Here are 16 books that Blood of Empire fans have personally recommended if you like Blood of Empire. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Random Answer

From Random's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Random loves this book

A long answer would just rehash what everyone says. Bottom line it was my first foray into modern LitRPG (I think I may have read some really early LitRPG from before it being a thing...which I also really like...Quag Keep by Andre Norton back in the 70s maybe?) and turns out as a lifelong gamer (I've been playing RPGs since before DnD had editions) I really enjoy it. I have DCC to thank for turning me onto it.

By Matt Dinniman ,

Why should I read it?

112 authors picked Dungeon Crawler Carl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Shadeslinger

Chris Tullbane Author Of See These Bones

From my list on starters in progression fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an author, I’m fascinated with the fictional quest for power and the challenges and changes that journey both entails and provokes. Progression fantasy, beyond all the numbers and formalized rankings, is about the character first… not just people growing stronger, but how that growth impacts them on a fundamental level. It's something central to my own fiction, and as I’ve explored the progression fantasy genre, I’ve loved seeing the different ways other authors tackle that same idea. The worlds, people, and magic systems vary wildly between different series in the genre, but that central conflict’s impact on those engaged in it remains uniquely compelling.

Chris' book list on starters in progression fantasy

Chris Tullbane Why Chris loves this book

Shadeslinger is another LitRPG but belongs to the subgenre known as VRMMO.

The characters are playing a full-immersion, virtual reality MMO, and it’s the game world that provides the framework of levels, skills, and advancement. It’s not a subgenre that I always love, but Shadeslinger and its sequels are an exception to that rule!

I love how the author leans into the game nature of the world to create constant challenges and global threats, and I love the main character’s me-against-the-world attitude, which changes as he finds an in-game family beyond anything he had in the real world.

But my favorite aspect is one unique to this subgenre… as someone who played MMOs for decades, these books do an incredible job of capturing that atmosphere while injecting humanity and pathos into the mix.

By Kyle Kirrin ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Shadeslinger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Corporate flameout Ned Altimer dreams of leaving his world behind. So when Earthblood Online splashes onto the VRMMO scene, he dives in and never looks back.

His advantages are twofold: exclusive access to the game’s three-day Head Start period, and a ridiculously handsome talking axe named Frank who has knowledge of the game’s deepest secrets…if the magnificent Frank ever feels like sharing them.

But those advantages also make Ned a target. Once the Head Start period ends, his fellow players will stop at nothing to rip that suave, violent-yet-disarmingly-charismatic axe right out of his hands.

In seventy-two hours, the greatest…


Book cover of Promise of Blood

Scott Drakeford Author Of Rise of the Mages

From my list on speculative fiction featuring revolutions: fight the power!.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m Scott Drakeford, engineer, former corporate person, long-time reader of fantasy fiction, and current author of epic fantasy books that heavily feature a fight against an unjust empire. I’m also the co-host of the Publishing Rodeo podcast, which explores the business side of traditional publishing. I approve this message.

Scott's book list on speculative fiction featuring revolutions: fight the power!

Scott Drakeford Why Scott loves this book

Fight the power, flintlock style. Field Marshal Tamas and his son Taniel Two-Shot execute the previous ruler and spark a bloody war.

I liked the father-son dynamic and the political machinations. The flintlock warfare and very closely related magic system(s) were also quite fun.

By Brian McClellan ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Promise of Blood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The Age of Kings is dead. And I have killed it.' Field Marshal Tamas's coup against his king sends corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brings bread to the starving. But it also provokes war in the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics and greedy scrambling for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers' unions and mercenary forces. Stretched to his limit, Tamas relies heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be Tamas's estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty will be…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Road

Corey Niles Author Of What Remains

From my list on end of the world books.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a horror writer whose interests tend to favor morbid topics that are often neglected, end-of-the-world stories have fascinated me since I first read Stephen King’s The Stand at far too young of an age. I love how these works enable the exploration of life, death, and survival. My appreciation for the subject matter deepened during my studies in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, where I learned how genre fiction has the unique ability to both enlighten and entertain readers. This inspired me to write my post-apocalyptic horror novel, What Remains.

Corey's book list on end of the world books

Corey Niles Why Corey loves this book

I was first introduced to the film adaptation of The Road in my early teens when I went through all five stages of grief in the span of 1 hour and 51 minutes.

I then made a beeline to the bookstore for a copy of McCarthy’s novel, which subsequently solidified my love of end-of-the-world stories in how they can examine what it means to survive.

The Road is a story that has stayed with me over the subsequent decade and a half and greatly influenced my post-apocalyptic novel.

By Cormac McCarthy ,

Why should I read it?

40 authors picked The Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, this "tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle).

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if…


Book cover of The Blade Itself

mike13

From Mike's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Mike loves this book

The character development is phenomenal.

By Joe Abercrombie ,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked The Blade Itself as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior…


Book cover of The Last Kingdom

Kat Haas

From Kat's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Unknown Author Why Kat loves this book

This applies to the Saxon Chronicles series as a whole, not just the first book. I am someone who has an interest in Viking Age Britain on a scholastic and entertainment level.

I read the entire series back to back and found it quick, easy, enjoyable and sometimes hard-hitting. Uhtred isn't a perfect person, he often gets in his own way and has his bad qualities but deep down he is a good man, even if he can be viewed as more morally grey than perhaps the other major characters in the plot.

There's plenty of bloody action and drama but you also see characters evolve as they grow older and the world dramatically changes around them during this very pivotal time in British history.

By Bernard Cornwell ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Last Kingdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions.

A hero will be forged from this broken land.

As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.

In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one.

Alfred - Saxon, king, man of god - fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners.

Uhtred and Alfred's fates are tangled, soaked in blood and blackened…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Mistborn: The Final Empire

Trilip Schofield

From Trilip's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Trilip loves this book

Strongly plot driven, nicely wrapped up

By Brandon Sanderson ,

Why should I read it?

38 authors picked Mistborn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Brandon Sanderson - the international phenomenon who finished the Wheel of Time sequence - introduces a fantasy trilogy which overturns the expectations of readers and goes on to tell the epic story of evil overturned in a richly imagined world.

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash…


Book cover of Red Rising

David Wickenden Author Of In Defense of Innocence

From David's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Voracious reader Screenwriter Retired firefighter Grumpy old fart

David's 3 favorite reads in 2025

David Wickenden Why David loves this book

In the future, humanity has settled throughout the solar system. Humanity has been divided into colours, with Gold ruling and the Reds slaves. Each colour knows its place until a ruling Gold hangs a young Red. This starts the beginning of a rebellion. Darrow, the husband of the murdered woman, gives up his humanity to be transformed into a Gold.
Sent to the Institute with other young Golds, he must learn to fight and survive in a society that awards only the strong. Only by winning does he gain admittance to the society so that he might strike from within.
This story has everything. Humour, action galore, betrayal, loyalty and romance. I listened to the audio version which came to life under the expert narration of Tim Gerald Reynolds. I ate up the first three novels in non-stop marathon reading.

By Pierce Brown ,

Why should I read it?

39 authors picked Red Rising as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, BUZZFEED, GOODREADS AND SHELF AWARENESS

Pierce Brown's heart-pounding debut is the first book in a spectacular series that combines the drama of Game of Thrones with the epic scope of Star Wars.

**********

'Pierce Brown's empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision . . . Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow' - Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic

'[A] top-notch debut novel . . . Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field' - USA Today

**********

Darrow is a Helldiver. A pioneer…


Book cover of The Black Company

D J McNulty Author Of Divine Tales of Doomed Outcasts

From my list on dark fantasy novels that feature characters who are as epic as their stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I received the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Red Box as a kid, and I have been hooked on all things fantasy fiction since. It has become a part of my life so much that each character takes on a special importance for me. Some characters exist in worlds full of swords and magic, while others live in realms that are dirty, bleak, and on the brink of utter ruin. As a writer, I enjoy seeing the different perspectives these characters bring to fantasy settings. It makes them unique, each in their own way. Some want to right the wrongs of the worlds they reside in, while others don’t care if it all burns down around them.

D J's book list on dark fantasy novels that feature characters who are as epic as their stories

D J McNulty Why D J loves this book

In reading The Black Company, I felt like I was stumbling onto soldiers’ private journals.

No shining heroes, no noble speeches—just tired men doing dirty jobs for dirtier employers. What hooked me wasn’t the battles but the banter, the sense of weary camaraderie. Croaker’s perspective makes war almost intimate, showing us the quiet boredom between bursts of chaos. I loved how Cook doesn’t romanticize anything. Instead, he captures the confusion, cruelty, and humor of being part of something too big to fully grasp.

It’s fantasy that smells like mud, sweat, and campfire smoke.

By Glen Cook ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Black Company as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.

Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...

So begins one of the greatest fantasy epics of our age―Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company.


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Bran Mak Morn: The Last King

L.R. Knight Author Of The Trials of the Lion

From my list on fantasy to put some fire in your blood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a world traveler and educator, a student of psychology and myth, and a lover of the wild and ancient places. I believe that sword and sorcery, the vanguard of modern fantasy, is overdue for a comeback. These tales echo the trials of Hercules, the rage of Achilles, and the melancholy of Gilgamesh and Beowulf, to name a few. There is much yet to learn: I write to stir my readers’ blood, and to examine the lessons of the epics: that man must face down the inhuman and monstrous to discover himself; that we cannot truly live until we have borne a great trial of our own. Stay fierce!

L.R.'s book list on fantasy to put some fire in your blood

L.R. Knight Why L.R. loves this book

A doomed king, the last of his kind: a final shepherd of a race fallen into such depravity and barbarity that most no longer see the Picts as human; a man driven to deliver his kin from Roman oppression, to lift his people out of squalor. I was floored by Howard’s iron-hard writing in this all-too-brief sequence of heroic stories. The razor descriptions cut to the core of a man willing to give his all in a doomed quest. I read and re-read the few tales of Bran, but I always find something new and ferocious in the brooding king’s tragedy and bitter triumph. These tales rekindled my love of sword and sorcery, and helped me hone the edge in my own stories. I recommend them to any fantasy fan!

By Robert E. Howard ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bran Mak Morn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Robert E. Howard’s fertile imagination sprang some of fiction’s greatest heroes, including Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull, and Solomon Kane. But of all Howard’s characters, none embodied his creator’s brooding temperament more than Bran Mak Morn, the last king of a doomed race.

In ages past, the Picts ruled all of Europe. But the descendants of those proud conquerors have sunk into barbarism . . . all save one, Bran Mak Morn, whose bloodline remains unbroken. Threatened by the Celts and the Romans, the Pictish tribes rally under his banner to fight for their very survival, while Bran fights…


Book cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl
Book cover of Shadeslinger
Book cover of Promise of Blood

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