Grimdark Fantasy discussion

Good day. I'm Chompa.

I've been reading books for about 40 years or so and it hasn't gotten old yet. I'm starting this group because I couldn't find a group that is talking about this sub-genre of fantasy.

Let's share favorite books, authors, etc..

Kind of exciting. This is one of my favorite genres when done well. Excited to be here.

Welcome Deborah. What are some of your favorites so far?

So far my favorite is Mieville, though one could argue he's also rather literary. Or steampunk, or many other things, but I'm going to maintain he fits the genre. My second favorite is Abercombie and third Martin. I'm hoping to discover things by other authors who not only meet the criteria of Grimdark, but like all three of the authors listed above are extraordinary writers and writers willing to really take chances.

I mean, all three are successful, but I don't think any of them knew going in that what they were doing would work. I'm willing to bet that all of them were told to knock it off and try to be a bit more like everyone else.

I get you, Deborah. Trying to assign labels is kind of unwieldy, but it is a good tool for those that like specific types of stories. Grimdark really fits Abercrombie and others. And really who wants to be like everyone else?

Hello all. I had gotten tired of fantasy they seemed to repeating themselves. But then I discovered Joe Abercrombie and my love of fantasy returned with a dark side. I am up to date with all of Joe's books.
and have been Brent Weeks and am finishing up Brian Ruckley's 'The Godless World' I am happy to have discovered this group. Now what do we next?

Hello fellow grimdark enthusiasts! I Got really excited when I found out about this group. Being new here at GR I still wasn't able to connect with other readers and I’m looking forward to learn more about this sub-genre I Recently came to embrace as favorite.

Let's find something new and read it!

Great idea! We could start a discussion thread... At slow pace, perhaps 2 or 3 chapters a week.

What do you say Mr. Chompa?

That would great to start a discussion group. How about we start with City of Ruin by Newton, Mark Charan?

Will it stand on its own for those of us who didn't read book 1?

Oh, crap never mind I thought it was the first one, back to the drawing board. lol

I'll bring some suggestions until the end of the week ;)

I'm a huge Joe Abercrombe fan. I also love GRRM and Peter Brett. I read Prince of Thorns and didn't really like it. I hear so much praise for it, what did I miss?

I've had the Godless World and Winterbirth on my shelf for a long time - thinking about tackling that.Would anyone be up for that choice?

Is Winterbirth the first book in The Godless World series?

Yes - someone earlier in the thread mentioned it. Was curious to hear the thoughts of anyone who has read it and mention it for a potential group/discussion read.

I'd also be willing to give Jorg another try and read King of Thorns.

Brittany wrote: "Nick wrote: "For me it was Lawrence's unapologetic portrayal of a character with "no redeeming characteristics." It was refreshing for me at the time to have a protagonist that wasn't trying to hide who he was or pretend like he even cared to fix it or make up for it (99% of the time)..."

Couldn't agree more

I just finished reading 'The Godless World Series' I found it compelling and poetic.

Believe it or not I have not read I haven't read Games of Thrones. That is my next project - read all five novels in arrow.

Brittany wrote: "Vote for your favorites! No registration needed, just a few voting clicks! Give some great authors a chance :)

http://www.gemmellawards.com/award-vo..."

I struggled a little with the Ravenheart, so many good ones...

I was just asking if there were any book of this style and Brittany pointed me to this group. I'm hoping to write some of my own and this seems like the proper style to write a true epic fantasy.

I haven't read any fantasy yet that has truly felt 'dark' to me. I don't that to imply I didn't love much of the fantasy that I've read...just that it isn't in this style. I love Terry Brooks (probably my favorite author), but I wouldn't call his stuff very dark.

I hope some suggestions here will give me some ideas.

what is Ravenheart. nothing on the list was familiar.

I'm happy to see this group is growing quite well. Thanks to Brenno for getting the discussion going on The Blade Itself.

Brittany wrote: I invited a few friends who introduced me to books in the genre. That's allowed right? :)

Absolutely!

Thank you Chompa, for creating this group! It was my first contact with other readers here at GoodReads and its been quite enjoyable.

I'm trying to get some reader friends into GR community, also introducing the genre.

Once they set up profiles I'll bring them aboard! o/

Greetings, I just joined and I'm glad I found this group and I look forward in discussing Dark Fantasy books with you in the future. My main reads are Historical Novels/Fiction/Literature, Epic/High/Dark Fantasy and Suspense/Thriller/Horror/Zombies!. I'm not insane but I love dark fantasy books, especially those with anti-hero protagonist.

Welcome Ron. I like a mix of things myself. And honestly a good anti-hero (or even villain) is the mark of a good book/movie/story in my mind.

Hi Ron!

Welcome to our humble lair... I'm sure you will enjoy you time here

Hi, I just joined. I've only recently became active on goodreads. I absolutely love dark fantasy stories. Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy is probably one of my favs thought I haven't finished yet, and today I just started Prince of Thorns. Its so awesome so far.

Welcome to the Grimdarks, Bunny.

Good idea for a group.

I'm newer to straight fantasy but have been reading Urban Fantasy for years; always preferred the darker branch of that.

Looking forward to some interesting recommendations on here.

Welcome Erin. I'm a fan of urban fantasy myself. Jim Butcher, Harry Connolly and Kevin Hearne are favorites of mine.

We are just about to start a group read of The Lies of Locke Lamora if you'd care to join us on that.

Hi! Just joined this group. I am active on FB and Twitter but not as much here. I am a voracious reader and have been on a fantasy binge for awhile now. A few fave authors include (not all grim dark) Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, and Anthony Ryan.

When is the group read for Locke? I''d like to participate if I am able.

Hi, Dawn. Go crazy with Locke. Welcome to the Grimdarks.

Welcome people! Nice that you are interested in Locke. I'll open the topic for The new group read tomorrow morning. (Maybe do it a thing to start the new readings on Thursdays? just a thought)

Looking forward to share our thoughts. :)

Chompa wrote: "Welcome Erin. I'm a fan of urban fantasy myself. Jim Butcher, Harry Connolly and Kevin Hearne are favorites of mine.

We are just about to start a group read of [book:The Lies of Locke Lamora|1274..."

I haven't heard that one so may not get it in time but will look it up and see. A group read sounds interesting.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

Hello, I'm Gandalfgrijs and I actaully didn't realise how much I liked grimdark Fantasy before I saw that half of this groups bookshelf were my favourite books and the other half books I really enjoyed.

I of course love Mark Lawrence and Scott Lynch, but also less grimdark authors like Michael Sulivan (bit dark, but not that much), Patrick Rothfuss (same) and Raymond Feist (it's like reading alternative history and I love it).

Gandalfgrijs wrote: "Hello, I'm Gandalfgrijs and I actaully didn't realise how much I liked grimdark Fantasy before I saw that half of this groups bookshelf were my favourite books and the other half books I really enj..."

Haven't read Sulivan yet, but Rothfuss and Feist are amazing! Patrick beign one of my all time SFF favorites.

Sullivan is an excellent writer. I don't consider him part of the Grimdark, but I suppose that is arguable. I found his series a very enjoyable read. He's also one of the more personable authors on Goodreads.

Welcome to the Grimdarks, Gandalfgriis.

Gandalfgrijs wrote: "Hello, I'm Gandalfgrijs and I actaully didn't realise how much I liked grimdark Fantasy before I saw that half of this groups bookshelf were my favourite books and the other half books I really enj..."

Feist has been a long time fave of mine!

I read Magician Apprentice and Magician Master back in the mid-80's. I've always meant to go back and read the Riftwar series, but never got around to it.

Chompa wrote: "I read Magician Apprentice and Magician Master back in the mid-80's. I've always meant to go back and read the Riftwar series, but never got around to it."

Magician:Apprentice and Magician:Master is still the best "rags to riches" plot for a nobody becoming the most powerful mage in F-ING HISTORY!! The rest of the Riftwar was great too, but I didn't continue the bigger series after that one.

I did read the spinoff series though (by Janny Wurts) that was during the Riftware time period but told from the POV of the invading world. It was really cool to see the scene where Pug showed off his magic prowess in their arena or whatever it was from their perspective. Scaring the sh&@ out of all of them.

Nice to have a dedicated grimdark group! Looking forward to the discussions.

Welcome, Tracey!

Thanks, I think I am in good company here!

Welcome! Of course you are, "you can depend on me"

Yeah, Feist is cool. Magician is probably one of his best works, but it bother me over how many years it took place. I liked his followers more; everything with Jimmy, Arutha and that generation in general.

Gandalfgrijs wrote: "Yeah, Feist is cool. Magician is probably one of his best works, but it bother me over how many years it took place. I liked his followers more; everything with Jimmy, Arutha and that generation in..."

I continued the series after with the "Prince of Blood" or something like that and I struggled to just finish the book. I stopped there. A friend told me that it got kinda bad for a book or two there but then got better again. I may go back one day.

Prince of blood (I don`t know,the exact title either, I read it in Dutch) was for me okay. The sequel, buccaneer of king (?), was the one that really bothered me. The maincharacter was irritating and the story not much better. I actually stopped reading the serie for a while, but finally picked the first of the serpentwar (?) up. It`s a bit unsetteling how much time has passed, there`s a whole new generation, but besides that it`s a good book, the same for the rest of the serpentwar.

Hello everybody, and thank you for letting me into your group! I must confess that I really wasn't familiar with the "grimdark" concept till I saw this group. Could you tell me what you think sets it apart from "dark fantasy"?

My impression is that whereas the "dark" of dark fantasy hints as much to the general tone and outlook of the writing as to its content, and so sometimes giving such material an element of epic or classic tragedy, grimdark is more focused on retaining an element of realism. This is only a hunch, and I might be far off!

I've read GRRM, and enjoyed the earlier books far more than the latter. Which authors would you recommend reading to be further acquainted the grimdark genre? Much appreciated!