"Malazan: The Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson has probably got what you need.
The main series is 10 books long, and they are amongst the most violent, brutal, but ultimately very well-written series I've ever (so far) read (still on Book 5).
Books 2 and 3 were too dark for my tastes but I plugged on through and I'm loving it. Great characters, wonderful dialogue, and way less obsessed with Food as GRRM
I listen to audio books while I work and have been hunting for new long stories to listen to. I'll definitely be grabbing this one.
Saving this for future references as well
I'll definitely check it out! Sounds like what I'm looking for!
I bounced off of book 1 multiple times but just finished it last week and it is fantastic. The book just drops you in the middle of everything and largely lets you piece it together rather than give you a fresh faced character that everyone explains everything to. 50-150 pages was when I started to feel grounded and like I understood the world well enough to say I liked it.
Malazan is my favorite fantasy series but it ruined other fantasy for me. I've found nothing else that can compare in the scope, breadth, world building, and detail.
The world was developed by these guys as their tabletop rpg setting in college. The series takes place over hundreds of thousands of years but is written with the density of a short story.
I'd recommend keeping Tor's re-read blog handy if you start getting lost. There are chapter summaries and discussions by both a first time reader and a rereader which are spoiler free but include foreshadowing and things to pay attention to. The user discussion below each post could contain spoilers though.
https://reactormag.com/columns/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/?WT_mc.id=10586
The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is a fine example of grimdark high fantasy. It isn't overflowing with sex scenes, but carnal relationships are definitely in play.
And it definitely ticks the box for "fucking brutal."
I loved this and the other trilogy of his that I’ve read, brutal and dark certainly, but his character writing is mint. I need to read more of his stuff!
I'm no stranger to dark fantasy but reading best served cold even I was like "God damn, he's going there too?" So that's a +1 from me
The Blade Itself
I didnt like the ending, but yeah. I guess the follow on books are good too but I haven't tried them.
The follow up book about Caul Shivers is possibly even better than the original trilogy. Check it out.
Richard k. Morgan’s foray into to fantasy “the steel remains” trilogy might meet that requirement. He’s the guy who wrote the altered carbon books, so it’s basically hard-boiled pulp fiction applied to swords and sorcery fantasy. Similarly Joe Abercrombie’s books operate similarly. Genre is… Grimdark I think.
Steven Erickson’s “Malazan book of the fallen” series also would meet the definition, but watch out—there’s a ton of them, and they can be a bit narratively challenging sometimes.
Man I got stuck on like book 4 of Malazan I think, it's been a long time. Still have the books though, I should take another stab at it.
I’m still slowly working my way… think I’m in book 7 maybe? I sometimes find it hard with series where they change focuses and stories a lot, and malazan does that every book (the whole changing location every other book thing) and I also sometimes have trouble keeping track or who all the characters are, and who is dead, alive, or only sorta dead. But they are very high quality, even if I don’t always understand what is going on. Anyhow there’s so much of it I just dip in and out and will read other stuff for a while—definitely a marathon series haha
I've been hyping up Dresden Files in damn near every book thread for the last four months, but damn if it doesn't fit here too. There's sex and murder in nearly every one of the books. The murder is very rarely clean, and the stakes are never low. Jim Butcher is one of my very favorite authors now, by a significant margin.
My guilty pleasure. His books draw me in but some of the sexism/arrogance (especially in earlier books) makes me cringe. Doesn't stop me from staying up too late to finish one if I've started. Butcher knows how to keep me hooked.
His newer series the cinder spires is quite good as well.
I just finished reading through the entire series a month or two ago - what a fantastic series.
It has completely consumed my life for the last several months. I'm partway through Changes right now. I can't remember the last time I was this completely absorbed in a book series.
It's not exactly R rated, but Gideon the Ninth (and its sequels) don't shy away from gore and raunchy language.
Lies of Locke Lamora is beautifully written gritty fantasy. Thus far there are 3 books in the series.
I've never read the Warhammer 40K books so I can speak to the quality of writing, but the series definitely matches the genre of interest.
I really enjoyed reading 40k books when I was younger, but they're generally shit writing. The kind of complete schlock that is good when you want to turn off the brain.
I guess T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series. It may not hit the “fucking brutal” mark but it does cover a lot of dark themes like loss very well for a fantasy, also not afraid to get racy. I enjoy T. Kingfisher as an author so I highly recommend.
NK Jemisen’s the fifth season was amazing. It won a Hugo. Then the sequel was amazing and different and won the Hugo.
Then the last book in the trilogy was crazier and won the Hugo.
Truly wild magic and a very very brutal world.
Is it necessary to read the previous four seasons as well or can you skip those?
Mark Lawrence - Prince of Thorns. Loose fit but it scratches that itch for me anyway. Maybe it will for you too.
If you'd be up for modern fantasy you might enjoy Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, or American Gods.
For high fantasy, Brando Sando has violence aplenty but not sex. I really like the Stormlight Archives.
I also wouldn't write off the Shattered Sea series by Joe Abercrombie. Yes, they're labelled YA but it just makes them easier to binge.
The Black Company by Glenn Cook is pretty dark. It's about a band of mercenaries taking part in a world war where there are basically no good guys. The first book stands well on its own, but it is part of a trilogy.
Gods yes, awesome series for sure.
I'll add it to the list!
The world and the story is interesting, but for some reason I didn't like how the book is written. Have only read the first book though, got the whole trilogy as omnibus, so will eventually get to the next two books.
The Poppy Wars which had an eastern theme.
The Prince of Nothing series which is quite grimdark in a fantasy setting.
The Crimson Empire series is a darkish revenge story.
The Covenant of Steel about a poor boy rising through the ranks.
The Rhenwar Saga involves more magic than the rest.
I remember a book series called "something of Krondor" or "Krondor the something" that was really violent and brutal. They made some RPGs based on it too, but I don't think they were ever popular; I have never encountered anyone else who ever read the books or played the games.
Read 'em in highschool and I haven't really thought about it since which is why I can't really remember the complete title or who the author was.
I have never encountered anyone else who ever read the books or played the games.
Well now you have. I played (and finished) Betrayal at Krondor.
Krondor the Betrayal by Raymond E Feist
All his books are great and most are connected in one big world (though you don’t have to read them as one epic series to enjoy them). Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master are commonly 2 of my top recommendations for people getting into fantasy.
A bunch are on sale on Kobo right now too.
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant
Cenotaph Road series by Robert E. Vardeman. More sci fi than fantasy, but fantasy adjacent sci-fi.
I'll look into it. I'm a little sc-fi'd out at the moment, but if it's adjacent, it might do. Thanks for the recommendation!
Another vote for anything Steven Erikson or R Scott Bakker
Lot's of really good recommendations here already. One series I don't see discussed much is the Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover and I think it's exactly what you're after: shit talking, badass, tortured anti-hero in a deeply depraved and corrupt world with copious violence and sex and a deep and well written story.
Each of the 4 books is self contained but they are worth reading chronologically, starting with Heroes Die. The audio book is also fucking terrific.
The Bound Gods series by Rachel Dunne is pretty brutal and bleak. Not a lot of sex but there's baby killing, eye gouging, and enslavement. Zero characters make it unscathed and most simply don't make it. It's quite a ride.
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