2 Great Soulsborne Reads That I Don’t See Listed Very Often

I’m a big fan of dark fantasy and horror. If you couldn’t tell. They are two of my favorite genres, with sword and sorcery being the third.

And my favorite type of dark fantasy/horror is soulsbourne reads.

Now if you’re wondering “What the heck is a soulsborne read?” then click the link below for a brief description.

Click here if you want to know what a “soulsborne” novel is.

But for the short version, a soulsborne novel is one that takes inspiration from Hidetaka Miyazaki’s influential “souls” series of video games. Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and the like.

Dark fantasy worlds of horror that also draw from myth.

Think knights, think monsters, think dark castles and fog drenched landscapes. Think forgotten and forlorn worlds, you get the idea.

But anyways, I see a lot of lists about good soulsborne novels or ‘novels like dark souls’ and the like. And I see a lot of good recommendations.

Along with plenty of recommendations that leave me scratching my head.

However, there are two reads that really captured the essence of the world and series for me. Two reads that I wish I could find more of as they understood what the soulsborne world was all about.

And they are two stories that you probably do not hear or see mentioned very often.

The First Great Little Known Soulsborne Read – Hellmouth by Giles Kristian

Now at 680 reviews I guess calling this little known is a bit of misnomer. However this is a book that hits the nail directly on the head and yet I don’t think it gets the love that it deserves.

First a word of warning, Hellmouth is graphic. So if that is not your thing then this is a novella that you are going to want to skip. However, if that is not a problem for you then read on.

So I don’t want to give too much away but Hellmouth follows a band of mercenaries who enter a dark forest and find…things, they did not expect to find there. Like I said I don’t want to give away too much but it’s a great read.

The Second Great Little Known Soulsborne Read – The Corrupted Kingdom by Jesse Galena

Now, this one actually is little known, and its hit the setting and ‘feel’ of soulsborne novels better than any other read that I can think of.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read it but it’s more short story than novel. I loved the setting and the feeling of this short story. Despite the book being so short there are some images and scenes that stuck out in my mind and I still remember today.

And I mean that in a good way.