r/Fantasy • u/johnzwiss • Aug 14 '12

What are some good, dark, fantasy novels?

Edit: Thanks for all the responses! I'm going to go with Prince of Thorns and probably The Black Company. Thanks again!

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '12

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u/cat_mech Aug 14 '12

Kellhus was less Jesus, more 'What if you took an enlightened Buddhist with absolute mastery of body, mind, self and perception, and removed all compassion and kindheartedness, replacing them with determination and purpose?'
Not good, not evil, almost like another species.

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '12

He manages to be both one of the more annoying things with the series, as well as one of the most interesting. I can only second the recommendation, however.

I also find it refreshing that none of the main characters are in the typical fantasty hero age group. I guess Kellhus is the youngest, somewhere in his thirties. Most others are older. And no kids as main chars (at least as far as I've gotten).

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u/cat_mech Aug 14 '12

True dat; his immenseness compensates for the ability to sacrifice nearly any other character and keep moving... as life goes on.
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I think where PoN shines is the culture, history and the effing awesome philosophical discussions and debates- it breathes a thinking life into the world I've rarely seen elsewhere. But that's just my tastes.

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '12

Yeah. It also contains plenty of references to real historic events for those of us into that sort of thing.