Books like 'The Wrack'
Readers who enjoyed The Wrack by John Bierce also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy mystery grimdark high fantasy horror dark fantasy dark medieval epidemy
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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... -
![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... -
![The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe]()
The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAlternative cover editions for this ISBN exist here and here.Beneath the dying sun the disgraced torturer, Severian, at last comes to his place of exile - Thrax, the city of Windowless Rooms.But Severian's journey is not ended, and high in Earth's ancient mountains he draws closer to his destiny... -
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![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... -
![The Son of the Morning by Jacob Peppers]()
The Son of the Morning by Jacob Peppers
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFifty years ago, the nightwalkers appeared, creatures of shadow and darkness, thirsting for blood and death. Thousands died and the kingdom of Entarna was brought to its knees. Then the Chosen came, six men and women endowed with powers by Amedan, the God of Fire and Light. The Chosen joined with the kingdom’s armies and together they managed to defeat the night’s creatures. At least for a time... -
![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... -
![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... -
![Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence]()
Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all... -
![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... -
![A Dance of Mirrors by David Dalglish]()
A Dance of Mirrors by David Dalglish
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author David DalglishOne has conquered a city. The other covets an entire nation. In book #3 of the Shadowdance series, Haern is the King's Watcher, protector against thieves and nobles who would fill the night with blood. Yet hundreds of miles away, an assassin known as the Wraith has begun slaughtering those in power, leaving the symbol of the Watcher in mockery... -
![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... -
![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... -
![Riddle in Stone by Robert Evert]()
Riddle in Stone by Robert Evert
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA debut novel of epic fantasy featuring an unlikely hero and his life-changing adventure from the author of the Quests of the Kings Trilogy. Long after the last of the great heroes of old has died, the Undead King is stirring again, amassing a goblin horde ready to sweep out of the mountains and destroy all of humanity... -
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![Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman]()
Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOn the distant world of Erna, four people--Priest, Adept, Sorcerer, and Apprentice--are drawn together to battle the forces of evil, led by the demonic fae, a soul-destroying force that preys on the human mind... -
![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... -
![Rogues by George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie]()
Rogues by George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsIf you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray... -
![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... -
![Star Eater by Kerstin Hall]()
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
Rated: 3.54 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAll martyrdoms are difficult.Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she’s able to stomach her gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Sisterhood of Aytrium’s magical bloodline horrifies her. She wants out, whatever the cost... -
![The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe]()
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in the four-volume series, The Book of the New Sun. It is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession - showing mercy toward his victim - and follows his subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus... -
![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... -
![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... -
![The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht]()
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Rated: 3.47 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die... -
![Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James]()
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Rated: 3.44 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsIn the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say... -
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![Berserk, Vol. 10 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 10 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWarrior supreme Guts has returned, and just in time to save the weakened Band of the Hawk from certain destruction… and to form an intimate bond with the beautiful warrior Casca. But job one is to find a way to free Griffith, the Hawks' leader, from the dank dungeons and round-the-clock tortures of the Hawks' former benefactor, the King of Midland... -
![Berserk, Vol. 8 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 8 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 29 ratingshe century-spanning war between Midland and Chuder continues unabated. The two warring kingdoms, vying for supremacy, launch headfirst into what will become the final battle. Leading the Midland forces are the Band of the Hawk, lead by the charismatic Griffith, with the fearless Guts as his trusted champion... -
![Berserk, Vol. 9 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 9 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsGriffith, charismatic leader of the elite mercenary Band of the Hawk, has seen better days. His fearless champion, Guts, has left the Band, defeating Griffith in personal combat as his ticket out. With his judgment clouded by this unthinkable humiliation, Griffith eases his pain in the arms of the daughter of Midland’s king... -
![Berserk, Vol. 5 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 5 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsHe is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a warrior of legendary prowess — relentless, fearless, merciless. As cold and brutal as the iron of the massive sword he wields. Bent on revenge against the unholy forces that have branded him for sacrifice, but especially on Griffith, one of the demon lords of the Godhand... -
![Berserk, Vol. 6 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 6 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsBack in the day, Guts the Black Swordsman was a top slayer for The Band of the Hawk, an elite mercenary unit led by Griffith, whose calm demeanor and callow beauty belied his fighting prowess and steel will... -
![Berserk, Vol. 4 by Kentaro Miura]()
Berserk, Vol. 4 by Kentaro Miura
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNow that the evil Count has been killed and dragged to Hell by the demon lords of the Godhand, Guts, the Black Swordsman, hooks up with his former benefactor, the mercenary Gambino. But it’s a deadly reunion, one that nearly takes Guts’ life...
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