47 - Careful Attention Without Mastery

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This episode I am joined by Kate Schapira, host of the Climate Anxieties Counseling blog, to discuss Jeff VanderMeer's award-winning Annihilation, as well as some of her early introductions to the SF&F genre. 

Transcript here.

The amazing art which inspired me to actually get this project off the ground was created by  @etrandem

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Music - Jazzy Ashes by The Underscore Orkestra

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44 - Things to Disagree About!

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This episode I am joined by Ziv Wities (@QuiteVague), host of the SFSqueeAndSnark short story discussion site, to discuss Jo Walton's The Just City.  We covered our different reactions to the story, the elevation of Plato's Republic to a holy text, and the problems of privilege and how it is portrayed in The Just City.  In addition, Brandon O'Brien returns for the second installment of Black Star Cruises, a review of Maurice Broaddus' forthcoming novella Buffalo Soldier.

Transcript here. Text of review here.

The amazing art which inspired me to actually get this project off the ground was created by  @etrandem

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Music - Jazzy Ashes by The Underscore Orkestra

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36 - Ancillary Sword

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This episode, Ethan rejoins me to discuss the AI in Ancillary Sword (our previous discussions of Ancillary Justice are here and here), Charles Payseur recommends 5 stories around the theme of Age & Aging, and future guest Jenn Brissett has a memory of a significant book.

Charles' recommendations this episode: 

Transcript to come.

The amazing art which inspired me to actually get this project off the ground was created by  @etrandem

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Music - Jazzy Ashes by The Underscore Orkestra

If you want to subscribe to the show, the RSS feed is: http://www.cabbagesandkings.audio/?format=rss

 

14 - We Read This Very Differently (Again)

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This week @afishtrap and I continue our discussion of Grace of Kings & look at nobility in the book (and to some extent various epic traditions more broadly) through the Rima & Jizu episode.  We refer to my reading that every member of the old noble houses acquits themselves with “honor”, which I extend to a reading that there is something inherently special about the DNA of nobles in Grace of Kings, at which point we discovered that (recurring theme!) we read this very differently. Along the way we get into how Kuni (not a noble!) and Mata (a hero from the old noble houses) embody or contradict our readings. Our discussion opens and closes with Mata, his extraordinary heroism, and fitness to rule.

The amazing art which inspired me to actually get this project off the ground was created by @etrandem

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Music - Jazzy Ashes by The Underscore Orkestra

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12 - We Read This Very Differently (part 1)

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@afishtrap and I begin our discussion of Ken Liu's Grace of Kings in medias res as all good Epics must.  In this case, with the passage that I highlighted as the one I'd most want to argue with.

For me, this passage is about the conflict between practical engineering and divine intervention, a frequent hobgoblin of fantasy traditions with distant-but-present gods. Coming out of the Chinese traditions the engineering developments and divine influence read very differently.

This week also concludes with my reminiscing because of a new Black Sun Rising readalong at bibliotropic (@bibliotropic).

The amazing art which inspired me to actually get this project off the ground was created by @etrandem

Send feedback! Tweet me! Tweet the show! Be a guest on the show! 

Music - Jazzy Ashes by The Underscore Orkestra

If you want to subscribe to the show, the RSS feed is: http://www.cabbagesandkings.audio/?format=rss