Why dark fantasy speaks to a politically broken world

Dark fantasy is the go-to genre for authors who want to set their work in a grim, nearly hopeless setting, mirroring today’s political environment.

Today’s political landscape is grim, and it’s one reason dark fantasy works so well when writing about ways to allegorize it. Sure, any genre technically works, but when you put a darkened spin on something, oh, does it hit home. 

When you look at my most recent works more than anything else, that darkness survives and thrives, with a ray of hope. That said, you can call most of the Renegades Epic “nobledark,” where I take elements of grimdark and noblebright, creating a middleman between the two sub-genres. 

But why does it fit so well when pointing to today’s state of politics? Well, just look at some of the characteristics of both grim and nobledark. 

Grimdark features dark, dank, and hopeless worlds

Want a definition of grimdark? I turned to Chat GPT to give me an overview of the sub-genre, and here’s what it came up with, edited for more clarity:

Grimdark throws readers into a brutal, cynical world where corruption reigns, power destroys, and hope rarely survives. These stories spotlight anti-heroes. They’re flawed, ruthless, and often indistinguishable from the villains, who fight not for justice, but for survival, revenge, or personal gain. 

Violence runs rampant, and death strikes often and without mercy. Heroes don’t rise; they fall, compromise, or become the very thing they once opposed. Grimdark fiction strips away idealism and divine justice, exposing a universe where the strong dominate, the innocent suffer, and morality bends under pressure. 

Authors like George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Joe Abercrombie (The First Law), and Mark Lawrence (The Broken Empire) masterfully shape this genre, while Warhammer 40,000 defines its essence with the iconic line: “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” 

Unlike noblebright or nobledark, grimdark offers no guarantee of redemption. Instead, it challenges readers to confront a world where no one saves the day—and sometimes, no one deserves to.

Sounds familiar, right? We live in a world with no shortage of war or rumors of war going on. Heck, we live in a world where elitists rule and mass media acts as its shills, something Daniel McAdams pointed out in a recent episode of the Ron Paul Liberty Report.

Why dark fantasy works in the Renegades Epic

Everywhere, from Wind Wielder to Cursed Mage, I wanted my work to emulate the modern political landscape, notably foreign policy, mass censorship, DEI, and collectivism. There’s more, such as ‘trusting the science,’ or ‘trusting the experts,’ especially in times of crisis, and all of this comes with oppressive political regimes too happy to curtail civil liberties. 

Take each of my series starters:

• • Wind Wielder – Warfare state that plants false flags to arrest and detain suspected ‘mutants,’ or elementals.
  • Tarja Titan – Elemental-ruled shadow governments who manipulate worldwide political outcomes for their own gain.
  • Civil War – Warfare state that dehumanizes and humiliates dissenters or suspected dissenters.
  • The Rebellion Awakens – Collectivist state that controls every second of the masses’ lives, 24/7.
  • Spirit and Fire – Collectivist warfare state that treats the descendants of its past enemies as outcasts. 
  • Cursed Mage – Seemingly benign government that ‘institutionalizes’ those who think or act outside of expected norms. 

Yeah, you can say one common denominator is elemental magic, and it links all six series as one. But each resides in the realm of dark fantasy, particularly nobledark, given each character possesses redeemable qualities. 

But my dark fantasy spin puts together a sound, realistic tale that readers can relate to, and they’re not shy about it. For example, readers haven’t just seen but appreciated the message I delivered in Deceived Mage, which is perhaps my darkest story. 

When they catch the gist of each political system the work offers, they know immediately where I got its inspiration. It’s funny, because I once upon a time labeled Wind Wielder and them as ‘superhero fantasies,’ but had slowly come to realize that’s not the case, and that each has some grim outlooks. 

Non-fiction inspiration spurned a shared universe

Some readers may ask why I never joined the ‘nonfiction’ crusade, since you see a strong contingent of libertarian writers hanging out there. One reason is just that; there are too many of us writing and breaking zero new ground with nonfiction. We’re just putting our own angles on stuff and calling it quits. 

For another, a lot of fiction readers find books on economics, history, and politics dry. I couldn’t tell you the last time one of my readers recommended a biography. That said, hitting readers with fiction, mainly libertarian fiction, and sharing my sources in an Author’s Note, worked well. 

If they were more interested in where I’d gotten my sources, whether from books or outlets like the Mises Institute, they’d know where to look. Plus, they’d have direct sources, as opposed to going through oft-filtered search engines, something Kaija Jokiharju pointed out in Cursed Mage.

See how that works? Anyway, I’ll take deep dives into quips my characters have made some other time. But for now, enjoy some of my dark fantasy work that also contains those rays of hope, shifting it more toward nobledark as opposed to grimdark.