You read the title ^^
I'm looking for Medieval fantasy novels, movies or tv series that are similar to A Song of Ice and Fire and its tv-series adaptation Game of Thrones.

They should have very mature themes like:
Politics
Political marriage
Wars
Rebellion
Kings and royal families
Incest
Torture
Dark-Mythical Beings
Executions
Brothels
Slavery
Romance
Unrequited love
Bastard/illegitimate children
Fictional towns, cities, villages and continents.

It should be fictional, not based on real historical figures.
Thank you

________________

Rape is imminent.

Right away I think of the Dragonbone Chair Series by Tad Williams and the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I'll get back to you later if I think of more.

Also, Breath and Bone, and Flesh and Spirit, by Carol Berg

You could try the Black Company series by Glen Cook, which has power games, war, rebellion, and a dark and cynical setting. For tonnes of political intrigue and politcal marriges, perhaps the Empire trilogy by Feist and Wurts.

And of course, the best thing to do if you want really dark medieval fantasy is to immediately (re-)read Berserk, and/or watch the anime.

Try these, though I'm not sure whether they're 'dark' enough -
Chronicles of the Necromancer, and the sequel The Sworn (Quite dark)
Kingkiller Chronicles (Very dark)
Parasol Protectorate ('Meh' dark)
Ranger's Apprentice (Not dark at all, but still good)
The Seven Realms (Not one of my favourites, but good enough, and very dark)




________________
There are times when you will miss what you never had. I wonder how you will find what you so desperately need.

You should take a look at The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, though it's not exactly dark.

________________
"Thus is our treaty written, thus is agreement made
Thought is the arrow of time, memory never fades
What was asked is given, the price is paid"

While The Wheel of Time is my favorite series, for the most part, its not very "dark". Chronicles of the Necromancer and the Sworn are good, albeit I don't think it was edited well and it is not dark. Ranger's Apprentice is a "young adults" book and not very dark.

Honestly a lot of the things mentioned below aren't quite as dark as A Song of Ice and Fire...of the ones that I've read below...

The Black Company, the Dragonbone Chair, the and the Farseer Trilogy are probably the darkest.

That said, the ones I mentioned and all the ones above are good series. Loved the Kingkiller Chronicles and the Godless World series (while I've only read the first chapters so far) is great too, both have tones of darkness in them.

________________
Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.
-Oath of the Night's Watch, A Song of Ice and Fire

Though I don't know the fire ice song thingie, I would think maybe Ubel blatt would work? Maybe someone that knows both series could confirim this?

(Maybe remove romance from the list of mature subjects, or people might just go and recommend every shojo that has the middel ages in it... >_>)

well... I'd suggest Berserk

________________
In harsh times, the strongest currency is cooperation.

you wont find a series similar to a song of ice and fire and has the same level of intricacy and appeal believe me i tried but the new book is coming out a few weeks after the HBO series ends.

Seconding Berserk, it doesn't bear an exact resemblance to the book series you mentioned, but it has most of the mature elements you listed. And its setting is recognizably European Medieval, unlike most historical fantasy type manga.

The Borgias

This. Though it's not as dark as Game of Thrones.

Yes, I wrote, that it's not very dark too, but from the list Brucie_kun gave there are a lot of things in WoT. I could list examples, but that would be pure spoiler. The whole theme list is there in WoT except incest and brothels. (Well, political marriage and illegitimate children are not exactly there the way people would expect when speaking of these themes.)

________________
"Thus is our treaty written, thus is agreement made
Thought is the arrow of time, memory never fades
What was asked is given, the price is paid"

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
books by Guy Gavriel Kay, especially Tigana
the Rai'Kirah series by Carol Berg (volume 1 is not as dark as the rest)
The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
The Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkowski
books by David Gemmell
The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

Last edited by Hanae at 12:26 pm, May 31 2011

the abhorsen trilogy by garth nix

Thank you so much for all the recommendations! They all look promising, I'll check them out. And yes, I love reading Berserk, I'm also a fan of Mephisto and Dark Age (AZUMA Kenji). Thought that it would be interesting to see if there's other fictional novels/tv series out there that share similar themes.

________________

Rape is imminent.