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If you’ve found your way here, you’ve probably figured out my name is Jasper L. Walker – author, community builder, and champion of Grimdark culture.
I like long walks on the beach- just kidding. I write stories designed to devastate and emotionally scar. Why? Because the books that broke me are the ones I remember the most fondly. I also love to spread that Grimdark love and foster a place of authors and readers together, and organize amazing events with genre-giants like Mark Lawrence & Glen Cook.
If you’re tired of the endless churn of meaningless gore and pointless nihilism, if you want to read Grimdark Epic Fantasy done right, scroll a bit further for details on my novel.
What is The Shattered Line about?
The Shattered Line blends Heist, Revenge, Horror, Military, Apocalypse, Cosmic Horror, Magical Discovery, Romance fantasy all under the trappings of Epic Grimdark. But deep down, it’s about the corrosion of self and society in a world that just doesn’t give a fuck.
Sound like too much to handle, especially for a debut? I agree, but I somehow did it anyway. I could spend days talking about the characters and themes, but I’ll give you the TL;DR elevator pitch out of respect for your time.
A brutal dictator hunts a God-releasing Artefact to save a dying world, but salvation demands massacre.
A vengeful father vows to rip his throat out or die trying.
A crew of thieves are blackmailed into stealing from him.
The universe has ended before.
This time, it might stay dead.
And for those who want a deeper glimpse before deciding this is interesting, enjoy the full blurb below.
What do my readers think?
“Somewhere in the multiverse Brian Lumley and Scott Lynch are drinking buddies and write books together. In this universe we have a more compact version of the pair in Jasper L Walker.
For clarity and honesty I was one of the early beta readers for this book, and receiving an arc of the final version was an absolute delight. I was hooked on the story in its raw format, and getting to read about Elias Finch and his crew of misfits attempting to overcome the odds in a polished form was even better.
The Shattered Line combines old school eldritch horror and, in my opinion, borderline sci-fi elements in a richly realised Grimdark world. Elias and the main cast are beautifully characterised, and you get behind them very quickly and want to see them achieve their seemingly impossible goal. Even the antagonist is someone with real depth, who you hate yourself for rooting for at times.
Even though Jasper is up front is saying he isn’t worried about genre conventions, any fan of Grimdark with find the required buckets of exquisitely detailed gore and people being horrendous that we crave. If you want a dark, gritty fantasy heist, then this is the book for you.
My thanks to the author for providing me with this arc to review!” – Donna Morgan (or u/Safe_Aide9928 on reddit).
Check it out on Amazon or Goodreads and add it to your thick TBR!
Advance Reader Copy Form
(If you can’t see it, enable java or send me an email at jasperlgrimwalker@gmail.com)