Fantasy · Similar reads
Books like A Darker Shade of Magic
The best books like A Darker Shade of Magic are The Lies of Locke Lamora, Uprooted, and The Goblin Emperor. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab is about parallel worlds, power and corruption, identity and belonging. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
01
Scott Lynch · Fantasy
The Lies of Locke Lamora is set in Camorr, a fantastical city modeled roughly on Renaissance Venice, complete with canals, noble families, crime lords, and a complex social order that the protagonist has spent his life learning to exploit.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - Uprooted
02
Naomi Novik · Fantasy
Uprooted is a standalone fantasy novel inspired by Polish folklore.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - The Goblin Emperor
03
Katherine Addison · Fantasy
The Goblin Emperor begins with an accident: Maia, the half-goblin, half-elf youngest son of the Emperor — long exiled to a remote estate and treated as an embarrassment — learns that his father and three brothers have been killed in an airship crash.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - The Alchemist
04
Paulo Coelho · Religion & Spirituality
The Alchemist is a Brazilian novel first published in 1988 and translated into 80 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Game of Thrones
05
George R.R. Martin · Fantasy
A Game of Thrones is the first volume of George R.R.
Shares power and corruption and loyalty and betrayal with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Read the summary → - The Maltese Falcon
06
Dashiell Hammett · Mystery
San Francisco private detective Sam Spade is hired by a woman calling herself Miss Wonderly to find her missing sister — a lie within thirty seconds of the novel opening.
Shares power and corruption and loyalty and betrayal with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Read the summary → - An Ember in the Ashes
07
Sabaa Tahir · Fantasy
An Ember in the Ashes is set in a Roman Empire-inspired world where the Martial empire has conquered and brutalized the Scholar people for centuries.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary → - The Poppy War
08
R.F. Kuang · Fantasy
Rin is a war orphan from a poor southern province who claws her way into Sinegard, the empire's elite military academy, by acing an exam she was never supposed to pass.
Both dig into identity and belonging.
Read the summary → - The Princess Bride
09
William Goldman · Fantasy
The Princess Bride presents itself as an abridgment: William Goldman claims he is cutting the "boring parts" from a dense historical novel by the fictional S.
Both dig into power and corruption.
Read the summary → - Exit West
10
Mohsin Hamid · Literary fiction
Exit West follows Saeed and Nadia, two young people who meet and fall in love in an unnamed city beginning to fracture under the pressure of civil conflict.
Both dig into identity and belonging.
Read the summary → - Great Expectations
11
Charles Dickens · Classics
Great Expectations follows Pip, an orphan boy on the Kent marshes who is yanked from modest obscurity into the orbit of wealth and social aspiration when an anonymous benefactor funds his move to London.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary → - Leviathan Wakes
12
James S.A. Corey · Science fiction
Two hundred years from now, humanity has colonized Mars and the asteroid belt, and the political fault lines between Earth, Mars, and the Belters — the third-generation descendants of asteroid miners — are the dominant tension in the solar system.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary →
Books like A Darker Shade of Magic: quick answers
What are the best books like A Darker Shade of Magic?
The best books like A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab are The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with A Darker Shade of Magic, such as parallel worlds, power and corruption, identity and belonging.
What should I read after A Darker Shade of Magic?
A natural next read after A Darker Shade of Magic is The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. A kindred fantasy read. Other strong choices are Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
What books are similar to A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab?
A Darker Shade of Magic centers on parallel worlds, power and corruption, identity and belonging. Books with a similar feel include The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
