Sadly, it reads like a NaNoNovel. For one thing, one of the things I was really hoping to see was Mechanical Engineer Awesome. The MC is a supposed mechanical engineer who is going to change the world by industrializing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But there is VERY little mechanical engineer research done here The final battle sequence was pretty good, if unsurprising.
But the final plot twist felt very, very rushed. I got royally sick of watching Christopher make stupid, overly-idealistic military decisions and then get rewarded for them. Part of war is loss. Dec 23, Denver Public Library rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is awesome, SciFi hiding as fantasy or Fantasy pretending to be SciFi I couldn't tell but it really didn't matter! There were certainly some instances of suspension of disbelief but excellent payoff. Good characterization, decent pacing, good world building Christopher Sinclair, a gentle souled mechanical engineer wakes up in a strange bed with a strange woman, in a strange land where no one speaks English.
It must be a dream but even for a dream this is too weird. Turns out Christopher fell through space to another place altogether and, Toto, this ain't Kansas. Katana swords, suits of armor, horses and stones which cast light without heat. Christopher is being sheltered by a priest, Pater Svengusta, and his "wench" for lack of a better word Helga.
One day while earning his keep by chopping firewood he gets involved in a civil dispute between some serfs and a ranked man. Christopher doesn't even speak the language but he cannot stand for what is happening, and so, the gauntlet is thrown.
The only way to save Christopher is to bring him into the fold. Using magic Cardinal Faren communicates with Christopher that he must pledge himself to the service of the Bright Lady, and in so doing enlist in the army for the next three years.
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In trade, the church will resurrect him if he dies during the duel I know, right?! Bewildered and heartsick Christopher feels this might be the only way to survive this harsh world until he can find his way back home so he agrees. This pledge grants Christopher certain powers, he can now speak the languages of this new land, he is granted rank meaning he has magic and access to the knowledge that comes with it, oh as well as making him the only Priest of the God of War that this land has seen in many years.
Magic, swords, backyard chemistry and resurrection, this book kicks so much butt! Aug 27, Mike rated it liked it. When Christopher Sinclair takes a walk one night in Arizona he suddenly finds himself waking up in a strange land gripped by a freezing winter. Sinclair is quickly quickly finds himself embroiled in the affairs of the titular Bright Lady as her consort, the God of War Marcius, offers an exchange: From its initial layout Sword of the Bright Lady there is a sense of familiarity to the tale When Christopher Sinclair takes a walk one night in Arizona he suddenly finds himself waking up in a strange land gripped by a freezing winter.
He knows a bit too much to be able to survive in a pre-industrial society as he is able to bring techniques and technologies to bear in order to improve the quality of weapons and armor. Similar his prowess with a weapon, though below that of the native in the novel, is a bit too good for someone from our world. The world of Sword of the Bright Lady often feels familiar, particularly to anyone who has played a video game or enjoyed a session of Dungeons and Dragons.
Magic-users are measured by rank and their power is increased by taking on the energy of expired lifeforms, particularly other ranked individuals. While the novel lacks depths it makes up for that lack with some excellent action scenes and the pure entertainment value of watching a headstrong, independent-minded American butt heads with a rigid feudal society. Dec 29, Breanne rated it it was amazing Shelves: The writing style was very simple, but the story was very effectively told and I could not put down the last third of the book until after 2am when I read the last page.
- Seas of Crimson Silk by Emma Hamm;
- Seas of Crimson Silk.
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This is one for fans of fantasy, gaming, time travel, and anyone who is intrigued by the thought of sending MacGyver back to medieval times and seeing what he comes up with. The first page starts with Christopher, a man from our world and our time, waking up in another world entirely. It's winter, he has no money and was found wandering the night before through the wilderness, half frozen. The world he has entered is full of magic and medieval-age technology, and a war has been ravaging their society for years.
Christopher is inadvertently swept into the war's draft for the following season. Not wanting to become part of the war's terrible mortality rate, and drawing on his skills as a mechanical engineer, he decides to invent firearms - but he's got to start from scratch. This was obviously what I loved about the book, but there are other things that fantasy fans will love, too.
Christopher becomes pledged to Marcius, the God of War, which leads to duels, assassins, monsters, sword fighting, and of course, magic. A complex world has been created filled with class divisions, political tensions between church and state, upper and lower classes. Heck, there are even levels "ranks" that you can gain or lose if you die. This was a fascinating story with a very likable main character and a wide cast of characters set in an interesting world.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. Dec 14, Joel Tone rated it really liked it. This book is the story of a modern man dumped into a self-consistent Dungeons and Dragons world. The part I enjoyed most about it is that he is moral without being preachy and the world makes sense. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this series. If you liked this book, the closest analog is Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame series. Jan 19, Kate rated it really liked it.
I have grown weary with teenagers saving the world and magic being unlimited. The main character in this novel is not a teenager, the magic system Planck has built is neither free nor unlimited, and the complexity of the world and story thrive because of both. This book was a breath of fresh air. Aug 13, Chris rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was one of those books i was eager to continue reading, which hasnt happent too often this past year.
What we have is a standard sword and sorcery fantasy novel starring a middleaged man who actually comes from our own normal world and somehow goes through a portal into this new fantasy realm. Technologically speaking, this place is not yet at the industrial revolution. But fear not, because our main character, Christopher, just so happens to be a mechanical engineer and single handedly turns the ideas of the world on its head.
Introducing machining, explosives etc he is able to bring new and improved methods to daily life as well as warfare. And of course there is violence here because the world exists on a feudal kingdom hierarchy of sorts that also deals with a magic system based on rank. Ranks involve quatities of a substance called Tael, which all things considered is not that well explained. I would expect more in future books. Higher ranks naturally mean more power. The goal of a duel may be to wittle your opponent's Tael until a mortal blow can be delivered.
But wait there is more. Even the dead can be resurrected with Tael! It all sounds confusing but it does make a sort of sense as the story progresses. Christopher finds himself at odds with many people throughout the story. He does get ranked as a priest but then pledges to a different god.
Not the Bright Lady but the god of War, Marcius. This benefits Christopher as he has spent the last 20 years training in martial arts and sword play. Although the whole story felt like one big setup, it moved very fast as with each chapter the reader learns something else about the world. A grand war is going on against monsters: There are magic weapons, although we have not seen them yet.
Different counties in the kingdom have completely different gods and churches. Light vs Dark etc. And all of this stuff is thrown into a story that has one man try to advance civilization as fast as possible by using the limited means at his disposal and his knowledge that it should be possible. Certainly MC Planck is a great writer and I am very interested in finding out where the next book brings us, especially after where this one left off. Not so much a cliffhanger, but by no means is it closure.
Note on cover art: I did not care for the image used, the tone, the props. In fact when I received notification of winning, i was apprehensive to even start in. I am glad I did, but the art did nothing for me This whole book has only slightly to do with some guy in armor with a rifle. They may as well have just used an image of a guy firing his rifle at an advancing goblin in cartoon style. I am not a fan of this intense, high contrat photgraphic style anyways. Hated it when they did it to Joe Abercrombie just as much. Fantasy is fantasy, keep it to art and style and less photo realistic please!
Jul 15, Rebecca rated it really liked it. As I deduced from reading the back cover, the premise of The Sword of the Bright Lady was fascinating and unique, making use of the familiar idea of parallel universes while adding an original perspective. My brother swiped it up and read it before I had a chance and revealed a few interesting tidbits- first, the main character has to invent guns in the world he was transported to and second, the ending was quite astonishing and not at all what he anticipated.
He is as a newborn babe entering the world, completely unaware of culture, traditions, and the dangers of society. Everything must be explained to him, and even when he is told what to do or how to act he screws up on a grand scale. The society is largely based around nobility and the churches, both of which have access to very powerful magic that can work a variety of wonders or horrors. He continues to serve by making rifles and cannons for the recruits in hopes that Marcius, the war aspect, will help him find his way back to Earth and his beloved Maggie. The ending was as E. After Christopher and his little army of recruits defeat a horde of monsters with their newly minted rifles they struggle to march back to the town of Kingsrock to have their dead revived.
Christopher is woken in a strange dungeon where he is tortured for an unknown amount of time by a mysterious captor and then killed, only to be revived by the Saint of the Bright Lady. I found this short segment to be disturbing, though it was not greatly detailed and written as if by a dispassionate observer. Perhaps the blunt simplicity with which the horrors inflicted on Christopher were described made the impact more powerful because so many other writers go into such great detail when describing atrocities. The story overall was strong and I see much potential for the rest of the series, though I did find some segments to be a bit dull or repetitive.
I have no doubt that the minor character will have their roles fleshed out more in the coming books and some of the duller bits will be rendered vital to the storyline. I found the magic and rank system to be quite interesting because it was largely reminiscent of the leveling system in most video games- you kill more enemies, you gain more levels and become more powerful.
The Sword of the Bright Lady has well earned 4 out of 5 stars and the ending left so many options for stories to come. Jun 04, Carrie Mansfield rated it really liked it Shelves: This review will be available on my website: Fantasy Findings eARC provided by the publisher in exchange for fair review. September is turning out to be a rather good month for fantasy. Between The Mirror Empire, City of Stairs and now Sword of the Bright Lady, fans looking for something that feels free have plenty of options to choose from - and certainly at least one it not more will satisfy that itch.
At the core of it, Sword of the Bright Lady is a tale of a modern man stuck in an decidedly u This review will be available on my website: At the core of it, Sword of the Bright Lady is a tale of a modern man stuck in an decidedly unmodern world. We never see the act that brought him to Prime, nor does he find his home in this book either, as one might expect of a series. That said, it will be interesting to see if he ever does get a chance to go, if he would - for all that he misses his wife, his impact on Prime has been so fantastic, and his world so changed that I can't imagine his character returning to a desk job as an engineer when all is said and done.
And that's a good thing, because it means that I bought into his character growth. At its core, it's a story of a man trying to prepare to fight for a war that is more or less a death sentence, and fighting with what he does have - his knowledge as an engineer, knowledge of modern weaponry and a wee bit of magic that he picked up by pledging to Marcius.
Ultimately, Christopher is an agent of change, taking these villages that we'd see as fairly sleepy and backward and dragging them into the modern era, skipping over bayonets and muskets and heading straight for civil-war era rifles. His ideas are often seen as absurd, but he is known as well-meaning and change, as they say, is inevitable. There is action in this book, but it truly is a story of people.
If anything, my major fault lay in the battle at the end of the book when there are suddenly trolls and goblins and giants roaming about. Yes, there's magic in this world, but these creatures aren't even really seen until this point, so it does feel a bit jarring. Still, I really like the cast of characters that Planck has gathered together - from Christopher himself, to Karl, a commoner soldier, to the various figures from the Church and even some of the knights they meet.
Planck does a good job of slowly exposing Christopher and ourselves to the world at large, but manages to do so in a way that is neither too slow, nor is a giant text dump. Finally, even as the book approaches its climax, we get reminders of the modern man that Christopher is - I found myself rather amused at a comment about commuting on horseback. It'd normally be jarring, but it works well here. Overall, it's a nice twist on more traditional fare without straying too too far out of the genre it's easily the most traditional of the three books referenced in this review if say, City of Stairs doesn't sound like your cuppa.
Give it a shot. It's a good read, and I'll be checking out the sequel. Jun 25, Emily rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is fantastic and i can't wait to see more from M. Christopher Sinclair, a gentle souled mechanical engineer wakes up in a strange bed with a strange woman, in a strange land where no one speak Easily 4. Using magic a Cardinal Faren communicates with Christopher that he must pledge himself to the service of the Bright Lady, and in so doing enlist in the army for the next three years.
In trade, the church will resurrect him if he dies I know, right?! I really liked this book. The magic is how it all ties together. As long as you suspend your disbelief that a man can cross into a fantasy world where "magic" can happen in many respects the world-building is superior to nearly all of these tales.
We are dropped in to the "World of Prime" with the protagonist and just 4. We are dropped in to the "World of Prime" with the protagonist and just like him find ourselves learning as we go. While it seems initially very similar the sudden and unexpected addition of magic throws everything sideways. However even in this strange area there seem to be rules and an underlying system to how it all works. Unfortunately his modern values don't quite fit and he ends up having to sell himself into the "service" as a priest of a war god.
The factors and balances of the world borrows quite a bit form role-playing and the building of a "modern" army pulls from any number of stories. But the tie of all of that into a functioning political structure and making it work is what makes the book so good. It ties so much together without the main character being the "chosen one" as in so many of these stories.
In fact his magic is useful and needed but its not overwhelming and its only his affiliation that makes it as effective as it is at the moment. I'm hoping that the next book can come ASAP and that the story continues quickly. Jun 29, Normalene rated it it was amazing. If you loved Bruce Campbell in the scifi noir film, Army of Darkness, this has that same flavor and atmosphere. I loved the magic system as it is well-developed and makes sense. The religious system is more hands-on than you expect and the cost for priests to bring peopl If you loved Bruce Campbell in the scifi noir film, Army of Darkness, this has that same flavor and atmosphere.
The religious system is more hands-on than you expect and the cost for priests to bring people back from the dead is so high that few people can afford it. Christopher brings technology in the form of guns and cannons to the common people thus changing the face of the culture. But all is not good as evil stalks him and his allegiance to the martial god Marcius may be both a good and bad thing.
Aug 13, Reyna rated it liked it. I suppose that I had low expectations, because these types of books man travels to another world usually follows a certain path. For example, the MC will quickly become a super bad-ass warrior or overpowered mage. He will also usually acquire a harem of beautiful willing women Those things get tiresome.
I am more interested in seeing how a modern-day person with modern-day values would reacts in a medieval type society. And that is actually what I get in this book! Sure, it does at some points feel like the MC has it a little too easy. But I'll accept that because the alternative would transform this into a very grim and dark story. This is a fantasy book, that's why I chose to read it after all. Also, at some points it almost felt like the plot changed into a list of chores that the MC had to check off.
But, again I accept this because I was curious about all the details of the society and the mechanics of building an economic empire. Those are the type of details I want in every travel-to-a-different-world story! So, I really liked this book. I really liked the characters. I really liked how the author gave details about the society the MC came to.
I especially liked that the MC had culture shock and confusion about the new place he came to. All of this was portrayed well. This is what I want in a story about travelling to a different world. Aug 03, Blodeuedd Finland rated it liked it Shelves: How to explain this book Ok I will try. The first part is easy. There is our world, but there are other worlds too. As Christopher finds out when he suddenly finds himself in one. And like he should, it is totally alien to him, everything. He has questions about everything and yes they speak another language, Norwegian to my eye.
What about this religion? Why are people ranked? Why are farmboys used as canon fodder? Who are they fighting?
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What is the Dar How to explain this book What is the Dark? Thanks to his questions we get to know this world were a constant war is going on and where there is magic. And the Gods are real as he pledges himself to one. The whole magic thing and how you can move up in society was cool. I also liked that he was both clueless and had something to offer. He knows science, and hey if you want to get anywhere in this war then that might be a good thing. I would be totally lost if I got there btw. Sure he was smart, a bit too smart.
But hey he has a purpose in that world. So if someone got him there then of course they are gonna take someone who can make a difference. An interesting world and I wonder how this whole adventure will turn out in the end for him, and this world. Jul 25, A. Planck has created an oddly intriguing take on a genre that sometimes feels as old as time itself. As with many sword and sorcery stories, Sword of the Bright lady begins with a hero thrust into an unknown world with strange rules and stranger people.
The Tael was an interesting concept within the realm of magic, lending use of that magic a special brand of moral questions. However, I could not stop thinking about Legend of Zelda: Which is an odd thing to associate, but did occasionally bring me out of the story. The protagonist was not always likeable, but what human truly is. There were moments when he seemed too smart for his own good. Overall, though, I do believe he showed a decent amount of growth even though there is clearly room for more. Aug 04, Clay Kallam rated it really liked it Shelves: A modern American finds himself in a strange world, with no friends and only a background in katana Japanese swordsmanship and engineering to help him navigate a very strange world.
Anyone can be revived from the dead by a sufficiently powerful wizard, and obviously the rich and powerful are much more likely to be rejuvenated. The hero manages to alienate some key folks but still stumbles along, learning his way in this odd society while trying to introduce some mechanical marvels that will help human beings in what appears to be an endless war against demons, trolls and other nasties.
Jan 04, Tamberleigh rated it did not like it Shelves: I'm on page of of Sword of the Bright Lady and I'm not going to finish it. The never-ending slog of gary-stu, the perfect modern man saving - with fancy science, Japanese swords and martial arts - the simple savages from their lives of magic and religion both tires and repels me. The "hero" is an empty shell of "I know everything! So much so that I doubt even they know if they have personalities left.
I've read this book before, written better and with more sincerity: The Warlock books, the Wiz books, or any of the thousand "nerdy protagonist goes into fantasy world to show them he's super-cool and science can save them. There's a hell of a lot of crossover, and many of the books on this list are grimdark, but they're ranked purely by how gritty, and how good they are.
Grimdark fantasy can be gritty and gritty fantasy can be grimdark, both grimdark can also not be gritty and gritty fantasy can also not be grimdark. Don't worry, you won't be the only one. Grit is roughness, brutal realism, a lack of polish and shine, dull iron compared to shining steel. If you're into fantasy that doesn't pull punches, then read on. The character was inspired by Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange , and he is, in my humble opinion, the best anti-hero to grace fantasy.
In Prince of Thorns , however, we see him grow up, from a small boy grappling with the violent murder of his mother and brother, to a young man, on the road with bandits, seeking vengeance for the many traumas he was forced to experience. What makes Prince of Thorns so brilliant is that we're exclusively tied to Jorg's first-person perspective.
It's impossible not to begin to see things his way after a while, and while, sure, he's a horrible, murderous bastard, he's the first to admit that. His sense of humour is so wickedly hilarious, that it's easy to forget you shouldn't be rooting for him. In terms of grit, the Broken Empire that Jorg runs rampant across is a desolate place, filled with hungry undead, warring kings, and, worst of all, bandits like Jorg.
The violence is brutal and immediate, and across the trilogy Jorg does wonderfully entertaining things such as cutting off his friend's head simply because he needs something to throw, and somehow it never feels silly or edgy for its own sake. Entire cities are left desolated by Jorg's antics, and we're always on-board because we know he does what he does in an effort to avenge his brother and sister. It's brilliantly, poetically written, absolutely brutal, and unrelentingly gritty. Read this book if: Here he is, 'Lord Grimdark' himself. The Blade Itself and the First Law trilogy are among the first, and the best of the current wave of grimdark, gritty fantasy.
The Blade Itself is wonderfully gritty, not just in terms of explicit violence and sex, although it definitely has those, but in the way hard truths about the world are given to the reader through the lens of a traditional quest narrative. The characters are where this grit shines through, and the most notable of them is the crippled hero turned torturer, Inquisitor Glokta, who spends the first chapter he appears in torturing the absolute shit out of an innocent prisoner.
We're also blessed with a berserker barbarian trying and failing to become a better person, a spoiled little brat of a swordsman, an exasperated yet talented soldier, and more. Across the series we see cannibal wizards, demons, monsters, absolutely incompetent rulers, and more. It's an insanely well-written, page-turning adventure, and after reading it you'll stare into space for a good fifteen minutes wondering how it all came to this. Ahhhh, grit , how I love you. Beyond Redemption is so high on this list because, while it's not the absolute best novel I've read but it's pretty damn good , it's definitely the grittiest.
It takes place in a world in which belief defines reality, and so believing something makes it so. Naturally, the insane are the most powerful.
Every page of this novel is steeped in rotten muck, filth and violence. Some of the contents of the book are genuinely appalling, and I won't get into specifics for fear of ruining the shock value. The primary viewpoint character spends the entirety of the story thinking more about how shitty his sinus infection is than anything else, and he's the least gritty character of all of them. Others include a kleptomaniac mass-murderer, a narcissistic, conniving swordsman, a self-loathing pyromaniac and the ruthlessly self-centred, manipulative head of a corrupt religion.
These sorry fuckers proceed to spend the whole novel being as absolutely dickish as possible, and along the way a whole lot of people die, or worse. The world is a festering hell-hole, where rubbish and shit line the streets, and the best fate to hope for is a swift death rather than a torturous one.
Overall, if you like grit, this is your crack. With a Martin-esque plot and Jim Butcher pace, The Axe and the Throne is a definite "must read" for even the pickiest fantasy fans. In his stunning debut, Ireman has built the type of world so vivid and engrossing that leaving it at the end is agony. In spite of leaning toward grimdark, where authors often enshroud every scene in depressing darkness, there is no lack of cheerful moments or brilliant scenery. Yet the pangs of near-instant nostalgia that come after you put down a book like this have less to do with the inspired setting, and far more to do with those who inhabit it.
From savage, unremorseful heroes, to deep, introspective villains, the cast of this story is comprised of believable characters capable of unthinkable actions. And it is these characters -- the ones you wish you could share a drink with or end up wanting to kill -- that forge the connection between fantasy and reality. Keethro, Titon, Ethel, Annora. These are names you will never forget, and each belongs to a man or woman as unique as they are memorable. No book would be complete without a its fair share of intrigue, however, and there is no lack of it here.
Each chapter leaves you wanting more, and Ireman's masterful use of misdirection leads to an abundance of "oh shit" moments. Do not be fooled or do -- perhaps that's part of the fun by storylines that may appear trope-ish at first. This is no fairytale. Chronicles of The Black Company. This right here, boys and girls, is the novel that is credited with beginning the grimdark fantasy movement that we know and love today. In the midst of the eighties, when even the grittiest novels, like Legend , still had their characters fighting for what they believed in, The Black Company features the titular band of mercenaries simply working for coin.
Working for a 'dark lord' style fantasy villain, no less. But hey, gotta pay the bills somehow. Grit abounds in droves, and the wonder and 'epic-ness' of most fantasy is forsaken for a story about a group of soldiers just doing their jobs. The writing is unremarkable and to the point, which reflects the points of view of the grunts whose stories we follow. None of the characters are nice, and the combat is never glorified. It's all in a day's work for these sorry bastards, and the epic conflicts of the god-like figures they fight for and against are far above their pay-grades.
Gritty humour also abounds, and reading the book is entertaining, and fun, even if the characters are having the most miserable times of their lives.
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With a title like Heroes Die , you know it's going to be gritty. This book, and the whole Acts of Caine series, is an absolutely amazing blend of sci-fi and fantasy. In a dystopian future, humanity has discovered a way to travel to parallel dimensions. One of those worlds just happens to be a pretty close approximation of the stereotypical fantasy world, and our protagonist, Caine , is sent there to get into as many cool fights as possible, which is then all broadcast back to Earth as entertainment.
Caine is essentially a gladiator, and the book, beyond being a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled adventure filled with violence and testosterone, questions why we are so entertained by depictions of violence. Somehow, the book manages to be both pulpy entertainment and a crash-course in philosophy at the same time.
The levels of grit are through the roof, and Caine, a bare-knuckles brawler, comes up against armoured, sword-wielding opponents and dismantles them by breaking their bones, tearing their tendons, or just popping a handy knife through an eyeball. He's a fantastic anti-hero, and will discuss the moral implications of violence even as he tears through a contingent of guards. The 'heroes' of the story, on the whole, totally fuck up in their seemingly selfless endeavours to play hero. The second book in the series, Blade of Tyshalle , actually manages to be even grittier, but Heroes Die makes this list by virtue of being first, and by being so damn entertaining.
A Song of Ice and Fire. Because, duh , it was going to be on here somewhere. I almost feel as if it isn't worth writing an entry on this one, because everyone knows it so well, but here goes. A Game of Thrones was the forerunner of the modern grimdark fantasy movement, and popularised the sort of gritty realism that is present in so many fantasy books today.
Without it, it's likely that many of the other books on this list would exist. However , as the series progresses it does become bloated, and it's concerning that the series doesn't seem to be nearing completion anytime soon, but I digress. The first book is amazing, and if you haven't read it, you can't rightly call yourself a modern fantasy fan, you peasant.
Martin wasn't afraid to break with convention and just kill the shit out of his protagonists, or maim them in the most horrible ways, and coming from the eighties and nineties where most fantasy books were decidedly clean and heroic, that was a big deal. The Malazan Book of the Fallen. It follows several different viewpoint characters as they fight for or against the Malazan Empire as it attempts to conquer the known world. Fantasy is no stranger to sprawling epics, like Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, but that series, and many epics like it, are decidedly lacking in grit.
Malazan, on the other hand, is the literary equivalent of a six-truck pile-up, where every truck happened to be shipping a bulk order of sandpaper. There are a whole bunch of different characters, whose stories slowly weave together, but the common thread is that they've all been fighting for way too long, and are sick of the endless, pointless conflict. Magic tears poor foot-soldiers to shreds, gods possess innocent children and every shadow holds a knife.
Somehow, Erikson manages to make all of the numerous characters memorable, and by the end of the series you'll be so entrenched in his world that you'll need a short stint in a mental facility to return to reality. It's epic military fantasy at its very best. Read this book, and the other nine doorstoppers, if you want to immerse yourself completely in a gritty fantasy world, and don't have any plans for the next twelve to eighteen months. David Gemmell's influence on modern fantasy is significant, and Legend is where that all begins.
Legend is the story of Druss, an ex-hero of great renown, now into his sixties. Upon hearing of the greatest fortress in the world's imminent attack by an overwhelmingly powerful army, Druss is faced with the choice of whether to live out his last decade or two in peace or to go out in a wicked blaze of glory. I think you can guess which choice he makes. The story is gritty, violent and hopeless, but what makes it great is the fact that the characters all know they're doomed, but they choose to stick their middle fingers up at the enemy and fight anyway.
Because fuck those guys. Gemmell wrote the first draft of the book when waiting to hear the results of cancer tests, and it's about confronting one's own mortality. There's a lot at the heart of this book, and it's clear why it's endured through the decades to be so influential. Elric is the famed albino sorcerer and wielder of Stormbringer, a sentient sword that confers power upon its wielder.
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All for the totally-reasonable price of being fed souls. Needless to say, the saga of Elric is a fantasy classic. Anyone well-versed in fantasy lore will know of Elric, since he's one of the most famous characters of the swords and sorcery era, along with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. He first appeared in short stories in the sixties, but this is his appearance in a full-length novel, in which his origins are detailed.
Moorcock is staunchly anti-Tolkien, and this book is about as far from The Lord of the Rings as fantasy can get. It's all darkness, pacts with old gods, drug use and death. As the Emperor of Melnibon, Elric is, oddly, one of the least 'evil' of the Melnibonans, who serve the forces of chaos.
He's a great anti-hero, filled with warring darkness and light, sacrificing all that he cares about for power that ultimately brings him ruin. Elric's saga, and sword and sorcery in general for that matter, is a must-read for any fan of modern gritty fantasy. Locke Lamora is a professional con artist, bullshitting the aristocracy of a Venice-style fantasy city out of their hard earned gold. Locke, and his cast of con artists, are an absolute pleasure to read about, with unrivalled banter, clever plots, and no qualms about the judicious application of violence when necessary.
The book starts out relatively lightly, and then sucks you into its dark centre, consistently upping the violence and grit, pushing these seemingly light-hearted characters far, far beyond their breaking points. Even when things are grimmest, Locke simply cannot keep his smart mouth shut, and the pure inappropriateness of some of his witty comments are absolutely hilarious, even if they do have decidedly horrific consequences. The book has two threads; one following Locke and his crew in the present, and another detailing Locke's progression from a lonely orphan into the leader of his merry band of grifters.
The characterization is second to none, and it truly hits home when the characters are in peril. The grit catches you off-guard, and it's all the more effective for it. Shout-out to Scott Lynch for also providing one of the best bromances in fiction Locke and his second in command, Jean, are just such good friends, it's delightful. In this first instalment of the Crimson Empire trilogy, we're presented with a diverse yet tight-knit band of adventurers twenty years after they completely fucked up their attempt to take over the, and subsequently faded into legend.
The book opens with the line 'It was all going so nicely, right up until the massacre,' and, well, somehow things go even further downhill from there. Once again, the characterization is sublime what is it with gritty fantasy novels and fantastic characterization? Unsurprisingly for a group calling themselves Villains, they're all, well, rather villainous, and this leads to some deliciously gritty atrocities and that's just those committed by the 'heroes'.
The premise of the book is essentially that Zosia is forced out of retirement for one last adventure, to gain vengeance on those who took everything from her. It's like the Liam Neeson movie of fantasy books, with an utterly kick-ass, but world-weary protagonist romping around, beating the shit out of the young upstarts who dare to think that they can tangle with her.
The world is great, with demons running around doing all sorts of spooky shit, and the local religion going all Spanish Inquisition on the poor populace. Read this book if you want to read about a badass coming out of retirement and assembling the team for one last, bloody hurrah. When you find yourself cheering at the prospect of a young man being burnt alive, you know the author has you wrapped around their gritty little finger. Also, come to think of it, I should probably see a psychologist. Low Town titled the Straight-Razor Cure in the UK , is the first instalment in the Low Town series, and is a noir detective mystery transplanted to a fantasy setting.
The story is set amidst puke, piss, drugs and dead children, and follows a drug-dealer called 'the Warden', who samples from his own stash. Upon discovering a murdered child, with no-one else bothered to investigate, the Warden sets out to solve it himself, and is dragged through the trash of Low Town.
The Warden is a typically gritty hard-boiled, disgraced lawman character, and would be just at home in Detroit, dealing heroin, as in Low Town, with pixie's breath. The setting is another grim highlight, so vile that you'll want a shower after reading. Polansky has nailed gritty realism with this one, and the characters aren't the over-powered heroes found in some fantasy novels, but shitty people doing their best.
Or worst, in some cases. The pacing of Low Town is excellent, and it's as addictive as the drugs found within its pages. Tears of a Heart marks the tale of a young man, Aeden, who unwittingly shapes the world. The writing is beautiful, layered, and timely. Chase Blackwood weaves an intricate tale that hints at so much more. And that may be its greatest challenge. Tears of a Heart, the first book in the series, was beautifully written, and interesting. It shows us an amazing world filled with detail and depth, but for a portion of it, just a touch slow.
The writing, such beautiful writing, overshadows this, as does the ending. Tower of the Arkein , the next book in the series, is where the story truly begins to unfold, and where Chase Blackwood shines as an author. It is fast paced, full of action, adventure, and love. A very strong entry in the fantasy genre, and if the next book is equally as good, expect it to make quite a splash.
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Top 25 Best Gritty Fantasy Books
Blood Song is all about the protagonist, Vaelin, growing up in a battle school, and his transformation from a child into a dangerous motherfucker. Ryan's writing is extremely solid, and as the tale of Vaelin's rise to power unfolds in extended flashbacks, related by the fully-grown character, it is, like many of the books on this list, difficult to put down. It's easy to grow to love Vaelin as a character, seeing him develop from such a young age, and his inner turmoil is just as captivating as the external struggles. As he progresses through the school, Vaelin gains a collection of allies and enemies, and these side characters are extremely well-written.
In terms of grit, there's plenty of it, and as you can imagine there is lots of violence involved in learning to become a master-warrior, and what comes after. The world, as they so often are in these books, is on the brink of disaster, and mired in war, and I'm sure you would expect no less from an entry on this list.