. Tomas sets out to reclaim what was his with help from Anne, his brother, Jochan, and his new gang: the Pious Men... -
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![The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock]()
The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsJohn Daker dreams of other worlds, and a name: Erekosë. He finds the strength to answer the call, travelling to a strange land ruled by the aging King Rigenos of Necranal. Humanity is united in a desperate fight against the inhuman Eldren, and he must fight with them. But the actions of his brethren turns his loyalties, and as Erekosë he will take a terrible revenge... -
![The Book of Transformations by Mark Charan Newton]()
The Book of Transformations by Mark Charan Newton
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new and corrupt Emperor seeks to rebuild the ancient structures of Villjamur to give the people of the city hope in the face of great upheaval and an oppressing ice age. But when a stranger called Shalev arrives, empowering a militant underground movement, crime and terror becomes rampant. The Inquisition is always one step behind, and military resources are spread thinly across the Empire... -
![Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin]()
Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin
Rated: 3.74 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsCondemned as a murderer for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine "Mick" McFadden has spent the last six years in Velant, a penal colony in the frigid northern wastelands of Edgeland. Harsh military discipline and the oppressive magic of the governor's mages keep a fragile peace as colonists struggle against a hostile environment... -
![The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham]()
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
Rated: 3.77 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsAll paths lead to war...Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides... -
![Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker]()
Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen an engineer is sentenced to death for a petty transgression of guild law, he flees the city, leaving behind his wife and daughter. Forced into exile, he seeks a terrible vengeance -- one that will leave a trail of death and destruction in its wake. But he will not be able to achieve this by himself. He must draw up his plans using the blood of others.. -
![Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence]()
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsBefore the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse... -
![The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman]()
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPaul Hoffman's novel of astonishing scope and imagination, featuring a darkly gifted teenage boy at the center of a brutal holy war, grabs the reader from its incredible opening lines and refuses to let go... -
![The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman]()
The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFollowing the bestselling novels The Left Hand of God and The Last Four Things comes the final installment of Paul Hoffman’s stark, epic trilogy. Thomas Cale has been running from the truth…... -
![Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk]()
Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
Rated: 3.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the holy city of Othir, treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, just the place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and a few scruples. Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot... -
![The Company by K.J. Parker]()
The Company by K.J. Parker
Rated: 3.47 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHoping for a better life, five war veterans colonize an abandoned island. They take with them everything they could possibly need - food, clothes, tools, weapons, even wives.But an unanticipated discovery shatters their dream and replaces it with a very different one.The colonists feel sure that their friendship will keep them together... -
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![The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman]()
The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe epic story of Thomas Cale-introduced so memorably in "The Left Hand of God"--continues as the Redeemers use his prodigious gifts to further their sacred goal: the extinction of humankind and the end of the world. To the warrior-monks known as the Redeemers, who rule over massive armies of child slaves, "the last four things" represent the culmination of a faithful life. Death. Judgement...
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