Grimdark. In the 1st issue of Grimdark Magazine, Layla Cummins says the subgenre usually is characterized by "war-torn worlds, grim stories and more than a touch of gallows humour" ("Grimdark: It's Here to Stay," in GdM #1). The term apparently originated in the game Warhammer 40k where the tagline is: "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war" (Cummins, ibid.).
Well, Grimdark does appear to be "here to stay." Ten years into its run, GdM has published Issue #40. And they've landed a lot of big names for this issue (the list of stories and authors is at the bottom).
I've read three issues of Grimdark Magazine so far and the stories have been high quality and most of them have been satisfying reads. The standards are high and a lot of talented writers submit here. Now I only have 37 more issues to read!
Every issue features an article about the Grimdark subgenre. Krystle Matar writes a beautiful essay in this issue (I know she has written at least one other Grimdark essay, I think in Issue #37). She expresses her experience of feeling a kindred spirit with lovers of the subgenre, people who want to say something about the bleakness that too often characterizes human life.
But I love the fact that Matar sees this not as a quest to curse the universe or wallow in nihilistic abandon, but really its an expedition for most readers looking for some hope in the darkness. Here is her immaculate conclusion about readers of Grimdark:
Grimdark survives in the hands of the reader and the writer who sees the beauty in the struggle to keep hope alive. Hope is not a clean thing; it’s hard as nails and covered in blood and wrenched from iron-hard grip of despair. And if we have to get ugly to keep hope in our grasp? So be it.
Krystle Matar, "Grimdark: It's Here to Stay," Grimdark Magazine #40
So, I will post below the lost of stories and authors in this issue. There are also interviews and articles, such as Aaron S. Jones's piece on the evolving and (hopefully) improving representation of mental health issues in SFF. I hope this issue #40 becomes the GdM bestseller of all time—and to help that happen, let me urge you to either buy on a place like Amazon or find Grimdark Magazine on Patreon and become a patron.
Little Mermaid, In Passing by Angela Slatter
Lock and Key by Wendy Nikel
Unholy Ghost by Mark Lawrence
All the Riches of Suffering by Ben Galley
The Absolute by Aaron Dries
Under Furious Skies by Christopher Buehlman
The Dreams of Wan Li by Andrea Stewart
The Subtler Art by Cat Rambo
Stones by Anna Smith Spark
Locke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent by Scott Lynch
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