The Importance of Silver Lining Grimdark

Genre. We all have our favorite themes and tropes. In everything. Movies. Music. Books. Some people love romance. Some people love magic. It’s that simple for some. For others, it’s more about finding something in the story. Courage. Heroism. Feminism. Knowledge. Reward. There are so many I can’t even begin to tell them all. But I will tell you what I look for in story, and why I read. Hope. I look for hope in the pages. A story with a silver lining of hope in a dark terrible world… when the protagonist finally reaches the end because they held on; because they had hope, perseverance.

Well, what genre have I deemed the genre of hope?

I’ve discovered over the years that GRIMDARK tales help convey that glint of hope that I seek in a story.

What is grimdark?

There are still arguments about that question, but I’ll interpret it as best I can. Grimdark is a sub-genre of fantasy that focuses on the grim aspects, typically containing unforgiving conditions and outcomes, unfair and unethical worlds, and foul language and bloodshed is absolute. Grimdark characters are flawed and typically antiheroes, who most of the time refuse the call, want nothing to do with it, and would most likely tell the world to fuck off. Some examples of grimdark authors are Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, George R. R. Martin, and some of Robin Hobb’s works.

I’ve had the personal pleasure of speaking with a popular name in grimdark fantasy, C.T. Phipps, and I later found a reference he made about grimdark:

“Grimdark is basically taking the darkness, tragedy, violence, terror, and horror of several different genres then putting them into a blender and hitting frape. Horror stories are, usually, something terrible and vile intruding on an otherwise normal setting to ruin it. Noir stories are cold, bleak, and empty of good but for faint flickers. Fantasy story stories often have terrible supernatural evils opposed by equally supernatural goods.
Grimdark takes away the normality and good to leave bad and bigger bad. Grimdark is spikes on spikes, ancient horrors, immense poverty, entrenched systematic cruelty, basic human selfishness, and hopelessness.

And it’s kind of awesome.”

Now he said “hopelessness,” and that’s key. The entire story should reflect hopelessness and defeat and misery, but we will still see the protagonist push their way and continue doing what they do for bigger and better reasons—because there is a faint flicker of hope through the haze of grimdark. When they push through such a shitty world and an existence that’s FUBAR to achieve their goal, to reach their climactic ending…that is why I read.

It goes beyond storytelling at this point. The world may seem dark around us, but we need to hold on to the thin string of hope that guides us out of the goblin cave (yes, I might’ve made a George Macdonald reference). The world is unforgiving, like grimdark. The world is unfair, like grimdark. There is bloodshed each and every day, like grimdark. But we can also focus in and see the hope, like grimdark.