open

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Forums

You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )

Random quote: "By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp." - Cormac McCarthy (The Road)
- (Added by: Emil)


2025 Grimdark Reading Challenge
Jump to page : 1
Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]
View previous thread :: View next thread
Reply New post    General Discussion -> Roll-Your-Own Reading ChallengeMessage format
 
bazhsw
Posted 2025-01-03 2:41 PM (#30718)
Subject: 2025 Grimdark Reading Challenge
Quote Reply



Regular

Posts: 94
25
Hello everyone, this is a little thread for anyone to post any thoughts, or discussion for anyone taking part in the 2025 Grimdark Reading Challenge. It's my first 'Roll-Your-Own' challenge on here although I've been taking part in other people's challenges on and off for a long time.

So why grimdark? Like many people I made a connection to the genre when reading the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. There is something about a novel which has a lot of complex relationships in it, where the world is unforgiving and where characters are faced with difficult moral choices. In 'real life' I like to think of myself as a hopeful person, who sees the best in people and is trusting of others. So it is interesting to me that I have an affection for the morally bankrupt, the villain, the anti-hero in fiction.

I can somewhat trace my interest in the genre without really knowing it to playing role playing games in my teens (which I have still kept up). I never bought in to high-powered magic and over-powered heroic heroes with giant swords. I was more into 'Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay' (1st edition!) and beggars and thieves and rat catchers being unlikely heroes in the mud, almost against their will. The sense of humour, the type of games I played and how I envisioned the worlds I played in was 'grimdark' before I knew the word.

So onto the books. I find myself a bit of a reading butterfly. I jump from theme to genre almost book by book. I also have a bad habit of reading 'book one' in a series before reading something else, and even if I like the book, rarely getting around to book two. That's a problem with a world with so many books in it. So for this challenge I am at least going to try and read one more book in series I have started. I'm also going to make sure I read at least a couple of new-to-me authors. Whilst most of the books I have my eye on are well known and regarded I am going to try and identify at least one book independently / self-published and also something published recently.

I'm starting with Joe Abercrombie's 'Before They Are Hanged' which is the second book in 'The First Law' series. I read Book 1 'The Blade Itself' in the autumn of last year and really enjoyed the characterisation and world building but had some frustrations with the book.

Also, should anyone taking part want any recommendations, or lists for potential recommendations I've got quite a few lists saved should anyone be interested. And a final comment, in my mind reading books we enjoy is the most important thing, so I don't think we need to be to firm on a definition of 'grimdark'. In any case I'm not qualified to adjudicate on that anymore than the next person so if you feel it fits go for it.
Top of the page Bottom of the page
Jump to page : 1
Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]
Reply New post
Jump to forum :
Search this forum
Printer friendly version
E-mail a link to this thread

(Delete all cookies set by this site)