Ok so this might be weird. I personally love dark stories and dark fantasy is my favorite genre of fiction, but my favorite series all have something in common: Hope. I mainly read manga so I dont know many book examples (Perhaps mistborn would fit?)
My favorite piece of media ever is Berserk, and what I love the most about Berserk is its message (Or atleast my interpretation) and that is: hope and healing, imo. Vinland Saga is an even better example, I love seeing dark, messed up worlds where finding evil and horrors is pretty common, but I love even more seeing characters trying to improve themselves or the messed up world they live in.
I love the feeling of light at the end of a very dark tunnel, of beauty in living a horrible reality.
“This world is cruel, but I still love you” is a quote from Attack on Titan, and I think it sums up my feelings on dark fantasy. I would love to read books where hope remains, where there is still beauty in living. Doesn’t need to have happy endings where everyoned lives happily ever after, but I would like happy endings where you feel fulfilled, “Happy” (My interpretation of a happy ending is fullfilemnt and not necessarily a Disney happy ending) endings where the feeling you are left with when you finish the story isn’t “The world is shit and life has no meaning”.
by Hiretsuna_Ketsuruki