trope: Grimdark

The Jagged Orbit by John Brunner

Related Posts
Mask: Author’s Preferred Text

I am the mask. The mask is me. America has fallen. Remnants of states cling together. The Pacific Northwest is now PacNorth. Democracy has gone off the rails. Citizens still vote, but only to vote away anything--or anyone--they don't like. Read more

365 Infantry Collection

For the brave wolven warriors of the 365th Infantry, the fight against the strange creations of the sentient computer A.C.E.S. is a nonstop war for the freedom of the Wastelands and those in the heart of the distorted metropolis Haven. Read more

no title has been provided for this book
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genre:
tropes: ,
Lenght:
Author:
Reception:

Nebula Award Finalist:Mankind has been reduced to slavery by technology and surveillance, in this near-future novel from the author of Stand on Zanzibar.

In The Jagged Orbit, Brunner, writing at the peak of form that allowed him to create Stand on Zanzibar, takes a long, hard, disturbing, and hilarious look at the near and not-so-distant future. Catastrophic changes due to rampant drug abuse, uncontrolled violence, high-level government corruption, inhumane treatment of the too-readily defined “insane,” and the accompanying collapse of the social order are wreaking havoc on the world we recognize and turning it into a reality we must fear and hope to avoid. Brunner tells a spine-chilling tale of where the world could possibly go that is all too believable and real for our comfort.

“For each generation, there is a writer meant to bend the rules of what we know. Hugo Award winner (Best Novel, Stand on Zanzibar) and British science fiction master John Brunner remains one of the most influential and respected authors of all time, and now many of his classic works are being reintroduced. For readers familiar with his vision, it is a chance to reexamine his thoughtful worlds and words. For new readers, Brunner’s work proves itself the very definition of timeless.

The Dragon Never Sleeps

The Dragon Never Sleeps
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 2009-02-01
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

Glen Cook (The Black Company, The Dread Empire) delivers a masterpiece of galaxy spanning space opera! For four thousand years, the Guardships ruled Canon Space with an iron fist. Immortal ships with an immortal crew roaming the galaxy, dealing swiftly and harshly with any mercantile houses or alien races that threatened the status quo.

But now the House Tregesser believes they have an edge; a force from outside Canon Space offers them the resources to throw off Guardship rule. Their initial gambits precipitate an avalanche of unexpected outcomes, the most unpredicted of which is the emergence of Kez Maefele, one of the few remaining generals of the Ku Warrior race — the only race to ever seriously threaten Guardship hegemony.

Kez Maefele and a motley group of mysterious aliens, biological constructs, and scheming aristocrats find themselves at the center of the conflict. Maefele must choose which side he will support; the Guardships, who defeated and destroyed his race, or the unknown forces from outside Canon Space that promise more death and destruction. S

 

Armor by John Steakly

Armor
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
tropes: , ,
Published: 1984-12-04
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:
Receptions: ,
A best-selling novel of military science fiction follows the battle of a one-man, atomic-powered, armored fighting machine on the alien planet of Banshee, home to a horde of berserk enemies of humanity.  The military sci-fi classic of courage on a dangerous alien planet

The planet is called Banshee. The air is unbreathable, the water is poisonous. It is home to the most implacable enemies that humanity, in all its interstellar expansion, has ever encountered.

Body armor has been devised for the commando forces that are to be dropped on Banshee—the culmination of ten thousand years of the armorers’ craft. A trooper in this armor is a one-man, atomic powered battle fortress. But he will have to fight a nearly endless horde of berserk, hard-shelled monsters—the fighting arm of a species which uses biological technology to design perfect, mindless war minions.

Felix is a scout in A-team Two. Highly competent, he is the sole survivor of mission after mission. Yet he is a man consumed by fear and hatred. And he is protected, not only by his custom-fitted body armor, but by an odd being which seems to live within him, a cold killing machine he calls “The Engine.”

This is Felix’s story—a story of the horror, the courage, and the aftermath of combat, and the story, too, of how strength of spirit can be the greatest armor of all.

Against a dark background by Iain m. banks

Against a Dark Background
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 1995
Lenght:
Author:
Reception:
Protagonist:
From science fiction master Iain M. Banks comes a standalone adventure of one woman on the run in an isolated galaxy.  Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilization based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith's apotheosis, and her only hope of escape…

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Lord Foul's Bane
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 2009-10
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

‘Comparable to Tolkien at his best’ WASHINGTON POST Instantly recognised as a modern fantasy classic, Stephen Donaldson’s uniquely imaginative and complex THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT, THE UNBELIEVER became a bestselling literary phenomenon that transformed the genre. Lying unconscious after an accident, writer Thomas Covenant awakes in the Land – a strange, beautiful world locked in constant conflict between good and evil. But Covenant, too, has been transformed: weak, angry, and alone in our world, he now holds powers beyond imagining and is greeted as a saviour. Can this man truly become the hero the Land requires?

First trilogy

Second here

third here

The Gap Cycle The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict Book 1

The Real Story
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 1992-01
Lenghts: ,
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

Angus Thermopyle was an ore pirate and a murderer; even the most disreputable asteroid pilots of Delta Sector stayed locked out of his way.  Those who didn’t ended up in the lockup–or dead.  But when Thermopyle arrived at Mallory’s Bar & Sleep with a gorgeous woman by his side the regulars had to take notice.  Her name was Morn Hyland, and she had been a police officer–until she met up with Thermopyle.

But one person in Mallorys Bar wasn’t intimidated.  Nick Succorso had his own reputation as a bold pirate and he had a sleek frigate fitted for deep space.  Everyone knew that Thermopyle and Succorso were on a collision course.  What nobody expected was how quickly it would be over–or how devastating victory would be.  It was common enough example of rivalry and revenge–or so everyone thought.  The REAL story was something entirely different.

In The Real Story, Stephen R. Donaldson takes us to a remarkably detailed world of faster-than-light travel, politics, betrayal, and a shadowy presence just outside our view to tell the fiercest, most profound story he has ever writt

Shadow & Claw: The First Half of The Book of the New Sun

Shadow & Claw
Date:
MainCategory:
Types: ,
Genre:
tropes: ,
Published: 2021-06-08
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Receptions: ,

“The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe’s most remarkable work, hailed as “a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis” by Publishers Weekly. Shadow & Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:

The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession — showing mercy toward his victim.

Ursula K. Le Guin said, “Magic stuff … a masterpiece … the best science fiction I’ve read in years!” The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.

Gardens of the Moon: Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen

Gardens of the Moon
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genres: ,
trope:
Published: 2009-05-12
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out.

It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze. However, the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand . . . Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order–an enthralling adventure by an outstanding voice.

Where Loyalties Lie: Best Laid Plans book 1

Where Loyalties Lie
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
tropes: ,
Published: 2017-05-24
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

Everybody knows Drake Morrass is only out for himself.As the fires of a dying city burn on a distant shore, Drake sees an opportunity to unite the other pirate Captains under his flag and claim a crown for himself. If he is to succeed he will need allies and the Oracle named Keelin Stillwater, the best swordsman in the isles, as Drake’s right hand.

With enemy ships sailing his waters and setting fire to his cities, and the sinister Tanner Black threatening to steal the throne before Drake has even sat in it, Drake must somehow convince the other Captains that his best interests are also theirs.

The Wolf and the Watchman: 1793

The Wolf and the Watchman
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genres: ,
trope:
Published: 2019-10-01
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

“The Alienist set in eighteenth-century Stockholm: Brawny, bloody, intricate, enthralling—and the best historical thriller I’ve read in twenty years.” —A.J. Finn, #1 bestselling author of The Woman in the Window “Thrilling, unnerving, clever, and beautiful.” —Fredrik Backman, #1 bestselling author of A Man Called Ove “Chilling and thought-provoking.

Relentless, well-written, and nearly impossible to put down.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) One morning in the autumn of 1793, watchman Mikel Cardell is awakened from his drunken slumber with reports of a body seen floating in the Larder, once a pristine lake on Stockholm’s Southern Isle, now a rancid bog.

Efforts to identify the bizarrely mutilated corpse are entrusted to incorruptible lawyer Cecil Winge, who enlists Cardell’s help to solve the case. But time is short: Winge’s health is failing, the monarchy is in shambles, and whispered conspiracies and paranoia abound. Winge and Cardell become immersed in a brutal world of guttersnipes and thieves, mercenaries and madams. From a farmer’s son who is lead down a treacherous path when he seeks his fortune in the capital to an orphan girl consigned to the workhouse by a pitiless parish priest, their investigation peels back layer upon layer of the city’s labyrinthine society.

The rich and the poor, the pious and the fallen, the living and the dead—all collide and interconnect with the body pulled from the lake. Breathtakingly bold and intricately constructed, The Wolf and the Watchman brings to life the crowded streets, gilded palaces, and dark corners of late-eighteenth-century Stockholm, offering a startling vision of the crimes we commit in the name of justice, and the sacrifices we make in order to survive.