1. notleia says:

    Sooooo Christianity is like a fictional dystopian death-cult that’s the only thing keeping a fictional humanity alive. Yay?

    I dunno man, the moral’s kinda muddled. Tho it is an easy way to sort where you fall on an authoritarian-flippy hippie spectrum.

  2. Haven’t really gotten into Warhammer (though I know a little bit about it since my ex loves it) but what you’re talking about kind of reminds me of my favorite anime, Fate Zero. In a lot of ways it’s very grim, but there are happy moments in it, and, for those that are paying attention, aspects of joy and redemption. In some regards Fate Zero is a show about making sense of the heartache and pain of life. Or finding that there can still be something good or worth striving for even amid the sorrow.

  3. Lady Arin says:

    I’ve seen Warhammer referenced a fair amount across the Internet, though i’ve never been able to figure out what it /is/ — books? games?

    I love the SCP Foundation (also difficult to describe, so here’s the short version: organization dedicated to containing and studying anything paranormal), which can be *very* grimdark at times. There are so many different unstoppable apocalypse-causing things the Foundation is studying, it’s not so much a question of whether humanity will be destroyed as which thing will do it first.

    I am curious what it is about “grimdark” that can be appealing, even as someone who looks into it from time to time. All the terrifying, world-destroying horrors in the SCP Foundation universe certainly make the anomalies that are funny or heartwarming stand out more, but i don’t think it’s *just* that.

    • Connor Heidenreich says:

      Warhammer 40k is the world’s most popular miniature wargame, where you buy a lot of overpriced miniatures, assemble and paint them, and then you can have complicated battles with friends. But, one of the most important parts of 40k is the lore. Seriously, there is an entire publishing company dedicated to publishing books about the lore. (Warhammer invented Grimdark.) You like SCPs? You will definetly like the warhammer horror books about the Genestealer cults, Necrons, and Daemons. But anyway, you’re welcome for my explanation of warhammer.

  4. Grimdark is destroying the quality of Fantasy in my opinion.

    • Never read it but not surprising. LOTR was pretty dark but there was Rivendell, Lothlorien, the Shire, Tom Bombadi, beauty that made Middle Earth worth saving. And though it cost Frodo dearly it was worth the price he paid.

      • That’s going to depend on the grimdark story, honestly, as well as how one defines the genre in the first place. I’d consider Fate Zero to be at least partly grim dark, but it’s still an amazing show with lots of beauty, insights into human nature, and life lessons. One just has to pay attention to the story to understand it, instead of simply responding negatively to the dark parts. Honestly, the extremely dark parts actually give the beautiful parts way more meaning.

      • For every good Grimdark author (and they do exist) there are about 10 more who care more about shock value than literary quality.

  5. This fantasy world sounds horribly depressing. I went through a period as a child when I actually perceived the universe that way. Thank God I know differently now!

    Check out Terrible Writing Advice on Youtube. The most recent satirizes the Grimdark fantasy genre. Those videos are always good for a laugh when I’m down.

    • Connor Heidenreich says:

      It’s not nearly as depressing as you think. Really, all the sadness and destruction makes each small piece of hope’s significance multiplied tenfold.

What do you think?