The Nether Scroll

by George MacDonald

Like Druhallen, your protagonist here is thrust into a world of court intrigue and hidden agendas where he can't trust what he's being told—except this time it's a young goblin navigating imperial politics rather than dungeon-crawling. Addison builds the same sense of mounting dread through misdirection and unreliable information, but focuses on character relationships rather than action sequences, which gives the mystery a more intimate weight.

by Joe Abercrombie

This one shares The Nether Scroll's gritty approach to magic and its willingness to let characters suffer real consequences—but Abercrombie's prose is considerably sharper and darker, with a cynicism that makes every 'rescue mission' feel like it might end in betrayal. The multiple POV structure means you're constantly discovering that characters you thought were allies have their own murky agendas, much like Druhallen's companions.

by Elizabeth Kostova

A departure from typical fantasy, but hear me out: this literary thriller has the same obsessive detective work as Druhallen's quest for the Nether Scroll, except the artifact is historical truth and the journey spans decades and continents. Kostova layers mystery upon mystery with the same 'nothing is as it seems' philosophy, and her prose has a scholarly, atmospheric quality that makes the search itself as compelling as any magical artifact.

by Unknown

Published in 1968, this predates your book by decades but influenced everything that came after it—and it shares that crucial element where magic has real, dangerous consequences that the protagonist doesn't fully understand. Like Druhallen, Ged must confront something he's unleashed, and the journey to fix it becomes as much about self-knowledge as external adventure. Le Guin's magic system feels earned rather than convenient.

by Scott Lynch

If you loved being kept off-balance by what Druhallen's companions were hiding, Lynch takes that deception and makes it the entire engine of the plot—his characters are con artists operating in a richly detailed fantasy city, and the narrative structure itself plays tricks on you. It's got that same blend of heist-style scheming and genuine danger, but with a much lighter touch and considerably more humor without sacrificing stakes.