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Grit & Shadows #1-7
Grit & Shadows Boxed Set: Volumes 1 - 3
Welcome to the dark side of urban fantasy...
All three volumes of J. D. Brink’s Grit & Shadows Collection gathered in one gloomy corner for your appraisal.
Paranormal mystery, crime noir, vampire horror, cyberpunk detectives, and much, much more. Nine stories and a full novel featuring wise guys and private eyes, black magic and bleak futures, your deepest desires and the road to damnation.
• A Long Walk Down a Dark Alley - Four tales of temptation and terror.
• Kiss of the Maiden - Five stories of gritty heroes and bloody resolve.
• One-Eyed Jacks – A novel of urban fantasy, crime noir, and Asian myth.
Invite this special boxed set into your home, if you dare. But don’t turn out the lights. Or turn your back on it...
All three volumes of J. D. Brink’s Grit & Shadows Collection gathered in one gloomy corner for your appraisal.
Paranormal mystery, crime noir, vampire horror, cyberpunk detectives, and much, much more. Nine stories and a full novel featuring wise guys and private eyes, black magic and bleak futures, your deepest desires and the road to damnation.
• A Long Walk Down a Dark Alley - Four tales of temptation and terror.
• Kiss of the Maiden - Five stories of gritty heroes and bloody resolve.
• One-Eyed Jacks – A novel of urban fantasy, crime noir, and Asian myth.
Invite this special boxed set into your home, if you dare. But don’t turn out the lights. Or turn your back on it...
334 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 4, 2019
17 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Brink
75 books41 followersIf taking a college fencing class, eating from the trash can, and smelling like an animal were qualifications for becoming a sword-swinging barbarian, J. D. Brink might be Conan’s protégé.
Instead, he joined the Navy… twice. He’s served aboard a warship in the Pacific, collected intel from foreign submarines, trained corpsmen to save Marines, and cared for patients at hospitals in Kuwait and Japan.
Today (New Years, 2023), he’s a civilian, a freelance writer, nurse, and educator. They ask that he not wear the Viking helmet in front of actual people…
Sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/jdbrink...
Instead, he joined the Navy… twice. He’s served aboard a warship in the Pacific, collected intel from foreign submarines, trained corpsmen to save Marines, and cared for patients at hospitals in Kuwait and Japan.
Today (New Years, 2023), he’s a civilian, a freelance writer, nurse, and educator. They ask that he not wear the Viking helmet in front of actual people…
Sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/jdbrink...
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 28, 2023
Brink blends heists and mysteries with characters who focus more on getting the job done than introspection, creating a range of stories that are likely to appeal to fans of speculative and gangster fiction equally.
This book collects the novel One-Eyed Jacks and eight shorter works in a variety of genres, each about mean streets where the shadows might or might not have real teeth.
One-Eyed Jacks: After leaving a career as magician’s assistant long behind him for a life of crime, Jack has donned multiple identities, only to discard them again when wanderlust kicks in. Currently working for a semi-legitimate businessman as an art forger, con artist, and intelligent muscle, he finds himself sent to trade a dodgy French statue for some stolen artefacts allegedly stolen from the gods. Brink interweaves fast-paced gangster action with Asian mythology, carefully surfing the liminal zone between proving and disproving there is something more than mundane going on.
“Eating in the Underworld”: When Harry Celeste is hired to investigate irregularities at a company making android assistants, he finds himself face to face with an old friend—unfortunately, there’s old history. While a weary detective, robot girls, and neon streets immediately brings Blade Runner to mind, Brink puts the parts together into an equally engaging but different story.
“The Proposal”: After an accident at a dig leaves his colleague hospitalised, an Egyptologist decides to finally voice his unspoken attraction—only for things to get progressively stranger. Brink blends the classic trope of archaeologists suffer weirdness after opening a tomb with a sympathetic protagonist, creating a tale where the reader will root for the hero even if they do realise the ending.
“Unfeeling”: Shovel has become his boss’ most trusted enforcer by not feeling any emotions either way—but stealing a crude wooden doll so his boss can use it to woo an old woman seems strange even to him. While a protagonist who isn’t really bothered by doing bad things for bad reasons certainly isn’t sympathetic, both the wider mystery of why a mob boss is suddenly changing his behaviour and how someone who isn’t moved by emotion might respond are engaging.
“Mime”: Emerging into a back alley after carrying out their latest crime, Pauli and Mouse are startled to discover a mime performing alone in the shadows. Brink skilfully blends the creepiness of mimes and the possibility of cold reading, keeping his protagonists (and the reader) guessing over whether the mime knows all about their deeds or whether they are simply reading too much into stock performances.
“Lonely”: Hoping for a bit of fun after striking out at a bar, Paul offers a lift to a random young woman—only to discover it might not be so easy to get rid of her again after. Echoing the classic spooky story of a mysterious hitchhiker without being constrained by it, Brink creates a tale of hungering both for blood and companionship.
“Moondance”: Lawrence is one of the best detectives in the business—however, when your quarry can literally pull handfuls of gold out of nowhere, it’s hard to keep up. With werewolf gumshoes, coffee-sipping goddesses, and chases through backstreets, this is a solid piece of fairy noir.
“Epidemic”: With vampires an accepted part of modern life, blood junkies and people unconscious from anaemia are just part of being a paramedic—but that doesn’t mean Zeus, short for Jesus, has to like it. Brink skilfully evokes a world where being fed on by a vampire is as legal a drug as tobacco or alcohol, evoking the social dilemma of enabling addiction without foregoing the horror and action of a good vampire story.
“Snake Eyes”: Who better than an assassin called Snake Eyes to take down the celebrity they call The Gambler—but how do you kill a man who can’t lose? Eschewing any attempt to paint his protagonist as other than a skilled killer working for criminals, Brink presents a tense and smoothly paced series of cunning plans foiled by sudden misfortunes that will keep the reader’s curiosity alive until the end.
While this book collects what were two separate works, a novel and a short story collection, so the shorter works were not originally selected to complement One-Eyed Jacks, the echoes of noir and pulp that run through both make them feel like a single unit rather than two separate books glued together.
In each offering, Brink weaves a different selection of fantasy, horror, weird science, and straight gangster tropes around this unifying thread, preventing the stories from starting to feel too similar. Thus, the collection is likely to be as engaging if read through with few breaks as if dipped into now and then.
However, although there is a diversity of tone, pace, and the actually fantastical across the collection, One-Eyed Jacks does form both the opening to and majority of the book; therefore, readers who prefer their urban fantasy to quickly reveal the magic is real might find there is too much merely teasing of the possibility for their taste.
Brinks characterisation is solid, offering both a nuanced range of criminal types and characters who are decidedly not career gangsters.
Overall, I enjoyed this book greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking engaging action and mystery with a gritty and speculative edge.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
This book collects the novel One-Eyed Jacks and eight shorter works in a variety of genres, each about mean streets where the shadows might or might not have real teeth.
One-Eyed Jacks: After leaving a career as magician’s assistant long behind him for a life of crime, Jack has donned multiple identities, only to discard them again when wanderlust kicks in. Currently working for a semi-legitimate businessman as an art forger, con artist, and intelligent muscle, he finds himself sent to trade a dodgy French statue for some stolen artefacts allegedly stolen from the gods. Brink interweaves fast-paced gangster action with Asian mythology, carefully surfing the liminal zone between proving and disproving there is something more than mundane going on.
“Eating in the Underworld”: When Harry Celeste is hired to investigate irregularities at a company making android assistants, he finds himself face to face with an old friend—unfortunately, there’s old history. While a weary detective, robot girls, and neon streets immediately brings Blade Runner to mind, Brink puts the parts together into an equally engaging but different story.
“The Proposal”: After an accident at a dig leaves his colleague hospitalised, an Egyptologist decides to finally voice his unspoken attraction—only for things to get progressively stranger. Brink blends the classic trope of archaeologists suffer weirdness after opening a tomb with a sympathetic protagonist, creating a tale where the reader will root for the hero even if they do realise the ending.
“Unfeeling”: Shovel has become his boss’ most trusted enforcer by not feeling any emotions either way—but stealing a crude wooden doll so his boss can use it to woo an old woman seems strange even to him. While a protagonist who isn’t really bothered by doing bad things for bad reasons certainly isn’t sympathetic, both the wider mystery of why a mob boss is suddenly changing his behaviour and how someone who isn’t moved by emotion might respond are engaging.
“Mime”: Emerging into a back alley after carrying out their latest crime, Pauli and Mouse are startled to discover a mime performing alone in the shadows. Brink skilfully blends the creepiness of mimes and the possibility of cold reading, keeping his protagonists (and the reader) guessing over whether the mime knows all about their deeds or whether they are simply reading too much into stock performances.
“Lonely”: Hoping for a bit of fun after striking out at a bar, Paul offers a lift to a random young woman—only to discover it might not be so easy to get rid of her again after. Echoing the classic spooky story of a mysterious hitchhiker without being constrained by it, Brink creates a tale of hungering both for blood and companionship.
“Moondance”: Lawrence is one of the best detectives in the business—however, when your quarry can literally pull handfuls of gold out of nowhere, it’s hard to keep up. With werewolf gumshoes, coffee-sipping goddesses, and chases through backstreets, this is a solid piece of fairy noir.
“Epidemic”: With vampires an accepted part of modern life, blood junkies and people unconscious from anaemia are just part of being a paramedic—but that doesn’t mean Zeus, short for Jesus, has to like it. Brink skilfully evokes a world where being fed on by a vampire is as legal a drug as tobacco or alcohol, evoking the social dilemma of enabling addiction without foregoing the horror and action of a good vampire story.
“Snake Eyes”: Who better than an assassin called Snake Eyes to take down the celebrity they call The Gambler—but how do you kill a man who can’t lose? Eschewing any attempt to paint his protagonist as other than a skilled killer working for criminals, Brink presents a tense and smoothly paced series of cunning plans foiled by sudden misfortunes that will keep the reader’s curiosity alive until the end.
While this book collects what were two separate works, a novel and a short story collection, so the shorter works were not originally selected to complement One-Eyed Jacks, the echoes of noir and pulp that run through both make them feel like a single unit rather than two separate books glued together.
In each offering, Brink weaves a different selection of fantasy, horror, weird science, and straight gangster tropes around this unifying thread, preventing the stories from starting to feel too similar. Thus, the collection is likely to be as engaging if read through with few breaks as if dipped into now and then.
However, although there is a diversity of tone, pace, and the actually fantastical across the collection, One-Eyed Jacks does form both the opening to and majority of the book; therefore, readers who prefer their urban fantasy to quickly reveal the magic is real might find there is too much merely teasing of the possibility for their taste.
Brinks characterisation is solid, offering both a nuanced range of criminal types and characters who are decidedly not career gangsters.
Overall, I enjoyed this book greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking engaging action and mystery with a gritty and speculative edge.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
May 25, 2022
Bout with some super hero over tones
The novella was interesting and the other short stories run the usual gamut, some interesting and some not. Will probably continue checking out Brink's universes for at least a few more books.
The novella was interesting and the other short stories run the usual gamut, some interesting and some not. Will probably continue checking out Brink's universes for at least a few more books.
October 25, 2020
I loved the stories. Each has its own little twist and hook that keeps you reading. Brink's has a devious mind and his stories are to die for. I definitely recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews