10 Great Gothic Fantasy Books to Pick Up This Fall

A good gothic read can set the mood for the fall season if one sees it as a time of spooky activities and books that perfectly blend horror and fantasy. The Gothic genre is generally defined by visions of Gothic architecture – Although when the set dressings do not strictly adhere to this style, it is still all about old buildings and dark academia. yet “Gothic” Could be just the tone of the story, with enigmatic characters, a dark palette and explorations of evil, knowledge and power.

Readers are eagerly awaiting the biggest fantasy books to come out in October 2024, but atmospheric novels new and old will get everyone into the seasonal spirit. A handful of classic novels inform nearly all modern Gothic writing, Defining the subgenre with dramatic monsters and period set pieces. Therefore, there is also some overlap between the best Gothic books and the best historical fantasy books, often dealing with devastating historical events.

10

The familiar

By Lei Bardugo

Large parts of Leigh Bardugo’s career as a YA icon, penning multiple BookTok books that deserve the hype, demonstrate gothic undertones. Six of Crows And crooked kingdom Have more of an industrial revolution setting, but in a gritty city inhabited by criminal masterminds where crows abound, the subgenre is present. Ninth house exhibits all the trappings of a gothic, dark academy story, Depicting the unethical supernatural activities of the elite societies at Yale University.

The familiar will instantly intrigue Bardugo fans, Set in the Spanish Golden Age. The new book follows a young woman who is used by aristocrats for her supernatural gifts until she jumps at the chance to increase her own power. Luzia Cotado meets alchemists, seers and the like in this historical fantasy that deals with the religious politics of the time. Bardugo walks the line between survival and ambition, creating another exciting fantasy story.

9

Clockwork angel

by Cassandra Clare

The first time Cassandra Clare moved her Shadowhunters company into a period setting, she instantly had another hit. Following Tessa Gray as she travels to London to find her brother, Clockwork angel Dives right into a steampunk fantasy Victorian playground, with new and old faces. The stratified underground society of demon hunters introduced in The Mortal Instruments Translated well into the Victorian era, A setting noted for its strict rules.

The infernal devices Is also a series that enjoyable solves the love triangle by not having the heroine caught between two suitors choose at all. There are plenty of elegant characters, costumes and set pieces throughout the prequel trilogy, plus shadowy monsters and tragic curses. Clockwork angel is the beginning of an indulgent gothic adventure, Leading into the similarly-toned Edwardian era The last hour Trilogy.

8

One dark window

by Rachel Gilig

Readers see the two staple settings of the Gothic genre on the two covers of the Shepherd King duology: Domineering Castles and Twisting Forests. The two-installment structure is gaining traction in the book industry, allowing some amazing fantasy book duologies to exist. One such duology is One dark window And Two twisted crows, The setting of what is a cursed kingdom shrouded in an ever-present mist, calls back to the misty moors of The secret garden and the shadowy castle of Dracula.

One dark window Features a unique magic system and monster. “Supervision Cards” Grant power to those who choose them, while The main character Elspeth hates a being she calls The “Nightmare” in her head. One dark window Plays with familiar themes of the cost of magic, as Elspeth’s monster grants her protection but consumes her mind, and she and a mysterious highwayman set out to save the kingdom of Blender from dark magic.

7

Pantomime

By Laura Lamb

Set in an alternate world that vaguely resembles Victorian England, Pantomime And its two sequels follow an intersex protagonist and a troupe of dynamic circus-inspired characters. Raised by affluent parents to be the perfect debutante, Gene runs away when she discovers they are planning to perform surgery on her without her consent. The hero of the story becomes an acrobat in a circus, takes the name Micah Gray and uses mostly masculine pronouns.

Micah is at home in the new circumstances but is haunted by visions of a lost civilization and has strange, growing powers. The Micah Gray trilogy features valuable LGBTQ+ representation and depictions of tensions between outsiders and their families Which shows how complicated such a situation can be. The characters find beautiful pieces of empowerment in stories and performances in a series defined by ephemeral things.

6

A study in drowning

by Ava Reid

A study in drowning The clauses in the architectural aspects that are the traditional performance of the Gothic genre when the protagonist is the only female architecture student in a famous college. Having gone through multiple traumatic experiences in life, Effy Sayre has always turned to the subverted fairy tale novel Angharad for comfort. This plot point is the basis for Ava Reid’s deep take on how art can save a person’s life.

The story takes off when Effy wins a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign AngharadThe author’s crumbling estate. Effie finds herself at odds with a literary student who wants to expose the author as a fraud in the haunted house, and discovers the magical (not in a good way) truth behind her favorite book. A study in drowning Leverages another alternate world and a story-within-a-story plot to support its main theme of brutal sexism.

5

Babel, or the necessity of violence

By Rebecca Kuang

Babel Takes place at the beginning of the Victorian era, among the medieval structures of Oxford University (many of which are shown in Wonka). however, Babel is less about enjoying the visual splendor of the city, Use imagination as a means to expose the imperialistic practices of the university during the 19th and 20th centuries. A variety of students, some of whom come from England’s colonies, are recruited to study linguistic magic to expand the empire’s power.

Babel is a recent fantasy book with one of the most unique magic systems, as the magic that the characters learn to work is intrinsically affected by modernization, prompting England to turn to the colonies for new languages. While Robin Swift and his classmates enjoy life as students, they cannot ignore the truth about their education. Babel Has a gothic tone with its dark academia and period setting But tells a harshly enlightening story.

4

An education in wickedness

By ST Gibson

ST Gibson’s career so far is an ambitious response to classic vampire novels. Gibson’s debut novel A dowry of blood was the beloved reminder of Dracula from long before Lucy Undying became one of the biggest fantasy books of September 2024. However, An education in wickedness is even more thought-provoking, heavily inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu CarmillaThe vampire novel that predates Dracula by 25 years. This forgotten book follows a young woman named Laura hunted by a vampire named Carmilla.

Meanwhile, An education in wickedness Depicts Laura Sheridan developing a complicated relationship with her classmate Carmilla at Saint Perpetua’s College in 1960s Massachusetts. With a romance to rival some of the best enemies-to-lovers fantasy books ever and a hypothetical take on the power dynamics entwined with supernatural passions, An education in wickedness is an exciting read. Now that the Twilight-True Blood-Vampire Diaries Phase is mostly in the past, novels like this explore the true potential of the vampire genre.

3

City of Streif

By Claudie Arseneault

LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy literature has been steadily increasing for the past 20 years, but Claudie Arseneault’s writing is still very underrated in this regard. Set in the fantasy city of Isandor, the “City of Spires,” City of flowThe cast covers a variety of strange characters Struggle with identity and duty. Assassins, aristocrats, politicians and messengers have various hopes and prejudices, influenced by magical studies and an outside evil empire.

City of flow is not a typical gothic fantasy book, But its covers and those of its three sequels are emblazoned with vignettes of the city’s architecture, the image of a Gothic setting. When the dark academy-primed place of Oxford is known as the “City of Dreaming Spires,” The genre connection comes naturally. City of flow is only the first in a complex fantasy series of many perspectives, reminiscent of Game of Thrones Structure (albeit focused on one setting).

2

Gallant

By VE Schwab

The best-selling author of an extensive list of fantasy titles claims several that could be considered gothic. Shades of the Magic series’ period London setting and dark supernatural space come to mind; The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Lacks the typical trappings of the subgenre, but could satisfy fans with its Faustian bargain storyline. however, Gallant Has a mysterious and obscure setting, a haunted house, and a family secret to be uncovered by a clever outcast.

in Gallant, Orphaned Olivia Prior has spent her entire life at a girls’ school until she is mysteriously invited to her fantastic family estate of Gallant, Where she feels strangely at home. Stretched out by family members and reading through her mother’s diary, Olivia pieces together generations of family history. A girl who only wanted a place to belong will soon have to take her place in a position of massive responsibility – with the world at stake.

1

Starling House

By Alix E. Harrow

The Southern Gothic follow-up to The Past and Future Witches, Starling House Gives Gothic fans another haunted house with another brooding inhabitant and a newcomer who is right at home in the spooky setting. Opal raised her brother in the mining town of Eden, Kentucky, struggling to make ends meet and hoping he would find a life elsewhere. The town has a terrible history, but the current residents used to blame their problems on the cursed Starling House.

however, Opal is drawn to the house and ends up getting a job there as a cleaner, Where she finds out about the tragic life of the children’s author who once lived there. The house again becomes a key part of the plot, as Opal is thrust into more responsibility to protect the world from what lies there. Demonstrating themes of loneliness and distress, Starling House is also an intriguing new read – just one more option for those who love the enigmatic nature of the Gothic.

Source: goodreads.com