The Only Thing That's Certain Is Death - A Review of Empire Ascendant

Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In recent years, “grimdark” has become a popular buzzword when describing certain kinds of fantasy and science fiction. The term originated in the Warhammer 40,000 science fiction setting, and has since come to mean any story (but particularly fantasy stories) wherein there is no clear right or wrong; where the protagonists do not fit neatly into the traditional heroic role; and where doing “the right thing” or being “a good person” does not necessarily lead to a “happy ending” - indeed, the notion of a “happy ending” does not exist. Grimdark fantasy does not often centre around an Epic Quest or a Chosen Hero: it is specifically built to reject or invert such tropes as a response to the Tolkien-inspired narratives that dominated fantasy prior to grimdark’s appearance as a genre. Instead, grimdark fantasy places heavier emphasis on political manoeuvring and a notion of “realistically portraying” a world in the midst of war or any kind of socio-political crisis.

Currently, the most famous and most popular writer of grimdark fantasy is George R.R. Martin, whose A Song of Ice and Fire pretty much encompasses all the above qualities ascribed to grimdark: none of the protagonists might be called a truly good person; there are enough political games to go around and then some; and readers are universally certain that, whatever the endgame, it is not going to be happy. In the wake of Martin’s series other writers have come to the fore: Joe Abercrombie (The First Law trilogy and other associated books) and Mark Lawrence (The Broken Empire and The Red Queen’s War trilogies) both enjoy enormous popularity, as do the tag-team of Steven Erikson and Ian Esslemont (the Malazan books).

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