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James Steinhaus's avatar

Much of what I have written would qualify as this. I am exploring why people do brutal things. Many of my MC are what people call villains, or become that over time. Some times the story is about the effect of that these people have, some time is it is what dives them to it.

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Matt Pincott's avatar

Interesting. From reading this I'm a lot closer to Grimdark than I ever would have thought. Not on the piece I've been sharing recently, I admit that's deliberately anything but. But as a big fan of 3/5 of your examples, and with too many other ideas brewing in my mind, you've given me plenty to think about

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Jon Howski's avatar

This post inspires me to want to learn more about the genre. Look forward to reading some of your work.

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Andrew Taylor's avatar

This makes me want to jump out of my chair and yell "YES exactly". Perfectly put.

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Love PNR | Kestrel Caim's avatar

This was fascinating. Grimdark and paranormal romance definitely share some DNA: morally grey characters, high emotional stakes, and a general distrust of institutions. But where grimdark leans into despair and rot, PNR often claws its way toward redemption… or at least obsession dressed as love. In both, the world is brutal. The difference is, in PNR someone’s probably willing to burn it down for you. I enjoyed this article, having often wondered what grimdark was.

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Johnathan Vance's avatar

Thanks for reading it!

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