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Tales of the Apt #- Shadow Hunter
Grimdark Magazine, Issue 1, October 2014
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.FICTION: Bad Seed (Broken Empire) by Mark LawrenceShadow Hunter (Shadows of the Apt) by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Woman I Used to Be by Gerri LeenThe Neutral by Anatoly Belilovsky (translator) and Mike Gelprin (author)The Red Wraith by Nick WissemanNON-FICITON: An interview with Joe AbercrombieAn interview with Graham McNeillBook Review: Joe Abercrombie's Half a King - review by Kyle MassaArticle: Grimdark is Here to Stay by Layla Cummins
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First published October 14, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 23, 2015
‘Some men just want to watch the world burn.’ He grinned.
‘I’m the fire.’
‘That you are, brother, and which of us is worse?’
Rating 4.5 (5 for Bad Seed by Mark Lawrence)
Articles and book reviews, interviews and five short stories. To tell the truth I wouldn't even noticed it if not for Bad Seed the Broken Empire short featuring Red Kent's pre-brotherhood life ... that's the one that made me buy this issue of Grimdark Magazine and the one I liked the most.
"Others emerged behind him, all armed, not soldiers though. Bandits, road men, the scum that roamed the borders of any war, picking at the wound. Alann looked from one face to the next. Hard men all. Each different from the next, short and tall, young and old, dirty and clean, but he recognised something in each one. Every man a killer born."
From the other four shorts....
Shadow Hunter (Shadows of the Apt) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, I thought it was the one I liked the least (probably because of his insectoid characters I wasn't familiar with), but I guess that one enters the category of the "improves-lingers-after-you-sleep-on-it". I may try and read the first book in the "Apt" series.
The Neutral (by Anatoly Belilovsky (translator) and Mike Gelprin (author)) doesn't have fantasy or sci-fi elements ... well maybe a hint of I-don't-know-what. The original is in Russian so this was a translation. Pity I can't read the original .... The translation was pretty good... a 4-4.5.
The Woman I Used to Be by Gerri Leen would fall into the sci-fi category. It was pretty good while I read it, but then the day after the effect was opposite to the one to Shadow Hunter ... I actually had to stop to remember what it was about.
The Red Wraith by Nicholas Wisseman ... same as the above.
Well as I was here just for the Broken Empire short (and Jorg), I'll count myself satisfied.
‘How do they call you, brother?’
‘Kennt.’ A dozen men and more watched him now. ‘They call me kennt.’
‘Brother Kent.’ The young man drew his sword, a glimmering length of razored steel. ‘Red Kent I’ll call you, for you come to us bloody.’
‘Red Kent.’ Muttered up and down the line. ‘Red Kent.’ The welcome of the pack.
August 9, 2016
Ako vas interesuje sta je tacno Grimdark ovaj magazin predstavlja odlican start u taj svet. Par lepih prica, par interesatntnih intervjuja sta vise reci.
June 29, 2018
This magazine is exactly what I was looking for. There are stories (fantasy and science fiction), interviews, an essay, and a book review. The highlights for me were the stories "The Woman I Used to Be" by Gerri Leen and "Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence.
"The Woman I Used to Be" is a science fiction story featuring a woman struggling with amnesia in the wake of a shuttle crash. "Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence is a fantasy story set in his Broken Empire world and tells the backstory of one of its characters.
This inaugural issue was a blast! I'll being reading the next.
View the complete review here at Epic Grit.
"The Woman I Used to Be" is a science fiction story featuring a woman struggling with amnesia in the wake of a shuttle crash. "Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence is a fantasy story set in his Broken Empire world and tells the backstory of one of its characters.
This inaugural issue was a blast! I'll being reading the next.
View the complete review here at Epic Grit.
January 8, 2022
I thought I would give this online magazine a try and see what I thought of some of the new writers it showcases. Overall some nice short stories, not all to my taste but I got to try some of the new rising stars out there. I look forward to trying one of these each week to find some exciting new books. Recommended
February 23, 2016
Grimdark is a genre which has been developing for quite some time. The inheritor of the mantle of Dark Fantasy and Low Fantasy, it just sounds better frankly. Likewise, it has the benefit of being able to learn from both those subgenres' mistakes while picking and choosing what elements it wants to take on. However, at the end of the day, it's still a pretty nebulously defined term and its fallen to authors like myself (here) and a few others to try to make sense of it.
That doesn't mean a magazine devoted to the concept can't be kickass, though.
Grimdark Magazine is a fanzine of the kind which used to be very popular in science-fiction fandom and helped countless writers get off the ground as well as exposed to a wider audience. They haven't gotten any less prevalent, really, but with the advent of the internet have become less overwhelmingly important to the proliferation of their genres. However, when you find something you really-really like, you should talk about it.
And I really-really like Grimdark Magazine.
For those who want a short summary of what the magazine is like, it's a collection of articles, interviews, short-stories, and reviews of various material dealing with the grimdark genre. Grimdark Magazine has a relationship with numerous important figures in the style such as Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence so the material is top quality. Given an ecopy of the magazine costs 2.99, I think you could do far-far worse with your money than pick up one or purchase a complete bundle.
Now for the review of this specific issue:
Cover
I'm not a big fan of this particular work and subsequent covers are much-much improved, but it was the first of the series and it wasn't enough to dissuade me from buying the interior. I do find it strange the Abercrombie review isn't mentioned on the cover but them's the breaks.
Non-Fiction
The Non-Fiction section of the magazine is my favorite part of the magazine despite the excellent quality of the short fiction. It's also why I purchased it. The interview with Joe Abecrombie gave excellent insights into the author's process.
I also enjoyed the review of his Young Adult novel, Half-A-King. Graham McNeil (Warhammer 40k) gives a good bit of insight into what he thinks grimdark is about and it's interesting to contrast that to Abercrombie.
The real meat of the issue, however, is an article called Grimdark is Here to Stay by Layla Cummins. I found this to be extremely interesting and a very good analysis of the subgenre's rise. One which was absolutely necessary for the magazine to establish what its thesis was.
Fiction
Grimdark Magazine 1# contains five short-stories, all by established writers, which are in the Grimdark mold. There's science-fiction, fantasy, and contemporary--which suits me just fine since I've written a grimdark superhero and urban fantasy novel.
"Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence deals with a man with a propensity to violence in a Medieval farming community who is doing his best to put that aside. It reminds me a bit of A History of Violence in that its conclusion is some people are just very good at something, whether they should be or not. Overall, my favorite story in the magazine in terms of pure entertainment value.
"Shadow Hunter" is a Sword and Sorcery story about a man who is hired to take down a wizard, complicated by the fact he's of the same ethnicity as the people presently invading the region. The twist was a little confusing but I figured it out quickly enough.
"The Woman I Used To Be" is just good science-fiction, to be honest, and I'm not sure I'd classify it as grimdark given it's the kind of thing which would be right at home on The Outer Limits. A amnesiac woman cannot cope with the fact she feels no attachment to her family and struggles to find out who she really is. Grimdark or not, I think it's extremely well-written and should be shared with the world.
"The Neutral" is a story about a man who has successfully escaped a life of violence and moved on to a less violent career. Much like "Bad Seed", the issue of whether such individuals can ever escape their violent past is addressed. The ending is very-very grimdark. It also, weirdly, reminded me of Far Cry 2. Excellent story.
"The Red Wraith" is a poem rather than a story and is fine, though I've never been particularly poetically inclined.
Overall, this is a great ezine and the creators should be proud of themselves.
9/10
That doesn't mean a magazine devoted to the concept can't be kickass, though.
Grimdark Magazine is a fanzine of the kind which used to be very popular in science-fiction fandom and helped countless writers get off the ground as well as exposed to a wider audience. They haven't gotten any less prevalent, really, but with the advent of the internet have become less overwhelmingly important to the proliferation of their genres. However, when you find something you really-really like, you should talk about it.
And I really-really like Grimdark Magazine.
For those who want a short summary of what the magazine is like, it's a collection of articles, interviews, short-stories, and reviews of various material dealing with the grimdark genre. Grimdark Magazine has a relationship with numerous important figures in the style such as Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence so the material is top quality. Given an ecopy of the magazine costs 2.99, I think you could do far-far worse with your money than pick up one or purchase a complete bundle.
Now for the review of this specific issue:
Cover
I'm not a big fan of this particular work and subsequent covers are much-much improved, but it was the first of the series and it wasn't enough to dissuade me from buying the interior. I do find it strange the Abercrombie review isn't mentioned on the cover but them's the breaks.
Non-Fiction
The Non-Fiction section of the magazine is my favorite part of the magazine despite the excellent quality of the short fiction. It's also why I purchased it. The interview with Joe Abecrombie gave excellent insights into the author's process.
I also enjoyed the review of his Young Adult novel, Half-A-King. Graham McNeil (Warhammer 40k) gives a good bit of insight into what he thinks grimdark is about and it's interesting to contrast that to Abercrombie.
The real meat of the issue, however, is an article called Grimdark is Here to Stay by Layla Cummins. I found this to be extremely interesting and a very good analysis of the subgenre's rise. One which was absolutely necessary for the magazine to establish what its thesis was.
Fiction
Grimdark Magazine 1# contains five short-stories, all by established writers, which are in the Grimdark mold. There's science-fiction, fantasy, and contemporary--which suits me just fine since I've written a grimdark superhero and urban fantasy novel.
"Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence deals with a man with a propensity to violence in a Medieval farming community who is doing his best to put that aside. It reminds me a bit of A History of Violence in that its conclusion is some people are just very good at something, whether they should be or not. Overall, my favorite story in the magazine in terms of pure entertainment value.
"Shadow Hunter" is a Sword and Sorcery story about a man who is hired to take down a wizard, complicated by the fact he's of the same ethnicity as the people presently invading the region. The twist was a little confusing but I figured it out quickly enough.
"The Woman I Used To Be" is just good science-fiction, to be honest, and I'm not sure I'd classify it as grimdark given it's the kind of thing which would be right at home on The Outer Limits. A amnesiac woman cannot cope with the fact she feels no attachment to her family and struggles to find out who she really is. Grimdark or not, I think it's extremely well-written and should be shared with the world.
"The Neutral" is a story about a man who has successfully escaped a life of violence and moved on to a less violent career. Much like "Bad Seed", the issue of whether such individuals can ever escape their violent past is addressed. The ending is very-very grimdark. It also, weirdly, reminded me of Far Cry 2. Excellent story.
"The Red Wraith" is a poem rather than a story and is fine, though I've never been particularly poetically inclined.
Overall, this is a great ezine and the creators should be proud of themselves.
9/10
September 26, 2017
Excellent
Good magazine,the shadows of the apt short was a good introduction Into a series I Intend to start shortly. The mark Lawrence broken empire short was a master class in how to write short fiction. I will be reading the rest of these magazines as they become available. Highly recommended to anyone who likes there fantasy on the dark side.
Good magazine,the shadows of the apt short was a good introduction Into a series I Intend to start shortly. The mark Lawrence broken empire short was a master class in how to write short fiction. I will be reading the rest of these magazines as they become available. Highly recommended to anyone who likes there fantasy on the dark side.
August 3, 2025
Fave story: Shadow Hunter by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
August 18, 2025
Wow, I picked this up when it come out and Grimdark magazine was just starting out. My habits of getting things and not reading them for a decade continues.
Well Grimdark Magazine has gone from strength to strength without my patronage! In this debut issue there are a couple of pieces trying to define grimdark which felt a bigger literary discussion a decade ago. There's also a short story called 'Bad Seed' by Mark Lawrence set in his 'Broken Empire' setting which was the big selling point I guess. The story is okay.
'The Neutral' was quite an interesting concept which was quite harrowing in it's execution. Made me feel quite uncomfortable really.
'The Woman I Used to Be' is the best story in the zine with a good twist and interesting take on memory.
Decent enough I guess
Well Grimdark Magazine has gone from strength to strength without my patronage! In this debut issue there are a couple of pieces trying to define grimdark which felt a bigger literary discussion a decade ago. There's also a short story called 'Bad Seed' by Mark Lawrence set in his 'Broken Empire' setting which was the big selling point I guess. The story is okay.
'The Neutral' was quite an interesting concept which was quite harrowing in it's execution. Made me feel quite uncomfortable really.
'The Woman I Used to Be' is the best story in the zine with a good twist and interesting take on memory.
Decent enough I guess
December 19, 2022
Amazing first issue
This is the first issue of Grimdark Magazine. It contains a few short stories and interviews with three of the genres authors. I particularly enjoyed the first short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky from his Shadows of the Apt series. The interviews with Joe Abercrombie and the Warhammer series Graham McNeil were informative but wish they could have been much longer.
This is recommended to fans of the grim dark genre in fantasy and sci fiction. It's very short (49 pages I believe, I read it on Kindle) and could be read in an hour or so.
Great start to the magazine. Looking very forward to reading the second issue and onwards.
This is the first issue of Grimdark Magazine. It contains a few short stories and interviews with three of the genres authors. I particularly enjoyed the first short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky from his Shadows of the Apt series. The interviews with Joe Abercrombie and the Warhammer series Graham McNeil were informative but wish they could have been much longer.
This is recommended to fans of the grim dark genre in fantasy and sci fiction. It's very short (49 pages I believe, I read it on Kindle) and could be read in an hour or so.
Great start to the magazine. Looking very forward to reading the second issue and onwards.
September 5, 2020
Another fun read! I enjoyed the story by Gerri Lean, The Woman I used to Be. and particularly the dark conclusion. I also liked the opportunity to read a story from Mark Lawrence. I wasn't a big fan of his Book of the Ancestor series but I feel like he is a talented writer and wanted to sample more of his work. His contribution in this issue Bad Seed was an excellent story and appears to be take place in his Broken Empire series which looks like something I would be interested in. I'm really enjoying this magazine and I've already downloaded issue 2 to my Kindle!
September 23, 2021
After loving issue #27 of GdM, I decided to read all of the previous issues. After picking up this first one, I can tell I will be in for a treat as I move through the entire catalog.
This issue introduced me to Adrian Tchaikovsky, so that alone has made everything worth it. Beyond that, I also greatly enjoyed "The Neutral" by Mike Gelprin and "Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence. I've read the Broken Empire and Impossible Times trilogies by Mark Lawrence and he's one of my favorite contemporary authors.
I look forward to seeing what the next issue has in store!
This issue introduced me to Adrian Tchaikovsky, so that alone has made everything worth it. Beyond that, I also greatly enjoyed "The Neutral" by Mike Gelprin and "Bad Seed" by Mark Lawrence. I've read the Broken Empire and Impossible Times trilogies by Mark Lawrence and he's one of my favorite contemporary authors.
I look forward to seeing what the next issue has in store!
December 31, 2017
Starts and ends strongly, but the middle? Eh. Gerri Leen's story is clunky, predictable, and not very well written. Didn't particularly like Nicholas Wisseman's story either, but that could've been my personal dislike for the person/tense used. In spite of those two missteps, this issue of Grimdark Magazine was still the best short form fiction magazine I've read in a while.
August 14, 2021
Just got put on to this magazine. Doing catch up.
Good interviews and good short stories.
Good interviews and good short stories.
October 15, 2022
⭐️3.5⭐️
Stand out short story : Bad Seed by Mark Lawrence
Stand out short story : Bad Seed by Mark Lawrence
November 8, 2022
Too many interviews
The stories were really good but they were interrupted by needless interviews. Other than that, a good collection of stories.
The stories were really good but they were interrupted by needless interviews. Other than that, a good collection of stories.
April 16, 2023
Because grimdark is my shit I decided to read the magazine just to find out an interview with one of my favourite authors. Worth every penny.
May 5, 2023
I really liked Bad Seed (which was a surprise since I did not like the Prince of Thorns novel), somewhat liked Neutral, thought Red Wraith to be just ok and the rest I strongly disliked.
November 5, 2023
Only read “Shadow Hunter” by Adrian Tchaikovsky
February 23, 2024
I thought I would enjoy the first issue. I don't think it's for me, that's all. I'll try the second issue. See how that goes.
May 6, 2024
Another collection of Grimdark short stories
Great to find new and promising authors.
I found Mike Gelprin´s "the Neutral" outstanding
Great to find new and promising authors.
I found Mike Gelprin´s "the Neutral" outstanding
September 12, 2021
Retroactive Review (12 Sep 2021): This review is for the first eight issues. I read this magazine via a Kickstarter stretch goal--the stories themselves were pretty good, though I tended to skip a lot of articles and stories (I don't like reading excerpts for books I'll read, and I skipped stories set in universes I plan to read the actual novels). I also find that the word "grimdark" has lost all meaning to me--it's a nonsense word to me now
March 29, 2016
Buen inicio de la revista, con entrevistas de nivel, al menos 3 historias memorables (sobretodo la de Mark Lawrence) y otra bastante buena. Se queda un poco corta en cuanto a páginas, se lee demasiado rápido.
November 25, 2016
Shadow Hunter (Shadows of the Apt) by Adrian Tchaikovsky 4/5
The Woman I Used to Be by Gerri Leen 4/5
Bad Seed (Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence 4/5
The Red Wraith by Nicholas Wisseman ?/5
The Neutral by Anatoly Belilovsky (translator) and Mike Gelprin (author) 5/5
The Woman I Used to Be by Gerri Leen 4/5
Bad Seed (Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence 4/5
The Red Wraith by Nicholas Wisseman ?/5
The Neutral by Anatoly Belilovsky (translator) and Mike Gelprin (author) 5/5
September 11, 2015
I love the short stories. The short stories are why I buy this, honestly. Sure there are gray interviews and the other content is pretty good, but the short stories are awesome.
April 25, 2017
4 stars for the fabulous intro to one of the "brothers" in Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire series.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews