31 books like The Witcher

It doesn’t hurt to be a goddess—even a minor goddess—that is, unless you are condemned to live alone on an enchanted island for eternity. I love the magic and herbology woven into Circe's character. (I love anything that has to do with harnessing nature’s powerful, innate wisdom.)

Circe’s suffering at the hands of gods and men is as intense as if she were a human woman. Yet she is immortal. Is there no end to it? Thankfully, even a goddess can grow. 

One of the classic novels about monsters having internal lives. Grendel doesn’t even survive the first half of the Beowulf poem.

But what was his life like? This creature who went into rages over music and merriment? This outsider who clearly had no one to commune with? Where there could just be pathos, Gardner injects surprising dorkiness and humor that further round out Grendel’s existence. And there’s a huge bonus in the poem’s dragon also showing up as an utter weirdo neighbor.

This case has a spoiler, but a famous one: we wait halfway through the book before we’re suddenly hanging out with Death herself. For the first half, there is an epidemic of life. As the new year rings in, suddenly, nobody can die, no matter what happens to them.

Celebrations slowly turn into existential dread and bafflement that sweep the globe, and the whole novel could have been like that. But in Saramago’s novel, we pivot to meeting Death and learning why she’s unwilling to go to work today and what things are preoccupying her more than upholding the natural order. Maybe it’s the dating scene. When Death can’t get someone out of her thoughts, it has ramifications.

The Brides of Dracula are a classic overlooked group. Most adaptations treat them like a sexy slideshow of danger, not allowed to do anything other than lust and hunger. They’re a flattened idea of feminine desire, put on Dracula’s leash.

S.T. Gibson breathes them to life (or undeath) by imagining what their long existence is like, constantly under a temperamental abuser’s thumb. Yes, they are angry and hungry, and they yearn, but it’s a deeply human yearning for more than companionship. You root for them to be the ones to plunge knives into the count’s heart.

Since I have been thinking in the direction of creating an RPG/Action/Adventure game out of the universe that I'm baking, I picked up something that has already achieved that (note: that's before the fancy TV series came out). Witcher is a messy book, and I'm not exactly in love with the characters (except for the vampire), yet, it is hard to put down. The events unfolding with and around the characters are... well, eventful, and the questions the author manages to bring up in my head need answers. The complex universe is complexly done—the lore is rich with earthen mysteries—suppose, Polish folklore and such attempts of folklore honoring or revival, to my mind, seem like an interesting thing to do – it is the untapped power of exoticism. I mean, aren't we all worn out by the most common, comic-book revived characters from the… show more.

While Henry Cavill’s depiction of Geralt is stellar, the Netflix series is no substitute for the dark, engrossing, and morally grey tale that is The Witcher. For me, The Witcher games and novels were the exact combination of monster hunting, moral quandaries, and somber contemplation that I needed.

It’s no wonder that people describe my books as a modern Witcher! While the main novels are excellent, the short story anthology that started it all is legendary and is a must-read!

Who wouldn’t want to be granted wishes? Then again, it’s best to heed the old idiom, “Be careful what you wish for.” 

Pam Wilkins lives a miserable life. When she encounters a Djinn who promises her happiness, beauty, wealth, and anything she can hope for, she is desperate enough to give in to temptation. The Djinn does, in fact, grant her wishes, but they come at a hefty cost.

Calling this book sick and twisted would be an understatement. West exceeds the boundaries of human decency. The scenes are downright vile and will surely make you gag. The story is engrossing, wildly imaginative, and has a great twist at the end.

This is a fun, playful novel that completely breaks all of the boundaries—time, gender, country, and fact—not surprising from Salman Rushdie! It is a dizzying ride, going from the Ferris wheel, to bumper cars, to the house of mirrors in a theme park.

Rather than relying so much on the strict frame narrative, Rushdie experiments with the idea of characters who are overtaken by “the jinn”—a wild, irrational impulse that perverts existing norms. It is Dunyazad, Shahrazad’s sister who marries Ibn Rushd, the great philosopher who was marginalized in 1195 by the Caliph. Rushdie tells the stories of all of Dunyazad or Dunia’s descendants, as well as the eternal war between Ibn Rushd and Al-Ghazali, eight hundred years beyond the grave. A fan of the wacky and weird, Rushdie outdoes himself with the characters in this story.

After a super-storm, the line between humans and the jinns blurs… show more.

The story of two mystical creatures stuck in 1899 New York who have to make their own way in the world.  Despite their different natures, they become unlikely friends and have to work together to survive. 

While I enjoyed the perspective of both supernatural beings in this book, I found the golem especially engaging. Through her eyes, the reader gets an amazingly detailed view of turn-of-the-century New York as well as the intricacies of human behavior. 

The jinni faces different challenges—he’s lost a chunk of his memory—but he also has to adapt to life among people. Wrapped in a rich tapestry of historical details, the story walks us through their processes of acclimating to human society and facing the dangers of their pasts.

Now here is a fantasy mixed with Rom-Com like you’ve never known before. I laughed and felt my heart throb the entirety of this book.

Sometimes it’s good to step away from the morally gray love interest and fall for the sweet one. Velis is a hot genie who becomes attached to his “master” (the conjurer of his genie lamp). Dolly is a heavily self-disciplined girl with a tragic story. With a deep need of mending her struggle, Velis is the supportive, compassionate, and respectful love interest perfectly capable of such a task.

Add in a hot genie bad boy brother and you have a dramatic story worth reading.