Tobias Rowe recently interview J.M. Lee, author of The Dark Crystal young adult novel quadrilogy series of books about the new Netflix series.
He’ll be appearing on future show of Trial By Stone: The Dark Crystal Podcast and we’ll dive deep with many questions relating to the show and the connections between the show and his books.
Enjoy reading this interview.
Tobias: What was your reaction to the TV series?
Joe: I’d only seen bits and pieces of material during production, so naturally I was floored by the trailer. I was teaching on the day it dropped so I had to watch it (about a dozen times) on my phone and had to wait to watch it on the big screen at home.
When it came time to finally watch the series, I was feeling just as much anticipation as I can guess everyone else was. So much changes between the writing and the final product. The entire thing is a work of art. It’s so supernaturally beautiful.
Tobias: Which is your favourite puppet from the TV series, not necessarily your favourite character?
Joe: I’m biased, but I love how Kylan looks. He’s so sweet and gentle!
Tobias: Do the puppets of characters present in your prequel novels match up with the images that you had of them in your mind?
Joe: For the most part. But the real magic happens when the puppets come to life in the hands of the puppeteers.
Tobias: They have released images of Naia and Kylan, but not Amri. Fans were getting very worried—I was getting very worried—that something “happened to him” in Flames. Why was Amri omitted from the TV series?
Joe: Age of Resistance was greenlit in 2016 and the story mostly broken in spring of 2017 – almost a full year before Tides of the Dark Crystal (Amri’s book) was written in January of 2018. So even though his book came out before the show, it was technically written after the series was broken. To be totally honest, he just – unfortunately – missed the boat. Luckily I was able to give him a full book so we could get to know him. Sorry for worrying everyone!
Tobias: The heroes of the book appear in the TV series but take much more of a backseat. Do you wish they’d had more time to shine on-screen?
Joe: There was a lot for the Gelfling to do during the time period in which the books and AOR take place. Splitting the heroes up actually gave both the book characters and the show characters more freedom in terms of narrative.
It also meant the books and the series would each have something special and different for fans to absorb. In the books we were able to go places we couldn’t in the show – showing things that weren’t limited by budget or the abilities of physical puppets. Naia, Kylan, Amri, Onica and Tavra were always meant to shine in the books, and they do.
Tobias: Why do the events of the TV show differ from those in your novels?
Joe: First, I think it’s important to remember that the series was never meant to be an adaption of the books. The two series talk to each other, but just like real life, each person’s interpretation of an event or sequence of events is going to differ.
There are a billion reasons why aspects of stories are adjusted when they’re told by different tellers. Time, budget, perspective, audience, medium – just to name a few. The universe of the Dark Crystal is huge. There will never be enough time in any one book, movie, or comic, to tell EVERY story on Thra fully and with total completion. So instead we must choose a perspective for a given project and tell THAT story as best we can.
Tobias: How does it feel now that Flames, and your prequel book series as a whole, is finished? Did they all go according to your original plan? Or did they change with the announcement of Age of Resistance?
Joe: The series, like any book series, was a rollercoaster of explosive inspiration and dragging writer’s block. In some ways it seems impossible that we’ve already published the fourth book — and in other ways it feels like I have been living in Thra for decades. Now that the book is out, all I feel is proud to see all four side-by-side on my shelf.
Even before Age of Resistance got the green light, the books were always a collaborative project with the Henson Company. Once the show was green lit, that collaboration became even bigger. And as with any collaborative, transmedia/tie-in project, there was a lot that changed, both before, during, and after the show.
Tobias: Do you have a favourite out of the four? If not, which one did you find the most difficult to write, and why?
Joe: Prior to finishing Flames, I think I would have said Song, mostly because Kylan is a favorite of mine. But now that I know how Flames turned out, I have to say it’s become my clear favorite, both in terms of character arcs and overall adventure.
Tobias: To bring listeners up to speed: at the end of the third novel, Tides, the heroes had lit the Vapra fire, burning dream-etchings across the citadel in Ha’rar, warning Gelflings of the Skeksis’ treachery. Whilst fleeing from the Mariner, SkekSa, they were swallowed by her ship. What went into your decision to end Tides on an immediate cliff-hanger?
Joe: Quadrilogies are an interesting beast. When you write a trilogy, to some extent there’s an expected rise and fall of events between the three books. Quadrilogies are a little different, in that the pacing has to accommodate that fourth act. So, in some ways, the events of books 3 and 4 are one continuous finale, split between two books — which is one reason Tides ends in such action, which is resumed immediately on page one of Flames.
Tobias: Flames continued to feature the new Skeksis you introduced, such as SkekSa, but also ones established in the original film. Did you enjoy giving the latter more limelight? Were you under strict instructions to hold back other new Skeksis, such as the Heretic? Were there Skeksis features in the TV show that you wish you could have written about?
Joe: I really wanted to focus on skekSa, because I knew she wasn’t going to be in the show and she’s such a fun and interesting character. I like writing the other Skeksis, but I really loved skekSa so I wanted to give her a full character arc, too. Really, I wanted to make her a figurehead for all of the challenges Naia faces in Flames – and I felt it was more effective to center on skekSa rather than bring in the other Skeksis.
Tobias: You told Shadows from the point-of-view of Naia, Songs Kylan, Tides Amri, and you’ve now returned to that of Naia again in Flames. We saw Naia grow in confidence in Shadows, and continues to be a strong pillar of the trio in Songs and Tides. Are you satisfied with her final development in Flames?
Joe: While we went back and forth a few times on who should narrate the third book, I always knew that the finale would return to Naia. In Shadows, Naia grows and learns, but she still has a lot to do before she reaches her true potential. In Flames, Naia really steps into her own and takes the leadership role she’s been growing into over the last three books — not before overcoming some very difficult challenges first, of course.
Tobias: You’ve expanded the Dark Crystal universe considerably, introducing numerous characters, creatures, and locations, and even creating new dreamfast abilities, such as far-dreaming. What is your personal favourite addition? Did you leave any ideas on the “cutting room floor”? Anything outrageous that the Henson Company simply said “nope!”?
Joe: I’m most proud of my development of the seven clans. I spent a lot of time working on that aspect of the world building. The word “maudra” was created during the book writing process, and hearing it spoken so naturally by both the characters in the show and the fans is like music to my ears.
And the cutting room floor has enough material for four more books!
Tobias: Heroes of the Resistance and Aughra’s Wisdom of Thra are being released on November 12th, but do you have any future plans to return to the story of the Dark Crystal?
Joe: There is one more announcement that should be coming soon, but I’ll wait to spill the beans on that. After that, who knows!
Tobias: Do you think an UrSkek origin story would be interesting? How would you approach it if you were writing it?
Joe: Frankly, my playground has been developing the Gelfling. I like that the urSkeks exist, in many ways, beyond Gelfling comprehension… to that end, part of me doesn’t want to know more about them. I’d rather leave them in divine mystery.
Tobias: Audiences can often be very critical of works produced in universes that they know and love. They forget that the creators of these works are fans too, expressing their own passion in their own way. What does the Dark Crystal mean to you, Joe?
Joe: The Dark Crystal was a staple of my childhood, and left a distinct impression on me as both a person and as a creator. It taught me that it’s okay for things to be dark — the world is dark. It seems like a small thing, but as someone who was hoping Sarah would say yes to Jareth (sorry, Toby!), it was huge. The Dark Crystal was an open door not just to another world, but another way of thinking about fantasy and the worlds we create as writers.