They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with J.L. Gribble, whose latest book, Steel Shadows, comes out on August 8th from Dog Star Books!
What does J.L. love when she’s not smashing urban fantasy and alternate history into new and interesting stories? This is her third go-around (you can read installment one here and installment two here), but let’s just give you a spoiler alert: this year, J.L. is all about the weird, so come find out about not-so-simple murder mysteries, ancient races determined to destroy humanity, a dimension-hopping show that greatly diverges from its source material, a beautifully animated take on a favorite superhero, science fiction done right, and something to help you escape the darkest timeline. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!
Each of the books in my Steel Empires urban fantasy/alternate history series follows a theme, and its safe to say that the theme of book 5, Steel Shadows, is WEIRD. I have frequently been heard to refer to this installment as the “batshit insane” book. Things get dark, things get strange, and I had a ton of fun writing it. I embraced a lot of other weirdness in the course of creating this book, and a few have been standouts that I’d like to share.
I’m not a fan of the original works by H.P. Lovecraft, but it turns out that I absolutely adore a lot of modern interpretations of his mythos. I think that contemporary writers feel free to embrace the creepiness factor that put Lovecraft on the map with his invocation of beings that are more than human, creeping madness, and tentacles (so many tentacles). And since I blend genres in my own work, it should come as no surprise that I love the near-future science-fiction slant that New Zealand authors Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray include in their Path of Ra series. The first book, Hounds of the Underworld, forces siblings Penny and Matiu to work together to solve a murder that looks simple on the outside, but is complicated by mystical forces and elements from Matiu’s past (and some that are both). The action, horror, and creeping madness only increase in the next book, Teeth of the Wolf. Rabarts and Murray have dropped hints of what might come in the as-yet untitled next book, and I can’t wait to see what new horrors they’re playing with.
Disclaimer: I am involved with the editing process for the Path of Ra series.
Another reason I’m not a fan of the original Lovecraft stories is because they’re so obviously allegories for racism. He would have hated that the main characters in the Path of Ra are of Chinese and Maori descent. Lovecraft would have hated the main characters in Jordan L. Hawk’s Whyborne & Griffin series even more, since the books are set contemporary to his own works. Percival Endicott Whyborne is a shy academic. Griffin Flaherty is a charming private investigator. Together, they fight crime! And by crime, I mean battling the rise of an ancient race determined to wipe out the human race. And by the way, they’re two men in a committed relationship, which probably has Lovecraft turning in his grave. Even worse, their primary allies are Dr. Christine Putnam (lady archaeologist) and her partner Iskander, a man of Egyptian heritage. This series begins with Widdershins, and I’ve been stretching out the final installments in this ten-book series to make it last longer.
Lovecraftian stories can also involve a certain amount of dimension-hopping, which is something I love even without the horror factor. Currently, my favorite use of this element appears in the television version of The Magicians, where the characters travel between alternate earths, an adult-facsimile of Narnia, and an all-powerful Library. The characters and intertwined plotlines are diverse and complicated, everything I love about my storytelling (and there’s still a little bit of horror). Even better, this show diverges greatly from the book series it is nominally based on and fixes a lot of the problematic elements that I wasn’t a fan of there. I’m currently catching up on season 4 with my husband, and I often finish each episode with an exclamation of “THIS IS SO GOOD.”
On a lighter note, another dimension-hopping story that also combines elements of alternate history (my other true love) was the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tom Holland might be my Spider-Man, but I absolutely adored seeing Miles Morales on the big screen. This movie is easy to appreciate from multiple viewpoints, whether it’s the intricate story-telling, the technical aspects of the animation, or the sheer joy of watching a fun, colorful superhero movie. Even better, you don’t have to be caught up with an entire franchise of movies to dive in and enjoy it.
On the other end of the spectrum is a property that looks pretty straight-forward from the outside. After all, I’ve been telling everyone who will listen how amazing The Expanse is for over a year, and I’m not going to let this opportunity to reach a wider audience pass me by. The Expanse is science-fiction storytelling done right. Even better, this is one of the rare instances that I can recommend both the original book series by James S.A. Corey (starting with Leviathan Wakes) and the television adaptation on Amazon Prime. It starts out as a mystery of a missing heiress and a bit of corporate warfare. But it soon develops into ancient alien races still at war from beyond the grave and broken physics, so there’s still plenty of weird of go around.
But alas, my media intake cannot be all weird, all the time. A non-speculative thing that I enjoyed within the past month is the stand-alone novel Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Do you like love stories? Did you love The West Wing? Do you feel like we’re living in the darkest timeline and need to escape to a brighter world for a few hours? This is the book for you. It’s sweet, and absorbing, and will leave you with the best sort of book hangover. The perfect break before facing the very weird real world again.
By day, J.L. Gribble is a professional medical editor. By night, she does freelance fiction editing in all genres, along with reading, playing video games, and occasionally even writing. She is currently working on the Steel Empires series for Dog Star Books, the science-fiction/adventure imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press. Previously, she was an editor for the Far Worlds anthology.
Gribble studied English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She received her Master’s degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where her debut novel Steel Victory was her thesis for the program.
She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband and three vocal Siamese cats. Find her online (www.jlgribble.com), on Facebook, and on Twitter and Instagram.
Author Photo by Brian Roache.
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I’ve been kind of a snob about romance novels my entire life but I really enjoyed The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. I may have to give Red, White & Royal Blue a shot because this is the second recommendation I’ve seen.
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