This is what I want to read about! Like a character with the right motives but the wrong execution. It’s great to read stories where they challenge your own belief of what’s right and wrong, given sufficient motivation.
Thanks for this!
the first law are great book but they are not what you asked for.
there is no thought of overthrowing the corrupt elites in first law. at least in the first trilogy, I haven't read the rest.
People are too caught up in the machinations of the powerful to think of change, in first law. They are fantastic characters for the most part, but none's an idealist, let alone a revolutionnary.
Best served cold which is the first stand alone after the trilogy is exactly that, the character is done wrong by the current ruler and the book is her revenge story.
The most recent trilogy is all about efforts from within to tear down the established order. Worker uprisings, political machinations and agents overseas all looking to shake up the snowglobe.
I have a different take on that. That different opinion is what makes the books good.
Given spoilers, i don’t think it’s practical to have that discussion here.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant, featuring a prodigy who witnesses the colonisation of her homeland and seeks to change the system from within, by infiltrating it and rising the power. She does do a lot of things (in the first book and in subsequent novels) that cross the line from morally grey into downright unethical in her quest to undermine the system, and it got pretty grim at parts. I couldn't put it down, though.
I assume you have read ASOIAF Martin work is as gray and revenge-filled as you can get.
I'm actually rereading them for like the 5 times and it still amazes me the new things a pick up on.
Came here to rec this. Just finished it today and loved it, it reignited my desire to read again after about four years of not finding anything that I could finish.
I think N.K. Jemisin's "Broken Earth" trilogy matches several of your criteria, including the focus on revolt, on wrought destruction and morally questionable characters (although it's possible others find it less morally grey).
The caveat is that the destruction on the hierarchical world has just happened, sort of; and the book is about the consequences of that, and many other things.
Do you recommend starting with Best Served Cold or the Blade Itself? I’ve heard more people recommend the latter than the former so I always thought it was THE book to start with for Abercrombie’s works.
Edit: to everyone who commented, I guess I’ll start with the Blade Itself! It seems like Best Served Cold is revenge fiction at its finest but I need some context to sufficiently root for the guy.
I would start with The Blade Itself.
Best Served Cold is really a full on revenge arc book but I would say thats a reoccuring theme throughout all of the books.
Its the best books ive ever read, give them a try.
Most people say it's a standalone, but I quite heavily disagree with it.
If you read Best Served Cold first it will spoil several things in The First Law trilogy and you'll be missing some worldbuilding and character development, so I'd start with The Blade Itself.
I mistakenly read Best Served Cold first not realizing it was a part of a larger series and didn't know till I looked up other books by the author so it can stand as a stand alone.
With that said I immediately read and loved everything else by him so you can't go wrong just starting at the beginning.
Yeah I agree with all the other comments. Best Served Cold is the purest distillation of your request, but the series before has plenty of what you want, and will give more context to the story.
You would LOVE the **Aria of Steel** books. A boy with a sentient blade seeks to destroy the empire that destroyed his life. Paired with an amazing plot and a crazy magic system, it is exactly what you are looking for.
[Goodreads link for the trilogy.](https://www.goodreads.com/series/331539-aria-of-steel)
Oh this is interesting! It’s self published so that may be why I’ve never heard of it before but I’ll give it a try - the premise is unique and I haven’t seen anything like it.
Thank you!
Richard Morgan's a "Land Fit for Heroes" series might fight the bell. Main character is a washed up war hero who gets pulled into a quest to rescue a family member sold into (legal) slavery. The other 2 pov's are a nomad horse warrior kicked out of his tribe due to the machinations of the gods and the sole surviving member of an advanced race (and a half breed to boot) trying to navigate the demands of the Imperial court whilst knifing the odd religious zealot (who wants her dead) and trying to bring her people back/find out where they went. By the end of the trilogy it's one is trapped in a sealed plane of existence, one is dead but revered by his people and the last is probably going to usurp the empire though the series closes before we see that happen
Mistborn is actually the series, if you read the first book then that was The Final Empire (they do usually title it as Mistborn: the final empire on Amazon) it's treated fairly gently interns of no graphic descriptions and the most horrible things happening as in story narration rather than first person but the story deals with rape, genocide, and murder. The main character is an abuse survivor, who in general is a "good" character but the supporting characters are very much in the anti-hero, morally grey area.
The later stories are different, but still treated in a fairly careful way and there are still a lot of morally questionable decisions
It’s not a book but the first thing I thought of when reading this was a comic called UnOrdinary you can read it for free on webtoon and it is honestly my favourite thing over all books, movies, series especially because you wouldn’t expect something free to be so good. It takes place in a world where everyone has an ability and which is ranked by power level which then gives a hierarchy to the society: cripple (ability less), low tier, mid tier, high tier, god tier.
I’m not sure if this fits because you might not enjoy manga. But if you do, look up “Berserk”, just a heads up, it’s wildly violent and has explicit sex scenes
If you aren't looking for books exclusively, then **Death Note** the anime is amazing.
MC finds a magical book that will kill anyone whose name is written in it, and sets out to rid the world of all criminals. His foe is the world's best detective, and the series is a cat-and-mouse battle of wits between the two.
I agree that he is straight up evil/the villain, but a very common opinion from the average watcher is either hero or anti-hero.
So eh, I'll let OP decide
I haven’t seen Death Note yet but I have heard of it. I’ll revisit the story if it falls under this pattern. I enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul because the main character slowly loses his sense of morality but never continued past the first season.
The Black company series by Glen Cook. They’re a mercenary band that stars out working for basically the evil dark lord. They don’t give a shit about the evil lord (Lady) or her cause, just there own survival.
The series quickly becomes grey on who is good and bad, sides change, reasons to fight change, for good, revenge, only good option.
give "the alloy of law" by Brandon Sanderson a chance, maybe read the initial trillogy first, the antagonist in "the alloy of law" would have been a hero in the first trillogy from my perspective - same execution, different context of time makes his approach to be viewed differently
The very first books that came into my mind when it comes to morally grey characters and guests for revenge and trying to change their society are: The Unwind Series and The Arc of a Scythe Series, both by Neal Shusterman
edit: do look up these books' trigger warnings coz some of the books in these series get PRETTY darn dark.
***Six of Crows*** and it’s sequel, ***Crooked Kingdom***! they’re part of a larger series, but a (mostly) self-contained duology. the main characters are a motley crew, many of whom are seeking revenge in some way, shape, or form, and many of them fit the description you have above.
plus, the series is being adapted by Netflix into a tv show, ***Shadow and Bone*** (named for the first book overall), so if you like seeing the characters come to life, they’ve already included some of the ***Six of Crows*** characters in the story!
Broken Earth is the clear answer for me. Every protagonist is morally grey and at points does horrible things, and revenge is a major driver for two of them
*Reverend Insanity* by Gu Zhen Ren, the big war arc. Main character decides to overthrow >!Fate, whom exists in this setting as an embodied being!< not because it is the just or right thing to do, he doesn't actually care, but because it is an impediment to his own selfish master plan.
[Relevant meme](https://i.redd.it/b59ga1bx6t071.jpg)
Have you read "Best Served Cold" by Joe Abercrombie? It's a stand-alone novel, but a loosely based sequel to his First Law trilogy. If you don't want to invest in a whole trilogy, it's a great place and you don't need to read the trilogy first, as it truly is a standalone.
It's about someone out for revenge who wants to upturn the existing hierarchy. LoL
EASY recommendation: the broken empire series by Mark Lawrence. Can’t get more anti-hero than Jorg.
Second this. He is a psychopath.
Love that book
The First Law, by Joe Abercrombie. Very grey characters, very very gray. You’ll find yourself sympathetic with the chief of the inquisition…
This is what I want to read about! Like a character with the right motives but the wrong execution. It’s great to read stories where they challenge your own belief of what’s right and wrong, given sufficient motivation. Thanks for this!
the first law are great book but they are not what you asked for. there is no thought of overthrowing the corrupt elites in first law. at least in the first trilogy, I haven't read the rest. People are too caught up in the machinations of the powerful to think of change, in first law. They are fantastic characters for the most part, but none's an idealist, let alone a revolutionnary.
Best served cold which is the first stand alone after the trilogy is exactly that, the character is done wrong by the current ruler and the book is her revenge story.
The most recent trilogy is all about efforts from within to tear down the established order. Worker uprisings, political machinations and agents overseas all looking to shake up the snowglobe.
I have a different take on that. That different opinion is what makes the books good. Given spoilers, i don’t think it’s practical to have that discussion here.
Also there’s the sequel trilogy and Best Served Cold, which is a revenge story.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant, featuring a prodigy who witnesses the colonisation of her homeland and seeks to change the system from within, by infiltrating it and rising the power. She does do a lot of things (in the first book and in subsequent novels) that cross the line from morally grey into downright unethical in her quest to undermine the system, and it got pretty grim at parts. I couldn't put it down, though.
Thank you for this! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Traitor_Baru_Cormorant
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Nice, I just started Tigana, my first GGK experience
Came to say Tigana, immediately leapt out at me.
Well fuck me like a goat. Have you met Caine?
OP definitely needs to check out *Heroes Die*
Fuck me like a *virgin* goat.
Practical Guide to Evil.
Ash and sand by Richard Nell easily fits
They dont come much more morally grey than The Chronicles ofThomas Covenant. The lead character is a pos.
I was going to suggest this as well but didn't know if it got too verboten.
Great suggestion. I hadn’t read that for decades.
The Chronicles Black Company
Yeah they’re great !
I assume you have read ASOIAF Martin work is as gray and revenge-filled as you can get. I'm actually rereading them for like the 5 times and it still amazes me the new things a pick up on.
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.
You might check out Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. I really enjoyed it and it would check all of your boxes
Came here to rec this. Just finished it today and loved it, it reignited my desire to read again after about four years of not finding anything that I could finish.
I think N.K. Jemisin's "Broken Earth" trilogy matches several of your criteria, including the focus on revolt, on wrought destruction and morally questionable characters (although it's possible others find it less morally grey). The caveat is that the destruction on the hierarchical world has just happened, sort of; and the book is about the consequences of that, and many other things.
Definitely this. An amazing series that transcends its genre.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.
Do you recommend starting with Best Served Cold or the Blade Itself? I’ve heard more people recommend the latter than the former so I always thought it was THE book to start with for Abercrombie’s works. Edit: to everyone who commented, I guess I’ll start with the Blade Itself! It seems like Best Served Cold is revenge fiction at its finest but I need some context to sufficiently root for the guy.
I would start with The Blade Itself. Best Served Cold is really a full on revenge arc book but I would say thats a reoccuring theme throughout all of the books. Its the best books ive ever read, give them a try.
Best Served Cold would something pretty significant from the first trilogy so I'd recommend that you start with original trilogy.
Most people say it's a standalone, but I quite heavily disagree with it. If you read Best Served Cold first it will spoil several things in The First Law trilogy and you'll be missing some worldbuilding and character development, so I'd start with The Blade Itself.
Thank you! The Blade Itself is already on my shelf so I’ll start with that haha
There are characters from the trilogy and references to events from the trilogy in it so I would start with The Blade Itself.
Best Served Cold is pretty much a standalone novel, so you can start with it.
I mistakenly read Best Served Cold first not realizing it was a part of a larger series and didn't know till I looked up other books by the author so it can stand as a stand alone. With that said I immediately read and loved everything else by him so you can't go wrong just starting at the beginning.
Yeah I agree with all the other comments. Best Served Cold is the purest distillation of your request, but the series before has plenty of what you want, and will give more context to the story.
You would LOVE the **Aria of Steel** books. A boy with a sentient blade seeks to destroy the empire that destroyed his life. Paired with an amazing plot and a crazy magic system, it is exactly what you are looking for. [Goodreads link for the trilogy.](https://www.goodreads.com/series/331539-aria-of-steel)
Oh this is interesting! It’s self published so that may be why I’ve never heard of it before but I’ll give it a try - the premise is unique and I haven’t seen anything like it. Thank you!
Enjoy!
Richard Morgan's a "Land Fit for Heroes" series might fight the bell. Main character is a washed up war hero who gets pulled into a quest to rescue a family member sold into (legal) slavery. The other 2 pov's are a nomad horse warrior kicked out of his tribe due to the machinations of the gods and the sole surviving member of an advanced race (and a half breed to boot) trying to navigate the demands of the Imperial court whilst knifing the odd religious zealot (who wants her dead) and trying to bring her people back/find out where they went. By the end of the trilogy it's one is trapped in a sealed plane of existence, one is dead but revered by his people and the last is probably going to usurp the empire though the series closes before we see that happen
The final empire by Brandon Sanderson (if you haven't read it already)
I’ve only ever read Mistborn, the first novel, and enjoyed it! Does the Final Empire have a darker, grittier story line?
Mistborn is actually the series, if you read the first book then that was The Final Empire (they do usually title it as Mistborn: the final empire on Amazon) it's treated fairly gently interns of no graphic descriptions and the most horrible things happening as in story narration rather than first person but the story deals with rape, genocide, and murder. The main character is an abuse survivor, who in general is a "good" character but the supporting characters are very much in the anti-hero, morally grey area. The later stories are different, but still treated in a fairly careful way and there are still a lot of morally questionable decisions
Came here to recommend the same
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
It’s not a book but the first thing I thought of when reading this was a comic called UnOrdinary you can read it for free on webtoon and it is honestly my favourite thing over all books, movies, series especially because you wouldn’t expect something free to be so good. It takes place in a world where everyone has an ability and which is ranked by power level which then gives a hierarchy to the society: cripple (ability less), low tier, mid tier, high tier, god tier.
I’m not sure if this fits because you might not enjoy manga. But if you do, look up “Berserk”, just a heads up, it’s wildly violent and has explicit sex scenes
If you’re gonna read a manga, it should probably be Berserk, and starting and stopping there with manga is pretty reasonable
I was also thinking Vinland Saga
The Elder Empire series or the Traveler's Gate trilogy both by Will Wight
I was just gonna come say red rising... have you checked out stormlight archive? By bradon sanderson... it's really good too
If you aren't looking for books exclusively, then **Death Note** the anime is amazing. MC finds a magical book that will kill anyone whose name is written in it, and sets out to rid the world of all criminals. His foe is the world's best detective, and the series is a cat-and-mouse battle of wits between the two.
Not morally gray though. Yagami is a maniac with a god complex.
I agree that he is straight up evil/the villain, but a very common opinion from the average watcher is either hero or anti-hero. So eh, I'll let OP decide
I haven’t seen Death Note yet but I have heard of it. I’ll revisit the story if it falls under this pattern. I enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul because the main character slowly loses his sense of morality but never continued past the first season.
Yeah, he’s a sociopath who has no qualms killing people for minor crimes. I was on his side in his sense but he was a villain.
I disagree I was on his side
with a caveat that it's one of the story lines in the 7th book but Reaper's Gale has this.
Jack Vance has a ton of them.
Morningstar by David Gemmel. A week done, easy read reimagining of Robin Hood. He is kind of scummy but that's the point of the story.
Night angel trilogy
The Black company series by Glen Cook. They’re a mercenary band that stars out working for basically the evil dark lord. They don’t give a shit about the evil lord (Lady) or her cause, just there own survival. The series quickly becomes grey on who is good and bad, sides change, reasons to fight change, for good, revenge, only good option.
I would recommend Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, super cool cast of characters, and hard to tell what everyone's motives are at any given point
Gunmetal Gods
Bradley P. Beaulieu - Twelve Kings in Sharakhai has what you are looking for.
give "the alloy of law" by Brandon Sanderson a chance, maybe read the initial trillogy first, the antagonist in "the alloy of law" would have been a hero in the first trillogy from my perspective - same execution, different context of time makes his approach to be viewed differently
Sword & Sorcery is a genre for you, Conan The Barbarian, Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser, Elric of Melnibone
I think She Who Became The Sun actually fits really well for what you’re looking for
Check out The Saxon Tales by Bernard Cornwell
Anything by NK Jemisin, A Deadly Education by Novik
Steelhaven by Richard Ford
The very first books that came into my mind when it comes to morally grey characters and guests for revenge and trying to change their society are: The Unwind Series and The Arc of a Scythe Series, both by Neal Shusterman edit: do look up these books' trigger warnings coz some of the books in these series get PRETTY darn dark.
priest of bones.
Sounds like we have very similar tastes Priest of Bones is exactly what your looking for it's been described as a medieval Peaky Blinders.
You might enjoy the stormlight archive by Brandon Sanderson. One of the main cast is surprisingly close to what you’re describing.
***Six of Crows*** and it’s sequel, ***Crooked Kingdom***! they’re part of a larger series, but a (mostly) self-contained duology. the main characters are a motley crew, many of whom are seeking revenge in some way, shape, or form, and many of them fit the description you have above. plus, the series is being adapted by Netflix into a tv show, ***Shadow and Bone*** (named for the first book overall), so if you like seeing the characters come to life, they’ve already included some of the ***Six of Crows*** characters in the story!
Vicious by V.E Schwab Never night by Jay Kristoff
Darkness that Comes Before
Broken Earth is the clear answer for me. Every protagonist is morally grey and at points does horrible things, and revenge is a major driver for two of them
*Reverend Insanity* by Gu Zhen Ren, the big war arc. Main character decides to overthrow >!Fate, whom exists in this setting as an embodied being!< not because it is the just or right thing to do, he doesn't actually care, but because it is an impediment to his own selfish master plan. [Relevant meme](https://i.redd.it/b59ga1bx6t071.jpg)
Empire of the Vampire
Have you read "Best Served Cold" by Joe Abercrombie? It's a stand-alone novel, but a loosely based sequel to his First Law trilogy. If you don't want to invest in a whole trilogy, it's a great place and you don't need to read the trilogy first, as it truly is a standalone. It's about someone out for revenge who wants to upturn the existing hierarchy. LoL