Adrian Collins's Blog, page 29
December 6, 2024
REVIEW: Nosferatu (2024)
Based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the silent cinema horror classic of the same name from 1922, Nosferatu is Robert Eggers’ passion project that aims to create a modern horror classic based on the chilling vampire and gothic legend. Eggers brings his own unique style that fans of The Lighthouse, The Witch, and Northman will recognise and he soaks it in gothic dread as a brilliant cast bring the old story to life.
Nosferatu feels like a horror throwback. From the very opening scene that portrays the link between Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen Hunter and Bill Skarsgard’s Count Orlok, the film brings the fear and informs the audience that it will not be pulling any punches. This is a vampire tale with teeth fully bared and a world away from cool or sparkling vampires modern audiences may be used to. This vampire is a true monster – one to be feared not just with the well-designed jump scares but there is a slow-building tense sense of dread that fills the film and never seems to relent. Every scene with the unrecognisable Skarsgard as Count Orlok has you on the edge of your seat as the music builds and his rumbling voice courses through your body forcing your heart to race. Everything in the film is designed towards create a pure horror film and display a monster worthy to be feared.
Fans of Dracula or the original Nosferatu will know the story. Ellen Hunter suffers from seizures and speaks of a dark being who is on his way. Her new husband Thomas, played by the always brilliant Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), travels across Europe to close a deal with an old, noble Count wishing to purchase property in the newlyweds’ hometown. The locals speak of Orlok as a demon and fear his castle and soon, Thomas is hallucinating and fears that Orlok is after his wife. With Ellen having more of her fits, Willem Dafoe’s Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz steps in as a man with knowledge of the occult as he works with a doctor and Ellen’s friends to prevent Orlok’s path of destruction as he brings a plague with him (along with thousands of rats and a ship of the dead (Voyage of the Demeter is a great full length version of this…). Orlok is a terrific villain. There are nods to the classic German film with Eggers’ usual stunning direction and sense of light at play with the vampire’s shadows playing an important part in the power of the monster. Lily-Rose Depp is also stunning in the film with her understanding of Count Orlok and the shame of her past weighing heavily on her throughout Nosferatu. This truly is a grimdark horror with barely any scenes filled with joy other than those where you just know things are about to be turned on their head.
Eggers has spent almost a decade getting Nosferatu to the big screen and it is a true passion project for the talented director. It really does shy away from modernising the tale and instead embraces its gothic design with its 1800s setting and language suited to the time. The cast give their all to pull it off and their passion and dedication to the film keeps the audience invested throughout the darkness that permeates its whole runtime. This a vampire story where the vampire is a monster that embodies both death and sexuality without it ever feeling cheap or forced.
Nosferatu is a reminder of what true horror can really deliver. It is a film that is dark, beautifully shot, full of great actors on the top of their game, and so unlike anything that has been made in recent memory. Nosferatu reminds us why we do not want to invite such monsters in and this is Eggers’ best work yet.
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December 5, 2024
REVIEW: The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
The City in Glass can only be described as a literary fantasy; an ode to grief, recovery and the healing of time.
We follow the immortal demon Vitrine, who has adopted the city of Azril, mothering it into something of her very own. That is, until a swathe of angels descend upon her beloved city, bringing with them destruction and devastation as Azril is razed to the ground, along with everything else Vitrine has come to love. Left with nothing but charred remains and demolished buildings, Vitrine is alone with only her memories, and a book kept inside her being that contains the names and stories of all those who once lived in Azril.
In a fit of rage, Vitrine curses one of the angels, which then leaves him tethered to her for eternity, or until she decides otherwise. Together, both begrudgingly and with an overwhelming fascination for one another, both angel and demon set out to rebuild Azril, and to wade through the history whispered through the bones of a lost city. When war threatens Azril once more, Vitrine and her angel must decide if they are willing to save their city once again.
Nghi Vo is an expert crafter of worlds and atmosphere, both of which are evident in this novella. She has crafted the story so that the city of Azril is more of a character than it is a setting; wrapping the entire core of the story around one central location breathes life into the novella in such a refreshing manner, and one that is seldom executed so well.
The City in Glass blurs the line of what is typically construed as good and bad. We see angels bringing down destruction and a demon mending what is left behind. I would have liked to learn more about the motivations behind the angels’ actions, but I guess this sort of mystery adds to the violence as a whole. To bring down an entire city, and it’s inhabitants within it, is not an easy feat – so why does it seem so with these antagonists? I find that the grimdark aspect is potent mostly at the time of the angels’ destruction, and the later explorations of grimdark-esque themes are quite watered down and skimmed across. Still, I would recommend this almost-abstract branch of grimdark to even the most grim-hardened reader, as well as someone who is simply looking to dabble in the genre, for a refreshing change.
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December 3, 2024
REVIEW: The Savage Sword of Conan #5
While previous issues have included at least one entry spotlighting a different Robert E. Howard character, the fifth issue of Titan Comics’ bimonthly magazine The Savage Sword of Conan delivers three stories exclusively focusing on Conan at different stages in his life.
The issue opens with “The Ensorcelled” by Jason Aaron, with art by Geof Isherwood. Bearded King Conan is visiting the chaotic Brythunian borderlands, trying to help the local royalty secure their demesnes, lest their upheaval affect Conan’s neighboring kingdom of Aquilonia. While hunting with the foppish King Fabiano Conan encounters the infamous Witch of Graaskal, blamed for a host of misdeeds including child-murder. While Conan witnesses her powerful sorcery firsthand, he soon grows skeptical of the litany of crimes of which the witch is accused. King Conan intervenes on the witch’s behalf, even though it brings him into conflict with King Fabiano. “The Ensorcelled” features some interesting twists along the way, and Isherwood’s detailed artwork is pleasantly reminiscent of the classic Hal Foster Prince Valiant comics. Frustratingly, however, “The Ensorcelled” is just the first half of a two-part story. At 53 pages in length, “The Ensorcelled” dominates this issue’s 64-page page count, yet readers are still expected to wait two months for a resolution. This reviewer believes strongly that serialized stories are best left to the primary Conan the Barbarian title; The Savage Sword of Conan is at its best when it delivers standalone narratives that can be enjoyed fully by occasional readers of the magazine.
Next is a two-page vignette entitled “Damn Thing in the Water,” by Jim Zub and illustrated by Roberto De La Torre. Conan is set upon by a tentacled beast when stopping for a drink at a watering hole. While De La Torre’s John Buscema-inspired artwork always pleases, the story feels like an abbreviated retelling of Alan Quah’s “Lure of the Pit Creature” from The Savage Sword of Conan issue #3. Overly familiar seeming, perhaps the space for this micro-story could have been better occupied by a Jeffrey Shanks essay or additional full-page pin-up illustrations.
The final story is “Forged,” by Michael Kogge and Dan Parsons. Where “The Ensorcelled” depicts an older Conan, “Forged” presents Conan as a child, apprenticed to his blacksmith father in their Cimmerian village. The story shows young Conan chafing under his father’s strict guidance, but treachery by visiting Zingaran entertainers gives Conan an opportunity to prove himself. My complaint with this story is identical to my criticism of Conan the Barbarian #16: young Conan tales are profoundly uninteresting compared to those featuring the fully-fledged barbarian. Seeing Conan as a boy learning harsh life lessons does not enhance the character’s mystique. Much like a meal, Conan is better with some seasoning. Artist Dan Parsons is also capable of better artwork than what he turned in for this story.
The standard cover for this issue features amazing new Joe Jusko artwork of Conan and a panicked companion struggling to avoid being devoured by a “dragon” (likely some type of dinosaur, in classic Sword & Sorcery tradition). It was disappointing that no such scene appears within this issue. Way back in the first issue, Jim Zub’s editorial gave the impression that the creative team would endeavor to ensure that the cover artwork would reflect the contents of the magazine, and it’s unfortunate that, just five issues in, that loose assurance to the reader no longer holds. (In the interest of fairness, the alternate cover by Alex Horley DOES depict a scene from the opening of “The Ensorcelled.”)
While it’s nice to see a return to original, non-event stories after the Battle of the Black Stone prelude issue, The Savage Sword of Conan #5 doesn’t quite match the standard set by the series’ first three issues. Less devoted Conan fans might be better off waiting to see the reception to issue #6 and the conclusion of “The Ensorcelled” before going out of their way to pick up this issue.
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December 2, 2024
The dark fantasy, SF, and horror novels we can’t wait to read in 2025
Last Updated on December 3, 2024
Tell your TBR piles to grit their teeth and get ready, because you’re about to pile on the pain. 2025 is bringing a wide variety of dark fantasy, cyberpunk, sci-fi, and horror books to our literary shores, and while my credit card is telling me no, my impulse book buying is telling me yes.
As I do at the end of every year, I asked the team what they were excited to read in the next 12 months. While the choices reflect the wide and varied tastes of our team, rest assured that each reviewer looked at this through the lens of what we think grimdark fans enjoy reading–from dark and hilarious fantasy by Joe Abercrombie, to space horror by S.A Barnes, to something with a bit of a younger target audience by Suzanne Collins. Our list has a little something for everyone.
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra KhawPicked by John
I’ve been a huge fan of Cassandra Khaw since publication of their dark fantasy novella, The Salt Grows Heavy, which put a grimdark twist on The Little Mermaid. In their upcoming novel, The Library at Hellebore, Cassandra Khaw combines dark academia with cosmic horror to create a truly disturbing university experience. Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted promises an elite education for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. However, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, leaving only a few surviving students who become trapped in the school library. The only way to appease the faculty and ensure survival is offering a nightly human sacrifice.
A deeply dark academia novel from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and An Education in Malice who are hungry for something more diabolical.
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.
Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.
But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together.
If not, this school will eat them alive…
Pre-order The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
Picked by Chris
A debut from Glasgow-based author, this sits on the boundary between high fantasy and grimdark with a little dark academia thrown in. In a land where social status is defined by your innate magical power a student mage has to find and control her power or face exile or destruction. Helped by a powerful mage, she is drawn into a web of politics and deceit, with her own life and the fate of the realm at stake. Vivid writing, deep world building and a distinct magic system pair with dragons, wizards on the edge and power run wild for a strong coming-of-age story. Ideal for fans of Robin Hobb, Trudi Canavan or Garth Nix.
In the glass city of Amoria, magic is everything. And Naila, student at the city’s legendary academy, is running out of time to prove she can control hers. If she fails, she’ll be forced into exile, relegated to a life of persecution with the other magicless hollows. Or worse, be consumed by her own power.
When a tragic incident further threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. Finding Naila a kindred spirit, Haelius stakes his position at the Academy on teaching her to harness her abilities. But Haelius has many enemies, and they would love nothing more than to see Naila fail. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria’s elite, Naila must dig deep to discover the truth of her powers or watch the city she loves descend into civil war.
For there is violence brewing on the wind, and greater powers at work. Ones who could use her powers for good… or destroy everything she’s ever known.
Pre-order The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell
Picked by Alex
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee is described by the author as “if Akira Kurosawa wrote Dune”, and that description alone already makes my heart skip a beat. In this cyberpunk-samurai-space opera, an older mercenary takes on one last mission. Lee masterfully blends action and interpersonal politics in her Green Bone Saga series, so I’m excited to see what she does with this new story. The book is scheduled for Winter 2025.
About the bookFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes a searing space opera in which a battleworn samurai’s final mission thrusts her deep into a world of corporate espionage, dark secrets and tarnished honour, where she uncovers a conspiracy that could upend society on an isolated colony planet.
Pre-order The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda LeeThis book and its cover are not yet available, but you can join the author’s mailing list here for more news.
Cold Eternity by S.A. BarnesPicked by Rai
If Barnes’ previous two forays into space horror (Dead Silence, Cold Eternity) are any indication, this third offering will bring the glorious, anxious isolation of deep space straight to my eager mitts. I have a craving for space horror that Barnes’ has expertly answered with the tense terror and psychological stress she puts her characters through. I can’t wait for this to come out.
Cold Eternity is the newest action-packed space horror from S.A. Barnes, where desperation for eternal life leads to a fate worse than death…
Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago…
The cryo program, created by trillionaire tech genius Zale Winfeld, is long defunct, and the AI hologram “hosts,” ghoulishly created in the likeness of Winfeld’s three adult children, are glitchy. The ship feels like a crypt, and the isolation gets to Halley almost immediately. She starts to see figures crawling in the hallways, and there’s a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents.
It’s not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from….
Pre-order Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes
Picked by Sally
After getting my heart ripped out by Joe’s 2021 showing, The Wisdom of Crowds, my body is ready for something fast-paced, exciting, witty and fun. Set in a brand new world with a new set of rules and ragtag bunch of characters, The Devils is hands down my most anticipated read of 2025.
A brand-new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey
Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.
Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.
Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.
Pre-order The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Picked by Arina
Sara Omer’s upcoming debut, The Gryphon King, promises politics drenched in blood, moral ambiguity…and man-eating horses. The excerpt gives a glimpse of what is sure to be an exciting story filled with warring conflict and delicious, dark world building, inspired by Turkic cultures of Southwest Asia.
The first in a sweeping Southwest Asian-inspired epic fantasy trilogy brimming with morally ambiguous characters, terrifying ghouls and deadly monsters.
Combining cut-throat dynastic politics with expansive worldbuilding and slow-burning romance, this stunning debut is perfect for fans of Godkiller and Samantha Shannon.
Bataar was only a child when he killed a gryphon, making him a legend across the Red Steppe. As an adult, he is the formidable Bataar Rhah, chosen by god to rule the continent that once scorned his people. After a string of improbable victories, he turns his sights on the wealthy, powerful kingdom of Dumakra, whose princesses rule the skies from the backs of pegasuses.
When rumours reach the capital that the infamous warlord is moving on Dumakra, Nohra Zultama prepares to face him. She and her sisters are feared warriors, goddess-blessed and mounted on winged, man-eating horses. But as deceit and betrayal swirl through her father’s court, Nohra soon learns the price of complacency. With her city under Bataar’s rule, Nohra vows to take revenge. But her growing closeness to Bataar’s wife, Qaira, threatens to undo her resolve.
When rioting breaks out and mythic beasts incite panic, Nohra must fight alongside Bataar to keep order, her mixed feelings towards the man she’s sworn to kill becoming ever more complicated. Old evils are rising. Only together will Nohra and Bataar stand a chance against the djinn, ghouls, and monsters that threaten to overrun their world.
Inspired by the diverse Turkic cultures of Southwest Asia, this gorgeously written fantasy is sure to sweep readers off their feet.
Pre-order The Gryphon King by Sara Omer
Picked by James
I was a huge fan of his novel Ascension so when the author approached me asking if I would consider reading his new novel, a SF techno thriller that is like Inception meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with elements of cosmic horror, I was all in. Grimdark Magazine favourite T.R. Napper rated it 5-stars and called it ‘a taut techno-thriller with compassion and intelligence’. I cannot wait to read this and see if my brain can keep up.
A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension
Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life.
When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.
Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his memories in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last. But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.
Pre-order Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
Picked by Esmay
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. Why? Because Schwab’s deliciously dark imagination never fails to crush my soul, and when you mention vicious vampires, toxic relationships, morally gray lesbians, and female rage to me, all the buzzwords are buzzing. It promises to be a wildly unique character-driven dark historical fantasy genreblend that spans centuries and continents, following three young women whose lives are inextricably linked together in the most unexpected and twisted ways. As a dedicated Schwab fan, I am beyond excited to read an unapologetically raw story that she apparently put even more of her own heart and soul into than Addie LaRue. Bring on the emotional turmoil!
From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.
London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
Pre-order Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Picked by Abergale
My most anticipated read of 2025 is R.F Kuang’s Katabasis. Magicians and a trip to hell? You don’t have to tell me twice. Two PhD students (also magicians) take a trip to the underworld to save the soul of their dead advisor so that he can write their recommendation letters. Kuang’s Babel is easily one of the most tabbed books on my shelf, so I am ready for this epic adventure that promises magic, heartache and a world in which Dante and Orpheus could be best friends.
Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek:
The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.
That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….
Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion.
With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like.
But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
Pre-order Katabasis by R.F Kuang
Picked by Sab
This instalment follows Haymitch Abernathy in the second quarter quell, where twice the number of tributes get sent into the games, and only one comes out. The Hunger Games will always remain a modern classic for me, so I’m very excited to read Haymitch’s story. It’s for sure my most anticipated read of 2025.
When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
Pre-order Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Picked by Lucy
Definitely really looking forward to Luke Arnold’s Whisper on the Wind (Orbit)–the fourth instalment in his Fetch Phillips book series. I love Arnold’s sharp, witty writing–reminiscent of Aaranovitch and Pratchett–and his depiction of Fetch as a beaten down man-for-hire in the fantastical, messy, gritty place that is Sunder City. Particularly with how One Foot in the Fade ended, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Fetch is done being a hero.
Once a detective, all he wants now is to run his cafe in peace. Sunder City is still recovering from the sudden and violent end of magic, and if one man can’t solve all its problems, he can at least stop some people going hungry.
But when a kid on the run shelters in Fetch’s cafe, and a chain of gruesome murders begins among Sunder’s high and mighty, trouble is brought to Fetch’s door.
There’s a word whispered on the wind, and that word is revolution…
Pre-order Whisper on the Wind by Luke Arnold
Picked by Fiona
The book I am most looking forward to next year is Lightfall by Ed Crocker. Luckily for me it’s out in January so I don’t have long to wait! Lightfall is Crocker’s debut novel and it is described as a ‘stunning epic fantasy’ and compared to the works of Jay Kristoff and Richard Swan–and I enjoyed everything I’ve ever read from those two so Lightfall sounds like a promising debut. This novel is full of vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers set in a world where the quality of the blood you drink determines your strength. Cheap, weak, blood won’t sustain you for long but the nobility can afford the good stuff and can survive almost indefinitely. Oh, and no one can leave the last remaining vampire city. Which should be fine, apart from the fact there’s a murderer hiding amongst them.
A novel of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers, Lightfall is the stunning debut epic fantasy by Ed Crocker, for fans of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire and Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
Pre-order Lightfall by Ed Crocker
Picked by Beth
I think I might have a heart attack reading this book in the best possible way. The premise seems incredible, a minute by minute race of random people. You never know what depths of strength or depravity people will go to when pushed to their utmost limit. Ones that seem weak and insipid on the surface can have a core of strength while others who are outwardly loud and bold could easily crumble in the face of something unimaginable. Characters who have to brave sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, yes please.
This is the kind of novel that shows the true colors of people, and I cannot wait to dive in and learn what it means to Ascend.
About the bookWith no understanding of what the tower is or why they’ve been chosen, thirteen seemingly random strangers must battle to reach the top of a tower before the countdown clock reaches zero… and the world faces a potentially catastrophic fate.
When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.
As they try to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone is… up.
And so begins a race to the top with the group fighting to hold on to its humanity, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares. Can they each overcome their differences and learn to work together or does the winner take all? What does the tower want of them and what is the price to escape?
Pre-order The Way Up is Death by Dan hanks
Picked by Adrian
The book I can’t wait for you all to read in 2025 is Grave Empire by Richard Swan (closely followed by Paved with Good Intentions by Peter McLean). Set 200 years after the events of The Empire of the Wolf (starting with The Justice of Kings) Grave Empire is like reading the dark fantasy version of the Conquistadors heading into the Amazon jungle and being brutally butchered. The feeling of horror and the sheer emptiness and size of the Empire of Sova creates a magnificent backdrop to the machinations of empires as they go to war against the backdrop of a potentially humanity-ending dark magic plague.
Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.
A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.
But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.
Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence.
It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save…
Pre-order Grave Empire by Richard Swan
The post The dark fantasy, SF, and horror novels we can’t wait to read in 2025 appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.
December 1, 2024
REVIEW: Blacklight Born by Alexander Darwin
Last Updated on December 2, 2024
Blacklight Born is the third and final volume in Alexander Darwin’s Combat Codes trilogy, following up on his debut novel, The Combat Codes, and its sequel, Grievar’s Blood. The Combat Codes series is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where standard warfare has been superseded by one-on-one combat between trained martial arts fighters known as Grievar Knights who fight as representatives of their respective countries. Owing to the magnitude of their responsibilities, Griever Knights receive the highest levels of specialized schooling in martial arts.
The lead protagonist of the Combat Codes trilogy is Cego, a diamond-in-the-rough boy who is discovered by a retired Grievar Knight, Murray Pearson. Recognizing Cego’s tremendous potential, Murray takes on personal mentorship of the boy, training him to become the next champion fighter for their country of Ezo.
Murray himself becomes the focus in much of Blacklight Born, especially during the first half of the book where the narration is from Murray’s perspective. As much as I enjoyed getting to know Murray better, Cego’s absence from most of the first part of Blacklight Born did interrupt the flow of the overarching story of the trilogy. Cego returns to center stage in the latter part of the book, a more mature presence but still having plenty of secrets.
It’s a joy to see how much Alexander Darwin has grown as a writer over the course of his Combat Codes series. Blacklight Born has a restrained nuance missing from the earlier volumes of the series, especially The Combat Codes. Unfortunately, the pacing of Blacklight Born suffers as a result, along with its exclusive focus on Murray during the first part of the book. Compounding this problem, once the story finally takes off, I felt that it finishes too abruptly.
Alexander Darwin continues to excel in his action scenes, which have a cinematic feel on par with Fonda Lee’s Jade City. Both Alexander Darwin and Fonda Lee are accomplished martial artists who draw on that experience to write very realistic, well-choreographed fight scenes. Darwin and Lee also have a shared passion for rocs, the enormous birds that are the focus of Fonda Lee’s Untethered Sky and play an important role in Blacklight Born.
Altogether, the Combat Codes trilogy is a must-read for fans of martial arts fantasy. Grimdark readers will especially enjoy the darker second volume of the series, Grievar’s Blood, but may be left wanting more consistently paced action in this concluding volume of the trilogy.
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November 30, 2024
REVIEW: Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry
Last Updated on December 1, 2024
Joe Ledger returns in Burn to Shine, the fourth installment in author Jonathan Maberry’s Rogue Team International series. Never a stranger to bioterrorism, Joe Ledger takes on an all-new adventure to combat a mysterious organization infiltrating top-secret biological weapons research facilities around the globe. The stakes have never been higher for Joe Ledger and company, but will they be able to unravel this conspiracy before it’s too late?
Jonathan Maberry throws us immediately into the action, using short chapters to switch rapidly among locations as we learn about human disease bombs who are purposely infecting large groups of people in public settings. Although the abrupt chapters feel rather disorienting at first, the narrative style effectively conveys the far-reaching scope of the bioterrorism threat. It’s also rather satisfying to see how these various plot threads come together in the latter part of the book.
The narration in Burn to Shine switches between Joe Ledger’s first-person account of the action and the third-person perspectives of several other characters. Regrettably, the cast of Burn to Shine is often too large to manage, with many of the characters feeling interchangeable with each other, having similar personalities and dialogue styles. It’s also difficult to keep track of individual characters when everyone has two names, their real name and an often cringeworthy call sign, used throughout the novel.
The author’s choppy writing style is another major impediment to my enjoyment of Burn to Shine. From the jerky sentence structure to the overly brief chapters, everything felt too short for me to be fully drawn into the story. Another issue is the dialogue, which feels like something out of a bad action movie and is often too trite to take seriously.
Altogether, Burn to Shine has an exciting premise but falls short in its execution. Although this was a dud for me, it may appeal to readers looking for their next action thriller.
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November 28, 2024
REVIEW: Scorch
After Games Workshop scythed through the online fanimation community with job offers and take down notices a few years back, I am so happy to see Warhammer 40,000 fan projects back on YouTube. Scorch by creator Moskoni is the first in what I hope is a long series of episodes, the opening battle salvo of a mass attack by the Cadians to destroy a Chaos cardinal and his followers.
Scorch is a relatively simple story so far. A daring mass assault to gain access to a horrifying leader and his minions to stop them from doing future terrible things to the people of the Imperium in the future. Story, however, is not what this episode, nor this review is about. Scorch is an impressive spectacle, with a breathtaking approach to depicting mass battle by the men and women of the Astra Militarum.
From the terrified breathing of a pilot as he flies troops into the warzone, to a scene where a desperately needed missile team runs past guardsmen carrying wounded soldiers away from the front lines, to the over-the-shoulder shots of the masses of soldiers running into the meatgrinder, Scorch really captures that Saving Private Ryan Normandy Beach landing feeling like few animations I’ve ever seen. For this, the Moskoni team must be celebrated in their efforts, as they create a captivating experience that genuinely delivers the collective terror of the soldiers, the prevalence of impressive war machines towering over all, the forced calm of the leaders attempting to win and keep their troops alive if they can, and the heroism and sacrifice of the individual amongst it all. The use of no real main characters, but tonnes of very small blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments creates a story of the many and their suffering, versus a hero-focussed experience, and I think that’s an excellent set up for the story to really get started in the second episode.
Something else I was impressed with was the depiction of the Chaos forces. While full of Chaos symbols and mutations, the troops were still presented as troops. They hadn’t turned into slavering madmen or beasts. They could stand to in formation. They had leadership structures and organisation. They had a reason to be and a driving force to follow in the cardinal. Much like Dan Abnett’s Blood Pact in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, they seemed to be able to work as a large military unit instead of turning into a mindless horde.
The scripting and delivery by the actors could probably be worked on a bit, if we’re being honest, but for a fan project, this aspect takes a back seat to the sheer spectacle and exciting viewing experience. There was the obligatory mid-combat ranting about the false emperor, but again, that’s to be expected. I’ll always prefer the quiet professionalism of the space marines in Astartes, but Scorch wouldn’t work without dialogue.
At just shy of 12 minutes, Scorch sets a high bar for following episodes. Gritty and bloody, I could not pull my eyes from the screen. If you’re a 40k fan, get on over there and check it out.
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November 27, 2024
REVIEW: The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Last Updated on November 28, 2024
The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte is quite a thrill ride for bibliophiles, with a dark, labyrinthine story full of gray morality. The protagonist, Lucas Corso, is an antiquarian book dealer and investigator known for doing whatever it takes to meet the demands of his privileged clientele. As the novel opens, Corso is approached by a wealthy client asking him to authenticate a manuscript which is supposedly a rare original document by the famed French writer Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.
Corso’s investigation in The Club Dumas leads him on a path toward finding a legendary occultist book, supposedly containing instructions on how to summon Satan. Corso deduces that there are actually three copies of the book. Much of the plot centers on Corso locating these copies and studying their subtle differences to determine which is real and which are fake.
Arturo Pérez-Reverte does excellent work incorporating artwork into the novel, using images of nine plates contained from the legendary Satanic book and explaining the subtle differences between the authentic and forged versions. The study of these slight differences leads Corso to an unexpected conclusion regarding the person who has hired his services.
The Club Dumas is a ton of fun, and Lucas Corso is highly compelling as the main protagonist. Corso is equal parts book scholar, philosopher, hardboiled detective, and James Bond-style superspy, but with morally gray overtones that will be especially appealing to grimdark fans.
I won’t give away any more of the plot in The Club Dumas, which is filled with action involving antiquarian book lovers, femme fatales, and Satanists. The ending of the novel has a twist so big that it left me in complete disbelief, questioning everything I had read up to that point.
The Club Dumas is the type of novel that will stimulate the mind at a deep level while also keeping you entertained throughout. Overall, The Club Dumas is highly recommended for fans of dark fiction.
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November 25, 2024
REVIEW: Model Home by Rivers Solomon
Model Home is the latest novel from Rivers Solomon, who specialises in blending speculative fictions with the dark realities faced by minorised communities. Solomon focuses on giving voice to Black and queer narratives and is a multi-award nominee and winner.
Model Home takes the haunted house away from the trope of a crumbling, dank, isolated edifice and plonks it firmly in the sunny Texan climes of a Dallas gated community of newly built McMansions. Not long after Ezri and family make the move from New York to Dallas, something in the house begins haunting them. The woman with no face, also described as Nightmare Mother, delights in the screams of Ezri and their two younger siblings, tormenting them for years, even long after they’ve escaped the walls of their childhood home. With a freshly built Model Home, was it already haunted, or are there unseen things occurring in the house that are making it haunted?
“Everyone believes in haunted houses. Ghosts are a function of the movement of time. Places become marked by the things that have happened to them, the things they’ve done. Rings in the trunk of a tree.”
Ezri is struggling to exist with the traumas of a marginalised life and, when Nightmare Mother reappears, they are forced to return to the home their parents still live in and face what hides within. In Model Home, Solomon expertly explores the idea that we too are haunted houses, filled with the ghosts of past deeds and actions, filled with the ghosts of those who have influenced us and impacted our formation into people in our own right, for good or ill.
“I am always remembering, even when I am not. Me is in itself a remembrance. Me does not exist without the past that shaped my being.”
As we progress through Model Home, the reader must consider if our narrator, Ezri, is not only a haunted being, full of ghosts, but whether they could also be the haunting being. Could they have been behind every misfortune that befell their family in that house? They describe a mother who was distant and difficult to please, who denied any ghostly happenings in the house, and who expected the world from her children. Is Nightmare Mother a reaction to that, or maybe another aspect of her motherhood?
“How cruel that our parents, unexorcisable, go on inside of us. How cruel that we cannot disimbricate their ghosts from our being.”
Solomon has taken a narrator, at the intersection of several marginalised strands of identity (Black, queer, disabled, neurodivergent), and expounded on how existing in those spaces can leave you haunted by the traumas exacted on you by prejudiced society. You feel for Ezri and their siblings, seeing how each is haunted in a different way. This isn’t just a simple haunted house novel and the layers of haunting that Solomon explores through these characters is the true star of the show.
“Humans are gods, making worlds, then making miseries of those worlds.”
Model Home is a slow-burn and infectious read, weaving its tendrils through your mind and pulling you deeper in. It taps into common fears and harsh realities, revealing how we each may be haunted by the ghosts of our childhood. To shine a light into those shadowy corners would not only expose the ghosts, but expose us as well. Is one worth the other?
Read Model Home by Rivers Solomon“The darkness hides us as much as it hides the ghosts.”
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November 24, 2024
REVIEW: Arcane S2
It’s been a few years since Arcane dropped seemingly out of nowhere on Netflix to universal acclaim. With a near perfect audience score and praise for its story, voice acting, music, and phenomenal visuals, the series inspired by the League of Legends game became one of the most watched tv series on the planet and so there has been a lot of hype for the second, and final, season. Just like in the first season, Arcane S2 has been crafted with love and an attention to detail that makes it stand out in an animation field of greats (Blue Eye Samurai, Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners) and ends on a high.
[image error]Arcane S2 picks up right where the first season left off. There’s barely time to breathe as we witness the aftermath of Jinx’s attack on Piltover. We see how her actions have consequences that will bleed over all our beloved characters with Caitlyn’s mum’s funeral the following scene as Piltover demands revenge on the anarchist just after peace between the two seemed a possibility. Vi’s guilt for Jinx feeds into all her actions as she struggles to keep Caitlyn from being consumed by the hate and despair threatening to take over and it is difficult to see all the characters in the show repeatedly faced with such difficulties, there never seems to be a moments peace and this is in line with the almost relentless pace of the show as it doesn’t really slow down until the second act as we hit episode 4. Here, we see Jinx almost peaceful as she cares for younger girl and the undercity has taken to dying their hair blue and worship her as an almost cult-like figure with the memory of her being larger than life. The pace of the show does make it a bit difficult to pause and take things in and process the changes to the characters (such as Jinx’s sudden shift) but the quality of writing and voice work works around this and keeps the audience invested.
There is a lot packed into Arcane S2. Time jumps, parallel dimensions, time travel, magic – there’s a lot to pack in but amongst all the action and chaos, the series remembers that the show puts the characters through grimdark hell because it wants to bear its heart. It remembers to slow down at the right times to remind its audience to care and there are beautiful scenes with gut-wrenching emotion that make it all the more difficult to watch when you see characters made decisions that you know will lead them on a dark path and away from happiness. The series teases happy endings and shows you what could have been but this is a dark world full of fighting and anarchy and the joy shown is fleeting but it makes it all the more beautiful for that.
Of course, the art direction and visuals in Arcane S2 are stunning. The numbers spoken about regarding the cost of the show is insane but it has paid off. This is the best-looking thing on TV at the moment (take note Rings of Power) and the action is fluid and brutal at all times. The voice cast is top notch and the fabulous cast really do bring such raw emotion and nuance to the characters across the show and you can tell that they ahve taken the time to truly understand their characters in order to pull of such stunning performances.
Arcane S2 is a masterpiece of the streaming era and rare in that it has a definitive ending after two seasons. The brutality is relentless but so is the beauty. Whilst the Arcane S2 could have used a few more moments to breathe, the overall series is a near perfect show with one of the best stories ever written. If you haven’t started it yet, what are you waiting for?
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