Gastown: A Grimdark Epic Fantasy

by Malcolm Ishida

Gastown exists in the shadow of the Citadel, ruled by the fearsome Damm Warriors of the Var in a realm of ice and snow, where the currency of power is heat.

Twin brothers, Juan and Carlos Grimm, born on the wrong side of the poverty line, are violently separated, their fates one descending into criminal madness, the other into reluctant rebellion.

Far to the west, Kasha, a shapeshifter and daughter of a forgotten king, runs with her pack until she is cast out and embarks on a perilous journey back to retrieve a sacred heirloom that could alter the fate of the northern realm.

An Apotheka becomes a reluctant spy. An Assameister’s Assistant guards a terrible family secret. An Armada sails in search of a lost colony. The poor starve, and a purge by the Var may contain the seeds of their own destruction.

Blending epic scope, Dickensian grit, and brutal political intrigue, Gastown is a grimdark tale of betrayal, transformation, and the price of power.

452 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2025

About the author

Originally from North Shields, a fishing town in the North East of England, Malcolm Ishida now resides in Berkeley, California. His focus is on writing, music, and studying languages. Gastown is his first venture into writing a grimdark epic fantasy, and worldbuilding.

Reviews

[Mukomidz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is a rather unusual entry in the Grimdark genre. The plot is complex and is told through several characters who seem to have no connection to each other except for the city in which they live. Gastown, which is reminiscent of post industrial revolution cities of the mid 19th century in England, is ruled by a family dynasty of female warriors whose history and traditions are more in line with the dark ages. It's a strange juxtaposition but it works really well, even the prose feels at times almost Dickensian. The characters are well drawn and coherent and although the novel is often quite violent, often unexpectedly so, there is a lot of humour too. The author has given the whole novel a great deal of depth with his attention to lore and world-building and Gastown and its inhabitants take on a life of their own. I honestly can't remember the last time I read a novel, reached the end of a chapter and couldn't resist sneaking a peak at the next. It's an excellent piece of literature, all the more so given that Grimdark novels are ten a penny and it is difficult to find one where the excellence of the writing is matched by its characters and story. Highly recommended.