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Grimdark & the Godless Wheel: A Reflection on Abercrombie’s First Law

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Manage episode 487818930 series 3322480
Content provided by Nicholas Kotar. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Nicholas Kotar or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

In this special (and long-promised) episode of Fantasy for Our Time, I dive helmet-first into the final installment of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy—a.k.a. the Holy Scripture of Grimdark™ (depending who you ask). I wrestle with berserkers, battle ideologies, and gently poke the gnarled problem of evil with a theological stick.

🛡️ What is Grimdark really saying about human nature?
🎭 Can fantasy fiction offer consolation—or only cynicism?
⚖️ What happens when the divine is deleted from the narrative framework?

We talk Logan Ninefingers, the Bastard King (whose name totally escaped me mid-video), and the ever-smirking torturer Sand dan Glokta. But we also unpack deeper themes: spiritual fragmentation, Orthodox Christian views on evil, and whether fantasy has lost the mythic courage to hope.

💬 Expect musings, a bit of rambling (forgive me—I hadn’t had coffee!), and sincere reflections on storytelling, suffering, and the wheel of despair that modern fantasy often rides without brakes.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Life Update
01:30 Context: Grimdark, Joe Abercrombie, and First Law Trilogy
03:00 The Third Book: Final Reactions and Character Depth
04:30 The Northern War & Logan’s Inner Demon
06:00 Possession, Evil, and Fragmented Identity
08:30 Trial by Combat & Theological Implications
10:00 Evil as Lack: Orthodox and Philosophical Framing
17:00 Myths After Christ: The Hero's Journey vs. Grimdark
20:00 Characters as Pawns: Torturers, Kings & Cowards
25:00 No Catharsis, Just the Wheel: The End of Grimdark
29:00 What’s Next: Warhammer, Narnia & Summer Plans

  continue reading

41 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 487818930 series 3322480
Content provided by Nicholas Kotar. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Nicholas Kotar or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

In this special (and long-promised) episode of Fantasy for Our Time, I dive helmet-first into the final installment of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy—a.k.a. the Holy Scripture of Grimdark™ (depending who you ask). I wrestle with berserkers, battle ideologies, and gently poke the gnarled problem of evil with a theological stick.

🛡️ What is Grimdark really saying about human nature?
🎭 Can fantasy fiction offer consolation—or only cynicism?
⚖️ What happens when the divine is deleted from the narrative framework?

We talk Logan Ninefingers, the Bastard King (whose name totally escaped me mid-video), and the ever-smirking torturer Sand dan Glokta. But we also unpack deeper themes: spiritual fragmentation, Orthodox Christian views on evil, and whether fantasy has lost the mythic courage to hope.

💬 Expect musings, a bit of rambling (forgive me—I hadn’t had coffee!), and sincere reflections on storytelling, suffering, and the wheel of despair that modern fantasy often rides without brakes.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Life Update
01:30 Context: Grimdark, Joe Abercrombie, and First Law Trilogy
03:00 The Third Book: Final Reactions and Character Depth
04:30 The Northern War & Logan’s Inner Demon
06:00 Possession, Evil, and Fragmented Identity
08:30 Trial by Combat & Theological Implications
10:00 Evil as Lack: Orthodox and Philosophical Framing
17:00 Myths After Christ: The Hero's Journey vs. Grimdark
20:00 Characters as Pawns: Torturers, Kings & Cowards
25:00 No Catharsis, Just the Wheel: The End of Grimdark
29:00 What’s Next: Warhammer, Narnia & Summer Plans

  continue reading

41 episodes

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