10 Books To Read If You Love The Witcher

It’s no secret that Netflix has a winner on its hands with The Witcher. Based on the very popular series of novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski and featuring Henry Cavill in the title role as Geralt, the series manages to capture a bit of the grittiness of Game of Thrones while injecting enough wit and humor to make it stand out on its own. For those trying to figure out what to do with themselves while waiting for the second season of the series to be released on Netflix, here are ten books that you can read if you love The Witcher.

10 The Name of the Wind

The first of Patrick Rothfuss’s enormously popular The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Name of the Wind follows the adventures of Kvothe, a warrior who slowly builds a reputation about himself. Toggling between past and present, the series is told almost entirely from his point of view.

As of 2020, only two books and one prequel novella have been published in the series, so that’s important to keep in mind when choosing whether to read it. For those who do, the world-building and character development are top-notch, making the arrival of the third volume well worth the wait.

9 The Gunslinger

The first volume of Stephen King’s bleak, dark The Dark Tower series has a lot in common with The Witcher. Both feature lone figures setting out on quests in pursuit of enigmatic enemies, and both feature a landscape that is fuzzy enough on the edges to let our imaginations run wild.

The Gunslinger is the first of a total of eight volumes in series. It was recently adapted into a film that, despite its stellar cast, didn’t do well with critics or at the box office. Hopefully, someone someday will be able to bring his great work to screen.

8 The Dirty Streets of Heaven

Though he’s best known for writing sprawling epic fantasy, Tad Williams does something a little extraordinary in this book, which is something of a mix between Paradise Lost and film noir. The plot moves along at a fast clip, and it is full of an irreverent sort of humor about all things celestial and spiritual.

Featuring the irascible angel Doloriel (known as Bobby Dollar), the book explores what it means to be an angel and a demon, and whether anyone is truly damned. It’s truly a one of a kind reading experience.

7 The Last Kingdom

For those who enjoyed the gritty and rather bleak feel of The Witcher, Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom offers something similar. Set in England during the wars between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings, the series follows the trials and tribulations of the Saxon warrior Uhtred of Bebbanburg as he attempts to both reclaim his lands and gain revenge on those who were responsible for the death of his family.

Even better, the series has also been adapted for television, and it’s streaming on Netflix, so you can watch it after you finish reading the books.

6 Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson has made a name for himself by crafting elaborate worlds with intricate magic systems. Both of those are on display in this book, the first book of the trilogy of the same name. It follows a typical epic quest template, with some new twists thrown in.

Fans of The Witcher will appreciate that the series isn’t afraid to explore some of the darker aspects of fantasy. The world that Sanderson has created is a pretty gritty one, both metaphorically and literally, and the characters have to make some truly wrenching decisions as they attempt to save their world from destruction.

5 The High Druid’s Blade

This book is actually just one entry in author Terry Brooks’s sprawling, multi-volume Shannara series. What makes it ideal for fans of The Witcher is the fact that you don’t have to have read any of the books in the series to truly enjoy it.

The novel, and the two that follow it, follow the adventures of a young man named Paxon Leah, as he becomes the chief defender of the Druids. He gradually finds himself opposed to the villainous sorcerer Arcannen, who tries to claim the magic of the elusive Druids for himself.

4 A Time of Dread

The first book in a sequel series to Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen, A Time of Dread takes place in a world where armies of angels and demons remain locked in a battle that seems to never end. A group of humans finds themselves caught in the crosshairs, and they must all decide on the boundaries between good and evil.

As with the previous series, this book is full of violence and the sense of an encroaching darkness. However, it’s precisely this mix that gives the novel its bite and makes it a perfect read for fans of The Witcher.

3 The Children of Húrin

It might seem a little strange to include one of Tolkien’s works here, but this book—published by his son Christopher—is very unlike The Lord of the Rings. It is set back in the First Age, and revolves around the tragedy of two characters, Túrin Turambar and his sister.

What makes this book a perfect book for fans of The Witcher is its emphasis on moral ambiguity and on the darkness that often lies at the heart of even the noblest of people with the best of intentions.

2 The Rage of Dragons

Up until recently, there has been a disappointing lack of people of color and their voices in the fantasy genre. Fortunately, authors like Evan Winter are changing that, and his The Rage of Dragons shows why those voices are so important.

Set in a country that has been plagued by the evils of colonialism, The Rage of Dragons is very much an epic coming of age story. However, the grittiness of its narrative, combined with its bracing depictions of violence as key to the development of its main character, make this a must-read for fans of The Witcher.

1  Arrows of the Queen

Though significantly lighter in tone than The Witcher, the first volume in Mercedes Lackey’s wildly popular and sprawling Valdemar series features a young woman named Talia who goes on a series of quests as she tries to prove herself worthy of being a Herald. In the process, she becomes the confidant of a queen and must save the kingdom from numerous threats.

There are many subsequent books in Lackey’s series, but this is where it all begins, and reading it you know you going to get lost in this enchanting world full of characters that you can genuinely like and cheer for.

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