Books to read next
Every book here was chosen because it captures what made The Witcher special — not just the genre, but the feeling.
The First Law Trilogy
Three storylines converge on a war that nobody really wants — with a cast of antiheroes who survive through pragmatism, not heroism.
The closest equivalent in terms of moral philosophy: the world is dark, heroes don't exist, and doing the lesser evil is still doing evil. Abercrombie is essential.
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Prince of Thorns
A thirteen-year-old prince leads a band of murderers across a broken kingdom — and he's the protagonist.
Even darker than The Witcher. Lawrence writes brilliant antiheroes with the same moral complexity Sapkowski brings to Geralt.
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The Lies of Locke Lamora
A gang of thieves in a Renaissance Italian city pull off an elaborate con — the world is beautiful and dangerous and the characters are morally flexible.
Not as dark as The Witcher but has the same beautifully realised world and the same 'competent pragmatist navigates a corrupt world' energy.
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A Song of Ice and Fire
The game of thrones in Westeros: nobody is purely good, nobody is purely evil, and the people you love die.
The same refusal of heroic fantasy's moral simplicity. Martin and Sapkowski are ideological peers.
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The Blade Itself
A crippled inquisitor, a barbarian warrior, and a disgraced nobleman are manipulated into the same story by the world's greatest mage.
Abercrombie's standalone entry point. The First Law trilogy is the full picture, but this first book establishes the world faster than the Witcher short stories.
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Robin Hobb: Assassin's Apprentice
The illegitimate son of a prince is taken in by the royal family and trained as an assassin — with a bond to the kingdom's animals.
Hobb's Farseer Trilogy has Sapkowski's emotional depth and moral complexity with a more epic scope. FitzChivalry Farseer is one of the best protagonists in fantasy.
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Tigana
A province has been erased from memory by a conqueror's curse — and a group of survivors tries to reclaim it.
Kay writes historical-feeling fantasy with the same bittersweet endings and moral complexity as Sapkowski. Tigana is his masterpiece.
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