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A review by deehaichess
Beyond The Shadows: Volume One by Jamie Edmundson, Rosalyn Kelly, Amanda Peters, T.O. Munro, Joe Jackson, Jeffrey Bardwell, J.T. Williams, Matthew Johnson, Lesley Donaldson, V.K. Hristo, David M. Hoenig, A.Z. Anthony, T.J. Muir, Jacob S. Nardi, Jason Allard, Stefan M. Nardi
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.