The Grimdark Villain

December 11, 2018
Many fans of grimdark literature, film, and games might argue that the term villain is an inappropriate one for the genre. It conjures an image of the mustache twirling evil-doer...
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The Grimdark Villain

Who is the Grimdark Hero?

December 2, 2018
Grimdark is a relatively new subgenre in the world of fantasy and science fiction, having emerged as the grittier, morally ambiguous side of fantasy in the 1970s and ‘80s with...
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Who is the Grimdark Hero?

REVIEW: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

November 29, 2018
When Graham Austin-King first approached me about an ARC of The Lore of Prometheus he described it as sort of Dean Koontz / Stephen King / Clive Barker style. Now,...
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REVIEW: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

REVIEW: Blackest Knights edited by C.T. Phipps

November 19, 2018
What happens when good knights go bad? When shining armor cracks, morals are cast aside, and sacred oaths are broken? Blackest Knights, edited by C.T. Phipps, is a collection of...
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REVIEW: Blackest Knights edited by C.T. Phipps

REVIEW: The Razor by J. Barton Mitchell

November 17, 2018
The Razor is the new science fiction novel by J. Barton Mitchell, author of the acclaimed YA sci-fi series The Conquered Earth. This one’s not YA, but it won’t cause...
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REVIEW: The Razor by J. Barton Mitchell

REVIEW: Cold Iron by MIles Cameron

November 13, 2018
"Superb," the man in the black cloak said, and slammed his dagger into the young man's temple, killing him instantly. The blade emerged from the other temple with admirable precision,...
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REVIEW: Cold Iron by MIles Cameron

REVIEW: Many are the Dead by Anthony Ryan

November 11, 2018
After the Industrial Age adventures of The Draconis Memoria series, Anthony Ryan has returned to the fantasy world of Raven’s Shadow with the novella Many Are the Dead. The book...
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REVIEW: Many are the Dead by Anthony Ryan

REVIEW: Blood of Heirs by Alicia Wanstall-Burke

October 31, 2018
Blood of Heirs is the ambitious debut epic fantasy novel and the first book of The Coraidic Saga by Alicia Wanstall-Burke. And while I wouldn't place it in the grimdark...
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REVIEW: Blood of Heirs by Alicia Wanstall-Burke

The Traitor Baru Cormorant has one of the best protagonists in fantasy

October 25, 2018
Sweet literary gods, I've just been in the mind of a genius--and I'm not just talking about Seth Dickinson's imagination. The Traitor Baru Cormorant is one of the best books I've...
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The Traitor Baru Cormorant has one of the best protagonists in fantasy

The Odd Hopefulness of Grimdark

October 24, 2018
In today’s social-media-saturated world, a lot of what we see are the highlights of people’s lives, and it’s easy to feel inadequate when confronted with the reality of one’s own...
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The Odd Hopefulness of Grimdark

REVIEW: Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter

October 22, 2018
Suppose you have darkness/shadows (depending on what you call it) living inside of you. Suppose you can release it time to time in one way or another. How would you...
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REVIEW: Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter

REVIEW: The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee

October 21, 2018
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee is a fantastic new addition to the grimdark fantasy landscape, and is the beginning to the Five Warrior Angels series, which promises to...
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REVIEW: The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee

REVIEW: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

October 10, 2018
When We Ride the Storm by Devin Madison opened with the line, “It’s harder to sever a head than people think. Perhaps if one were skilled with an axe it...
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REVIEW: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

REVIEW: Queen of Crows by Myke Cole

September 19, 2018
Fucking hell, Myke Cole! Why do you hurt me so?!? What a roller coaster of emotions The Queen of Crows presented. The Queen of Crows is the follow-up to The...
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REVIEW: Queen of Crows by Myke Cole

REVIEW: War Cry by Brian McClellan

September 12, 2018
War Cry is the new novella by Brian McClellan (The Powder Mage Trilogy), continuing the Tor.com series of shorter-than-novel-length fiction that has also included familiar names like Martha Wells and...
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REVIEW: War Cry by Brian McClellan

REVIEW: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

September 9, 2018
Over on his blog, Mark Lawrence (Broken Empire, Red Queen’s War, Red Sister) is making an effort to “nail down grimdark.” In doing so he offers two camps of people...
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REVIEW: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

REVIEW: Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly

September 5, 2018
Blood. Mutilation. Sex. Politicking. And all of it coalesces into one meaty tale of love, betrayal, and death in Melokai, the first novel in Rosalyn Kelly’s In the Heart of...
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REVIEW: Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly

REVIEW: Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

September 3, 2018
Nicholas Eames’s second novel, Bloody Rose, the follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut, Kings of the Wyld, was released with a fair bit of hype last week, some folks even...
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REVIEW: Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

Review: Road Brothers: Tales from the Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

August 23, 2018
“Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.” Road Brothers: Tales from the Broken Empire is a short (124 “pages”, e-book only) short story collection by Mark Lawrence. It contains ten short stories,...
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Review: Road Brothers: Tales from the Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

REVIEW: The Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith-Spark

August 19, 2018
The Tower of Living and Dying both builds upon and eclipses the world and story Smith-Spark started with The Court of Broken Knives. It’s bigger, wider, more sprawling than its...
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REVIEW: The Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith-Spark
Post Nav Image The Grimdark Villain December 11, 2018
Post Nav Image Who is the Grimdark Hero? December 2, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: The Lore of Prometheus by... November 29, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Blackest Knights edited by C.T.... November 19, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: The Razor by J. Barton... November 17, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Cold Iron by MIles Cameron November 13, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Many are the Dead by... November 11, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Blood of Heirs by Alicia... October 31, 2018
Post Nav Image The Traitor Baru Cormorant has one... October 25, 2018
Post Nav Image The Odd Hopefulness of Grimdark October 24, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter October 22, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: The Forgetting Moon by Brian... October 21, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: We Ride the Storm by... October 10, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Queen of Crows by Myke... September 19, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: War Cry by Brian McClellan September 12, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Under the Pendulum Sun by... September 9, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly September 5, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames September 3, 2018
Post Nav Image Review: Road Brothers: Tales from the... August 23, 2018
Post Nav Image REVIEW: The Tower of Living and... August 19, 2018

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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Classics Review: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Review by Jeremy Szal It’s been quite a number of years since Joe Abercrombie first published what would be the start of The First Law Trilogy, The Blade Itself. Every time he approached a literary...

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Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Review: Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Once again George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois have done a fantastic job in gathering stories from some of the biggest names in fantasy and science fiction. The characters are consistently grey. The stories...

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GdM

Welcome to Grimdark Magazine!

Adrian here, founder of Grimdark Magazine. Here you can expect to see book reviews, opinion pieces, and interviews from myself and the GdM team. To kick this off, I thought I’d answer a question...

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