8 Indie Grimdark Novella Recommendations
Indie and self-pub has been exploding lately. Whether it be Ryan Cahill, Rob J. Hayes, M.L. Wang, Michael R. Fletcher, or anyone else, the gap between indie and trad is closing rapidly. If you’re interested in dipping a toe and trying an indie—but also want something a bit slimmer—I’ve put together a list of eight indie grimdark novellas.
The World-Maker Parable by Luke Tarzian
Evocative, gorgeous prose and some gloomy, grief-heavy imagery, this novella is perfect for fans of Anna Smith Spark, Elden Ring, and Steven Erikson. The plot does not hold your hand and the main strength of this novella is its prose, so it’s not for everyone, but The World-Maker Parable is a book I could not put down and think about often. If you’re looking for something poetic and obscured by shadow, The World-Maker Parable is a perfect fit.
Read our full review here.
About the BookGuilt will always call you back…Rhona is a faithful servant of the country Jemoon and a woman in love. Everything changes when her beloved sets the ravenous Vulture goddess loose upon the land. Forced to execute the woman she loves for committing treason, Rhona discovers a profound correlation between morality and truth. A connection that might save her people or annihilate them all.You are a lie…Varésh Lúm-talé is many things, most of all a genocidal liar. A falsity searching for the Phoenix goddess whom he believes can help him rectify his atrocities. Such an undertaking is an arduous one for a man with missing memories and a conscience set on rending him from inside out. A man whose journey leads to Hang-Dead Forest and a meeting with a Vulture goddess who is not entirely as she seems.
Read The World-Maker Parable by Luke TarzianCold West by Clayton Snyder
Unforgiven meets grimdark fantasy in Clayton Snyder’s Cold West. While the first half of this tale follows the plot of Unforgiven pretty much scene by scene, Snyder adds in more character work, more violence, more depravity, and just more grimdark. With a twist in the middle, a few Easter eggs, some elite character development and backstory, and unhinged demonic violence, Cold West is an all time entry into the Western Fantasy subgenre.
Read our complete review here.
About the BookBastard. Killer. Husband. Father. His wife cold in the ground, and two young boys to feed, Wil Cutter turns to what he knows: Violence. But a bounty is never just a bounty, and blood is never spilled in drops. Forced to ever more violent acts, he’ll have to ask himself: Is Hell too far to ride?
Read Cold West by Clayton SnyderWar Song by Michael Michel
One of the most exciting voices in the indie sphere, Michael Michel’s War Song shows his skills as both a master of characters and a master of imagery. This novella centers around a prisoner and his days of chains, back-breaking labor, and interactions with a leader whose eyes are on revolution. It’s bleak-but-hopeful, slow-yet-action-heavy, and all around engrossing. War Song is a prequel novella for Michel’s Dreams of Dust and Steel series and while it’s not necessary to read before reading the series, it is a wonderful novella for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Richard K. Morgan.
Admar’s future is a path paved with broken glass. Each step forward living under Scothean tyranny cuts away another piece of his humanity. Right down to the very bone.
But even a meager life as a miner is better than a pointless death. A sister, a mother, a lover, all lost at the uncaring hands of the Scoths, have left him with nothing but memories and ash for comfort. While stories like his are all too common, they still aren’t enough to stoke rebellion among the oppressed.
If Admar is to find hope amid the brutal occupation of his homeland, he’ll have to question how deep his convictions go. For with every crack of the enemy’s whip, he’ll know torment. With every swipe of their axes, he’ll know suffering. And every moment he refuses to act will drag him further from his destiny.
Maybe there are no more heroes left…or maybe they’re waiting to be made.
Read War Song by Michael MichelThe Whisper That Replaced God by Timothy Wolff
The Whisper That Replaced God absolutely blew me away and established Timothy Wolff as an auto-buy author. This novella is delightfully sardonic, a bit unhinged, and full of fantastic lines. It centers on Lord Mute, a prince and assassin gifted (or cursed) with the ability to bring silence upon all. He’s partly insane, he’s in love with a prostitute, and he’s an absolute blast to read. On top of the humor and the blood is a surprising amount of poignancy that balances—and sharpens—this novella to a finely crafted weapon.
Read our full review here.
About the BookMurder is just, so long as it serves the crown.
Hidden behind a mask and with a dagger in his sheath, Mute serves the crown with pride. A fair life, if not a monotonous one. But his next contract nicks too close, for murder within a brothel is always nasty business, especially the one which Mute frequents. The brothel his Dorothy works, his Dorothy who awaits Mute and only Mute. Surely none would dare touch her, for if they did, royalty or not, they would fall to Lord Mute, the Silent God’s chosen one. They would scream…
And not a sound would be heard.
Read The Whisper That Replaced God by Timothy WolffIn The Shadow of their Dying by Anna Smith Spark and Michael R. Fletcher
No, Adrian did not pay me to put this one on here. In the Shadow of Their Dying is my favorite novella of all time and was my favorite book last year. Anna Smith Spark & Michael R Fletcher’s co-written books brings out the absolute best of them as they write about the lives and deaths of assassins, mercenaries, and a bound demon in a city under siege. Fletcher handles the majority of the novella, driving the plot forward and lacing in witty dialogue from the POV’s of soldiers and the “third best assassin” while Smith Spark goes absolutely bat shit with demonic imagery and some electric, gorgeous prose. In my mind, Fletcher is a black crown, heavy and iconic, while Smith Spark is the rubies set in the crown that gleam like blood. To sum up: my favorite novella of all time. Go buy it.
The third best assassin. A second-rate mercenary crew. One terrifying demon.
As Sharaam crumbles under siege, a mercenary crew hires an assassin to kill the king. For Tash, it’s a chance at glory-to be the best blade in the dark Sharaam has ever known. For Pitt, it’s a way to get his cutthroat crew past the Tsarii siege and out of this hellhole, maybe even with some gold to their name. For Iananr the Bound One, it’s a dream of shadows and human blood.
Read In The Shadow of their Dying by Anna Smith Spark and Michael R. FletcherYour Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson
Your Blood and Bones is a dark fantasy horror about two young souls going through a nightmarish metamorphosis. Fighting against time and distrustful citizens, they embark on a quest to search for a cure to prevent them from turning into monsters. Anderson brings her two proganosists to life with a sense of resigned-but-desperate hope. Two people fighting against everything, even though they’re so tired of it all. There’s some fantastic, horrifying Ghibli-esque imagery, well-balanced romance, interesting magic, and an all encompassing sense of tension.Your Blood and Bones is ultimately like a mix of the horrors scenes of Howl’s Moving Castle and the feeling of forced tenacity in The Road.
Read our complete review here.
About the BookKill the monsters when they’re found.
No matter who they used to be.
The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die.
When her family finds out and turns on her, a village boy saves her and leads her on a frantic escape. The girl believes her death has merely been delayed—until he mentions a cure.
With the world against them and the monstrous change progressing, they must cross water, forest, and field to chase the rumor that fuels their desperate hope. But is hope enough to keep them going?
Read Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia AndersonAs Born to Rule the Storm by Cate Baumer
Part war-story, part dark sci-fi, part timey wimey, and part romance, As Born to Rule the Storm flies high with some gorgeous prose and imagery. Charlotte Amsel is a soldier with a gift that will cost her everything: she can move through time at the cost of her own lifespan. She uses this power to try and prevent the cold war she’s living in from exploding into a nuclear hellscape, but she has to juggle this with the cost of her own life. She ruminates on the time she loses, as well as the family members and her romantic pining. Baumer’s prose is gorgeous, and this novella is a superbly written time-travel based story.
The star-crossed temporal romance of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR meets the vintage setting and yearning of DIVINE RIVALS in AS BORN TO RULE THE STORM.
Cadet Charlotte Amsel will trade her life to win a war- but not all at once. As part of an elite group of experimental soldiers, she can move through time, with each jump taking months from her own fated lifespan as she struggles to prevent the cold war from boiling over into an apocalypse. With her own side just as untrustworthy as the enemy, the only thing she cares about is keeping her best friend and fellow soldier (and in some timelines, lover) safe. But each time loop adds violent complications, and saving anyone before she runs out of life to give may prove impossible.
Read As Born to Rule the Storm by Cate BaumerAn Inkling of Flame by Z.B. Steele
As a grimdark author, I have taken this opportunity to betray your trust and do a self-recommendation. However, as an honorable man, I’ll instead copy and paste Arina’s summary from our Best of 2025 So Far… post:
Z.B. Steele’s An Inkling of Flame is a wonderfully crafted novella, a masterclass in short-form storytelling. It introduces a captivating cast of characters—a found family forged in the years leading up to a war—and a brand new world brimming with conflict. The characters quickly grow on you, their banter and loyalty gradually giving way to a thoughtful exploration of the horrors of war and the enduring strength of the bonds that sustain us through adversity. Fun, clever and witty, An Inkling of Flame is a fantastic introduction to the world of Song of the Damned, which I plan to dive deeper into as soon as possible!
Read our full review here.
About the BookTell me how it happened…
Layne was a soldier, conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance fueled march. He, and his friends, were due for a fated confrontation, one that has ended in blood and loss. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel against the assassin in grey.
A backwards narrative full of banter and blood, Z.B. Steele presents An Inkling of Flame, a Song of the Damned novella.
Read An Inkling of Flame by Z.B. SteeleLooking for more great grimdark content? Check out our other lists:
Top 10 Standalone Grimdark NovelsThe Best Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction Books of 2025 So FarRising Stars of Grimdark SFF 2024Ten Cinematic SFF Novels for Grimdark FansTop Ten Horror Novels for Grimdark FansThe post 8 Indie Grimdark Novella Recommendations appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.
