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Dreadful Ink is a weekly podcast where I review books (mostly) in the grimdark and dark fantasy genre. This is according to Macmillan: “A type of fantasy fiction with unusually dark and violent themes and tone. If you like bloody swordfights and morally grey characters, grimdark is the genre for you.” Stripped from idealism, these are stories that take place in dystopian, amoral, horrific worlds, where tragic costs are paid in life and blood. These are harsh and brutal worlds corrupted with lust and greed where vengeance is sought and rebellions are waged. There are no heros, but rather flawed, cynical, disillusioned antiheros because people are flawed. There are tales of righteous antivillains established by the powers that be, who will stop at nothing to triumph and deem what they will for the greater good of society no matter what the cost—which includes awful things happening to good people. There are stories of dark knights, renegades, and rogues, a tone that is dark with grit and set in a place of realism that is bleak without hope, but rather filled with starvation, disease, and injustice. Subscribe for book reviews, the occasional interview, and more. New episodes post every Saturday.

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Kinslayer

2021/10/04

Your anger is a gift —Aristotle This book has violence like a Quentin Tarantino film. Kinslayer is the second installment in The Lotus War Series by Jay Kristoff and starts right into the action from the perspective of the Guild. We get to hear the name that Yukiko has garnered for herself. The girl all guildsmen fear. Three sky-ships are tracking Kin for his treachery from the first book, and Yukiko swoops down on Buruu to attack the three ships. This picks up very close to where the first book ended.

The Girl and the Mountain

2021/09/14

The Girl and the Mountain is the second book in Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ice Series, preceded by The Girl and the Stars and will be followed by The Girl and the Moon—set to release April 12, 2022. The story involves a young girl who goes on a long journey that reveals a dark truth about herself and what she’s been led to believe her whole life. For me this is a story about humanity, generosity, and compassion; and the importance of putting other people’s needs ahead of our own. At its core I believe it speaks to the dangers of greed and selfishness, and, gives a well-heeded warning to our reach for immortality and godlike powers through AI.

Stormdancer

2021/09/06

“In the end, all questions can be distilled into one. What are you willing to give up to get the things you want?” —Jay Kristoff, Stormdancer. To me, that question embodies Stormdancer. It’s is an action-adventure story about making great sacrifices, freedom, and the dangers of unchecked power. It tells the tale of a young girl named Yukiko who struggles to learn that the world she grew up in is not what it seems. It’s a story about friendship and learning to understand others who are not the same as you. But at its center, it’s about the love a father has for his daughter.

The Hobbit

2021/08/30

The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins who sets out on an unlikely adventure to recover a stolen treasure with a band of dwarves and a wizard. It takes place roughly eighty years before LOTR; and though mostly an original cast, there are memorable characters represented within the following trilogy: Bilbo, Gandalf, Gollum. This is a story that warns against the dangers of greed and how we all need one another to survive.

The Wheel of Osheim

2021/07/06

“Dark, passionate, tense, with a female hero anyone could relate to—I was utterly fascinated!”—Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author. “Dark and relentless…A two -in-the morning page turner.”—Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author. “It’s not like anything I’ve ever read before.”—Rick Riordan, #1 New York...

Red Sister

2021/07/06

Prince of Thorns

2021/07/06

“Dark and Relentless”,” Prince of Thorns will pull you under and drown you in story. A two-in-the-morning page turner.”—Robin Hobb. A grim cover by Annette Fiore Defex and Jason Chan provides a glimpse of what’s to come, with our protagonist standing in a field of corpses, head lowered, with his hands on the pommel of his sword. Prince of...

Gideon the Ninth

2021/02/22

Gideon the Ninth is Tamsyn Muir’s debut novel, published in 2019, and could be described as a bit of a survivor slash overcoming the monster story. The story is almost entirely told from Gideon’s perspective with a little bit from the point of view of her necromancer, The Reverend Daughter Harrowhark. After several attempts of starting to run away at the age of four, by the time Gideon reached the age of eighteen they numbered eighty-six, but after Harrow receives a letter and invitation to Caanan House for a chance to become Lyctor, Gideon begrudgingly decides that she will go along to be her cavalier. There they meet with several other House heirs and cavaliers where it will be decided which one of them will become Lyctor, through a series of tests.

The Secret Common Wealth

2021/02/15

This book turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag for me. While I thoroughly loved His Dark Materials, I’d be lying if I said that this series isn’t starting with a couple of problems. I’m not going to talk about the overall arching story, as it’s not completed yet, nor will I talk about La Belle Sauvage because this review is about The Secret Commonwealth. Although reviews for this book are overwhelmingly five stars, there are a couple of one stars that are worth noting. I’ll start by saying that if you have any issues with the f-bomb or deadly violence in a book like this it won’t be for you—but if you’re reading my blog, I’m going to assume that it’s not.

The Girl and the Stars

2021/02/07

I found this to be an incredible story, and perhaps my favorite of all his books at this point. I truly enjoyed The Book of the Ancestor: Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister. I found the book to have everything that I look forward to in a story, and love not only his characters but the dystopian worlds that he builds with remnants of ancient technology. This book is no exception, and takes place on the same planet where Nona’s story took place, and not only brings us many characters that we had a chance to experience with her story, but if I’m not mistaken there were other characters that I had a chance to see in not only The Broken Empire such as The King of Thorns, but also The Red Queen’s War and The Wheel of Osheim.

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★★★★★

Frantikess 2021/04/14

Easy listening and descriptive

His voice is easy to listen to, the descriptions of the books are so detailed it makes me want to read each one. Love this podcast. I listen to it bef...

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