Introduction
If you've been following my work, you've likely heard me describe my series, The Valmoran Chronicles, as "gritty, kaleidoscopic hopepunk." But what exactly does that mean? In this post, we explore the revolutionary heart of the hopepunk subgenre—and how it's redefining and expanding speculative storytelling.
What is Hopepunk?
At its core, hopepunk is a narrative mode that unflinchingly confronts the darkness in our world (and the speculative worlds we create) while steadfastly insisting that a better future is possible … and worth fighting for.
The term was coined by fantasy author Alexandra Rowland in a 2017 Tumblr post, where she positioned it as the opposite of grimdark. Where grimdark stories often revel in nihilism, moral ambiguity, and the inescapable brutality of the world, hopepunk defiantly asserts that a kinder, more equitable future is possible through solidarity, empathy, and collective action.
In Rowland's words, hopepunk is "about DEMANDING a better, kinder world, and truly believing that we can get there if we care about each other as hard as we possibly can." It's not about blind optimism or wishful thinking, but the courage to hope and take action in the face of overwhelming odds.
Hellz, yeah.
The Unsung Heroes of Hopepunk
Hopepunk stories center ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of adversity. These aren't superheroes or chosen ones, but everyday folks who refuse to accept injustice as inevitable and instead roll up their sleeves to build a better world, brick by unglamorous brick.
N.K. Jemisin's groundbreaking Broken Earth trilogy is a powerful example. Set in a world fractured by oppression and environmental catastrophe, the series manages to find seeds of transformative hope in the determined struggles of complex, flawed characters like Essun, who refuse to relinquish the dream of a more just future.
Similarly, Octavia Butler's prescient Parable series follows the visionary Lauren Olamina as she strives to build a new community around Earthseed, a philosophy of change, empathy and resilience, in the aftermath of societal collapse. Lauren's unshakable belief in the power of inclusive, determined action to shape a better world exemplifies hopepunk's central ethos.
In The Valmoran Chronicles, this spirit shines through characters like Kat, who finds small but powerful ways to resist her captors, like jumping to the past to eat cookies. Her unbreakable bond with Matthai sustains her defiant hope even in the bleakest circumstances.
The Power of Connection
Hopepunk stories often highlight the revolutionary potential of empathy and solidarity across divides. They center motley crews and unlikely alliances, people finding strength in each other to resist systemic oppression and fight for a common vision of a better future.
The groundbreaking series Sense8 beautifully illustrates this theme through its "sensates" - eight strangers from radically different backgrounds who find themselves psychically linked. As they learn to share knowledge, skills and experiences, their bond becomes a powerful tool for resisting the authoritarian forces that would erase their identities and agency.
In a similar vein, the crew of The Expanse's Rocinante form a tenacious found family that bridges vast gulfs of privilege and position. As they navigate a solar system on the brink of war, their commitment to aiding the oppressed and marginalized becomes a potent challenge to the hegemonic powers that be - a shining example of hopepunk's faith in the transformative potential of solidarity and collective action.
The Valmoran Chronicles explores this through unlikely connections and the slow formation of an unshakeable found family of heroes. Where can you find a pop star, hacktivist, PR spin doctor, gladiator, microbiologist, courtesan, politician, smuggler, and high priest working together to save the universe? Hopepunk. TVC.
No Easy Answers
Importantly, hopepunk narratives don't shy away from the messy, often heartbreaking complexities of struggling for a better world. They acknowledge that the work of social change is frequently slow, erratic, and unglamorous - there are no easy answers or tidy resolutions here.
Yet despite steep odds and daunting setbacks, hopepunk stories stubbornly insist that the fight for a more equitable future is both vital and worthwhile. They challenge us to imagine a world beyond the often grim status quo - and then to roll up our sleeves and get to work building it, however arduous the road ahead may be.
This is embodied by Callum in The Valmoran Chronicles, an out-cycler using his position to incrementally push for equality. Even as he faces painful compromises and entrenched prejudice, Callum persists because a fairer society is worth striving for, however halting the progress. His efforts, though often unsung, reflect hopepunk's dedication to unglamorous, long-haul change.
Why Hopepunk Is Essential
In a cultural moment saturated with anxiety, disillusionment and despair, hopepunk offers an alternative to apathy or cynicism. Not through escapism or naivete, but through clear-eyed, determined commitment to the belief that a better world is possible —if we have the courage to reach for it together.
By celebrating the subversive power of radical empathy, solidarity, and collective action in the face of injustice, these stories reignite our own sense of agency and connection. They remind us that no matter how entrenched the darkness, everyday acts of revolutionary compassion and gritty optimism can make a real difference—and that a more just future is always worth pursuing, even when the path forward is terrifying and uncertain.
This is the kind of narrative I strive to create in my own work. Stories that wrestle with the shadows while stubbornly clinging to the light. Stories of flawed, achingly human characters coming together across differences to build a better world. Because in this cultural moment, we need the galvanizing, hope-against-the-odds spirit of hopepunk more than ever.
Conclusion
The stories we engage with shape our sense of what's possible—for ourselves, our communities, and our shared world. And in hopepunk, we find a genre that acknowledges the struggles we face while daring to envision something better.
So as you explore the gritty, determined, unabashedly hopeful world of hopepunk, let these stories be a heartening reminder that no matter how daunting the road, a brighter future is always worth pursuing.
And we can all bring about a better world, one audacious act of hope at a time.
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