Adrian Collins's Blog, page 223

REVIEW: Trollslayer by William King

Before I begin this review, I should mention I’m a big fan of the Gotrek and Felix novels for Warhammer Fantasy so this is not an unbiased review. William King is one of my favorite neo-Sword and Sorcery authors. I’ve been a big fan of his work with this series and the Kormak Saga. I’m also a fan of his Space Wolf novels. So, this is going to be from the perspective of someone who already read this book, went on to read the rest of the series, then re-read it for Grimdark Magazine.

Trollslayer is a novel of the Warhammer Fantasy line of books, taking place before the destruction of that world and its recreation as The Age of Sigmar in recent years. The Warhammer Fantasy setting was the precursor to the more popular and more enduring Warhammer 40K universe that has the distinction of being where the term “grimdark” comes from.

Warhammer Fantasy is a land with elves, dwarves, humans, and gods of good. It is also a setting with massively powerful Chaos Gods, orcs, beast men, infestations of skaven, empires of necromancers, and a decidedly more adult interpretation of Medieval classicism’s treatment people.

Trollslayer is far less grandiose than these concepts, though, and centers around a much simpler premise: the seeking of a good death. Gotrek Gurnisson is a dishonored dwarf who has chosen to commit suicide by heroic battle (becoming a “Slayer”). We don’t learn what crime Gotrek has committed in this book or many others down the road but it is so heinous that the only way to regain his honor is to die trying to kill something much nastier than himself.

Usually, this is just a formality given the hostility of the setting but Gotrek is a seasoned warrior that is almost impossible to kill. Indeed, the series central conceit is that he’s too damned skill to die easily and won’t accept anything less than a clean death for his honor to be restored. Trollslayer is still at the beginning of his quest, though, when he has the full belief that his death is right around the corner.

Accompanying Gotrek on this suicidal quest is Felix Jaeger, a university student and bard who agrees to record Gotrek’s adventures. A skilled duelist but far less useful than Gotrek himself, he serves as the everyman sidekick who provides a human’s eye view of Gotrek’s larger-than-life adventures. There is a Sherlock Holmes and John Watson kind of dynamic here as the book is the first of Felix’s in-universe novels about Gotrek.

Rather than a single story, Trollslayer is a collection of several stories that follow the pair as they deal with the dark and violent world surrounding them. The stories contain terrible tales of sorcerers, curses, and the forces of Chaos enacting terrible plans. Despite the fact they are depicted as purely evil, the “good guys” are not much better. Gotrek is honorable but ruthless, killing anything inhuman (or elven or dwarven) without hesitation. The peasantry are superstitious, the nobility corrupt, and many times the supposed allies of the heroes turn on them for petty reasons.

If I had to choose my favorite stories from the work, I’d go with Wolf Riders that deals with the a noble family’s horrible curse and Blood and Darkness that deals with an army of beastmen led by a vengeful young woman out to slay her own daughter. The Mutant Master shows that you should never trust the people you’re rescuing and gradually changes Felix from a trusting noble soul to a more hardened adventurer. Ulric’s Children is another entry that I very much enjoyed as it showed the dark side of Gotrek as well as having one of the grimmest endings of the series. None of the stories are bad, however.

Is it grimdark? It’s dark fantasy and while a bit closer to traditional fantasy than many works, I’d still say there’s a lot of good to be had reading these books. They are the grimdark version of popcorn fiction and quite entertaining. William King has an easygoing and entertaining style that never feels unrealistic despite dealing with such a fantastic world. Recommended if you want to begin new series to devour one after the other. Trollslayer may only be one volume but it is also one of the best overall.

Buy Trollslayer by William King

The post REVIEW: Trollslayer by William King appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

The Horus Heresy series is an interesting challenge for a publishing company let alone a writer. It is the attempt to explain how the “Golden Age” of humanity under the Emperor transformed from a mythological utopia of advanced technology to a horrifying fascist Dark Age where humanity is under constant threat of extinction.

What would have been an impressive trilogy or even seven book series became controversial as it blossomed into a fifty-six book series that became the basis for Black Library from January 2011 to its planned finish in April 2020. It is a monumental task to keep track of all these plotlines, ideas, and concepts. The fact it is all pre-ordained to end up in one place makes it harder rather than simpler.

All journeys begin with a first step as the Star Wars Prequels taught us, though, and I was one of the first to pick up a copy of Horus Rising (the first book in the series as well as its title) when it came out. Written by Dan Abnett, Horus Rising remains one of my all-time favorite books in the Warhammer 40K universe (technically Warhammer 30K right now). If you are averse to gushing praise, then this is not the review for you. I have some issues with many of the other volumes in the series and its dizzying side but none of that affects the story here.

The premise is the Emperor of Mankind has launched the Great Crusade to reconquer all human space from where most of them ventured out into the great unknown. The Emperor has retired for reasons unknown and appointed his favored son/clone Horus Lupercal as the new Warmaster. Horus’ legion of Space Marines, the Lunar Wolves, are ecstatic about this but Horus himself is troubled as he wonders why the Emperor has seemingly abandoned them.

The real protagonist of the series is Garviel Loken, who is a recently promoted “from the ranks” Space Marine (which is a bit of a lie since they’re all incredibly powerful super-soldiers infused with the Emperor’s gene seed). Garviel has more compassion than your typical Space Marine, which is to say he has any, and expresses his doubts when they exterminate the local (false) Emperor of Mankind’s forces before subjugating the entire planet.

Slowly, but surely, Garviel starts to see the rot which is afflicting the Imperium. Far from a Golden Age, it is already a fascist tyranny that has substituted blind obedience for all other philosophies. Religion is punishable by death, which has just resulted in people starting to worship the Emperor instead. It is also conquest-minded Empire that destroys tyrannies and utopias alike. Many fans have assumed the Emperor returning would be the start of a utopia for humanity but it’s clear in this book that he was closer to Stalin than Jesus (despite some hints in-canon of being the latter).

This is most illustrated by the Imperium discovering the Interex, which is a fascinating empire that shows what it might have been like if the human race was governed by someone other than an insane bloody-handed tyrant who is (unfortunately) the smartest man in the universe. A Star Trek-esque utopia, it has learned about the dangers of Chaos and making alliances with races like the Eldar. In the end, the Imperium’s complete ignorance about the former as well as passionate hatred of the latter helps result in a totally unnecessary war.

As much as I like Horus, I have to say that Garviel is one of my all-time favorite Warhammer 40K characters and he’s probably one of the best in the setting. Having grown up in a world where brainwashing is common but not all-encompassing, he’s still in a good position to question the morality of the things he does. He’s also someone who has never encountered Chaos before so when he finally meets his first daemon, he’s genuinely horrified by what it is. I liked his relationship to the ordinary human characters, mere mortals as they may be, too. He’s as far above them as the Primarchs are above the Space Marines yet doesn’t disdain them. I think he’s the kind of moral but tainted character that grimdark fans will respond to.

A lot of the book is building up for the later installments of the series, but you can pretty much guess how a lot of it will go down. Horus is arrogant, prideful, and seemingly a master politician as well as a strategist but is secretly terrified of acting on his own. He’s also grossly ignorant of a lot of fundamentals on how the universe works while suspicious the Emperor is not (and he’s not). He’s thus vulnerable to manipulation and having his worldview challenged. The fact he’s already a fascist and war monger just means his fall is more a natural consequence than a tragedy.

Horus Rising is a strong book for treating the Warhammer 40K setting seriously with good characters, foreshadowing, and conflicts. It’s all set up for future books but the look into the past of the Imperium and its “glory days” paints a dark picture and shows that there never was a chance that it wouldn’t be corrupted by Chaos. Indeed, if it hadn’t been, it might have been worse because the Imperium under the Emperor was probably every bit as bad in its own way.

Buy Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

The post REVIEW: Horus Rising by Dan Abnett appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is a fantasy novel about sin, redemption, and hope. The story follows a man-for-hire named Fetch Phillips. Fetch is a human working in a town full of mystical creatures. Humans are hated, and for a good reason. However, in a redemptive bid to atone for past sins, Fetch’s job and his sole purpose in life are to help non-humans, usually in the form of PI work. Through this work, helping one creature at a time, Fetch seeks to help atone for the wrongdoings in his past, his greatest sin. His sin destroyed the world and magic with it.

“A good man is made through a lifetime of work. Great men are made by their monsters.”

The world now no longer runs on magic. There used to be a great river of magic that flowed underground and seeped out to all the various creatures of the world. Thus, the world used to be full of magical creatures, mystical entities, as well as joy and pain. The world and the creatures in it had purpose and drive, glory, and beauty. Now that magic has been ripped from the world; it is a sad shadow of its former self. Magical creatures who used to stand tall and shimmer in the glory of the magic that infused them, are rotting. Dragons fall from the sky in dusty, scaled heaps. Trolls that had been made of as much soil as magic have stopped moving and ceased to exist. Elves that used to live forever, either fall to dust from rapid aging or now have to look mortality in the face as they know they are going to die.

The day the magic stopped was the day that hope and the future inexorably changed. Magic was ripped from the world by jealous humans, and it is a sin that humanity will live with for the entirety of their existence.

“I’d seen plenty of things break in my lifetime: bones, hearts, and promises. This woman was breaking right in front of me. I watched as she somehow vacated her own eyes. The waves of hatred lulled to nothing. The door closed.”

Now Fetch has been given a job, find a missing vampire. Vampires have been withering away to dust since the Coda (the day the magic stopped).

However, this vampire is much beloved and missed by the magical community. Fetch’s patron wants to know what happened to his friend. As Fetch delves deeper into the case, he discovers that the vampire might have disappeared due to something nefarious. It is Fetch’s job to figure it out.

Through a series of interactions, Fetch begins to piece together the timeline and what might have happened; things become so much bigger than a missing vampire. And, in doing so, maybe help find a small grain of piece for himself. Maybe give himself a little hope in this tortured and busted world.

“He was three times my age and starting over. I don’t think I ever got started in the first place.”

The story is told through a series of interactions, both now and in the past. These interactions in the past created Fetch in the present, and we slowly understand why. Arnold did a great job showing how different Fetch was before and after the Coda. Before the Coda, Fetch was wide-eyed and naive, dealing with his strange upbringing and marveling at this world full of monsters. After the Coda, Fetch is a broken man. He nurses a deep wound and is wracked with guilt that is slowly disintegrating him, much like vampires slowly sloughing away. There is a dark melancholy in the way that Arnold writes this story. Often when authors attempt to use this type of tone, it can come off as trite. Trite and pretentious, but Arnold used it as a means of showing the desperation of the situations that Fetch and by extension Sunder City are in, and it is a useful way of communicating it. The Last Smile in Sunder City is a sad Sam Spade type story, but underneath all that sadness is a small gem of hope. This hope allows the reader to feel something aside from the grief and inevitability at the destruction of magical life. At the beginning of the story, the little light of hope is seen flashing briefly in the characters from page to page. Always other characters than Fetch. Fetch is fully immersed in his mental anguish. But by the end, and through some excellent writing, hope the most elusive of emotions comes shining through for a few moments. Things might not be ok. Matter-a-fact, they probably won’t be. But, there are things to be hopeful about. There are things to find a small bit of joy in even if it is something as little as a good cup of coffee.

There are good things, and The Last Smile in Sunder City demonstrates that. It is a great read, sad at times, and hopeless, but it still propels the reader page to page with hope for the future. Arnold has demonstrated great skill in weaving an emotionally realistic tale, and I am looking forward to the next one.

Buy The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

The post REVIEW: The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: True Grit by Charles Portis

True Grit is a spectacular western that is full of heart with genuinely delightful characters that you instantly connect with. Charles Portis has created a wonderful tale of the west that will go down in my all-time favourites.

“Fill your hand you son of a bitch!”

True Grit follows a young girl full of ‘grit’, setting out to bring her father’s murderer to justice. Mattie Ross in the year 1878 is searching for Tom Chaney, the man who worked for her father then shot him. Mattie is 14 years old but is a fantastic character with as much gravitas as quippy remarks. She is straight to the point and one tough girl who does not mess around and will not rest until Tom Chaney has either been shot by her dragoon pistol or hung from the noose.

Mattie searches for a U.S. Marshall to assist her with the capture of Tom Chaney and eventually finds one in the rugged and experienced Rooster Cogburn, a Marshall who is known more for how many outlaws he has put bullets into rather than delivered alive. Cogburn’s relationship with Mattie is instantly enjoyable and they have some fantastic dialogue, Cogburn’s no-nonsense approach almost a match for Mattie’s hardy outlook. Once Mattie hires her whiskey-loving Marhsall she meets another man on Chaney’s trail – a Texas Ranger called Laboeuf. Laboeuf is of a different disposition to Mattie and Cogburn, with alternate plans for Chaney.

“Who is the best marshal they have?’

The sheriff thought on it for a minute. He said, ‘I would have to weigh that proposition. There is near about two hundred of them. I reckon William Waters is the best tracker. He is a half-breed Comanche and it is something to see, watching him cut for sign. The meanest one is Rooster Cogburn. He is a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don’t enter into his thinking. He loves to pull a cork. Now L.T. Quinn, he brings his prisoners in alive. He may let one get by now and then but he believes even the worst of men is entitled to a fair shake. Also the court does not pay any fees for dead men. Quinn is a good peace officer and a lay preacher to boot. He will not plant evidence or abuse a prisoner. He is straight as a string. Yes, I will say Quinn is about the best they have.’

I said, ‘Where can I find this Rooster?’”

In no time the three ride out on their quest to bring in the outlaw. I had never read a western before 2020, but this was my fourth and I just don’t know what it is about the genre but the writing is magical. There is a poetic and lyrical style to these stories, and especially in True Grit the dialogue is close to genius. It never feels overdone at all and the language is extremely compelling. It has an honesty to it that I have rarely found in other styles of storytelling.

Also, it has plenty of revolvers and six-shooters and repeating rifles and horse rides over the plain. True Grit is packed with everyone’s favourite and typical western components and feels extraordinarily realistic. The relationship between the three justice-seekers is well-done, the description and scene setting is beautiful and honest and the plot is simple but very fun to read.

“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.”

It is a short story at just over 230 pages long, I was able to read it in an evening. It is easy going and natural and I can see this being a feel-good read of mine for many years to come. If you’ve seen the film(s) of True Grit you’ll soon see that they are extremely faithful to the book. No wonder the films were so good if they had some awesome material to use. Both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges are sublime as Rooster Cogburn.

“That’s bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.”

5/5 – A superb story of justice, the resilience of a 14-year-old girl and cowboy classics. SO easy to read and so easy to enjoy, I would recommend this to everyone who reads! Cowboy hats off to Charles Portis.

Buy True Grit by Charles Portis

The post REVIEW: True Grit by Charles Portis appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

EXCLUSIVE: Cover reveal Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher

Much as parents deny having a favourite child, authors are hesitant to declare a favourite book. I understand that. What if it flops? What if everyone hates it? What if you like your next book even more? Are you really going to say, This is my best book yet! every damned time you write a book?

Luckily, I’m not saying that.

I should prolly explain.

Is this the best book I’ve ever written?

I dunno.

Is this the best written book I’ve ever written?

Not a fucking clue.

Is it my favourite?

Fuck, yes.

This was the first story I ever wanted to tell. This was the first novel I tried to write. Way back in the 90s, I was a long-haired metalhead with dreams of becoming an author. I got about thirty thousand words into the book before realizing just how hard writing a novel was. Being averse to effort and colossally lazy, I gave up and moved to Toronto to be a rock star. Which would clearly be easier.

I still have the original file, written in WinWord2.0, as I recall. It has been glaring hate and disgust at me for over twenty years. But no matter how I approached the damned book, I couldn’t write it! And then, an amazing thing happened. I read Brian Staveley’s Skullsworn. The way he handled the first person POV was amazing. The whole book was a gut-punch. Like any hack who doesn’t know what he’s doing, I thought, I am totally stealing this!

I talked to Brian about his experiences writing Skullsworn, and he said the POV was surprisingly easy. Later, when I was struggling, he laughed and admitted he’d been lying. As I recall there was much evil cackling. Fucker! Anyway, by then it was too late, and I had to write the rest of the damned book.

This isn’t what I wanted to talk about.

What I’m trying to explain here, is how important this book is to me.

And so, when it came time to find a cover artist, I wanted someone who would capture the feel I wanted. This book is, in some ways, a salute to the fantasy I read as a teen. Don’t get me wrong. This ain’t for kids. I mean, I kinda thought it might be YA, but my test-readers stared at me with such shock and horror that I figure it’s probably not. I think Petros’ words were, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Books are weird beasts. Sometimes, as with Ghosts of Tomorrow, I know exactly what I want on the cover. Sometimes, as with Beyond Redemption, the choice isn’t mine to make.

And sometimes, as with Smoke and Stone, the choice is mine, but I don’t have a clear image in mind. This was one of those times. I chatted with a few friends about scenes for the cover. As I recall, it was David Walters (fanfiaddict.com) who suggested the scene we eventually used.

Felix Ortiz, having just completed the work on the Smoke and Stone cover, was my first thought. With almost no art direction from me, he’d somehow miraculously pulled together a stunning cover. This time it would be different! I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew I’d be able to give him exacting details on every aspect. I contacted Felix and, being a skilled writer and communicator, proceeded to scream colours and adverbs at him in ALL-CAPS.

In all seriousness, Felix is an absolute pleasure to work with. He has the patience of mountains. I know, because I did my best to break him, and he only threatened to murder me a couple of times. The work he put into this piece went above and beyond my expectations. His unwillingness to let “good enough” be good enough is something I truly appreciate. When you pour yourself into a novel, spend years writing and rewriting and editing, you want an artist who is going to bring that same dedication.

Felix Ortiz is that man.

Pre-order Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher

The post EXCLUSIVE: Cover reveal Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick

Reading They Mostly Come Out at Night was my fourth time venturing into Patrick’s enchanting, fantastical and haunting Yarnsworld. His stories are as enriching as they are captivating with stunning imagery, likeable lead characters and they are extremely addictive. They Mostly Come Out at Night has been my favourite reading experience that Patrick has presented me so far and I consider him as one of my favourite self-published authors alongside Rob J. Hayes.

They Mostly Come Out at Night is presented in two distinct ways. Firstly we follow Lonan. He is a young gentleman who lives in Smithtown which is found in the middle of the forest. He is a forager and lives a simple life. He is hated by almost everyone from the village. This is because eight years ago the grotesque creatures that haunt the forest attacked the settlement. There was much havoc, Lonan’s father was murdered, the lady he was besotted with at the time was disfigured and all blame Lonan. When Lonan sleeps he dreams about a Prince called Adahy. Adahy is the son of The Magpie King – a legendary character who is the protector of the forest. Events take place and it transpires that Adahy has to embark on a quest for the Kingdom and Lonan hitches a ride in his mind whilst he sleeps.

The second distinct style is standalone fairy tales that take place in between chapters. These were often bewitching, atmospheric and had a distinct European/ Brother Grimm fairy stories vibe. In the current day world, these are the myths and tales that villagers repeat to their children. Examples including The Magpie King and The Black Squirrel, and Artemis and Mother Web. These acted as picturesque, enjoyable and interesting interludes and they add extra depth to Yarnsworld.

“Because I am overcome with you. You are in every thought that invades my mind. Even if you forced me to chase you until the ends of my days, growing to hate me as I hate death itself, I would still continue to pursue you.”

They Mostly Come Out at Night is well written. It is pretty short at approximately 200 pages and I raced through this narrative within a couple of days. Although it isn’t that long, the main characters are pretty well developed. My favourite segments to follow were interactions between Lonan and the scarred Branwen, Lonan and the healer he boards with, and finally Adahy and The Magpie King. The Magpie King is a legendary figure in the mythology of the forest and it was great to see both sides of the gentleman who is King of the Eyrie. The tale features some unpredictable twists, gruesome moments aplenty and there quite possibly might not be a happy ever after. It was an extremely enjoyable read and I can’t wait to jump back into Yarnsworld again although I might not quite have the epic and extraordinary grace of the Magpie King. Highly recommended.

Finally, I have to comment on how amazing the cover art is for They Mostly Come Out at Night and all the Yarnsworld novels. The artist is Jennifer Zemanek and her work can be seen at www.seedlingsonline.com

Buy They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick

The post REVIEW: They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian. This novel by Cormac McCarthy is a book that disturbed me to my core and made me dwell on the realities and philosophies within it. I have struggled to type what I actually think about it and have thus far failed to put into words my feelings around it. But I cannot stop thinking about it. I’ll leave this quote here:

“The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its strangeness it would appear to you for what it is, a hat trick in a medicine show, a fevered dream, a trance bepopulate with chimeras having neither analogue nor precedent, an itinerant carnival, a migratory tentshow whose ultimate destination after many a pitch in many a mudded field is unspeakable and calamitous beyond reckoning. “

Cormac McCarthy is considered to be America’s best living author. He has written works that have been turned into films – The Road; No Country for Old Men; All the Pretty Horses and Child of God. I have had swarms of recommendations to read something by McCarthy, due to his god-like prose and his dark story-telling. After this single read, I feel it is my job to also recommend and subject everyone I meet to Blood Meridian.

“It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.”

Blood Meridian or, subtitled as; The Evening Redness in the West (appropriate subtitle by the way), begins in the 1850s Texas-Mexico border. It follows a 14-year old boy we only know as ‘the Kid’ who flees his home in Tennessee and heads to Texas. His journey takes twists and turns leading him to become a scalphunter – joining the infamous Glanton Gang and being paid for each and every Native American scalp in a world that is just as cruel as that sentence sounds.

“The wrath of God lies sleeping. It was hid a million years before men were and only men have the power to wake it. Hell aint half full. Hear me. Ye carry war of a madman’s making onto a foreign land. Ye’ll wake more than the dogs.”

I have since found out that the Glanton Gang that McCarthy wrote about is actually a historical gang that actually went around killing and scalping Native American tribes in the 1850s and actually got paid to do so. Cormac McCarthy based this novel from the book ‘My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue’ written by Samuel Chamberlain – a man who rode with the Glanton Gang – which is considered to be the best account we have today of a soldier’s life in the Mexican War. Glanton’s Gang are established and acutely cold-hearted and professional as can be, their leader John Glanton a fearsome, gritty soldier. McCarthy’s writing of Glanton is hideously and brutally factual, showing the horror of such a leader and the stone-cold composition this person had to commit the savage acts they did.

“Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.”

This book centres around the character the kid and his journey within the Glanton Gang, but there is one character who this book is about. The Judge Holden. The Judge is a terrifying character, devoid of emotion and any humanistic traits. He is a giant, hairless murderer and psychopath. The Judge had monologues that displayed his philosophical thinking and his inhumanity that were in some parts exhilarant and in more parts just ridiculously menacing. He is spine-chilling and every line within this book about him will disturb you. Especially the last line, which led me to hold my head and let out a sigh for what felt like forever. As you read this book you will decide who The Judge really is. Some say he is the devil, others that he is everything evil within us, some that he is just a man with no compassion in the Wild West.

“If God meant to interfere in the degeneracy of mankind would he not have done so by now? Wolves cull themselves, man. What other creatures could? And is the race of man not more predacious yet?”

Within Blood Meridian I really discovered what the word ‘grim’ meant. There is no respite or interlude of the mass-chaos that the gang ensue. As a group of men who’s sole purpose is to scalp men, women and children, you know it isn’t going to be a light-hearted book. But McCarthy writes with a prose that is biblical, and the horrifying acts that are committed are written in the most un-gratuitous way which makes it all the more vicious. This book should have a massive ‘IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, AVOID’ sticker on. The brutality is moderately standard for Grimdark novels until around the 160page mark where the author really turns up that gore. Really.

“The jagged mountains were pure blue in the dawn and everywhere birds twittered and the sun when it rose caught the moon in the west so that they lay opposed to each other across the earth, the sun whitehot and the moon a pale replica, as if they were the ends of a common bore beyond whose terminals burned worlds past all reckoning.”

Cormac McCarthy’s prose must be praised here, as his accomplishment to write a book that is so poetic and metaphorical and make it seem so natural is quite incredible. I have only read this book once and I can see myself reading it many more times as I feel I have only just scratched the surface of his true thoughts and meanings within the subtleties of the language he uses. He avoids punctuation, especially speech, he writes long-winded sentences and repeats and a lot, he breaks all of the ‘literary rules’ and really makes it work.

“They were watching, out there past men’s knowing, where stars are drowning and whales ferry their vast souls through the black and seamless sea.”

I usually love to read a story that is all about being behind the main character and his friends. Wanting the character to prevail or succeed. There is none of that within Blood Meridian, until the last 60 or so pages. Blood Meridian doesn’t need anything extra. It is an achievement of writing and a book that can only be described as genius. The ambiguity of the ending left me wanted to scream and sleep at the same time and just added to the horror that I had read for the previous 350 pages.

“Only that man who has offered up himself entire to the blood of war, who has been to the floor of the pit and seen the horror in the round and learned at last that it speaks to his inmost heart, only that man can dance.”

5/5 – It’s hard to put into words how this book has made me feel. I finished it last week and still cannot comprehend it, but also cannot stop reflecting back on it. Cormac McCarthy’s writing is sublime and this book is well and truly Grimdark. Not for the faint-hearted. Please let me know if you read it or have read it, I’d love to talk about your thoughts!

Buy Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

The post REVIEW: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Stormblood by Jeremy Szal

In Jeremy Szal’s barnstorming debut Stormblood, Harmony won the war against Harvest, but to do so it had to use super soldiers created through alien organisms injected irreversibly into human bodies. Those men and women are capable of the best and the worst, depending on if they can control the alien stormtech in their systems as it bays for blood and action. These men and women are the ultimate flesh-and-bone weapons, built for winning wars through unending grit and sheer bloody-mindedness.

Only, the war ended. Harmony had an army of battle-scarred super soldiers who were no longer needed to kill but had to integrate back into a normal civilisation once more, and a black market just waiting to get their hands on an almost irreversibly addictive drug.

Our protagonist Vak survived the war with Harmony and has alien tech all through his body—supercharging him and at the same time making him sometimes more a beast slaved to alien nature than man. Our story starts with Vak and his mate stealing from a local crime boss to help pay for his mate stay on Compass (the asteroid they call home) while in the back ground we start to hear about addiction to stormtech rising and addicts going mental on it.

Then the overdoses start happening not just to the addicts, but the soldiers who came back from the war and thought their stormtech under control—men and women our protagonist Vak went through hell with. People who should have been able to survive the urges. People Harmony were supposed to be helping manage to be a part of society, despite the stormtech and their mental war wounds.

Now, I’ll admit two things: Firstly, masses of soldiers being sent back into society after a big war and struggling to integrate is one of my favourite background stories to read–it works in fantasy just as well as science fiction, and always sets you up for a hard-bitten explosive story. So almost immediately I knew there was a good chance I was going to enjoy the foundation for this story as much as, say, Priest of Bones. 

Secondly, this book is like a mixture of Altered Carbon and something I’ve not really read before, or even thought I wanted to read before, body horror (a lighter, non-sexual version of it, from the descriptions I can find online). And it bloody-well works. It creates a visceral experience that at times had me gritting my teeth and wincing–especially through a certain torture scene–and at other times sweating the action right alongside our hero.

With a solid foundational backstory, a heart-pumping opening, and a new genre splice I’d not read before, all Szal had to do was not take his foot off the accelerator from cover to cover to deliver an awesome reading experience. He doesn’t just do that, he mashes the pedal to the floor in a book that reads like an action movie but at the same time delivers such heart-wrenching and heart-warming relationships that enable him to deliver gut punches that hit home when it matters.

And this is a point I’d like to labour on a little. Vak’s relationships with Grimm and Katherine and his brother Artyom in the current timeline, and with his fireteam during the timeline that gives you a look at what the war with Harmony was like, are phenomenally written. By the end of it I was so engaged in the characters that Szal had my emotions on puppet strings. For such a young author to write such engaging characters speaks of more life experience than he could surely have. I can’t say enough good stuff about how engaging Szal’s relationships in Stormblood are.

Stormblood is a magnificent and explosive adrenaline-fest that ends with an absolute gut-punch that ties all the threads back into one tear-inducing moment. Szal’s debut is an absolute must read for fans of gritty, action-packed, detective / military SF. Whatever book two is, I’m in.

Buy Stormblood by Jeremy Szal

The post REVIEW: Stormblood by Jeremy Szal appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

EXCLUSIVE: Excerpt of Along the Razor’s Edge by Rob J. Hayes

Rob J. Hayes is a grimdark fan-favourite, and our team is really excited to release the prologue of his newest work, Along the Razor’s Edge. We’ve loved his other books such as Never Die and Where Loyalties Lie, and just cannot wait to get our hands on this newest release.

Without further ado, I give you the prologue to Along the Razor’s Edge!

Prologue

My life began the day we lost the war.

I remember seeing the fire go out of Josef’s eyes. I remember seeing my oldest friend give up and surrender. “Eskara, STOP! It’s over. We’ve lost.”

We were surrounded by enemies, standing atop the tallest tower of Fort Vernan. The city around us was chaos, a battle played out in the darkest shades of red. Beyond the city was a scorched ruin, fields turned black by fire and war.

“It’s not over!” I screamed, a shard of ice forming in one hand while the other burst into green flame. “We can take them. We are the Emperor’s Weapons.” Oh, the over-confidence of youth, before the hammer and anvil of time and reality have beaten us into whatever shape society demands.

I remember twenty men and women surrounding us, though my memory is fuzzy from rage. Perhaps it was more like ten. Some were warriors with glowing armour, enchanted to deflect magic. Others were Sourcerers like Josef and I. Well, not quite like us. We were beyond them. In our prime. Each with five Sources lending us power.

“It’s over,” Josef said again, grabbing my arm and pointing.

Down below, on the field of battle I could see the two armies clashing; crashing against each other. Horns sounded over the din, echoing up to our ears. And I saw flags falling. The tell-tale blue blur of a Chronomancer darting between units, relaying the orders. Our soldiers laying down their arms.

Josef was right, the order had been given to surrender. It might not have reached us yet, so high up, but it would. After ten years of war the Orran empire was crumbling.

I didn’t know it then, but the emperor was dead. While the battle raged at our door and I rained down five types of bloody hell upon our enemy, they had infiltrated the palace and ended the Orran bloodline once and for all.

“Stand down,” ordered one of the Terrelan soldiers. His armour was silver with etched runes glowing pink. There was fear on his face, as well there should have been. I saw it there and smiled. We had already killed so many of his comrades. They were right to fear me.

The sky was on fire, blood red showing behind the grey clouds, lightning rippling overhead and thunder rattling the earth. A Meteomancer beating out a dramatic ending to the ten-year war.

There are times in life when it is wise to lay down and accept defeat. It is a lesson Josef learned early on in his life. I was, as always, the slower learner.

“No! I will not lay down and…” My mouth fumbled out a strangled cry as Josef hit me from behind, and the world went bright for a moment. The next thing I remember, I was down on my hands and knees, staring at stone the colour of ash. It was rough to the touch and cold despite the battle. I have always been attuned to temperature. Pyromancy was the first school I mastered and remains one of my most proficient.

When I looked up, I saw a woman rushing towards me, she wore Terrelan robes and her eyes glowed green with her magic. I felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me, quashing my will to fight.

Hands grabbed hold of me from behind and pulled me up to stare at the woman with the glowing eyes. She reached into a pouch hanging from her belt and pulled out a clump of brown weed. I clenched my jaw shut and struggled against the hands holding me, but I was not strong enough. My power lay in magic, not brute strength.

Fingers pushed into my cheeks so hard I felt them puncture the skin. They forced my mouth open and shoved the weed inside. Then there was a hand underneath my jaw, clamping my mouth shut. The taste was bitter and spicy all at once, so hot it burned my tongue and made my eyes water.

Too late, I thought to use magic. With a surge of power, I ignited my hands into searing green flame. Those holding me screamed and fell away. I leapt back to my feet just as the first wave of vertigo hit. The world turned upside down and then wobbled, finally righting itself with a violent shake. I was back on my hands and knees again, the green flame guttering out even as I watched.

You can’t control the retching once it starts. Spiceweed is potent stuff. Within moments I was hacking up the contents of my stomach while struggling to breathe. My first Source hit the floor in pool of acidic vomit. It held a faint orange glow, already fading. I felt my connection to fire fade with it.

The second Source to go was my connection to the Other World. It was larger than the others with hard edges, and bringing it back up was beyond painful. Somewhere above, I knew the hellions I had summoned would tear free of their bondage and fly away. Unleashed monsters are a blight on the world, but a few monsters to hunt down are less dangerous than I with a Source in my stomach.

My last three Sources I vomited up as well, each with a sticky coating of blood. They were snatched away as soon as I retched them onto the floor. I was exhausted. Bringing up Sources has always been that way for me. It takes such effort, as though my body refuses to let go of the power even once it starts to hurt me. And it has hurt me. Many times.

I lay there on the rooftop of the tallest tower of Fort Vernan, in a pool of my own vomit and blood. Beaten. Stripped of my power. And so fucking angry! My hands were pulled behind my back and I felt rope wrap around them. A distant discomfort I barely registered as the misery of my defeat rose up to claim me.

At just fifteen years old, I had fought in the greatest war mankind has ever known. I had been one of Orran’s most powerful Sourcerers, celebrated by our allies and feared by our enemies. I had helped bring prosperity to my emperor’s lands, destruction to his foes. And now I was a prisoner, my power gone with my Sources. There was only one place the Terrelans would send a prisoner as valuable as I– the Pit.

Buy Along the Razor’s Edge by Rob J. Hayes

Along the Razor’s Edge is going to be magnificent, and we can’t wait to review it. Make sure you get your order in.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Excerpt of Along the Razor’s Edge by Rob J. Hayes appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

Ten criminally underrated fantasy books

Not all authors get to drown in royalties and have fans baying for their blood the moment they take twelve seconds away from the keyboard to scratch their arses. Some have brilliant first books that never get a second, or self published books that don’t get a look in because they don’t have a big 4 stamp on their spine. Publishing, like life, tends not to be all that fair.

Today I was having my scheduled quarterly internal mental flip-out about Beyond Redemption not getting a traditionally published sequel, and I realised that I’m not really sure which other dark / grimdark fantasy book series I should be sitting around getting steamed about being dumped by their publishers or being ignored by the market. So, naturally, I reached out to other people who’d get also steamed about this kind of stuff in the Grimdark Fiction Readers and Writers Facebook group, polled them, and came up with the top ten most criminally underrated fantasy books that you need to add to you TBR.

Just click on the covers below to head on over to Amazon.

Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

A score of centuries has passed since the First Apocalypse and the thoughts of men have turned, inevitably, to more worldly concerns…

A veteran sorcerer and spy seeks news of an ancient enemy. A military genius plots to conquer the known world for his Emperor but dreams of the throne for himself. The spiritual leader of the Thousand Temples seeks a Holy War to cleanse the land of the infidel. An exiled barbarian chieftain seeks vengeance against the man who disgraced him. And into this world steps a man like no other, seeking to bind all – man and woman, emperor and slave – to his own mysterious ends.

But the fate of men – even great men – means little when the world itself may soon be torn asunder. Behind the politics, beneath the religious fervour, a dark and ancient evil is reawakening. After two thousand years, the No-God is returning. The Second Apocalypse is nigh. And one cannot raise walls against what has been forgotten…

Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

Over a millennium ago, Erna, a seismically active yet beautiful world was settled by colonists from far-distant Earth. But the seemingly habitable planet was fraught with perils no one could have foretold, and the colonists found themselves caught in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a terrifying natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, drawing forth images from a person’s worst nightmare or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life.

Twelve centuries after fate first stranded the colonists on Erna, mankind has achieved an uneasy stalemate, and human sorcerers manipulate the fae for their own profit, little realising that demonic forces which feed upon such efforts are rapidly gaining in strength. Now, as the hordes of the dark fae multiply, four people – Priest, Adept, Apprentice and Sorcerer – are about to be drawn inexorably together for a mission which will force them to confront an evil beyond their imagining, in a conflict which will put not only their own lives but the very fate of humankind in jeopardy …

Manifest Delusions series by Michael R. Fletcher

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

Faith shapes the landscape, defines the laws of physics, and makes a mockery of truth. Common knowledge isn’t an axiom, it’s a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon, conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods.

Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken–men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control.

But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall, including the High Priest’s own Doppels, and a Slaver no one can resist. Three reprobates–The Greatest Swordsman in the World, a murderous Kleptic, and possibly the only sane man left–have their own nefarious plans for the young god.

As these forces converge on the boy, there’s one more obstacle: time is running out. When one’s delusions become more powerful, they become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath.

The question, then, is: Who will rule there?

The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

A powerful, layered weaving of myth, prose and pure imagination – Curse of the Mistwraith opens an epic fantasy series perfect for fans of The Dark Tower and Earthsea.

Let each who reads determine the good and the evil for himself.

Athera is besieged by the Mistwraith, which blights the land and dims the mysteries guarded by the last fugitives of the old bloodlines.

But from a prophecy springs hope: the gifts of two brothers – one dark, one fair, raised on opposite sides of a relentless war – when paired may challenge the Mistwraith’s invasion, though at brutal cost…

Arithon, Master of Shadow, musician and mage, commands the power of illusion and darkness. Taken prisoner in battle, his fate falls to his half-brother, Prince Lysaer – a man endowed with the gift of light through the mother they share. Lysaer is the legitimate son of a king who was betrayed by his queen’s choice to father Arithon by his mortal enemy but that does not save him.

Vengeful fury drives the king to banish both Lysaer and Arithon from the world they know to the troubled realms of Athera beyond the Worldsend Gate.

The two exiles are thrown together by hatred and spilled blood – then bound by destiny to champion Athera’s sundered heritage. The highest stakes ride the backlash of their conflict – they must reforge their adverse ideals into balance, or destroy the etheric grace of a culture all but lost to antiquity.

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

[image error][image error]A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man’s journey to find his destiny.

Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend, Cade, are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free….

But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie. The rules are not there to protect him or his people but to enslave them. A revolution is brewing, and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not.

The key to the revolution is the Ember Blade. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his people. Only with the Ember Blade in hand can their people be inspired to rise up…but it’s locked in an impenetrable vault in the most heavily guarded fortress in the land.

All they have to do now is steal it….

The Godblind trilogy by Anna Stephens

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

There was a time when the Red Gods ruled the land. The Dark Lady and her horde dealt in death and blood and fire.

That time has long since passed and the neighbouring kingdoms of Mireces and Rilpor hold an uneasy truce. The only blood spilled is confined to the border where vigilantes known as Wolves protect their kin and territory at any cost.

But after the death of his wife, King Rastoth is plagued by grief, leaving the kingdom of Rilpor vulnerable.

Vulnerable to the blood-thirsty greed of the Warrior-King Liris and the Mireces army waiting in the mountains…

Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick

[image error][image error]Kandri Hinjuman was never meant to be a soldier. His brother Mektu was never meant for this world. Rivals since childhood, they are drafted into a horrific war led by a madwoman-Prophet, and survive each day only by hiding their disbelief. Kandri is good at blending in, but Mektu is hopeless: impulsive, erratic – and certain that a demon is stalking him. Is this madness or a second sense? Either way, Kandri knows that Mektu’s antics will land them both in early graves.

But all bets are off when the brothers’ simmering feud explodes into violence, and holy blood is spilled. Kandri and Mektu are taken for contract killers and must flee for their lives – to the one place where they can hope to disappear: the sprawling desert known as the Land that Eats Men.

In this eerie wilderness, the terrain is as deadly as the monsters, ghouls, and traffickers in human flesh. Here the brothers find strange allies: an aging warlord, a desert nomad searching for her family, a lethal child-soldier still in her teens. They also find themselves in possession of a secret that could bring peace to the continent of Urrath. Or unthinkable carnage.

Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.

In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy.

Stretching from desolate tundra to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin.

As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father’s people or loyalty to her alien Empress.

Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself.

In the end, one world will rise – and many will perish.

Bloodsounder’s Arc by Jeff Salyards

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

Many tales are told of the Syldoon Empire and its fearsome soldiers, who are known throughout the world for their treachery and atrocities. Some say that the Syldoon eat virgins and babies-or perhaps their own mothers. Arkamondos, a bookish young scribe, suspects that the Syldoon’s dire reputation may have grown in the retelling, but he’s about to find out for himself. Hired to chronicle the exploits of a band of rugged Syldoon warriors, Arki finds himself both frightened and fascinated by the men’s enigmatic leader, Captain Braylar Killcoin. A secretive, mercurial figure haunted by the memories of those he’s killed with his deadly flail, Braylar has already disposed of at least one impertinent scribe…and Arki might be next. Archiving the mundane doings of millers and merchants was tedious, but at least it was safe. As Arki heads off on a mysterious mission into parts unknown, in the company of the coarse, bloody-minded Syldoon, he is promised a chance to finally record an historic adventure well worth the telling, but first he must survive the experience! A gripping military fantasy in the tradition of Glen Cook, Scourge of the Betrayer explores the brutal politics of Empire-and the searing impact of violence and dark magic on a man’s soul.

The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer

[image error][image error] [image error][image error] [image error][image error]

Dev is a smuggler with the perfect cover. He’s in high demand as a guide for the caravans that carry legitimate goods from the city of Ninavel into the country of Alathia. The route through the Whitefire Mountains is treacherous, and Dev is one of the few climbers who knows how to cross them safely. With his skill and connections, it’s easy enough to slip contraband charms from Ninavel – where any magic is fair game, no matter how dark – into Alathia, where most magic is outlawed.

But smuggling a few charms is one thing; smuggling a person through the warded Alathian border is near suicidal. Having made a promise to a dying friend, Dev is forced to take on a singularly dangerous cargo: Kiran. A young apprentice on the run from one of the most powerful mages in Ninavel, Kiran is desperate enough to pay a fortune to sneak into a country where discovery means certain execution – and he’ll do whatever it takes to prevent Dev from finding out the terrible truth behind his getaway.

Yet the young mage is not the only one harboring a deadly secret. Caught up in a web of subterfuge and dark magic, Dev and Kiran must find a way to trust each other – or face not only their own destruction, but that of the entire city of Ninavel.

Go grab some underrated fantasy books!

There’s plenty to love in this list, and plenty of low priced books to get your hands on. So, show the under-appreciated a bit of community love and grab a few books from this underrated fantasy books list.

The post Ten criminally underrated fantasy books appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.