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deehaichess's review
4.0
Ranges of GD
Grimdark is I think an elusive quality to pin down so an anthology of stories seemed a great idea to get more of a feel for the genre. Completing this collection, I'm probably no closer to being able to point to a virtue and say "that's grimdark" but I definitely enjoyed most of the stories herein, particularly Thunderstruck – about a couple of wanderers with a non-interference policy versus storm giants; Maurkim’s War – about revenge, playing the long game, and a man’s morals versus his duty; Mad Bastards in the Nostros River which was in every way an excellent mid-90s monster flick crossed with a fantasy frontier world and a murder mystery; and I Legion, which was good until that amazing ending just rose up and elevated it to great.
There were a few stories where their greater strength was in the world building and a few which perhaps didn't have the strongest characters or the cleanest endings, but in all, a great collection I'd not hesitate to recommend to anyone interested in the grittier side of sword and sorcery fantasy. There will definitely be enough here for everyone.
Grimdark is I think an elusive quality to pin down so an anthology of stories seemed a great idea to get more of a feel for the genre. Completing this collection, I'm probably no closer to being able to point to a virtue and say "that's grimdark" but I definitely enjoyed most of the stories herein, particularly Thunderstruck – about a couple of wanderers with a non-interference policy versus storm giants; Maurkim’s War – about revenge, playing the long game, and a man’s morals versus his duty; Mad Bastards in the Nostros River which was in every way an excellent mid-90s monster flick crossed with a fantasy frontier world and a murder mystery; and I Legion, which was good until that amazing ending just rose up and elevated it to great.
There were a few stories where their greater strength was in the world building and a few which perhaps didn't have the strongest characters or the cleanest endings, but in all, a great collection I'd not hesitate to recommend to anyone interested in the grittier side of sword and sorcery fantasy. There will definitely be enough here for everyone.
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