Sherlockian Mysteries in Space with Malka Older
Welcome to the latest episode of TROPED OUT PODCAST—a podcast where we interview your favorite (and future favorite) author’s about all things tropes! Today we are chatting with Science Fiction author, Malka Older!
Malka Older is a writer, sociologist, and aid worker. Her science-fiction political thriller INFOMOCRACY was named one of the best books of 2016 by Kirkus, Book Riot, and the Washington Post. She is also the author of the sequels, NULL STATES (2017) and STATE TECTONICS (2018), and the full trilogy was nominated for a Hugo Award. She is also the creator of the serial NINTH STEP STATION and lead writer for the licensed sequel to ORPHAN BLACK, both currently running on Realm. Her short story and poetry collection AND OTHER DISASTERS came out in late 2019. Her short fiction and poetry can be found at WIRED, Future Tense, Leveler, Sundog Lit, Reservoir Lit, Inkscrawl, Rogue Agent, Tor.com, Fireside Fiction, and others. She has written opinion pieces for the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, and NBC Think.
- Em kicks things off by asking Malka what she is reading and loving lately and Malka came prepared! Malka is reading and loving: John Scalzi’s KAIJU PRESERVATION SOCIETY, Cherie Priest’s FLIGHT RISK, THE TOWN OF BABYLON by Alejandro Varela, THE LEFT HANDED BOOKSELLERS OF LONDON by Garth Nix, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE by Deanna Raybourne, Emily Wilde’s ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAERIES, Richard Osmond’s THURSDAY MURDER CLUB series, and Melinda Lo’s A SCATTER OF LIGHT, MERU by S.B. Divya, and finally Annalee Newitz’s THE TERRAFORMERS.
- EJ comments that Malka’s list covers a wide range of fiction—she wonders if Malka has books that are on her id list and Malka admits that she really loves different takes on Sherlock Holmes stories (so she wrote one!).
- EJ asks Malka what it is that makes a Sherlock-themed book so distinct. Malka explains that she thinks it has to do with the mystery being the focus—not the crime or gore or horror. There is a cerebral aspect that is always present in a Sherlock-style mystery.
Malka says that there is something about neuro-divergence—when you have a character who thinks very differently than everyone around them and is fine-tuned particular approach. Having a flipped approach to how you observe and deduct. Also the relationships. Typically in a Sherlock-style mystery, you will have a relationship between two people (sometimes coded as neurodivergent and neurotypical—but not always). The story unfold between the partners and we can observe the contrast with how they approach the case.
- EJ asks Malka about Narrative Disorder—a disorder that is present in Malka’s book Infomacracy. Malka explains how she came up with the concept of Narrative Disorder and how she folded it into the story.
- Malka explains how there is a hunger for narratives—an addiction really. When coming up with the idea and concept of Narrative Disorder, she thought of how in the future we would feed this addiction.
- Malka has a new release titled THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES. Malka tells EJ and Em about her newest book. It is a holmes-ian inspired novel. It is a fun comfort read for a murder mystery. It has dark academia vibes, and also long train rides, rainy weather outside with cozy indoor spaces. And it is set on Jupiter, after mankind has ruined Earth AND Mars.
- EJ has gathered from reading Malka’s other books, that one of the signatures of a Malka Older book is how incredibly international they are. How there is always a wide range of cultures present. EJ asks how she implements this feeling to Jupiter.
- Malka explains her process for creating that same feeling in a book that takes place with Jupiter transplants. Short answer—yes—she pulls it off perfectly!
- Em speculates that there are a ton of ideas and stories in Malka’s mind and asks how Malka decides which idea to attack and grown into a novel?
- Malka does have tons of ideas, and when she begins she knows characters and ideas—but not a solid plot. The more she explores character and place, the plot becomes evident.
- It’s time to play TROPED OUT!
- EJ starts the game with: Humanity Destroyed Earth or Humanity Destroyed Society?
- Em asks: Big Brother Is Watching or Mega Corporations Rule?
- EJ finishes things up with asking Secret Baby or Secret Robot?
- Em asks Malka and EJ how they’d interpret secret robot.
- (Sci-Fi robot ratatouille. Genius!)
And that is a rap for this episode of TROPED OUT PODCAST!
You can find today’s guest—Malka Older—online at:
Twitter: @m_older
Instagram: @infomacracy
Facebook: @MalkaOlder
Malka’s books are available everywhere books are sold, including out Troped Out Bookshop, which you can visit to find books from all of our Troped Out guests.
Malka’s latest book, THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES (a Most Anticipated in 2023 pick from TODAY.com) releases on March 7. Be sure to pick up your copy!
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