Sunday, April 12, 2015

Grimdark's 1930 and 1980 Roots - Hyperborea Guest Blog

“You Are A Grim Hero”;

 topical highlights of Grimdark’s history (Zothique, Fighting Fantasy)

April 2015, guest post by S.E. Lindberg on Hyperborea Blog – Francesco La Manno 

Many "Grimdark" fans seem young enough to miss some of this history. Thanks to Francesco La Manno for inviting me to discuss it. Wish I could read Italian to enjoy his other posts! BTW, the article is in English :).

As “Grimdark” matures and gathers traction, readers seem interested in defining its scope.  Many blog posts already cover the topic of “What is Grimdark,” including posts from champion Mark Lawrence (author of Prince of Thorns). This post will not try to disambiguate the boundary between overlapping/similar genres, but it will highlight a few books/topics that aficionado’s and newcomers should enjoy: 


1)  1930’s Grimdark/Sword & Sorcery: the oft-overlooked Clark Ashton Smith

2) 1980’s Grimdark/Sword & Sorcery: the origins of Grimdark stem from Game’s Workshop’s Fighting Fantasy series

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Hyperborea Guest Blog