Books like 'Doorway to Dilemma: Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy'
Readers who enjoyed Doorway to Dilemma: Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy by Mike Ashley, Fitz-James O'Brien, Morley Roberts, Frank R. Stockton, Arthur Machen, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Cleveland Moffett, H.G. Wells, Catherine Wells, Madeline Yale Wynne, David H. Keller, Thomas Burke, Muriel Campbell Dyar, Lucy Lane Clifford, Lord Dunsany & Mary Elizabeth Counselman also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy horror supernatural dark fantasy gothic paranormal dark industrial-era victorian
-
The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
16 ratingsJohannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal: a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before...Categorized as:
dark gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![A Long Spoon by Jonathan L. Howard]()
A Long Spoon by Jonathan L. Howard
12 ratingsYou may have heard of Johannes Cabal; he is a necromancer and a little infamous. He is also very sensitive to attempts on his life. When a murder of crows tries to... well, murder him, and the contents of his bath are transmuted into hot nitric acid, he suspects someone may mean him harm. The trail leads to one of the less travelled parts of Hell itself, and there Cabal will need a guide... -
![The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard]()
The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
16 ratingsHorst Cabal has risen from the dead. Again. Horst, the most affable vampire one is ever likely to meet, is resurrected by an occult conspiracy that wants him as a general in a monstrous army. Their plan: to create a country of horrors, a supernatural homeland. As Horst sees the lengths to which they are prepared to go and the evil they cultivate, he realizes that he cannot fight them alone...Categorized as:
dark gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day by Jonathan L. Howard]()
Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day by Jonathan L. Howard
14 ratingsJohannes Cabal has faced down the undead, ghosts, monsters, and Satan himself. But before all that, he fought the terrifying Bonewind, a supernatural being that devours life itself, and he did it all without leaving his house. "Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day" was the story that first introduced the necromancer of some little infamy back in 2004... -
-
![As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason]()
As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason
14 ratingsVampires have met their match with Victoria Gardella, but now the huntress faces an even greater evil as London is besieged by malevolent entities no mortal was ever meant to encounter... Directly descended from the very first vampire hunter in the Gardella family, Victoria knows she must continue the lineage so humanity will have protectors against the undead...Categorized as:
dark industrial-era paranormal action-adventure book dark-fantasy demons enemies-to-lovers -
![Autumn of the Grimoire by J.L. Vampa]()
Autumn of the Grimoire by J.L. Vampa
10 ratingsSome witches cast spells. Others slay kings.A mysterious Grimoire. A marriage full of dark secrets. A History sculpted by a quartet of ancient Sister witches.For three hundred years, Sister Autumn has incited wars, burnt villages, killed kings, and released plagues at the bidding of the Grimoire. Meanwhile, her Sister Winter, Sister Spring, and Sister Summer have brought forth only peace... -
![When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason]()
When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason
14 ratingsAfter narrowly escaping from Rome, Lady Victoria Gardella returns to London, where not even sunrise can stop a vampire's carnage...Ruining Victoria's homecoming, a vampire stalks the streets of London--during the daylight. Not only is Victoria unable to detect the vampire with her heightened senses, but she's being framed as the prime suspect behind the killings... -
![A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny]()
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
20 ratingsAll is not what it seems…In the murky London gloom, a knife-wielding gentleman named Jack prowls the midnight streets with his faithful watchdog Snuff – gathering together the grisly ingredients they will need for an upcoming ancient and unearthly rite. For soon after the death of the moon, black magic will summon the Elder Gods back into the world... -
![To Charles Fort, with Love by Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
To Charles Fort, with Love by Caitlín R. Kiernan
6 ratingsTo Charles Fort, with Love is award-winning fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan's third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe... -
![Bound By Blood: Volume 1 (Bound By Blood, #1) by Shane K.P. O'Neill]()
Bound By Blood: Volume 1 (Bound By Blood, #1) by Shane K.P. O'Neill
6 ratings“A war rages on around us every day. The struggle to save all mankind. The ultimate evil.”As his moment of death looms Dracula suffers the ultimate betrayal. The champion of the Catholic faith in Eastern Europe realises it is Lucifer who is coming to claim him. However, Lucifer does not want his soul. Instead he bites into Dracula’s neck and then offers his own blood to drink... -
![Tempting Fate by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]()
Tempting Fate by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
8 ratingsEurope 1920s. Fifth [published] in the Saint-Germain series, Tempting Fate finds the count as guardian to a Russian war orphan during the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I... -
![The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater]()
The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater
8 ratingsOlivia Atwater returns to the world of Half a Soul with “a sharp and beautiful gothic romance” (Alix E. Harrow). Dive into The Witchwood Knot, and enjoy a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England.The faeries of Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord. His governess intends to steal him back.Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one... -
![Ouroboros Ouzo by Jonathan L. Howard]()
Ouroboros Ouzo by Jonathan L. Howard
10 ratingsWhat if you could see the future? What if the future could see YOU? Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has discovered a way to give some insights into how he should conduct his future researches; by drinking a glass of the legendary "Ouroboros Ouzo." Rare and precious, the liquor is reputed to give a once in a lifetime glimpse into what may be...Categorized as:
dark industrial-era paranormal victorian 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Exeunt Demon King by Jonathan L. Howard]()
Exeunt Demon King by Jonathan L. Howard
12 ratingsJohannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has faced many horrors during his career, but in this tale he tells of an early encounter with something that horrified even him.Pantomime.A provincial theatre has seen a series of strange deaths. The young Cabal investigates, even though this requires him to don red tights, a curling moustache, and become... the Demon King... -
-
![Veiled in Moonlight by C.J. Archer]()
Veiled in Moonlight by C.J. Archer
14 ratingsWhen a young gentleman is murdered by a shape shifter, Charlie and Lincoln interrogate their contacts and uncover a plot with links to the royal family—and links to more than one member of the ministry's committee. At the heart of the mystery is a sinister love triangle, corruption, lies, and treason... -
![Beneath a Waning Moon by Elizabeth Hunter, Grace Draven]()
Beneath a Waning Moon by Elizabeth Hunter, Grace Draven
14 ratingsTwo delightfully dark tales of Gothic romance from Elizabeth Hunter and Grace Draven.In A Very Proper Monster, Josephine Shaw spends long nights filling the pages of her Gothic stories with the fantastic and the macabre, unaware that the suitor her father has arranged is one of the dark creatures she’s always dreamed... -
![Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, Gary Kelley]()
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, Gary Kelley
18 ratingsSpiral into a dimly lit world, down streets lined with madmen and their black deeds, through the cold twists of the catacombs, and into rooms where secrets dwell. From the tortured mind of Edgar Allan Poe, these three tales, "The Black Cat," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Cask of Amontillado," speak to the hidden places inside us all...Categorized as:
dark gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian action-adventure anthologies children-books -
![Of Flesh & Bone by Kathryn Ann Kingsley]()
Of Flesh & Bone by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
6 ratingsNow that the Darkness has tasted her, it won't let Emma go.Robbed of her memories, Emma feels like a ghost trapped in her own body. She doesn't remember much, but she knows one thing--something happened to her in Arnsmouth. Whatever had happened to her had been terrible... -
![Of Grave & Glory by Kathryn Ann Kingsley]()
Of Grave & Glory by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
6 ratingsEmma Mather is having trouble telling friend from foe…and being wrong about whether someone is her ally or her enemy could cost her more than just her life.The Candle has taken Gigi Gage as their prisoner, and Emma will do anything to save her friend from whatever torture Dr. Thaddeus Kirkbride is putting her through in the Arnsmouth Asylum... -
![The Death of Me by Jonathan L. Howard]()
The Death of Me by Jonathan L. Howard
10 ratingsJohannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has this much in common with Emily Dickinson; because he could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for him. Well, perhaps not that kindly... -
![Blood Games by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]()
Blood Games by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
10 ratingsThis is a tale of love and horror set during the last chaotic days of Nero's Rome - a time marked by excesses of high living, cruel violence and intricate political intrigue... -
![The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories by John Gregory Betancourt, H.P. Lovecraft]()
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories by John Gregory Betancourt, H.P. Lovecraft
10 ratingsThis volume assembles no less than 40 stories set in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Ranging from Lovecraft's own tales (including classics such as the novel At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and The Colour Out of Space) to works by his friends and contemporaries (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E... -
![The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart, Caitlín R. Kiernan]()
The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart, Caitlín R. Kiernan
14 ratingsThe Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century's most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own...Categorized as:
dark industrial-era paranormal action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook cosmic-horror -
![The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason]()
The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason
16 ratingsNow the undead of Rome race to unravel an ancient mystery--and only one woman can stop them... As Rome prepares for its Carnivale, the new leader of the city's vampire hunters, Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy--must prove herself as never before... -
-
![The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard]()
The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
18 ratingsJohannes Cabal and his rather inexact powers of necromancy are back once more. This time, his talents are purchased by The Fear Institute as they hunt for the Phobic Animus - the embodiment of fear...Categorized as:
dark gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Shadows Over Baker Street by Michael Reaves, Neil Gaiman]()
Shadows Over Baker Street by Michael Reaves, Neil Gaiman
18 ratingsSherlock Holmes enters the nightmare world of H.P. LovecraftNew Tales of Terror!What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself...Categorized as:
gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian 21st-century action-adventure anthologies cosmic-horror -
![Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard]()
Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard
20 ratingsJohannes Cabal is back -- a little older, a little wiser, but just as sharply funny, cuttingly sarcastic, and unexpectedly violent as ever. For necromancer Johannes Cabal, dealing with devils, demons and raising the dead is pretty much par for the course. But when his attempt to steal a rare book turns sour, he is faced by a far more terrifying entity -- politics... -
![The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier]()
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
24 ratingsThe Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives... -
![Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel]()
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel
18 ratingsWhen his grieving father orders the destruction of the Dark Library, Victor retrieves a book in which he finds the promise of not just communicating with the dead, but entering their realm, and soon he, Elizabeth, and Henry are in the spirit world of Château Frankenstein, creating and growing a body.[Book two of The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series... -
![The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells]()
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
16 ratingsNicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Madeline. He is also the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien..Categorized as:
dark gothic industrial-era paranormal victorian 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history -
![Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason]()
Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason
16 ratingsThe saga of Victoria Gardella continues as the glorious nineteenth-century city of Rome gives rise to a new threat from the immortal undead....Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy has been a vampire slayer for just over a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand... -
![The Tale Of The Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater]()
The Tale Of The Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater
12 ratingsAll I ever wanted was the freedom to live life as I pleased, despite my aristocratic parents’ hopes I’d secure a prestigious husband. But my fate was far more terrible than an arranged marriage when my family became prisoners to one of the most fearsome and powerful vampires of all time, Count Vlad Dracula... -
![Hellmouth by Giles Kristian]()
Hellmouth by Giles Kristian
12 ratingsBohemia. 1370. A lost soul named Galien leads a band of hardened mercenaries on a mission for Mother Church. But in the dark forests of central Europe, a darker secret awaits. Bestselling author Giles Kristian (Lancelot, The Raven Viking Trilogy) takes us on an unnerving ride into fear and paranoia, bloodshed and redemption... -
![The Palace by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]()
The Palace by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
10 ratingsFrancesco Ragoczy da San Germano, the immortal vampire, seeks only to hide himself in his Florentine palace. But after falling for Estasia, a cousin of Botticelli, the wealthy foreigner loses all his desire for isolation. Her unquenchable passion more than matches his -- and San Germano must have her. While happiness seems imminent, danger lurks around the corner... -
-
![The Passion by Donna Boyd]()
The Passion by Donna Boyd
10 ratingsIn finely crafted prose and lush detail, Donna Boyd weaves a spell-binding tapestry of romance and suspense set against richly imagined landscapes of sensuousness. An intense saga of love and betrayal, The Passion is a story of those who walk the fine line between man beast... -
![The Delicate Dependency: A Novel of the Vampire Life by Michael Talbot, Thomas Walker]()
The Delicate Dependency: A Novel of the Vampire Life by Michael Talbot, Thomas Walker
10 ratingsEver since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the vampire has evolved from the ferocious blood-sucking fiend as portrayed in the penny dreadfuls such as Varney the Vampyre into a strangely alluring, erotic figure promising eternal life. But, it’s eternal life with a horrifying price attached, the overwhelming need to feast on the blood of the living... -
![Magistrates of Hell by Barbara Hambly]()
Magistrates of Hell by Barbara Hambly
8 ratingsJames Asher finds himself once more in alliance with vampire Don Simon Ysidro, as their investigations takes them to far-off Peking . . . October, 1912... -
![Better in the Dark by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]()
Better in the Dark by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
6 ratingsHere at last is a long-hinted-at chapter in the undead existence of the immortal Count Saint-Germain: the story of Ranegonda of Saxony, one of the three great loves of Saint-Germian's life.937 A.D. The Saxon fortress of Leosan is under the almost unheard-of rule of a woman... -
![The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey]()
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
27 ratingsThese are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr... -
![Children of the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis]()
Children of the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis
14 ratingsIt is Amsterdam, 1871, twenty-five years before the start of Stoker's novel, and twenty-five years following Arkady Tsepesh's flight from his family's ancestral castle with his wife and young son, Stefan, after learning that he and his family are bound by an ancient covenant to serve their ancestor, Prince Vlad Tsepesh, who is also known as Dracula... -
![Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller]()
Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis, Elizabeth Jane Miller
14 ratingsAfter the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires... -
![Through Stone and Sea by Barb Hendee, J.C. Hendee]()
Through Stone and Sea by Barb Hendee, J.C. Hendee
12 ratingsThe Noble Dead Saga is a national bestselling phenomenon. Now the epic finds the young scholar Wynn Hygeorht, without Magiere and Leesil to guide her, continuing her own dangerous quest — pursued by the forces of darkness.Wynn is determined to recover the ancient texts she brought back from the castle in the Farlands... -
![Dark Entries by Robert Aickman]()
Dark Entries by Robert Aickman
12 ratingsSewn signatures, printed on 110gsm acid-free paper, and bound by Biddles in bergundy wibalin cloth stamped in gilt and silver, with a silk ribbon marker and head and tailbands. 350 copies.(Out of print).Contents: "Introduction by Glen Cavaliero, "The School Friend", "Ringing the Changes", "Choice of Weapons", "The Waiting Room", "The View" and "Bind Your Hair"... -
![The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories by Alan Ryan, Fritz Leiber]()
The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories by Alan Ryan, Fritz Leiber
12 ratingsThe Penguin Book of Vampire Stories is the definitive collection of short tales of those deadly bloodsuckers. Editor Alan Ryan includes a wide range of talents here, from Bram Stoker to Robert Bloch to Tanith Lee... -
-
![Paris, 1850 by Sebastian Rook, Ben Jeapes]()
Paris, 1850 by Sebastian Rook, Ben Jeapes
10 ratingsA thrilling new suspense trilogy with a twist. For a thousand years, an ancient and all-powerful vampire god has lain dormant in the Mayan jungle. In 1850, he awakes - and sets out for Europe...Jack wants to believe it was only a dream, that the vampires are gone, that they've been banished by an ancient ritual that sent their leader to the depths of hell. But he isn't so sure... -
![The Blood Confession by Alisa M. Libby]()
The Blood Confession by Alisa M. Libby
10 ratingsBorn under the omen of a falling star, Erzebet Bizecka is a child of prophecy. The only heir of a powerful Hungarian count, she was predicted to die young or to live forever. Determined to survive despite the grim prophecy, Erzebet becomes obsessed with preserving her youth and beauty. Not even her closest friend, Marianna, can understand her crippling fear of growing older... -
![The Ouroboros Cycle, Book One: A Monster's Coming of Age Story by G.D. Falksen, Lawrence Gullo]()
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book One: A Monster's Coming of Age Story by G.D. Falksen, Lawrence Gullo
8 ratingsHow far would you go to avenge the one you love? Would you go beyond death?Born into the stifling confines of French upper society, Babette Varanus never thought that she would have to answer that question. Surrounded by wealth yet ostracized by her peers, Babette had little interest in love until she met Korbinian, a scandalous German baron with the audacity to regard her as his equal... -
![Darker Jewels by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]()
Darker Jewels by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
8 ratingsChelsea Quinn Yarbro's immortal vampire, the Comte de Saint-Germain, is one of the most popular characters of his kind ever created. Publishers Weekly has called him a "veritable Prince Charming of the darker arts."In Darker Jewels the Count is sent by the King Of Poland to the court of Russia's Ivan IV, to use his alchemical skills to craft unearthly gems for the mad emperor... -
![The Divinity Student by Michael Cisco]()
The Divinity Student by Michael Cisco
8 ratingsAfter a miraculous recovery from near death, a young man known only as the Divinity Student is beset by strange dreams whose lingering effects further alienate him from his fellows. Abruptly, he is sent away from the chill, damp confines of the seminary to work as a word-finder in the vibrant, chaotic desert city of San Veneficio, scanning old texts to record any unknown words he may find... -
![Bloodrush by Ben Galley]()
Bloodrush by Ben Galley
8 ratingsWhen Prime Lord Hark is found in a pool of his own blood, his only son Merion Hark finds his world turned upside down and inside out. The Prime Lord’s last will and testament forces Merion west across the Iron Ocean, to the very brink of the Endless Land and all civilisation. To a place they call Wyoming...Categorized as:
dark industrial-era paranormal action-adventure alternate-history book dark-fantasy epic
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
