One of our ambitions for Read Indie Fantasy in 2025 is to post a monthly Top 5 list of whatever suits our fancy for that particular month. For January, since it’s cold and dark and miserable outside here in the northern hemisphere, we naturally picked Grimdark as our theme. Let’s not overthink things.
Neither Tru, nor I (Nils), consider ourselves well versed in this particular kind of fantasy, but we’ve reviewed a few books and series that fit the bill here on the site, and I’ve picked out five that I want to highlight (Tru decided to sit this one out).
Here we go. The darkest and the grimmest.
Norylska Groans
(Standalone)
By Michael R. Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder
This story is cold, cruel, and utterly without mercy. Nothing is sacred. No one is spared. At work, people lend their bodies to the memories and personalities of dead heroes, and when they’re back in control, they have no memory of who they were or what they did. Was it really a hero? Did they really uphold the law and protect the innocent? What did their body do while someone else was in the driver’s seat?
Gunmetal Gods
(Book #1 of Gunmetal Gods)
By Zamil Akhtar
War makes monsters out of men. Faith makes virtue out of atrocity.
It’s my understanding that Grimdark is at its core about exploring the darker side of the human condition. How far can you go? How deep can you fall? What price will you pay? Gunmetal Gods is a prime example of this. We experience a war through two leaders on either side of the conflict, and we follow them as they do everything in their power to reach their goals. We see how they justify their decisions, to themselves and the people around them, and we see how, little by little, they slip further and further away from what they initially stood for and believed in.
Legacy of the Brightwash
(Book #1 of Tainted Dominion)
By Krystle Matar
The world of the Dominion is hard and unfair. The police protects those who can pay, and so do the gangs. Anyone with magic is hated and reviled, and if a watchman wants to shoot one of them for sport, well, it was probably an accident, and they had it coming anyway. Who cares? The government puts mutilated children in boxes to power trams and factories.
However, unlike the previous two books in this list, Legacy of the Brightwash also has a bit of beauty and warmth. There’s love in the filth of the slums, and there are people who try to push through the haze of corruption and bad whiskey to do what is right. Better kill them before they get ideas above their station.
Queen of Thieves (series)
By Andy Peloquin
This author is probably better known for his Darkblade series, about The Hunter and his demonic dagger. For whatever reason, that one did not resonate as much with me as his Queen of Thieves series, and I much prefer this one, even if it perhaps doesn’t get as much attention.
As a child, Ilanna was sold to the Night Guild by her drunkard of a father, and she was brought up to be a master thief. It’s a harsh life, and the Night Guild is no place for children, or women, but Ilanna makes the best of her situation. She hangs on, grows stronger, and never ever gives up.
Of the five entries on this list, the Queen of Thieves series is the one most similar to what I consider “regular” fantasy. There’s more action, and there’s a greater sense of adventure.
Yarnsworld (series)
By Benedict Patrick
Perhaps it’s not entirely correct to include the Yarnsworld series in this list. The books are definitely dark, but it’s a fairytale kind of dark, rather than an exploration of the depths of human depravity.
In the Yarnsworld books, the darkness comes not as much from within the characters as from the world they live in. The forest is vast and wild, and the shadows are full of monsters. The gods are cruel and uncaring, and you’d better not attract their attention. Humans are small, frail, and weak, and their only chance of survival is to trust in their wits.
