this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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Fantasy books, stories, &c
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Anything related to the fantasy genre
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Tough to define really. I think it's a combination of tone, setting, and outcome. Not much separates walt disney and the grimm fairytales. My go to dark fantasy is the Embers of Illeniel series, which is a prequel to the Mageborn series. Mageborn is a solid fantasy series with a focus on exploring the magic of the setting. Embers is far more brutal. It still has the magic exploration aspect, but it's dominated by a bleak situation for humanity and explores exceptionally dark ideas in respect to genocide, oppression, sexual assault, and the willingness to use power.
Even the main Mageborn series has parts that seem a bit dark fantasy to me.
Mageborn plot
For example the part where he becomes the soulsucking creature type, or Penny killing the priest and just thinking she'll do the most before she's dead. Oh, and suffocating the first bad guy...