Fantasy · Similar reads
Books like The Blade Itself
The best books like The Blade Itself are Homage to Catalonia, All Quiet on the Western Front, and War and Peace. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie is about moral ambiguity, war and its costs, power and cynicism. 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.
- Homage to Catalonia
01
George Orwell · Memoir
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's firsthand account of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, which he joined in late 1936 as a volunteer with the POUM militia — a Trotskyist revolutionary organization that was later suppressed by the Soviet-backed Stalinist wing of the Republican forces.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - All Quiet on the Western Front
02
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque · History
All Quiet on the Western Front follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enlists with his classmates during the First World War after being swept up in patriotic speeches.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - War and Peace
03
Leo Tolstoy · Literary fiction
War and Peace follows five aristocratic Russian families across fifteen years of Napoleonic war and peace, from the drawing rooms of St.
Both dig into war and its costs.
Read the summary → - The Power of Myth
04
Joseph Campbell · Philosophy
The Power of Myth is the transcript of six hours of conversations between Joseph Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers, filmed at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in 1985 and 1986 and broadcast on PBS in 1988, shortly after Campbell's death.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - Iron Flame
05
Rebecca Yarros · Fantasy
Iron Flame picks up in the immediate aftermath of Fourth Wing's reveal, with Violet Sorrengail now knowing what the war is actually about and what her mother has been hiding.
Both dig into war and its costs.
Read the summary → - Murder on the Orient Express
06
Agatha Christie · Mystery
A man is found stabbed in his sleeping compartment on the snowbound Orient Express somewhere in Yugoslavia.
Both dig into moral ambiguity.
Read the summary → - The Last Wish
07
Andrzej Sapkowski · Short stories
The Last Wish is the first Witcher book to be published in English, though not the first written, and it introduces readers to Geralt of Rivia — a professional monster-hunter in a world that is running out of the kind of monsters worth hunting.
Both dig into moral ambiguity.
Read the summary → - The Maltese Falcon
08
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.
Both dig into moral ambiguity.
Read the summary → - A Court of Mist and Fury
09
Sarah J. Maas · Fantasy
A Court of Mist and Fury begins where A Court of Thorns and Roses ended: Feyre is back in the Spring Court with Tamlin, but she is not the same person who left.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Court of Thorns and Roses
10
Sarah J. Maas · Fantasy
Feyre Archeron is nineteen, hunting in winter to feed her family, when she kills a wolf in the forest and is taken by a creature from Prythian — the land of the fae — as payment for a life.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Darker Shade of Magic
11
V.E. Schwab · Fantasy
A Darker Shade of Magic is set across four parallel versions of London — Red, Grey, White, and the long-destroyed Black — each existing in the same location but separated by the barriers between worlds.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Game of Thrones
12
George R.R. Martin · Fantasy
A Game of Thrones is the first volume of George R.R.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary →
Books like The Blade Itself: quick answers
What are the best books like The Blade Itself?
The best books like The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie are Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Blade Itself, such as moral ambiguity, war and its costs, power and cynicism.
What should I read after The Blade Itself?
A natural next read after The Blade Itself is Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. A kindred fantasy read. Other strong choices are All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.
What books are similar to The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie?
The Blade Itself centers on moral ambiguity, war and its costs, power and cynicism. Books with a similar feel include Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
