Read-alikes
Books like The Black Company, according to Reddit
Not an algorithm's guess and not an editor's opinion: these are the books Redditors bring up in the same discussions as The Black Company by Glen Cook. It appears in 158 indexed threads — the overlap below happens mostly in r/printSF.
The read-alike list
Ranked by co-mention strength — how often each book shares a thread with The Black Company, normalized so ubiquitous books don't dominate.
#1 Gardens of the Moon
Steven Erikson
An empire quietly marks its own soldiers for death, and the gods are already choosing sides before the Bridgeburners find out.
#2 The Blade Itself
Joe Abercrombie
Nine-Fingers the barbarian just wants to survive one more winter, but a torturer's investigation and a prince's war have other plans.
#3 Assassin's Apprentice
Robin Hobb
A bastard prince trained as an assassin narrates sixteen books of loss, loyalty, and one very long grudge against fate.
#4 The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien
A gardener, a burglar's heir, and seven others walk a piece of jewelry to a volcano because destroying it is the only way to stop a war.
#5 A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
A direwolf litter found beside a dead stag opens a decades-spanning war for the Iron Throne with no guaranteed survivors.
#6 The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan
A farm boy's village burns in one night, and the Aes Sedai who saves him says the Dark One marked him before he could walk.
#7 The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
An orphaned actor's son claws his way toward becoming a legend by the University's fire-and-sympathy magic — a story stuck at book two for over a decade.
#8 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke
Two rival English magicians revive magic itself, and neither can predict what the fairy they bargained with actually wants.
#9 Red Rising
Pierce Brown
A miner's son fakes his way into the ruling class's brutal war-games academy to bring down the system that executed his wife.
#10 The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
A woman searches a dying continent for the daughter her husband stole, while the world ends again on schedule.
#11 The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
A suicidal bridge slave assigned to the war camp's deadliest crew starts hearing storms answer when he gives orders.
#12 Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson
A street thief gets recruited into a heist crew plotting to overthrow a god-emperor who has ruled unchallenged for a thousand years.
The overlap, in numbers
Where each pairing actually shows up. Click through for the full Reddit verdict on each book.
- #1 Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson — 53 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #2 The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie — 40 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #3 Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb — 19 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #4 The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien — 35 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #5 A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin — 24 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #6 The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan — 22 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #7 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss — 16 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #8 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke — 16 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #9 Red Rising by Pierce Brown — 33 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #10 The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin — 32 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #11 The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson — 17 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
- #12 Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson — 16 shared threads , mostly in r/printSF
Books like The Black Company — frequently asked
What do Redditors read after The Black Company?+
The books most often brought up in the same discussions as The Black Company are: Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson; The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie; Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. This ranking counts 323 shared thread appearances across 158 threads — it reflects what commenters actually pair together, not editorial picks.
How is this list ranked?+
We scan Reddit comments for book mentions and count how often two titles appear in the same thread. Books that keep showing up alongside The Black Company — mostly in r/printSF — rank higher. A minimum of 3 shared threads is required, so one viral thread can't fabricate a match.