Adrian Collins's Blog, page 20
March 17, 2025
REVIEW: American Tabloid by James Ellroy
Last Updated on March 18, 2025
The thirtieth anniversary of the publication of American Tabloid is the perfect time to experience one of the darkest fictional examinations of the murder of John F. Kennedy. It is more than arguable that his assassination slammed into overdrive the undermining of a segment of the American people’s belief in their government. For those of an academic bent, a reading of Richard Hofstadter’s essay published a year after the Kennedy assassination titled ‘The Paranoid Style in American Politics’ where the right cannot accept society as it currently is and uses demagoguery to undermine and replace it with their approved version, felt of a time then, and most certainly does today. American Tabloid takes all those elements and creates a crime noir tour de force.
The story of Kennedy’s assassination long ago curdled into myth and legend, the Ur-conspiracy of the American dream, an event upon which people of a certain inclination painted their wildest, weirdest, and darkest fantasies as a way of understanding what they believe American secretly is. Cuba, Castro, Communism, the Mafia, grassy knoll, second shooter, Garrison, Stone are all names, peoples and places that have become inextricably entwined into a knot of madness and darkness that people continue to obsess over today.
American Tabloid, written by the great demon dog himself, James Ellroy, examines in heart pounding detail the five years leading up to that terrible day in Dallas. It is, without a doubt, one of the most intensely feverish reading experiences I have ever had the privilege to experience. We all know that Michael Moorcock popped some great pills in the 60s before retiring to his bed on Friday nights and pumping out an Elric novel over the weekend in a fugue-like, ecstatic state. American Tabloid feels exactly like that – a fever dream wrapped around a hectic narrative that grips you by the throat from page one and never, ever lets go.
Told through a tight third person narrative via three characters – Pete Bondurant (World War II marine, Howard Hughes’s right-hand man and Jimmy Hoffa’s hitman), Kemper Boyd (scion of a fallen dynasty, FBI agent and Hoover’s inside man in the Kennedy campaign) and Ward Littel (failed Jesuit seminarian, FBI agent lawyer and Mob hater), American Tabloid examines in minute details their personal interactions, the power dynamics between each man, and how contact with the Kennedy family corroded them in all sorts of damaging ways.
American Tabloid can be read in a number of ways. There is its surface charm; a bleak, noirish tale of how various elements within American society – organs of the state itself such as the FBI and CIA – used anti-Castro Cubans and the Mafia to undermine the rule of law in their war against Communism. This version of the novel, where fictional and real life characters smash together, is exciting, violent, tense and a brilliant example of how to sustain reader interest where we all know how November 22, 1963 turns out, but are captivated by the sheer power of the writing which carries us along until the grim conclusion.
American Tabloid is a singular achievement – an examination of the links between money and power, and how both are, in effect, the same. The supposed good guys (Hoover, the FBI, the CIA) are just as bad as the bad guys (the Mafia) in that all they wish is to accumulate power on the one hand, and wealth on the other, and that these needs are indistinguishable. It is this truth that exposes the larger truth about American power – that with enough money, violence, or a combination of both, anything, no matter how ghastly, can be achieved. And that anyone threatening that power structure, whether from rogue elements inside and outside that structure, up to and including John F Kennedy, leave themselves exposed to the ultimate sanction.
I was utterly gripped and compelled by American Tabloid. The pace is breakneck, the atmosphere is feverish and the writing staccato in tone and delivery, the violence hyperactive, amoral, and cinematic. The racism and homophobia are off the charts, so be warned, but are totally true to the era.
American Tabloid is grimdark to the core – an examination of morally damaged individuals helping to birth a new dark age, where power and its accumulation is the only things that matters. Ellroy’s creed is this: that if good men have to be sacrificed on the altar of expediency, then whet that knife faster and show me their throats, God damn it all to Hell.
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March 16, 2025
REVIEW: Witch Queen of Redwinter by Ed McDonald
I sometimes do a thing when I know that a book is the last in a series I have enjoyed, where I get a hold of it as soon as possible, but then I put off reading it because I don’t want the story to end. I did that with Ed McDonald’s final instalment in The Redwinter Chronicles, Witch Queen of Redwinter. I first discovered McDonald as a writer with the first Redwinter novel, Daughter of Redwinter. I promptly read the second novel, Traitor of Redwinter, and read his completed Raven’s Mark trilogy while waiting for this third book. It’s taken me a little while to brace myself to return to Harranir for the final time and complete this trilogy, but oh boy, the read was worth it.
McDonald starts Witch Queen of Redwinter with a very handy synopsis of the events that have come before. So, although you must have read the earlier two books before picking this up, there is no urgent need for a reread. Necromancer Raine, our protagonist, has narrowly escaped execution and finds herself trapped in the magical wasteland of The Fault. The Fault is disintegrating around her as she moves through it with her two companions, Saunvant and Esher, former Draoihn who risked everything to save their friend, desperately searching for a way to escape and save their home.
Why does their home need saving? Well, that would be because of Ovitus LacNaithe. Ovitus put the ‘traitor’ in Traitor of Redwinter and, frankly, is one of my most disliked characters ever. But because of his treachery (and power-hungry stupidity), Ovitus has unwittingly allied himself to a darker power. If that power is crowned, the world will be plunged into darkness. The stakes are higher than ever, and Raine will have no choice but to use all her terrible powers if they are to have any hope of survival.
Witch Queen of Redwinter is a well-paced, immersive fantasy and satisfying conclusion to The Redwinter Chronicles. All the threads from the previous books have been brought back in, and I don’t feel like anything has been left unresolved. Having completed both McDonald’s series, I would say Redwinter is not as typically grimdark as The Raven’s Mark trilogy. However, this is still a very dark and gritty story; it’s hard not to be when the main character must use death magic. It certainly makes you question if the ends justify the means. The battles are very well written, and the physical aspects seem realistic to the pseudo-medieval era in which McDonald has set the series. I would say they are up there with John Gwynne’s writing in terms of how easy they are to visualise and follow the action.
Fans of McDonald’s writing will be pleased that his characters remain the driving force of Witch Queen of Redwinter, as they have been in all of his other novels. The unflinching friendship between Raine, Saunvant, and Esher is a massive part of this story. However, friendship doesn’t seem quite strong enough to describe their relationship. To lift from the novel: ‘It was like being born in the same forge. It wasn’t romance, and it wasn’t sibling comfort. It was something that few people will ever understand, and I was glad that they didn’t have to. These three characters have been through a crucible together, and McDonald clearly shows the strength of that bond in Witch Queen of Redwinter. I know that focusing on characters this way won’t be for everyone, but it made the risks feel so much more real for me. It is the personal cost that Raine may have to pay if she fails. People don’t fight to save the world; they fight for the people they love. We also see the importance of Raine’s other friendships in the story, including the one with my favourite character, Castus LacClune. I am happy that he remained a part of the narrative and that we saw more of him in Witch Queen of Redwinter.
Witch Queen of Redwinter was a strong conclusion to The Chronicles of Redwinter, and although I’m sad to see the series end, I think that Ed McDonald has written a cracking epic fantasy trilogy here. If you’ve not yet read it and like your fantasy mixed with complex magic, political intrigue, and some battle skirmishes, I think you should pick this up.
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March 15, 2025
REVIEW: House of Muir by Luke Tarzian
How can I do justice to House of Muir, the second full-length novel in Luke Tarzian’s Shadow Twins series and the sequel to Vultures? Luke Tarzian’s work is the doom metal of grimdark fantasy, a symphony of sludgy down-tuned prose that plumbs the greatest depths of human grief and suffering while somehow finding hope within a universe of chaos and decay.
Tarzian’s prose is meticulously crafted, eloquent and sublime in its dark artistry. House of Muir practically begs the reader to slow down, savor each word, and absorb every sensation. The closest point of comparison is the queen of grimdark herself, Anna Smith Spark, although Tarzian has his own distinct style. With his lyrical prose and ability to create a dark, fever dream-like atmosphere, Luke Tarzian can be described aptly as a modern-day Edgar Allan Poe.
House of Muir explores themes of life and death, heredity and free will, and the cruelty of time. The novel is a deeply emotional read, dealing with questions both personal and existential. Perhaps most of all, House of Muir is a parable for finding that single ray of light in a world of despair.
Although House of Muir is a dense and often challenging read, there is an irresistible dark beauty that pervades every sentence. Like all of Luke Tarzian’s work, House of Muir is imbued with many layers of meaning and interpretation that reveal themselves slowly but often in striking fashion.
As a scientist, I especially appreciate Tarzian’s depictions of equilibrium and entropy, represented by opposing spirits of balance and chaos, setting up an epic struggle that governs the nature of the universe. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy will prevail, an agent of chaos bringing an ever-increasing amount of disorder to the universe. House of Muir is about finding meaning in that chaos, truth in that madness.
For readers new to Tarzian’s world, the best starting point is his masterful novella, The World-Maker Parable, which serves as a prequel to the Shadow Twins series. The World-Maker Parable is just as brooding and poetic as the main books of the series, but it provides a more digestible point of entry.
Altogether, Luke Tarzian has crafted a cacophonous nightmare with House of Muir, establishing himself as the poet laureate of the grimdark community. Rarely has an author achieved this level of literary prowess in the fantasy community. Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Lawrence, and Anna Smith Spark all come to mind. It’s time to add Luke Tarzian to that list.
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March 14, 2025
REVIEW: Bloodchild by Anna Stephens
Darker than black and covered in blood and viscera, Anna Stephens’ Bloodchild is a thundering capstone on her Godblind trilogy. She finishes this merciless, multi-POV, pulls-no-punches series by weaving together cynical banter, intense action, and gut-wrenching heartbreak with a delicate-but-masterful touch.
As with the last two books, my favorite character is Crys Tailorson. His transformation from ‘fuck off and let me coast through life’ to ‘I’ll carry this world to salvation myself’ has been nothing short of epic. From homophobe to proud gay man, from malingerer to savior, Crys’ journey is the grimdark version of Sanderson’s Kaladin.
While Crys is my favorite, he had to battle some steep competition. Rillirin, Dom, Tara, and Mace all have strong arguments for being “the stand-out”. You could even throw a curve ball and throw in one of the villains, like Corvus or Lanta. When Stephens penned Bloodchild it’s almost like she was the conduit and the characters spoke for themselves.
You have pregnant characters with agency and action, gay characters living in a homophobic world, sons trying to fill their father’s boots, dark priestesses having sex in blood, an addict battling demonic withdrawal, an assassin waiting to strike (and a host of interesting, complex side characters) who are all living in this blood-soaked, grimdark world, but they never stop trying to make the world a better place. ‘Better’ being, well, extremely subjective, of course.
“And the godlight will lead us all, to death and beyond. And what is beyond death but the promise of new life?”
While the character work is the main attraction of this novel, the action in it is nothing short of breathtaking. I’ve always said that Stover writes the best action in fantasy, but I’ll be damned if Bloodchild doesn’t give him a run for his money. Given Stephens’ approach and the lack of safety for characters (main and side alike) make the stakes of each fight intense. She presents intimate, close range fights—a la Daredevil’s famous ‘hallway fight’—and large scale battles with vivid skill.
The pacing of Bloodchild is just like the other two books in the series: rapid. Featuring an average of two-four pages per chapter, it’s borderline impossible to not speed through it. If I was unemployed or didn’t have a toddler, I’d have climbed in a hammock and read this in a single sitting, and it would have been glorious.
The plot and worldbuilding are mostly great, but they are mired by some inconsistencies and some pacing issues. Bloodchild has a few head-scratching moments where you question whether logical people would act a certain way, and given the surrounding narrative and action, these few shortcomings become exaggeratedly noticeable. On paper these issues are nothing serious and closer to nitpicks than actual errors, but on a canvas as beautiful as Bloodchild, even a few missed brushstrokes stick out.
Quibbles aside, I greatly, greatly enjoyed this novel, and the trilogy as a whole. Godblind had been on my TBR for years and when I finally got to it, I devoured all three books with fervor. Anna Stephens has a new, life-long fan and I’ve called my local library forty times, begging for them to pick up her other work.
If you like grimdarks, quick chapters, blood, and banter, Bloodchild is for you.
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March 13, 2025
REVIEW: The M Word by Jeff McIntyre
The M Word by Jeff McIntyre is the follow-up to his debut novel, The Garden Gnome, and the second installment in his Theory of Magic series, which explores the imminent return of magic to our modern world that has long been dominated by science and technology.
Although The M Word shifts among a wide range of perspectives, the main protagonist of the series is a young boy, Tony Fitzroy. When we first met Tony in The Garden Gnome, he was only ten years old and the target of bullying at his Chicago area school. Tony finds comfort in an enigmatic garden gnome friend known as Burbolbonomicus, or simply Bob for short. While Tony’s parents—history professor Daniel and businesswoman Sophia—believe that Bob is imaginary, the garden gnome proves to be all too real.
Jeff McIntyre masterfully blends science fiction into his low fantasy world with a breakthrough physics experiment at Fermilab, the U.S. Department of Energy’s national particle accelerator laboratory located in the outskirts of Chicago. The Fermilab plotline involves several other key characters, including Leo Schafer, a science and technology reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and Deb Kazdin, an FBI field agent with obsessive compulsive disorder. Leo and Deb are investigating Nadir, a group who opposes the experiments at Fermilab and might resort to violence or terrorism to achieve its aims.
In addition to Nadir, The M Word features a shadowy multinational group called Knights of the Stone. Drawing from Arthurian legend, the Knights are committed to suppressing magic by any means necessary. Across the Fermilab, Nadir, and the Knights of the Stone organizations, The M Word shines in its exploration of gray morality and the ethical dilemmas posed by the return of magic. Whereas some people see magic as an opportunity for good, others consider it to be a dire threat that must be stopped at all costs.
McIntyre’s prose is the perfect vehicle for delivering this fast-paced Crichtonesque thriller. I especially enjoyed the blend of fantasy and science fiction, which McIntyre overlays with plenty of personal and political intrigue worthy of a James Bond movie.
On the downside, The M Word suffers from having too many point-of-view characters. This didn’t feel like a problem in The Garden Gnome, but it seems more of an issue with this second book of the series. With so many perspectives, it takes too long to cycle back to the ones I care most about. That being said, the stakes are definitely higher in The M Word, which makes for an especially exhilarating second half of the novel.
Overall, The M Word is a lot of fun and highly recommended for readers looking for a fresh take on scifantasy. Grimdark readers will especially enjoy the story’s multi-layered gray morality and its escalating thrills.
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March 11, 2025
REVIEW: Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
Last Updated on March 13, 2025
If you ever imagined what a gothic, sapphic ‘retelling’ of Bram Stoker’s Dracula could be like, then look no further. Lucy Undying by Kiersten White is a wonderfully gothic, surprisingly emotional, and deliciously dark insight into the eternally brushed-over, ever-tragic character, Lucy Westenra.
Immortalised by Stoker as Dracula’s first tragic victim, Lucy’s death and rebirth mostly serves as a lesson to showcase the bloody, vivid reality of Dracula’s hunger. Yet, in Lucy Undying, White reclaims and empowers her.
While Lucy is undoubtedly the main protagonist throughout the book, Lucy Undying flits between two characters’ points of view. The first narrative focuses on Lucy and on what happened to her after becoming a vampire, told via excerpts from her diary as she travels from 1890s Whitby across the world up until the modern day.
These entries, filled with female rage, loss, grief and queer longing, neatly intertwine with the narrative of the other main protagonist, Iris. Heir to a ghoulish (quite literally) health empire where “blood is life”, she is desperate to escape her bloodsucking family and reclaim her own path as she moves to London to deal with clearing out her old family estate.
The two women’s stories combine effortlessly, as the two eventually meet when Lucy shows up to help Iris ‘catalogue’ the mansion, uncovering all manner of mysteries about the house and each other. Both are women trying to escape controlling figures and come to terms with their trauma and – as is revealed as the narrative progresses – it turns out that Dracula really does cast a long, horrid shadow.
I think what I liked best as I read this book was the thin sheen of gothic horror that seeped all the way through the narrative. White delightfully chips away at the mystery behind Dracula, leaving you guessing about his fate and lingering, traumatic influence on Lucy at every twist and turn. There are slightly gruesome scenes too, peppered throughout the book. Haunting scenes that include animals, stalking, creaky gothic mansions and Dracula call backs aplenty for those seeking the darker thread in the story.
The slow-burn romance between Lucy and Iris is a nice touch. Not only does she make Lucy become a more fleshed out protagonist, it adds a beautiful twist of hope and melancholy throughout.
While some might scoff at the modern twist on Dracula, and while I thought the latter quarter of the book was a little cliched, focusing more on the sinister US health empire, this was a deliciously dark book I could really sink my teeth into.
If nothing else, this made me want to go back and read Dracula all over again.
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March 10, 2025
REVIEW: Whispers of the Storm by Z. B. Steele
Forget about Kvothe, forget about Vaelin Al Sorna, forget about Gabriel de Léon, Z.B. Steele is here to bring you your new favourite moody, morally grey, and slightly melodramatic bastard telling his legendary life story in Whispers of the Storm. Filled with equal parts bloody action, bittersweet introspection, and soul-stirring emotion, this gritty and gut-wrenching coming of age grimdark military fantasy is a tale for the ages that will blow you off your feet and crush your heart without remorse. 
“Ah, Redlin of the Wolves. Vanguard, the Thunderblade, The Justicar’s Revenge, The Reaper in the Winds, The Assassin in Grey. The Storm Itself. It’s a lot of titles for a prisoner.”
Now, after falling head over heels in love with Z.B. Steele’s exquisite storytelling in the companion novella An Inkling of Flame, I was beyond eager to dive into this first full length novel in the Song of the Damned series. Yet despite that excitement, I also felt slightly nervous, as Whispers of the Storm follows none other than the enigmatic and hateable villain that I had just become equally terrified and morbidly fascinated by in the novella; talk about bold storytelling, we love to see it.
And I’ll be damned, if I didn’t find myself reluctantly sympathising with and rooting for the notorious monster known as Redlin of the Wolves within just a few pages. After a lifetime of death and destruction, he has finally been captured by the inquisitors and is now being led to the noose, but first the Archon demands his legendary tale to be fully unveiled at last. Will he tell the truth? Who knows, but I sure couldn’t look away from the devastatingly glorious trainwreck that he calls his life story.
“I am a man of many sins, the cause of wars, death, and turmoil. A master of magic and the deadliest man in Usmal with a blade. A Reaper of such scale that the country has never seen.”
So, I can’t sit here and pretend that Whispers of the Storm truly reinvents the wheel in any way, and yet it felt so inexplicably fresh and exciting to me. Sure, the tropes are troping, but they just trope real good. We’ve got a framed narrative, mystical elemental magic that is tied to religion and comes at a high cost, all the best found family and motley crew vibes, and not one, but two military/magical academy settings; what is not to love?!
I had an absolute blast travelling all the way back to Redlin’s childhood to witness the events that shaped him from an innocent little bookworm into the jaded reaper we know in the present. Even though the first half of Whispers of the Storm is quite a slow-burn set-up with relatively low stakes, I found myself utterly hooked by the irresistible air of intrigue, and I quickly became way more invested in all the heartfelt friendships, frustrating rivalries, and little bits of cute puppy love than was probably safe for my emotional well-being (ouch).
“Fighting a war against yourself to try to bury feelings is always a losing battle, but it is one I fought valiantly.”
Still, while I was truly gripped from page one, I think there is no denying that Steele just steps up his game and takes everything to the next level in Part 2. As Redlin enters a new stage of his training, the intriguing world of Usmal organically opens up, and soon the stakes, action and magic just increase exponentially. I really loved the smooth change in setting, and I think it’s a true testament to Steele’s exceptional skill at human storytelling that I latched onto an almost entirely new cast of characters midway through the story with zero problem.
And every time I thought my interest might start to wane, Steele (or Redlin?) managed to pull me back in with a new shocking revelation or a tantalising bit of dramatic foreshadowing that filled me with anticipatory dread. Sure, there might have been some parts that felt a bit meandering or repetitive, but as Redlin says: “You tell your entire life story and see if you don’t repeat yourself. Life is full of repetition. Same paths, same jokes, same fucking mistakes.”
If that didn’t give it away, Redlin is quite a bit of a snarky bastard, and I loved how he infused his raw and intimately vulnerable first person narration with so much surprising heart, emotion and humour. Yes, this is a brutally dark tale of a man at war with himself, and it absolutely doesn’t shy away from exploring some very sensitive topics such as war, faith, loss, regret, mental health, and even sexual trauma from a male’s perspective. But similarly to Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire or Abercrombie’s First Law series, this book is amusingly self-aware and laced with a sharp, dry gallow’s humour that just had me smiling in grim delight the entire way through.
Be it the sharp banter between young Redlin and his friends, the battle of wits between older Redlin and inquisitor Maya in the expertly executed interludes (possibly my favourite sequences of the story?), or all the little meta-level easter eggs with tuckerizations of some author friends and legendary grimdark characters/authors; it simply shows that Steele had just as much fun writing this story as I had reading it, and his eloquent, evocative and knife-sharp prose just sang to my soul and tugged on my heartstrings in all the most unexpected ways.
“It’s easier to cling to rage than it is to grief. Grief is like a wet cloak that wraps around your body and weighs you down. Rage is like a fire. You may have to burn part of your good nature to keep it burning, but at that time I would have rather burned all my kindness away than continue to mope.”
If An Inkling of Flame hadn’t already given me an inkling (sorry, I am unfortunately not as witty as Redlin) that Steele is a new rising star in grimdark, then Whispers of the Storm completely proved it. This is one of those stories that managed to transport me so fully that I completely lost track of time, and the beautifully bittersweet ending left me hungering for more in the best way possible. If you like your character-driven fantasy gritty, your (anti-)heroes a little broken, and your soul to be shattered, then the Song of the Damned series is simply an absolute must-read.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Whispers of the Storm is scheduled for release on 25 March, 2025.
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March 9, 2025
REVIEW: Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures Edited by Francesco Verso
I did not realise that I was in for such a treat from the moment I cracked this one open. Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures is an anthology edited by Francesco Verso, and I was so intrigued from the very beginning. The anthology features borderless stories from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Italy, Spain, the UK and North America. It was refreshing to read from so many diverse voices, including that of Ken Liu, and perspectives focusing on countless ways to navigate the loss of identity, gentrification, and the environmental crises, to name a few. The anthology reminded me of how fiction can pave the way to revolutions and necessary change simply by telling stories.
Verso’s introduction to Solarpunk was inspiring and uplifting. As someone fairly new to the sub-genre, it was easy to understand its principles and history. Verso outlines when the sub-genre was born, where it was made popular and how it contrasts from both cyberpunk and steampunk. I can safely say now that I am convinced. Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures is a remarkable, much-needed anthology in the current state of the world that speaks of a future with renewable energy, de-urbanisation and biomimicry.
Out of the 14 short stories, two resonated with me the most: Ken Liu’s Byzantine Empathy and Renan Bernardo’s Anticipation of Hollowness. Originally published in 2018 and 2021 respectively, I’m thrilled to see them brought together in this anthology!
Byzantine Empathy follows two former college roommates: Tang Jianwen, a jaded programmer who created ‘Empathium’ – a cryptocurrency that drives a new social blockchain, and Sophia Ellis, the Executive Director of an NGO ‘Refugees Without Borders’ – the world’s biggest refugee aid organisation.
The cryptocurrency Emphatium is based on the emphatic reactions of users and thereby determines which humanitarian projects to prioritise. Beneath the technical jargon, the story is a philosophical conversation about the rightful distribution of humanitarian aid. What I enjoyed most about this story was the sheer imaginative reality of it. Liu pits East against West personified by the two main characters, Jianwen and Sophia. Something that I would change about this story is the thick blocks of dialogue at the end, which almost feel a little teaching and felt jarring from the narrative.
The second story that stood out to me, Anticipation of Hollowness, would probably resonate a lot with fans of Ted Chiang’s The Lifecycle of Software Objects – in which they both engage deeply with themes of artificial intelligence and human-AI relationships. Set in the distant future, Anticipation of Hollowness takes place in a seemingly utopian, sustainable city that is heavily gentrified, rendering it inaccessible to lower and middle-class residents. The story follows Janet and her obsolete android companion, Lyria, as they grapple with loss and challenge the deep-seated inequalities lurking beneath the city’s polished facade. Like Chiang’s The Lifecycle of Software Objects, this story is an emotional and thought-provoking one, guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.
Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures outlines the genre seamlessly, and the diverse voices within its pages present provocative worlds, stories and characters ready to fight the world.
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March 8, 2025
7 Music Recommendations to Accompany Your Dark Fiction Journey
Last Updated on March 9, 2025
The foundation of any epic story consists of many complex layers. From strong worldbuilding and complex characters, to visceral battle scenes and smart dialogue, all of these elements build on one another to create unforgettable stories.
This layering of different essential elements can not only be found in writing and storytelling, but also in other forms of art. A prominent one which pairs beautifully with reading a good book is listening to great music.
The lyrics often present the deepest and most personal thoughts of the musicians. Complex layers of instruments such as aggressive guitars, bone-crushing drum beats and ambient synths and keyboard sounds all come together in perfect harmony, creating memorable sounds, which could well become the soundtrack to many grimdark stories.
Not sure where to start your musical journey? I’ve got you covered. Here are seven book and soundtrack pairings for you to elevate your reading experience. Get ready to snuggle down into your favourite reading spot and turn on your speaker.
1. George R.R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire Series – Paired with OpethConsidering Martin’s series has been ongoing for two decades, it would only be fitting to recommend listening to the progressive metal band, Opeth. Their early 2000’s offerings gave a great selection of albums such as Blackwater Park, Damnation, and Deliverance. Complex and well written, Opeth’s music matches perfectly to George R.R. Martin`s ASOIAF style. Opeth has over 10 albums, offering you enough music to enjoy with all of the ASOIAF books.
The oldest entry in this list, being released in 1969, but one of my most influential reads! The journey through the Hainish universe must be accompanied by the German band The Ocean. Heliocentric and Anthropocentric are amazing albums which tackle themes such as the human body and mind, and the creation of life and universe.
The first musician/writer on this list, the work of Peter Orullian can be accompanied by the work of Dream Theatre. Orullian has a close connection to the band’s guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, with the three of them working closely on the novelizations for the albums Metropolis Pt.2, The Astonishing, and Wired for Madness.
The perfect band and album to travel in this amazing grimdark story, is Dimmu Borgir, and the In Sorte Diaboli album. With its medieval theme, tracks such as the Sacrilegious Scorn, The Fundamental Alienation, and The Serpentine Offering will stick with you long after the album is finished.
A more modern sound, great for the amazing story presented in between the stars, Born of Osiris offers complex guitar riffs with excellent melodies. Albums such as Tomorrow We Die Alive and Soul Sphere deliver some of the most technical skills of the band members, perfect to accompany you and Hadrian Harlowe through the stars.
Another amazing progressive metal band to check out, is Between the Buried and Me. They offer an atmospheric experience with the Parallax II album. Tracks such as Extremophile Elite and Lay Your Ghost to Rest are amazing works of art. It feels as if they have been written specifically for Christopher Ruocchio`s work.
Both The Dragon Republic and The Burning God showcase a complex but simultaneously smooth storytelling style. Kuang constantly maintains the reader’s interest and I greatly admire her for it.
A band which certainly pairs perfectly with R.F. Kuang`s writing style is Crystal Lake. Hailing all the way from Japan, they have a smooth, melodic sound, but it is also harsh and aggressive. Crystal Lake will effortlessly accompany you through your journey reading R.F. Kuang`s masterpieces.
It is well known Jay Kristoff is a metalhead at heart, and has spoken in multiple interviews about the love and admiration he holds for bands such as Lamb of God and Bring Me the Horizon.
Lamb of Gods` Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament albums are excellent soundtracks to the events taking place in the Empire of Elidaen.
From Bring Me the Horizon, you should check out the Sempiternal and That’s the Spirit albums. Aggressive, complex, yet filled with melody and strong vocal performances.
In case you have already devoured all those amazing authors from this list, my debut epic fantasy grimdark book, Favors within Ashes, the first book in the Sins of Starlight Collapse series, might hit that same sweet spot for you!
This series starts with a bang! That’s why there is no better album to listen to with it, than Take Me Back to Eden from Sleep Token. This album moves as if in parallel with Favors within Ashes, starting strong, throwing you directly in the heart of it all. Take Me Back to Eden balances heavy, progressive guitars with clean melodic passages in the same way that Favors within Ashes, focuses on character development, alongside the massive world and complex plot present in its 750 pages.
Read on AmazonAll forms of art should be treasured and shared, but few pair so well as reading and music. I hope you’ve enjoyed these suggestions of soundtracks to accompany your stories and that they stimulate your creative desires and grow your love of both of these arts.
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March 7, 2025
REVIEW: The Red Labyrinth by Ben Peek
Two god-like monarchs rule two labyrinthine prisons for the living and the dead beneath the earth, and humanity throw their dissidents and criminals down into the darkness for eternity. But the Red King wants out, to reshape the world above as he has the world below. In The Red Labyrinth, Ben Peek uses the short, sharp storytelling required for great novella writing to deliver a story of population control, service without hope, fear of punishment, of falling into line with the horrible status quo, of hopelessness and of rebellion.
Zoja has learned to read and reproduce books of history she smuggles into her home–a highly illegal act in a society of controlled knowledge. She is careful and wary, looking for knowledge and history and not profit. But she is not careful enough, and finds herself thrown into the darkness and beneath the Red King’s eye.
Zoja’s story is a darkly enjoyable one to follow, and as with all the best modern fantasy, draws upon the society of our day to give you a story that’s relatable and meaningful through a different lens. The living serving the dead feels to me like commentary on the people who work retail and service roles living in inescapable poverty while watching the wealthy move like zombies stuck in the machine around them. The Labyrinths are the traps of our society that it feels impossible to break free of. The Red King and the Black Queen are oligarchs and billionaires violently reshaping the world to their image. The city above the labyrinth is the controls we allow on ourselves. And the rebellion is a message.
I really love how Peek uses the storytelling approach of a third party to the main events describing Zoja’s journey to slowly, and often with an almost off handed comment, reveal more detail of the story while retelling the past. When I opened the book and got stuck in, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this approach, but halfway through The Red Labyrinth I was keeping an eye out for every little crumb of detail Peek’s narrator left me as the world opened up.
The Red Labyrinth has a suitably grimdark ending for my tastes, with a final twist I kind of knew was coming, but found hit really nicely. Peek clearly understands the shorter form approach as its own form of art versus his longer-form novels (The Children Trilogy, starting with The Godless), and I enjoyed the read all the more for it.
The Red Labyrinth is a beautiful novella where the reader can get as deep as you like into the themes, or just enjoy a cracking fantasy story where the downtrodden and discarded fight back.
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