Is Grimdark finally catching-on? Maybe it's cause I'm a fan of that kind of fantasy, so I'm looking for it, but from what I see, its more than catching-on it's actually seems to be very popular right now. Joe Abercrombie was unofficially titled Lord Grimdark (I’m not at all he has embraced the name tough…). I know in the five year or so, Grimdark, was starting to have run its course, like all things do, but now it seems to have made a bit of a resurgence. Authors like Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, and Scott Lynch, are very popular, and even some new publishing companies that claim Grimdark as being one of the sub-genres they focus on are doing very well, like Ragnarok Publications, as far as small and indie presses go.

What Grimdark have you been reading, assuming you have read any? Grimdark is basically traditional fantasy's version of crime noir. There's a little more to it than just a modern version of Sword and Sorcery. While the most notable Grimdark authors are guys like Joe Abercrombie aka Lord Grimdark, Mark Lawrence, and Scott Lynch, it really goes back to guys like Glen Cook and George R. R. Martin brought it into mainstream with Game of Thrones. But it rejuvenated a genre that was becoming flat and little more than Tolkien clones.

And no, I am not confused. I know the difference between meaningful authenticity and tokenism, but I am against male writers 'seeing the light' and the error of their ways, feeling a need to add women into their writing out of guilt and a new born need to do the right thing. Of course men and women have a lot in common and in an action story, within reason, they can be interchangeable. But character stories, absent plot, are very different, and believable and real women can't be created by simply thinking of a man and taking away reason and accountability. Because that's not As Good As It Gets. Isn't the problem that an author's deployment of genre tropes often looks startlingly unoriginal from the point of view of the genre fan who has seen the same themes handled many times before? But if the discussion can be kept among equally ignorant critics and readers Lawrence can continue to garner praise. To read some reviews of “The Broken Empire Series” you would think Mark Lawrence had invented Grimdark.

The trilogy as whole? Boring as hell! Just BORING or leaving the reader indifferent and not attached. The main character might be evil, mean or at least morally ambiguous but that could (should) be a bonus to make an intriguing story. Sadly Jorg is...boring (I’m repeating myself here). And as for the plot, quest, goal? Also boring, no urgency, no real sense of danger and since Jorg doesn’t appeal in any way... WHO CARES if he gets what he wants?? The other characters hardly evoke any emotion or curiosity. On paper there is potential but, also on paper, the story and dialogue is flat and without flavor. Sorry but all the potent ingredients in this stew have been used so much better by other writers, namely Abercrombie. Imagine adult subjects and grim facts of life but told with the pace and vocabulary of a children’s book (on the other hand, Jorg's age did not make sense to me. He acted like a 35 year old with life experience, but he was 14. I had trouble finding it believable that a 14 year old could do this stuff). Perhaps that is an achievement? There's far too many side tangents when there's something about to happen. Endless description of almost everything that isn't important to what's about to happen, then it finally comes back and you almost don't care about it at that point. The first book had this, the second one I felt you could take out 75% of what he wrote and really not have missed much. It didn't even come off that much as development. ( )

Not as clever as it thinks it is, but still an interesting take on the 'normal' kill or conquer fantasy epic. This is the 2nd series by Lawrence I've read, and they've both been very similar in plot outline, despite superficially different settings: Although the opening is true fantasy, it slowly becomes clear that this is actually a deep future dystopia whereby some catastrophe (probably nuclear) reduced the world back to medieval ways of life, and allowed some forms of magic and the undead to remain. A few distorted items and phrases also persist, but all knowledge has been lost - and one of the many minor plot inconsistencies is that metal working, agriculture et al remain widespread.

The other annoying common feature is a staggered retrospective plot line where some details of the hero's prior life are slowly revealed in dribs and drabs interspersed with current events. It feels particularly annoying when an episode from five years ago is suddenly relevant to the current plot.

Our 'hero' is one strongminded Jorg, starting the tale with a band of road Brothers, not even mercenaries, and although Jorg has kept his ancestry quiet, he soon becomes known as Prince, and manages to claim a territory mostly by refusing to accept 'no' to any of his demands/fears or desires. In King he defends this against a better claimant, and by 'Emperor' he is staking his claim to the former Unbroken Empire, through the politics of the Congress of Kings. Jorg doesn't play at politics or compromise, or shirk at sacrifice to attain any of his goals.

There are little details that have slipped - how Jorg obtained his sword, the ammunition stock (and viability) etc which mar the greater plot, but overall it's fairly well (if in contrived manner regarding timelines) developed and moves along well. I was less impressed with the whole telepathy dream influences, but fortunately it's mostly consigned to just the first book,and we don't spend too long at it. There's plenty of war, guts and violence, but because none of it means much to Jorg, it has little consequence to the reader either.

The final conclusion is well done, even if telegraphed some way in advance, with an enjoyable short epilogue that wraps everything up well. ( )