Lythande needs gritty fantasy suggestions

ASoIaF.

Fade to Black - Frances Knight (AWer Mr Flibble)

Anything by Joe Abercrombie
Prince of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

Terry Goodkind, Sword of Truth. Surprised that's not on your list.

jerrimander said:

Terry Goodkind, Sword of Truth. Surprised that's not on your list.

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This is gritty/mature!? WHOA!

there is submissive/dominance throughout the series. certainly mature, gritty...well, that depends on the reader. not every book is top quality, but the first 3 books, I highly recommend for good storytelling. zeddicus z'ul zorander is a delight to read.

Lythande said:

Now I'm confused ^^;; I take it that's sarcasm and it would really go on my PG list?

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No, actually I learned something! I'm happy!

I do find it sad that you'd instantly mark off PG books. Some have great. Story lines and/lore... XD

To each their own!

Lythande, you might find some things worth reading in the M/M erotic fantasy sections of Samhain, Carina Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Dreamspinner Press. Lots of us M/M writers got bored with the fade to black stuff from mainstream fantasy, and e-rom publishers are showing interest in stories with as much or more plot than formulaic frames for sex scenes.

What you are looking for is almost the same type of story I love to write. Alas, I'm working on space opera novels now, not epic fantasy.

In mainstream fantasy (and not explicit, though certainly richer than Misty Lackey's work), you might look for Lynn Flewelling's 'Nightrunner' series, about two bi male characters in a fairly dark fantasy world. There are seven books in the series now, I think.

Check out Amy Rae Durrison's 'Reawakening' from Dreamspinner. It might be really close to what you like: gritty fights, zombies, shapeshifting dragons, a smart ass desert sprite, sympathetic M/M relationships and lots of graphic sex set in a fantasy world that isn't as cookie-cutter as many romantic fantasy novels have been.

For graphic arts, you might look at HamletMachine's online comic 'Starfighter' at www.starfightercomic.com. Space opera political thriller, with graphic sex and a mismatched pair of young men who are pawns in at least two different wars.

The M/M is sometimes incidental, but Colleen Doran's space opera graphic novels in her 'A Distant Soil' universe might catch your interest.

Though the M/M aspects are either non-consensual or very discreet, you might enjoy Dorothy Dunnett's 'Lymond' and 'Niccolo' series of historical almost-magic-realism. Start with Lymond. These are two huge series with big books, meticulously researched, writing that gets very dark and emotional, and downright addictive and complex stories.

Oh, yeah, and another Dunnett fan used them as inspiration for the M/M political fantasy series 'Captive Prince'. The first two were self-published to strong sales, and are being reissued by a Big Five imprint. Slow-build M/M relationship amid political backstabbing that makes 'Game of Thrones' look a little more like 'Sweet Valley High'.