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Grimdark Magazine Issue #44
Grimdark Magazine presents the darker, grittier side of fantasy and science fiction. Each quarterly issue features established and new authors to take you through their hard-bitten worlds alongside articles, reviews and interviews. Our stories are grim, our worlds are dark and our morally grey protagonists and anti-heroes light the way with bloody stories of war, betrayal and action.
FICTIONTen Times Dead from the Goddess in the Womb by Ryan ColeReconnaissance Notes, Episode 1 by Miles Cameron and Emma BurnettContagion's Eve by Rich LarsonThe Bull Beneath by Hûw SteerThe Slow Sad Suicide of Rohan Wijeratne by Yudhanjaya WijeratneThe Salt Apostle by Zamil AkhtarThe Iron Man by Max GladstoneNON-FICTIONAll Systems Grimdark by Krystle MatarAn Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Miller by Rai Furniss-Greasley and Beth Red Star Hustle/Apprehension by Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Miller (review by Rai Furniss-Greasley)The Power of Fantasy and Sci-fi when Dealing with Grief by Aaron S JonesAn Interview with SenLinYu by Beth TablerProject We’re Probably All Going to Die by Dr. Kristi CharishAn Interview with Glen Cook by John Lies Weeping by Glen Cook (review by John Mauro) Alchemised by SenLinYu (review by Beth Tabler)An Interview with Christopher Ruocchio by Z.B. Steele and William McclellandAn Interview with Anton Hur by William McclellandSome Ways of Subverting the "Women as a Victim" Trope by Angela Slatter
FICTIONTen Times Dead from the Goddess in the Womb by Ryan ColeReconnaissance Notes, Episode 1 by Miles Cameron and Emma BurnettContagion's Eve by Rich LarsonThe Bull Beneath by Hûw SteerThe Slow Sad Suicide of Rohan Wijeratne by Yudhanjaya WijeratneThe Salt Apostle by Zamil AkhtarThe Iron Man by Max GladstoneNON-FICTIONAll Systems Grimdark by Krystle MatarAn Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Miller by Rai Furniss-Greasley and Beth Red Star Hustle/Apprehension by Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Miller (review by Rai Furniss-Greasley)The Power of Fantasy and Sci-fi when Dealing with Grief by Aaron S JonesAn Interview with SenLinYu by Beth TablerProject We’re Probably All Going to Die by Dr. Kristi CharishAn Interview with Glen Cook by John Lies Weeping by Glen Cook (review by John Mauro) Alchemised by SenLinYu (review by Beth Tabler)An Interview with Christopher Ruocchio by Z.B. Steele and William McclellandAn Interview with Anton Hur by William McclellandSome Ways of Subverting the "Women as a Victim" Trope by Angela Slatter
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2025
11 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Zamil Akhtar
13 books467 followersThe Gunmetal Gods Ultimate Collector's Edition is launching from Nov 14 to Dec 5, 2023! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/gunmetalgods
Get your FREE copy of Death Rider, a standalone novella in the Gunmetal Gods series, by joining his mailing list at https://ZamilAkhtar.com
When Zamil was fourteen, he moved from the dry, dune-spotted Arabian peninsula to the hilly, arctic wasteland that is Western Massachusetts. He despises the cold, isn’t very fond of the sun, and prefers spending all day indoors mashing the keyboard in the hopes something great will come of it. When not dreaming up dark and fantastical journeys, he enjoys binging horror movies, wasting precious time arguing about international relations on Reddit, and occasionally traveling somewhere exotic. He currently lives in Dubai with his loving wife and his badly-behaved pet rabbit.
Get your FREE copy of Death Rider, a standalone novella in the Gunmetal Gods series, by joining his mailing list at https://ZamilAkhtar.com
When Zamil was fourteen, he moved from the dry, dune-spotted Arabian peninsula to the hilly, arctic wasteland that is Western Massachusetts. He despises the cold, isn’t very fond of the sun, and prefers spending all day indoors mashing the keyboard in the hopes something great will come of it. When not dreaming up dark and fantastical journeys, he enjoys binging horror movies, wasting precious time arguing about international relations on Reddit, and occasionally traveling somewhere exotic. He currently lives in Dubai with his loving wife and his badly-behaved pet rabbit.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 5, 2025
"Ah. The small talk. Unlike the laws of physics, the laws that govern small talk are constant everywhere in the universe."
Another good set of collection of stories and non-fiction pieces but there had been better in some of the earlier issues. However, there are a couple of good highlights for me -
🎈 The Slow Sad Suicide of Rohan Wijeratne by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
🎈 The Bull Beneath by Hûw Steer
🎈 Reconnaissance Notes, Episode 1 by Miles Cameron & Emma Burnett
Moreover, I had liked the small interview of the legendary Glen Cook, the spaceship episode and another splendid piece by Aaron S. Jones.
Yet, the best experience for me was Contagion's Eve by Rich Larson. It has a very unique narration style from a kid's point of view. It starts innocently but suddenly it takes a horrific turn which I never saw coming. A powerful story on human greed!
Another good set of collection of stories and non-fiction pieces but there had been better in some of the earlier issues. However, there are a couple of good highlights for me -
🎈 The Slow Sad Suicide of Rohan Wijeratne by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
🎈 The Bull Beneath by Hûw Steer
🎈 Reconnaissance Notes, Episode 1 by Miles Cameron & Emma Burnett
Moreover, I had liked the small interview of the legendary Glen Cook, the spaceship episode and another splendid piece by Aaron S. Jones.
Yet, the best experience for me was Contagion's Eve by Rich Larson. It has a very unique narration style from a kid's point of view. It starts innocently but suddenly it takes a horrific turn which I never saw coming. A powerful story on human greed!
Displaying 1 of 1 review