Michael John Grist is a science-fiction & fantasy author and ruins explorer who lives in Tokyo, Japan.
His stories have been published in two major pro magazines- Clarkesworld and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, as well as in numerous smaller publications. Critics have called his writing ‘powerful and moving‘, ‘a damn fine read‘ and ‘a literary tour de force‘.
He typically writes heroic science fiction and epic fantasy with a dark, surreal humor, inspired by authors such as:
His story Bone Diamond (Beneath Ceaseless Skies) describes an alt history ancient Egypt where a lowly bone-jeweller morphs into a mass murderer under the pharaoh’s brutal thumb, after discovering diamonds growing in the bones of an alligator.
His story The Bells of Subsidence (Clarkesworld) tells a Forrest Gumpian love story across the massive sweep of super-string space, where vast spaceships named Bells ‘planck’ their way through the lonely depths, seeking connection.
He is also working on an epic fantasy novel titled Dawn Rising, now in its umpteenth draft. It tells the story of a young boy named Dawn as he sets out to incite revolt in the brutal city of Jabbler’s Mons, to fell the mad King, quell the slave-Spiders, defeat a dark and hungry god (named the Pain), and generally save the world.
MJG also explores and photographs the modern ruined buildings of Japan, known as haikyo (AKA urbex), driven by a childhood spent re-enacting the adventures of Indiana Jones and the Goonies in the fields behind his house.
Now that he’s grown up, this kind of ‘exploring’ may seem a bit of a silly thing to do (as one friend pointed out- ‘they’re just dirty old buildings’), but the appeal of photography, travel, and yes, still adventure, keep him coming back for more.
Some of the 70 or so locations he’s visited include abandoned theme parks, military installations, ruins of the sex industry, and ghost towns. The best though are theme parks, in particular Nara Dreamland, and Sports World- both available to click in links at the right.
Michael was born in Manchester, England, to an American mother and British father. He was raised in Bolton, where as a kid he wrote dreadful poetry and explored the wonders of the horse’s field behind his house. Nothing much has changed since then, except the bad poetry became (hopefully tolerable) prose, and the horse’s field got a whole lot bigger.
In his childhood summers he visited his farm-owning family in Kentucky, where he learnt the worth of Dairy Queen ice cream and TexMex cuisine. In his teens he worked at a summer camp for disadvantaged kids in Massachusetts, and after graduating high school in the UK he went (glutton for punishment, yes) to high school again, in Indiana, on an exchange program for two semesters. It was there that he first took creative writing classes, buoyed on by the appreciation of his accent, and started work on his first novel (which now exists boldly and without fear on his hard drive). He also took a Greyhound trip around the country (six days and nights on a sweaty bus), which reinforced his thirst for exploration.
Now he enjoys the odd game of squash, working out in the gym, picnicking with random strangers in Yoyogi park, playing classic games re-released on iPad, going to ruins, and of course working on his stories and novels. He lives in a hutch of a central Tokyo apartment with his wife and their pet King Frog, and works as an English lecturer at university.
You can contact Michael about use of photos, potential advertising offers, and most anything else by emailing michaeljohngrist @ hotmail.com (after removing the spaces)
on Ruins of the US Air Force Base in Fuchu, Japan
on Ruins of the US Air Force Base in Fuchu, Japan
on Ruins of the US Air Force Base in Fuchu, Japan
on Dunes envelop the Namibian toytown of Kolmanskop
on Remnants of the US Air Force Base in Tachikawa, Japan
on Remnants of the US Air Force Base in Tachikawa, Japan
on Why did ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ fail?
on Ruins of the Queen Chateau Soapland