Let’s talk about “grimdark”

What is grimdark?

Grimdark is a term used to describe books, movies, and games, and it seems to be growing in popularity. Some of my books have even been labeled as grimdark by some reviews (though I contest that label for all of my titles. I’ll go into why I disagree later.)

But as with so many facets of the artistic world, the term grimdark is somewhat subjective. Even the major online dictionaries don’t define grimdark in the same way.

For example, this comes from the Cambridge Dictionary:

And this is from Dictionary.com:

I’ve seen others define it as the opposite of Tolkien-esque fantasy, where there are no chosen ones, and the “heroes” can be as equally vile as the “villains.” Morally grey might be a more apt description in this last case, though I’ve seen grimdark and morally grey used to describe very different books.

Where did the term come from?

According to Wikipedia, grimdark originally came from the tabletop RPG, Warhammer 40,000 and its tagline: “In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.”

Warhammer was first released in 1987, so the term has been around for a while. I’ve only encountered it in reference to genre fiction in the last couple decades, however, so in terms of the book world, it’s a bit newer.

Where the definitions agree

The only common thread I see in the official definitions of grimdark is that the world is portrayed as bleak, dystopian, and/or hopeless.

The inclusion of violence or the questionable morals of individual characters doesn’t make a book grimdark. To my mind, a book requires that additional element of hopelessness to truly make it qualify as grimdark.

Which is why I disagree with that label when it comes to my own books.

I’ve been told by some people that I’m an optimist. I want things to turn out okay, even when it doesn’t look like they will, and that subconscious desire certainly bleeds into my writing.

The darkest book I’ve ever written is Serpentus, but it is not grimdark. It’s a brutal prisoner of war story, the main character does things that will haunt him years later, but no matter how bleak things were, there was always a thread of hope in that story. And it ends on a somewhat uplifting note—even though the main character and those with him are irrevocably and horribly changed. But because it includes that hope, I will never classify Serpentus as grimdark.

I’ve had reviewers label both Exile and Wraith and the Revolution as grimdark too. Those books aren’t half as dark as Serpentus is, so naturally, I’m going to disagree.

I write many morally grey characters. I strive for emotional realism in my stories, and I add elements that force my characters to make difficult—and sometimes horrible—decisions. But making choices, however difficult, is part of life. Striving for survival against the odds is too.

But I don’t think I will ever be able to write something that is truly grimdark. I need that layer of hope to enjoy writing a story. I need that happy or bittersweet ending…even if it takes multiple books to get there. 😊