If what gripped you in Elric of Melniboné was following Elric’s fraught decisions—like unleashing Stormbringer to survive and outmaneuver Yyrkoon—then you’ll love the vicious charm of Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself. You’ll track the crippled inquisitor Glokta as he justifies cruelty for the “greater good,” and the infamous Logen Ninefingers as he tries (and often fails) to outrun his bloody past. Like Elric bargaining with Arioch for power he can’t control, these characters seize messy, compromising paths that make every small victory feel dangerously costly.

You enjoyed Elric’s soul-drinking pact with Stormbringer and his summons to Arioch’s terrifying aid—so step into the annals of The Black Company, where mercenaries like Croaker serve the sorcerous Lady and her Taken. Battles hinge on dark spells, necromancy, and ominous names spoken at the wrong moment. The way Elric’s victories against Yyrkoon are paid for with blood and doom echoes in the Company’s campaigns, where every alliance with great powers stains the soul and shifts the tide with monstrous magic.

If Elric’s loose, perilous sorcery—calling elementals, bargaining with Chaos—hooked you, The Scar will sweep you aboard the floating pirate city of Armada with Bellis Coldwine, where thaumaturgy is slippery and terrifying. An attempt to harness a leviathan-like avanc and the enigmatic power surrounding Uther Doul’s Possible Sword mirror the way Elric taps forces he barely masters. As with Elric’s summoning of gods who demand a price, every ritual here feels like a dare to the cosmos, paid for in blood and consequence.

If the grim fatalism of Elric of Melniboné—from Cymoril’s imperilment to Stormbringer’s cruel toll—pulled you in, Prince of Thorns delivers that same razor edge. Jorg Ancrath carves his path through a shattered realm with the same merciless momentum Elric shows when he embraces his doom to topple his usurpers. The victories are jagged, the moral lines scorched, and every step forward exacts a personal cost that will feel chillingly familiar.

If Elric’s struggle with fate—his reliance on Stormbringer and the Law/Chaos balance—stuck with you, A Wizard of Earthsea explores those questions with haunting clarity. Ged’s prideful summoning looses a shadow that dogs him across the archipelago, much as Elric’s bargains with Arioch bind him to forces he can’t fully master. Watching Ged reckon with names, equilibrium, and responsibility will resonate if you found Elric’s hard-earned insight as compelling as his swordplay.