A Meal of Thorns

If you read Dracula and thought: “I like the ancient shapeshifting nemesis and the homoerotic subtext, but I don’t like how subtle the sexual and national anxieties are,” you’re in luck! Editor, reviewer, and scholar Marisa Mercurio is here to talk about not-so-subtle horrors in Richard Marsh’s 1897 novel The Beetle. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Marisa Mercurio Title: The Beetle by Richard Marsh Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Chopin's "Minute Waltz" performed by Alfred Cortot Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique" performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Artur Rodzinski References: Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca & Don't Look Now Alex Woodroe's The Night Ship Tenebrous Press Bram Stoker's Dracula Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Ann Radcliffe, Charles Dickens, George Eliot E.R. Eddison's Zimianvian trilogy Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Kate Beaton’s “The Horror Of The New Woman” H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis The Fly films (Kurt Neumann 1958; David Cronenberg 1986) Phase IV directed by Saul Bass Robert Repino's Mort(e) The Nest by Gregory A. Douglas, and the “Valancourt Paperbacks from Hell” Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester Wilkie Collins The However Improbable podcast Marisa’s bluesky

We’re closing out this strange year with a “big-picture” episode: editor & critic Dan Hartland is on to talk about trends and directions—or lack thereof—in recent speculative fiction. We talk about the interesting spread of books & awards this year, do some armchair speculating about genre shifts & their accompanying arguments, and have some very insider-baseball discussion of what gets reviewed (or not) and why. And, of course, Dan and Casella talk about their favorite reads from 2025. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Dan Hartland Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Critical Friends podcast Gautam Bhatia's The Sentence Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Award spread this year- see for instance SFADB Article on UK romantasy sales numbers Romantasy, LitRPG, Progression Fantasy, Baen Books Locus SFT= Speculative Fiction in Translation Strange Horizons issue on the NEA cuts and SFT Richard K. Morgan Orbus by Neal Asher Jenny Hamilton’s work at Reactor AO3= Archive Of Our Own When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift Metal from Heaven by August Clarke Niall Harrison’s review of Swift William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy Hugboxing vs Scab-Picking H.G. Wells Sylvia Park's Luminous Eva Meijer’s Sea Now, tr. Anne Thompson Melo The Booker Prize “Prestige TV in the Time of Climate Change” by Sarah Miller The Sopranos & Breaking Bad The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien Hannah Arendt & Baruch Spinoza John Wyndham & J.G. Ballard The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, tr. Sarah Moses Becky Chambers Colourfields by Paul Kincaid Margaret Killjoy's A Country of Ghosts The Expansion Project by Ben Pester The Goldsmiths Prize Olga Ravn's The Employees Jeff VanderMeer's Area X Ned Beauman BSFA short SF in translation award Translated Hugo Initiative Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, tr. Rahul Berry Isaac Fellman's Notes from a Regicide Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors Christopher Priest Debbie Urbanski's Portalmania Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others Leyna Krow's Sinkhole and Other Inexplicable Voids Ed Park's An Oral History of Atlantis Kelly Link, George Saunders, T.C. Boyle, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Elwin Cotman Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art, edited by Indrapramit Das Countess by Suzan Palumbo Annie Bot by Sierra Grier Erika Swyler's We Lived On The Horizon Adrian Tchaikovsky, Premee Mohamed Lincoln Michel's Metallic Realms Ed Park’s Same Bed Different Dreams

We’re closing out this strange year with a “big-picture” episode: editor & critic Dan Hartland is on to talk about trends and directions—or lack thereof—in recent speculative fiction. We talk about the interesting spread of books & awards this year, do some armchair speculating about genre shifts & their accompanying arguments, and have some very insider-baseball discussion of what gets reviewed (or not) and why. And, of course, Dan and Casella talk about their favorite reads from 2025. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Dan Hartland Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Critical Friends podcast Gautam Bhatia's The Sentence Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Award spread this year- see for instance SFADB Article on UK romantasy sales numbers Romantasy, LitRPG, Progression Fantasy, Baen Books Locus SFT= Speculative Fiction in Translation Strange Horizons issue on the NEA cuts and SFT Richard K. Morgan Orbus by Neal Asher Jenny Hamilton’s work at Reactor AO3= Archive Of Our Own When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift Metal from Heaven by August Clarke Niall Harrison’s review of Swift William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy Hugboxing vs Scab-Picking H.G. Wells Sylvia Park's Luminous Eva Meijer’s Sea Now, tr. Anne Thompson Melo The Booker Prize “Prestige TV in the Time of Climate Change” by Sarah Miller The Sopranos & Breaking Bad The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien Hannah Arendt & Baruch Spinoza John Wyndham & J.G. Ballard The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, tr. Sarah Moses Becky Chambers Colourfields by Paul Kincaid Margaret Killjoy's A Country of Ghosts The Expansion Project by Ben Pester The Goldsmiths Prize Olga Ravn's The Employees Jeff VanderMeer's Area X Ned Beauman BSFA short SF in translation award Translated Hugo Initiative Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, tr. Rahul Berry Isaac Fellman's Notes from a Regicide Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors Christopher Priest Debbie Urbanski's Portalmania Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others Leyna Krow's Sinkhole and Other Inexplicable Voids Ed Park's An Oral History of Atlantis Kelly Link, George Saunders, T.C. Boyle, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Elwin Cotman Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art, edited by Indrapramit Das Countess by Suzan Palumbo Annie Bot by Sierra Grier Erika Swyler's We Lived On The Horizon Adrian Tchaikovsky, Premee Mohamed Lincoln Michel's Metallic Realms Ed Park’s Same Bed Different Dreams

We’re tracking down the wellspring of “dark academia” in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, and plucking on threads that stretch out to current fantasy and science fiction literature, with reviewer Roseanna Pendlebury as our guide. Casella manages to throw some shade at Arrival, somehow, and also references Dumb & Dumber.   Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.   Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Roseanna Pendlebury Title: The Secret History Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Isaac Fellman’s Notes from a Regicide E.J. Swift’s When There Are Wolves Again Ned Beauman’s Venomous Lumpsucker  Rebecca Campbell's Arboreality Simon Roy's Griz Grobus & A Star Called The Sun Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon Tartt’s The Goldfinch Euripides’ The Bacchae Jane Alison's Meander Spiral Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative Roger Ebert's review of Roger Avary’s film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's The Rules of Attraction (which, we didn’t get into this in the episode, is sort of in the Expanded Secret History Universe) Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Sofia Samatar's The Practice The Horizon and the Chain R.F. Kuang's Katabasis & Babel Fellman's The Two Doctors Górski Marina & Sergei Dyachenko's Vita Nostra, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey Ceaușescu's bathroom Peter Farrelly’s film Dumb and Dumber Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" vs. Denis Villeneuve's film Arrival Becky Chamber’s To Be Taught if Fortunate Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch "All art is perfectly useless" C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces Samatar's A Stranger In Olondria and The Winged Histories Fellman's The Breath of the Sun Katherin Addison's The Goblin Emperor & sequels Dungeons & Dragons Roseanna’s Small Press Dispatch series at ARB Roseanna's blog Tolkien's Beowulf & The Tolkien Reader Lina Palera’s Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0*   *Note that ARB & AMOT are generally distributed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, but will match the CC of any incorporated material for particular posts/episodes.    

We’re tracking down the wellspring of “dark academia” in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, and plucking on threads that stretch out to current fantasy and science fiction literature, with reviewer Roseanna Pendlebury as our guide. Casella manages to throw some shade at Arrival, somehow, and also references Dumb & Dumber.   Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.   Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Roseanna Pendlebury Title: The Secret History Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Isaac Fellman’s Notes from a Regicide E.J. Swift’s When There Are Wolves Again Ned Beauman’s Venomous Lumpsucker  Rebecca Campbell's Arboreality Simon Roy's Griz Grobus & A Star Called The Sun Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon Tartt’s The Goldfinch Euripides’ The Bacchae Jane Alison's Meander Spiral Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative Roger Ebert's review of Roger Avary’s film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's The Rules of Attraction (which, we didn’t get into this in the episode, is sort of in the Expanded Secret History Universe) Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Sofia Samatar's The Practice The Horizon and the Chain R.F. Kuang's Katabasis & Babel Fellman's The Two Doctors Górski Marina & Sergei Dyachenko's Vita Nostra, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey Ceaușescu's bathroom Peter Farrelly’s film Dumb and Dumber Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" vs. Denis Villeneuve's film Arrival Becky Chamber’s To Be Taught if Fortunate Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch "All art is perfectly useless" C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces Samatar's A Stranger In Olondria and The Winged Histories Fellman's The Breath of the Sun Katherin Addison's The Goblin Emperor & sequels Dungeons & Dragons Roseanna’s Small Press Dispatch series at ARB Roseanna's blog Tolkien's Beowulf & The Tolkien Reader Lina Palera’s Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0*   *Note that ARB & AMOT are generally distributed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, but will match the CC of any incorporated material for particular posts/episodes.    

Academic, critic, and prolific podcaster Cameron Kunzelman joins for a far-ranging discussion about how climate fiction, science fiction, and personal and political connections to the environment intersect. Bonus hog sighting. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Cameron Kunzelman Title: Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Ranged Touch podcasts The World is Born From Zero & Everything is Permitted Sean McTiernan’s SFUltra (Sean was the guest for our Dreams of Amputation episode) From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell Steve Moore's Somnium Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism Christopher Brown's A Natural History of Empty Lots Bill Bryson Abigail Nussbaum Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Michael Crichton Donna J. Haraway’s Staying With The Trouble Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future & Aurora (episode on the latter with Hilary Strang) Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, Seveneves, & Anathem Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven Nicholas Meyer’s film The Day After Nevil Shute's On the Beach Adam McKay’s film Don't Look Up Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects Trinitite Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Pat Cadigan “30-50 Feral Hogs” Clock of the Long Now Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass John Christopher’s The Death of Grass / No Blade of Grass Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa Describe World Flannery O'Connor Deep ecology Arne Næss Ted Kaczynski #NoDAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) Bruce Sterling's Islands in the Net Patrick Wright’s The Village That Died For England Centralia coal-seam fire in Pennsylvania Keiichiro Toyama’s Silent Hill & Christophe Gans’ film adaptation Cameron's Bluesky The Assassin's Creed franchise Immanuel Velikovsky Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods

Academic, critic, and prolific podcaster Cameron Kunzelman joins for a far-ranging discussion about how climate fiction, science fiction, and personal and political connections to the environment intersect. Bonus hog sighting. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Cameron Kunzelman Title: Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Ranged Touch podcasts The World is Born From Zero & Everything is Permitted Sean McTiernan’s SFUltra (Sean was the guest for our Dreams of Amputation episode) From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell Steve Moore's Somnium Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism Christopher Brown's A Natural History of Empty Lots Bill Bryson Abigail Nussbaum Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Michael Crichton Donna J. Haraway’s Staying With The Trouble Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future & Aurora (episode on the latter with Hilary Strang) Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, Seveneves, & Anathem Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven Nicholas Meyer’s film The Day After Nevil Shute's On the Beach Adam McKay’s film Don't Look Up Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects Trinitite Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Pat Cadigan “30-50 Feral Hogs” Clock of the Long Now Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass John Christopher’s The Death of Grass / No Blade of Grass Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa Describe World Flannery O'Connor Deep ecology Arne Næss Ted Kaczynski #NoDAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) Bruce Sterling's Islands in the Net Patrick Wright’s The Village That Died For England Centralia coal-seam fire in Pennsylvania Keiichiro Toyama’s Silent Hill & Christophe Gans’ film adaptation Cameron's Bluesky The Assassin's Creed franchise Immanuel Velikovsky Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods

Vampire scholar, science fiction studies editor, and ARB co-founder Sean Guynes joins to discuss Kostova's 2005 historical vampire thriller. We both have fairly negative opinions of the book, but it did lead us to talk about what historical thrillers are (or are not) theorizing, vampire novels we like more, and much else besides.Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Sean GuynesTitle: The Historian by Elizabeth KostovaHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:David Linday's Voyage to ArcturusSean's series on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy booksThomas Burnett SwannE.R. EddisonGibson's Bridge trilogyStephen Norrington's film BladeBram Stoker's DraculaDan Brown's The Da Vinci CodeR.F. Kuang's KatabasisSarah Perry's Melmoth and our episode with Jon Greenaway about itIlana Masad's “Holocaust Beach Reads”Machiavelli's The PrinceRadu Florescu & Raymond McNally's In Search of DraculaThe Turkey City LexiconAnne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, including Memnoch the DevilFred Saberhagen's The Dracula TapeChelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germaine cycleE. Elias Merhige's film Shadow of the VampireClaire Kohda's Woman, EatingIndrapramit Das's The DevourersStephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter HunterPeter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private PlaceEddison's the The Mezentian GateAnd be sure to check out Sean's essay on The Historian!

Vampire scholar, science fiction studies editor, and ARB co-founder Sean Guynes joins to discuss Kostova's 2005 historical vampire thriller. We both have fairly negative opinions of the book, but it did lead us to talk about what historical thrillers are (or are not) theorizing, vampire novels we like more, and much else besides.Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Sean GuynesTitle: The Historian by Elizabeth KostovaHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:David Linday's Voyage to ArcturusSean's series on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy booksThomas Burnett SwannE.R. EddisonGibson's Bridge trilogyStephen Norrington's film BladeBram Stoker's DraculaDan Brown's The Da Vinci CodeR.F. Kuang's KatabasisSarah Perry's Melmoth and our episode with Jon Greenaway about itIlana Masad's “Holocaust Beach Reads”Machiavelli's The PrinceRadu Florescu & Raymond McNally's In Search of DraculaThe Turkey City LexiconAnne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, including Memnoch the DevilFred Saberhagen's The Dracula TapeChelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germaine cycleE. Elias Merhige's film Shadow of the VampireClaire Kohda's Woman, EatingIndrapramit Das's The DevourersStephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter HunterPeter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private PlaceEddison's the The Mezentian GateAnd be sure to check out Sean's essay on The Historian!

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Eleanor McAdamTitle: Under The Eye Of The Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa YonedaHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Current Research in Science FictionVanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley TakemoriAnnie Bot by Sierra GreerEmily Tesh's The Incandescent and Some Desperate GloryNiall Harrison's Locus review of Under The Eye Of The Big BirdAdrian Tchaikovsky's Service ModelJ.G. BallardStephen Baxter's EvolutionWilliam Hope Hogdson's The Night LandX-MenIsaac Asimov's FoundationMargaret Atwood MaddAddam TrilogyKurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Cat's CradleErika Swyler's We Lived On The HorizonKazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun & Never Let Me GoAdrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time

Writer, scholar, and academic organizer E.F. McAdam joins to talk about human evolution & extinction, AI, pseudo-science, and much more in Kawakami’s very strange and really quite funny far-future novel. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Eleanor McAdam Title: Under The Eye Of The Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Current Research in Science Fiction Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent and Some Desperate Glory Niall Harrison’s Locus review of Under The Eye Of The Big Bird Adrian Tchaikovsky's Service Model J.G. Ballard Stephen Baxter's Evolution William Hope Hogdson's The Night Land X-Men Isaac Asimov's Foundation Margaret Atwood MaddAddam Trilogy Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Cat's Cradle Erika Swyler's We Lived On The Horizon Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun & Never Let Me Go Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time          Text  - HTML . com Convert your visual text documents to HTML code instantly. Edit and clean your markup with a couple of clicks. How to use the Text to HTML converter? Paste a visual document to the left to convert it to HTML Paste your HTML code it the right to preview the document Press the Clean button to execute the checked HTML cleaning options. Erase the page to get started.    

Barthelme’s surreal, post-modern writing was massively influential for the short story market and for evolving conceptions of literary realism and irrealism, but he’s not often discussed in speculative circles. Author & teacher Timothy Moore is on to help rectify that: we dig into some of our favorites from this landmark connection, with lots of spitballing about the limits of interpretation. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Timothy Moore Title: 60 Stories by Donald Barthelme Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Timothy Moore’s I Will Teach You Retribution Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock & Peter Weir’s film adaptation Molly Templeton’s Bluesky request for Australian Gothic “Intermittent Anhedonia” Ethan Rutherford's North Sun Evening House Books "The School" Close Reading for the 21st Century edited by Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant Alduous Huxley’s Brave New World "The Lottery" "Me and Miss Mandible" "A Shower of Gold" "Eugénie Grandet" Sidney Lumet’s Network "The Balloon" "The Great Hug" We somehow completely failed to reference E.E. Cumming’s “In Just – spring” for balloon-man reasons Keita Takahashi's Katamari Damacy Ub Iwerk’s Balloon Land Will McMahon “A Manual for Sons” Barthelme’s The Dead Father Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic "The Policeman's Ball" Vercingetorix "The King of Jazz" Julio Cortázar Ishmael Reed Kelly Link Ed Park Elwin Cotman Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Aimee Bender's Girl in the Flammable Skirt George Saunders Garielle Lutz Dalkey Archives Small Beer Press Zachary Gillan &  our Authority episode “Reading Weird Fiction in a Time of Fascism” Mircea Cărtărescu's Solenoid, translated by Sean Cotter Liliana Costanzi’s You Glow in the Dark Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Ed Park's An Oral History of Atlantis Brian Evenson “Lonely Rolling Star” by Saki Kabata and Yoshihito Yano off the first Katamari game Billy Bletcher as the Pincushion Man in Ub Iwerks’ Balloon Land, music by Carl Staling “You’re the Cream in My Coffee” recorded by Miff Mole and His Little Molers “Perdido Street Blues” by Louis Armstrong and Sydney Bechet Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce”    

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Timothy MooreTitle: 60 Stories by Donald BarthelmeHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Timothy Moore's I Will Teach You RetributionJoan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock & Peter Weir's film adaptationMolly Templeton's Bluesky request for Australian Gothic“Intermittent Anhedonia”Ethan Rutherford's North SunEvening House Books"The School"Close Reading for the 21st Century edited by Dan Sinykin & Johanna WinantAlduous Huxley's Brave New World"The Lottery""Me and Miss Mandible""A Shower of Gold""Eugénie Grandet"Sidney Lumet's Network"The Balloon""The Great Hug"We somehow completely failed to reference E.E. Cumming's “In Just – spring” for balloon-man reasonsKeita Takahashi's Katamari DamacyUb Iwerk's Balloon LandWill McMahon“A Manual for Sons”Barthelme's The Dead FatherWes Anderson's The Life Aquatic"The Policeman's Ball"Vercingetorix"The King of Jazz"Julio CortázarIshmael ReedKelly LinkEd ParkElwin CotmanNana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahAimee Bender's Girl in the Flammable SkirtGeorge SaundersGarielle LutzDalkey ArchivesSmall Beer PressZachary Gillan &  our Authority episode“Reading Weird Fiction in a Time of Fascism”Mircea Cărtărescu's Solenoid, translated by Sean CotterLiliana Costanzi's You Glow in the DarkThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsEd Park's An Oral History of AtlantisBrian Evenson“Lonely Rolling Star” by Saki Kabata and Yoshihito Yano off the first Katamari gameBilly Bletcher as the Pincushion Man in Ub Iwerks' Balloon Land, music by Carl Staling“You're the Cream in My Coffee” recorded by Miff Mole and His Little Molers“Perdido Street Blues” by Louis Armstrong and Sydney BechetCharlie Parker's “Billie's Bounce”

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Ursula WhitcherTitle: Burning Bright by Melissa ScottHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:North Continent RibbonIndra Das's The Last Dragoners of BowbazarFonda Lee's Green Bone books & game thereof w/ James Mendez HodesBruce Coville's Aliens Ate My Homework & Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon HatcherThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsScott's Trouble And Her Friends & Astreiant series, most recently Point of HeartsC.S. Lewis's PerelandraMargaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance novelsDon Daglow's Neverwinter NightsCommedia dell'arteThe Marvel Cinematic Universe franchiseLAN partiesC.J. Cherryh's Foreigner booksArkardy Martine's Teixcalaan booksIain M. Banks' Player of GamesNeal Stephenson's Snow CrashCameron Reed's Fortunate FallIain Softley's HackersWilliam Gibson's Blue Ant trilogyCharlie Jane AndersBruce SterlingMichael Swanwick's Stations of the TideUrsula's website & Bluesky

Combining cyberpunk, space opera, and a strong interest in artistic creation and gaming, Burning Bright is an unusual SF novel from a very specific era. Author Ursula Whitcher joins us to talk about the novel’s many strange facets, its fascination with endings, and its connections to developments elsewhere in gaming and science fiction. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Ursula Whitcher Title: Burning Bright by Melissa Scott Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: North Continent Ribbon Indra Das’s The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar Fonda Lee's Green Bone books & game thereof w/ James Mendez Hodes Bruce Coville's Aliens Ate My Homework & Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Scott’s Trouble And Her Friends & Astreiant series, most recently Point of Hearts C.S. Lewis's Perelandra Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance novels Don Daglow’s Neverwinter Nights Commedia dell'arte The Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise LAN parties C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner books Arkardy Martine's Teixcalaan books Iain M. Banks' Player of Games Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash Cameron Reed's Fortunate Fall Iain Softley’s Hackers William Gibson's Blue Ant trilogy Charlie Jane Anders Bruce Sterling Michael Swanwick's Stations of the Tide Ursula's website & Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Joy Sanchez-TaylorTitle: The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Author of ColorRoutledge Handbook of Co-FuturismsDispelling Fantasies: Author of Color Re-Imagine a GenreIbi Zoboi's SkinExamples of YA novels in verse from the Boston Public LibraryLiliana Colanzi You Glow in the Dark, translated by Chris AndrewsCenter for Fiction BrooklynPuppygateJemisin's 2018 Hugo Acceptance SpeechSylvia Moreno Garcia, Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi VoJemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, The City We BecameTomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and BoneMoses Ose Utomi's The Lies of the AjungoUrsula K. Le Guin's “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”Octavia E. Butler's Parable seriesThe Elder Scrolls games Morrowind & SkyrimJemisin on race in SkyrimMarlon James' Black Leopard, Red WolfLatinx Visions Conference, Nov 3-7Marianna EnriquezAnanda Lima's CraftColson Whitehead, Amal El-MohtarNghi Vo's Singing Hills & The City In GlassJoy's BlueskySuzan Palumbo, Zig Zag ClaybourneVICFAWorld Fantasy Convention

Fresh off the release of her book Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Author of Color, Joy Sanchez-Taylor joins the podcast to discuss Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, a landmark book in SFF. Lots to talk about here: in terms of how the entire trilogy is tackling ideas about race and oppression, Jemisin’s approach to structure and genre categories, and The Fifth Season’s significance and ongoing legacy. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Joy Sanchez-Taylor Title: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Author of Color Routledge Handbook of Co-Futurisms Dispelling Fantasies: Author of Color Re-Imagine a Genre Ibi Zoboi's Skin Examples of YA novels in verse from the Boston Public Library Liliana Colanzi You Glow in the Dark, translated by Chris Andrews Center for Fiction Brooklyn Puppygate Jemisin’s 2018 Hugo Acceptance Speech Sylvia Moreno Garcia, Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi Vo Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, The City We Became Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone Moses Ose Utomi’s The Lies of the Ajungo Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series The Elder Scrolls games Morrowind & Skyrim Jemisin on race in Skyrim Marlon James’ Black Leopard, Red Wolf Latinx Visions Conference, Nov 3-7 Marianna Enriquez Ananda Lima's Craft Colson Whitehead, Amal El-Mohtar Nghi Vo's Singing Hills & The City In Glass Joy’s Bluesky Suzan Palumbo, Zig Zag Claybourne VICFA World Fantasy Convention  

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Guest: Zachary GillanTitle: Authority by Jeff VanderMeerHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Zach's Profane Illuminations column at ARBRobert AickmanBothayna Al-Essa's The Book-Censor's Library, translated by Ranya Abdelrahman & Sawad HussainBohumil Hrabal's Too Loud A Solitude, translated by Michael Henry HeimAnnihilation, Acceptance, and AbsolutionVanderMeer's blogVanderMeer's Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; FinchAnn & Jeff VanderMeer's The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark StoriesMKUltraStanislaw Lem's Solaris, translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox (from Jean-Michel Jasiensko's French translation) and Bill Johnston (from the Polish)Boris & Arkady Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic, translated by Olena BormashenkoAndrei Tarkovsky's Solaris and StalkerAlex Garland's AnnihilationCormac McCarthy's The RoadKay Chronister's Desert CreaturesRoland Emmerich's The Day After TomorrowDamon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta's The LeftoversBruce Timm and Eric Radomski's Batman: the Animated SeriesTimothy Morton's Dark Ecology and other workVanderMeer's Hummingbird SalamanderThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsJean-Pierre Jeunet's Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Picking the second book as an entry point into Area X, weird scholar and normal ARB editor Zachary Gillan is on the pod to talk about Jeff VanderMeer’s work and how the New Weird is more than just ecological anxiety. (Though it might be that, too.) Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Zachary Gillan Title: Authority by Jeff VanderMeer Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Zach’s Profane Illuminations column at ARB Robert Aickman Bothayna Al-Essa’s The Book-Censor's Library, translated by Ranya Abdelrahman & Sawad Hussain Bohumil Hrabal’s Too Loud A Solitude, translated by Michael Henry Heim Annihilation, Acceptance, and Absolution VanderMeer’s blog VanderMeer’s Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; Finch Ann & Jeff VanderMeer’s The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories MKUltra Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris, translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox (from Jean-Michel Jasiensko’s French translation) and Bill Johnston (from the Polish) Boris & Arkady Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic, translated by Olena Bormashenko Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris and Stalker Alex Garland's Annihilation Cormac McCarthy's The Road Kay Chronister's Desert Creatures Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s Batman: the Animated Series Timothy Morton’s Dark Ecology and other work VanderMeer’s Hummingbird Salamander Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain  

Host: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:World Science Fiction Convention in SeattleThe Hugo AwardsNorwesconKevin Black - Publications Division HeadCatherine Hardwicke's Twilight, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer"Full Moon" by the Black GhostsArticle about John Anderson's Beachcomber Museum, with link to the short documentaryDr. Kaitlyn CasimoThe Allen InstituteBrandon O'Brien - Poet Laureate for the Seattle WorldconThe Speculative Poetry InitiativeInterstellar Flight PressThe Translated Hugo Initiative“Summit Sound” by the Jack Straw Cultural Center“Mole” by Elizabeth McQueen“What You have become” by Kate ClarkOlympia Coffee RoastingThe Mountain in the Sea by Ray NaylerAlien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky99% Invisible readalong of Robert Caro's The Power BrokerHugos ThereHugo Girl!Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. CarrollAbigail NussbaumSFPoetry.orgStrange Horizons, Uncanny, Asimov's, AnalogCalypso by Oliver K. Langmead

Casella heads to Seattle for the World Science Fiction Convention, reporting on his travels and the convention. Includes interviews with Worldcon guests & conrunners, thoughts on the Hugos and the event, and, of course, a quick coffee report. Credits: Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: World Science Fiction Convention in Seattle The Hugo Awards Norwescon Kevin Black - Publications Division Head Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer "Full Moon" by the Black Ghosts Article about John Anderson’s Beachcomber Museum, with link to the short documentary Dr. Kaitlyn Casimo The Allen Institute Brandon O'Brien - Poet Laureate for the Seattle Worldcon The Speculative Poetry Initiative Interstellar Flight Press The Translated Hugo Initiative “Summit Sound” by the Jack Straw Cultural Center “Mole” by Elizabeth McQueen “What You have become” by Kate Clark Olympia Coffee Roasting The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky 99% Invisible readalong of Robert Caro’s The Power Broker Hugos There Hugo Girl! Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll Abigail Nussbaum SFPoetry.org Strange Horizons, Uncanny, Asimov’s, Analog Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead

Guest: Karlo Yeager RodríguezTitle: Stone of Farewell by Tad WilliamsHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora, and our episode on itK.J. Parker's Making HistoryJared Diamonds' Guns, Germs, and SteelDavid Eddings' Belgeriad & MallorianMichael Whelan & Darrell K. SweetGeorge R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & FirePeter Beagle forward to The Lord of the RingsThe Clone Wars meme "The what?"ElfQuest by Wendy & Richard Pini et al.Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novelsHidetaka Miyazaki & Yui Tanimura's Elden RingT.H. WhiteBrandon SandersonRobert Jordan's Wheel Of TimeH.P. Lovecraft's The Mountains of Madness & The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"A Line of Ink, Stretching Back Like A Shadow"

Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is a literally giant work that’s an exemplar of the chain-bookstore and mass-market epic fantasy boom. Author, editor, and critic Karlo Yeager Rodríguez joins to talk about the trilogy’s second entry, Stone of Farewell: its position within and influence upon the genre, and how it holds up. Credits: Guest: Karlo Yeager Rodríguez Title: Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora, and our episode on it K.J. Parker's Making History Jared Diamonds’ Guns, Germs, and Steel David Eddings’ Belgeriad & Mallorian Michael Whelan & Darrell K. Sweet George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire Peter Beagle forward to The Lord of the Rings The Clone Wars meme "The what?" ElfQuest by Wendy & Richard Pini et al. Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni novels Hidetaka Miyazaki & Yui Tanimura’s Elden Ring T.H. White Brandon Sanderson Robert Jordan’s Wheel Of Time H.P. Lovecraft’s The Mountains of Madness & The Case of Charles Dexter Ward "A Line of Ink, Stretching Back Like A Shadow"  

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Featuring interviews with:Rae Borman @ ReaderconRiley @ Lovestruck BooksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Rae BormanNew England Finger DancersNaomi Novik's ScholomanceBrandon Mull's FablehavenKatherine Rundell's Impossible CreaturesJames BlishJoanna Russ's The Female ManBenjamin Rosenbaum & our episode on Fire LogicSunny Moraine & our episode on Pattern RecognitionBeneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, Strange HorizonsWill McMahonNEA grant cuts and translated SF: 3% Podcast, Adam Morgan's LARB article, and Strange Horizon's reviews & podcast on the subject.Eden Kupermintz & our episode on The SilmarillionThe Translated Hugo Initiative: translatedhugo.orgRenay's "That's a Nice Review You've Got There"Michael CiscoJon Stone's The Monster At The End of This BookGeorge Howell & Broadsheet coffeeChip Pons's Winging it With YouSarah McLeanOmegaverse (do be careful where you look that up)The Ripped BodiceGrump & SunshineRead My Lips BostonHarvard Coop Bookstore, Trident, Purple CouchCandlewick PressIngram distributorsCat Sebastian's We Could Be So Good & Star ShippedRachel Reid's The Shots You TakeAdam Silvera Sarah J. MaasRebecca Yarros's Fourth WingS.T. Gibson's Evocation & AscencionRina Kent, Navessa AllenHeather Bartos's QuickiesEmily Henry, Tessa Bailey, Sarah McLean, Kim SwizzEverina Maxwell's Winter Orbit

Casella heads to Readercon, a Boston-based science fiction convention that’s unusually good at keeping the focus literary. This episode includes an interview with one of the conrunners, a discussion of translated SFF and the Translated Hugo Initiative, and a visit with a new romance bookstore in Cambridge. Some quick coffee reporting, as well. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Credits: Featuring interviews with: Rae Borman @ Readercon Riley @ Lovestruck Books Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson   References: Rae Borman New England Finger Dancers Naomi Novik’s Scholomance Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures James Blish Joanna Russ’s The Female Man Benjamin Rosenbaum & our episode on Fire Logic Sunny Moraine & our episode on Pattern Recognition Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons Will McMahon NEA grant cuts and translated SF: 3% Podcast, Adam Morgan’s LARB article, and Strange Horizon’s reviews & podcast on the subject. Eden Kupermintz & our episode on The Silmarillion The Translated Hugo Initiative: translatedhugo.org Renay's "That's a Nice Review You've Got There" Michael Cisco Jon Stone’s The Monster At The End of This Book George Howell & Broadsheet coffee Chip Pons's Winging it With You Sarah McLean Omegaverse (do be careful where you look that up) The Ripped Bodice Grump & Sunshine Read My Lips Boston Harvard Coop Bookstore, Trident, Purple Couch Candlewick Press Ingram distributors Cat Sebastian's We Could Be So Good & Star Shipped Rachel Reid's The Shots You Take Adam Silvera  Sarah J. Maas Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing S.T. Gibson’s Evocation & Ascencion Rina Kent, Navessa Allen Heather Bartos’s Quickies Emily Henry, Tessa Bailey, Sarah McLean, Kim Swizz Everina Maxwell’s Winter Orbit

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Abigail NussbaumTitle: Excession by Iain M. BanksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:VectorLos Angeles Review of BooksThe GuardianStrange HorizonsLawyers, Guns & MoneyWarren ZevonAsking the Wrong QuestionsAbigail's Track ChangesColourfields by Paul KincaidNina Allan's Granite Silence and The Art of Space TravelEd Park's An Oral History of AtlantisBanks' Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, & The Player of GamesFully Automated Luxury Gay Space CommunismStar TrekJohn le CarréAndorTransmentation Transience by Darkly LemOutside Context Problems & Aggressive Hegemonizing SwarmsStanislaw LemKubrick/Clarke's 2001Paul Kincaid's biography of BanksMaurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things AreC.J. CherryhYudhanjaya Wijeratne's Salvager booksGreg EganAnn Leckie's Imperial RadchYoon Ha Lee's Machineries of EmpireBanks' Look to WindwardAbigail's BlueskyKim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the FutureNed Beauman's Venomous LumpsuckerNeal Stephenson's Termination Shock

Banks’ Culture novels, about a utopian space-faring civilization, are hugely influential in both SF literature and the tech industry. Award-winning critic Abigail Nussbaum joins us to discuss Excession, a Culture novel about proxy conflicts and interventionist politics, existential threats, and…problematic exes? Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Credits: Guest: Abigail Nussbaum Title: Excession by Iain M. Banks Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson   References: Vector Los Angeles Review of Books The Guardian Strange Horizons Lawyers, Guns & Money Warren Zevon Asking the Wrong Questions Abigail’s Track Changes Colourfields by Paul Kincaid Nina Allan’s Granite Silence and The Art of Space Travel Ed Park’s An Oral History of Atlantis Banks’ Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, & The Player of Games Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism Star Trek John le Carré Andor Transmentation Transience by Darkly Lem Outside Context Problems & Aggressive Hegemonizing Swarms Stanislaw Lem Kubrick/Clarke's 2001 Paul Kincaid's biography of Banks Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are C.J. Cherryh Yudhanjaya Wijeratne's Salvager books Greg Egan Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire Banks’ Look to Windward Abigail's Bluesky Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future Ned Beauman's Venomous Lumpsucker Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock  

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Arkady MartineTitle: 40,000 in Gehenna by C.J. CherryhHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Vote in the Ignytes!Our episode with Archita MittraA Memory Called Empire, A Desolation Called Peace, Rose/House, "Three Faces of a Beheading"Mick Herron's Slow HorsesPip Adams' AuditionAndré Alexis's Other WorldsThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsStephen Sondheim's AssassinsCherryh's Cyteen, Downbelow Station, ForeignerWatsonian vs. Doylist readingsThe Faded Sun, Hunter of WorldsLeonard Cohen's "The Future"Theodore Sturgeon's "The Golden Helix"Internet Science Fiction Database (ISFDB)Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Rocannon's WorldJoanna Russ's The Female ManAnne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of PernSerpent's ReachAmal El-MohtarAnaïs Mitchell's HadestownEmmanuel Levinas & Martin BuberOctavia E. Butler"Third Person Intense Internal"Jane Alison's Meander, Spiral, ExplodeElizabeth BearAnn Leckie, Tamsyn Muir, Jeff VanderMeerAncillary JusticeLois McMaster BujoldSeth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant & our episode on itMax Gladstone's Craft SequenceA Pattern LanguageDavid Brin, Vernor VingeArkady's BlueskyLouis Kahn4th Street FantasyViable ParadiseWisconWesley AndrewsThe BriarSK CoffeeBogart's DoughnutNortheast Tea HouseDreamHavenUncle Hugo'sDelany's The Jewel-Hinged Jaw and The Motion of Light in WaterCherryh's Wave Without A ShoreGreg Egan's PhoresisKathy Mar's "Forty Thousand in Gehenna" from the album "Finity's End and other Songs of the Station Trade"Wizards vs. Lesbians episode with Ann Leckie on C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner

Cherryh’s influence on speculative fiction is vast but, some would say, under-acknowledged. Author Arkady Martine joins to help rectify that situation, with a discussion of 40,000 in Gehenna, an anthropological, generational science fiction story about realpolitik, language, cloning, giant intelligent lizards, and gender—and that’s kind of just the top notes. Casella also provides a mini-report on Minneapolis’s 4th Street Fantasy Convention. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Credits: Guest: Arkady Martine Title: 40,000 in Gehenna by C.J. Cherryh Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson   References: Vote in the Ignytes! Our episode with Archita Mittra A Memory Called Empire, A Desolation Called Peace, Rose/House, "Three Faces of a Beheading" Mick Herron’s Slow Horses Pip Adams' Audition André Alexis’s Other Worlds Thomas Ha’s Uncertain Sons Stephen Sondheim's Assassins Cherryh’s Cyteen, Downbelow Station, Foreigner Watsonian vs. Doylist readings The Faded Sun, Hunter of Worlds Leonard Cohen's "The Future" Theodore Sturgeon's "The Golden Helix" Internet Science Fiction Database (ISFDB) Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Rocannon's World Joanna Russ's The Female Man Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern Serpent's Reach Amal El-Mohtar Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown Emmanuel Levinas & Martin Buber Octavia E. Butler "Third Person Intense Internal" Jane Alison's Meander, Spiral, Explode Elizabeth Bear Ann Leckie, Tamsyn Muir, Jeff VanderMeer Ancillary Justice Lois McMaster Bujold Seth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant & our episode on it Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence A Pattern Language David Brin, Vernor Vinge Arkady's Bluesky Louis Kahn 4th Street Fantasy Viable Paradise Wiscon Wesley Andrews The Briar SK Coffee Bogart's Doughnut Northeast Tea House DreamHaven Uncle Hugo’s Delany's The Jewel-Hinged Jaw and The Motion of Light in Water Cherryh's Wave Without A Shore Greg Egan's Phoresis Kathy Mar's "Forty Thousand in Gehenna" from the album "Finity's End and other Songs of the Station Trade" Wizards vs. Lesbians episode with Ann Leckie on C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: andré m. carringtonTitle: Death of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:andré's Speculative Blackness, The Black Fantastic, and Audiofuturism (forthcoming)The Eaton ConferenceMalik Gaines & Alexandro Segade's cosmic opera Star Choir, based on the work of Octavia E. ButlerHanna Yanagahira's To ParadiseTochi Onyebuchi's Harmattan SeasonGeorge R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and FireN.K. JemisinMichael Zapata's The Lost Book of Adana MoreauTom Hanks' That Thing You DoAndew Stanton's Wall-EBecky Chambers' Monk & RobotOlaf StapledonKim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Futureandré's BlueskyAudio.futurism Instagram

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: andré m. carringtonTitle: Death of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:andré's Speculative Blackness, The Black Fantastic, and Audiofuturism (forthcoming)The Eaton ConferenceMalik Gaines & Alexandro Segade's cosmic opera Star Choir, based on the work of Octavia E. ButlerHanna Yanagahira's To ParadiseTochi Onyebuchi's Harmattan SeasonGeorge R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and FireN.K. JemisinMichael Zapata's The Lost Book of Adana MoreauTom Hanks' That Thing You DoAndew Stanton's Wall-EBecky Chambers' Monk & RobotOlaf StapledonKim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Futureandré's BlueskyAudio.futurism Instagram

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Roseanna PendleburyTitles: The 2025 Hugo Novel & Novella ListHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Hugo Novella Finalists:The Brides of High Hill by Nghi VoThe Butcher of the Forest by Premee MohamedNavigational Entanglements by Aliette de BodardThe Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarThe Tusks of Extinction by Ray NaylerWhat Feasts at Night by T. KingfisherHugo Novel Finalists:Alien Clay by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyService Model by Adrian TchaikovskySomeone You Can Build a Nest In by John WiswellA Sorceress Comes to Call by T. KingfisherThe Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson BennettThe Clarke Award listPaul Kincaid's CoulorfieldsRoseanna's “A Path Through the Landscape” for A Reader of Else, plus Paul Kincaid's “The Books That Made Me” for Through the dark labyrinthNnedi Okorafor's BintiCasella's idea of a Hugo for Best Translated WorkRenay's Hugo Spreadsheet of DoomAlex Jeffers's A Mourning CoatLorraine Wilson's Last to DrownThe Ursula K. Le Guin PrizeThe Ignyte AwardsPremee Mohamed's The Siege of Burning GrassVajra Chandraskera's RakesfallJared Pechaček's The West PassageSeth Dickinson's Exordia and The Traitor Baru CormorantEmet North's In UniversesEden Robin's Remember You Will DieScott Guild's PlasticAliya Whiteley's Three Eight OneT. Kingfisher's Saint of Steel booksMarie Brennan's A Natural History of DragonsRobert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities and Founders trilogiesAdrian Tchaikovsky's House of Open WoundsGreg EganCharlie Stross's Neptune's BroodZachary Gillan's “Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism”Foz Meadow's A Strange and Stubborn EnduranceRoseanna's review of Someone To Build A Nest InBrad Wright's TravelersHelen MacDonald and Sin Blaché's ProphetRoseanna's Small Press Dispatch columnNerds of a Feather

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Roseanna PendleburyTitles: The 2025 Hugo Novel & Novella ListHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Hugo Novella Finalists:The Brides of High Hill by Nghi VoThe Butcher of the Forest by Premee MohamedNavigational Entanglements by Aliette de BodardThe Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarThe Tusks of Extinction by Ray NaylerWhat Feasts at Night by T. KingfisherHugo Novel Finalists:Alien Clay by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyService Model by Adrian TchaikovskySomeone You Can Build a Nest In by John WiswellA Sorceress Comes to Call by T. KingfisherThe Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson BennettThe Clarke Award listPaul Kincaid's CoulorfieldsRoseanna's “A Path Through the Landscape” for A Reader of Else, plus Paul Kincaid's “The Books That Made Me” for Through the dark labyrinthNnedi Okorafor's BintiCasella's idea of a Hugo for Best Translated WorkRenay's Hugo Spreadsheet of DoomAlex Jeffers's A Mourning CoatLorraine Wilson's Last to DrownThe Ursula K. Le Guin PrizeThe Ignyte AwardsPremee Mohamed's The Siege of Burning GrassVajra Chandraskera's RakesfallJared Pechaček's The West PassageSeth Dickinson's Exordia and The Traitor Baru CormorantEmet North's In UniversesEden Robin's Remember You Will DieScott Guild's PlasticAliya Whiteley's Three Eight OneT. Kingfisher's Saint of Steel booksMarie Brennan's A Natural History of DragonsRobert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities and Founders trilogiesAdrian Tchaikovsky's House of Open WoundsGreg EganCharlie Stross's Neptune's BroodZachary Gillan's “Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism”Foz Meadow's A Strange and Stubborn EnduranceRoseanna's review of Someone To Build A Nest InBrad Wright's TravelersHelen MacDonald and Sin Blaché's ProphetRoseanna's Small Press Dispatch columnNerds of a Feather

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Maia Gil′AdíTitle: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael ZapataHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Palgrave SFF: A New CanonThe Zombie ArchiveDoom Patterns: Latinx Speculations and the Aesthetics of ViolenceAugustina Bazterrica's Tender is the FleshFernanda Trias' Pink SlimeKazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me GoColson Whitehead's Zone OneToni Morrison's BelovedFernanda Melchor's Hurricane SeasonIndrapramit DasBrendan Shay Basham's Swim Home to the Vanished & Casella's reviewMariana Enriquez's Our Share of NightFredric JamesonChicago Review of Books AwardsIlana Masad's “Holocaust Beach Reads” for The Maris ReviewJason (Friday the 13th)Simón BolívarAugust Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, C.L. MooreMoebius/Jean GiraudAncient AliensBlake Crouch's Dark Matter & adaptationStuds TerkelUS Occupation of the Dominican Republic, 1916Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoJonbar pointsAimee Pokwatka's Self-Portrait with NothingLavie Tidhar's The Circumference of the Earth & Unholy LandRob Nixon's Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the PoorSesshu Foster's Atomic AztecsMaia on Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Maia Gil′AdíTitle: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael ZapataHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Palgrave SFF: A New CanonThe Zombie ArchiveDoom Patterns: Latinx Speculations and the Aesthetics of ViolenceAugustina Bazterrica's Tender is the FleshFernanda Trias' Pink SlimeKazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me GoColson Whitehead's Zone OneToni Morrison's BelovedFernanda Melchor's Hurricane SeasonIndrapramit DasBrendan Shay Basham's Swim Home to the Vanished & Casella's reviewMariana Enriquez's Our Share of NightFredric JamesonChicago Review of Books AwardsIlana Masad's “Holocaust Beach Reads” for The Maris ReviewJason (Friday the 13th)Simón BolívarAugust Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, C.L. MooreMoebius/Jean GiraudAncient AliensBlake Crouch's Dark Matter & adaptationStuds TerkelUS Occupation of the Dominican Republic, 1916Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoJonbar pointsAimee Pokwatka's Self-Portrait with NothingLavie Tidhar's The Circumference of the Earth & Unholy LandRob Nixon's Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the PoorSesshu Foster's Atomic AztecsMaia on Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Sean McTiernanTitle: Dreams of Amputation by Gary J. ShipleyHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate DollarhydeReferences:The SFUltra podcastAlasdair Gray's Lanark & Poor ThingsJames Joyce's UlyssesFredric JamesonAbsolute DC comicsMichael Comeau's HellbertaAlan Grant & John Wagner's DoomlordRay Nayler's Where the Axe is BuriedNeil Sharpson's When The Sparrow FallsMichael Mann's BlackhatLater Die HardsTony Scott's Enemy of the StateJean BaudrillardShipley's Stratagem of the Corpse, Crypt(o)spasm, and Serial Killing: A Philosophical AnthologyDennis CooperBlake Butler's “Sci-Fi Doesn't Have to Be Dominated by Horny Bro Wizards” for ViceDarko SuvinManuela Draeger's Kree (and Antoine Volodine's other work)Mark DanielewskiB.R. YeagerApocalypse PartyWilliam S. Burrough's Naked LunchNeal StephensonDaniel DennettMemeticsPhilip K. Dick's A Scanner DarklyJ.G. Ballard, M. John Harrison, John UpdikeBlake Butler's Uxa.gov & the SFUltra episodeChristopher Priest's “Hull 0, Scunthorpe 3”Brian Evenson, Pierre GuyotatHarrison's Nova SwingTad Williams' OtherlandDerek Raymond (Rober Cook)'s He Died With His Eyes OpenThomas Metzinger The Ego TunnelBernard Wolfe's LimboEvenson's Last Days / Brotherhood of MutilationWilliam Gibson, Bruce SterlingWarhammer 40kBallard's CrashCurt Siodmak's Donovan's BrainMatt from BookpilledNick LandCCRU & Dark EnlightenmentBaudrillard's The Transparency of Evil, Cool Memories, The Perfect CrimeMark Fisher, Kodwu Eshun, Kode9Fisher's “Exiting the Vampire Castle”Andrea DworkinBrion GysinTravis Baldree's Legends and LattesWalter Hill's The DriverBrian CatlingIan SinclairSFUltra episodes on Lanark, Poor Things, and Catling

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Sean McTiernanTitle: Dreams of Amputation by Gary J. ShipleyHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate DollarhydeReferences:The SFUltra podcastAlasdair Gray's Lanark & Poor ThingsJames Joyce's UlyssesFredric JamesonAbsolute DC comicsMichael Comeau's HellbertaAlan Grant & John Wagner's DoomlordRay Nayler's Where the Axe is BuriedNeil Sharpson's When The Sparrow FallsMichael Mann's BlackhatLater Die HardsTony Scott's Enemy of the StateJean BaudrillardShipley's Stratagem of the Corpse, Crypt(o)spasm, and Serial Killing: A Philosophical AnthologyDennis CooperBlake Butler's “Sci-Fi Doesn't Have to Be Dominated by Horny Bro Wizards” for ViceDarko SuvinManuela Draeger's Kree (and Antoine Volodine's other work)Mark DanielewskiB.R. YeagerApocalypse PartyWilliam S. Burrough's Naked LunchNeal StephensonDaniel DennettMemeticsPhilip K. Dick's A Scanner DarklyJ.G. Ballard, M. John Harrison, John UpdikeBlake Butler's Uxa.gov & the SFUltra episodeChristopher Priest's “Hull 0, Scunthorpe 3”Brian Evenson, Pierre GuyotatHarrison's Nova SwingTad Williams' OtherlandDerek Raymond (Rober Cook)'s He Died With His Eyes OpenThomas Metzinger The Ego TunnelBernard Wolfe's LimboEvenson's Last Days / Brotherhood of MutilationWilliam Gibson, Bruce SterlingWarhammer 40kBallard's CrashCurt Siodmak's Donovan's BrainMatt from BookpilledNick LandCCRU & Dark EnlightenmentBaudrillard's The Transparency of Evil, Cool Memories, The Perfect CrimeMark Fisher, Kodwu Eshun, Kode9Fisher's “Exiting the Vampire Castle”Andrea DworkinBrion GysinTravis Baldree's Legends and LattesWalter Hill's The DriverBrian CatlingIan SinclairSFUltra episodes on Lanark, Poor Things, and Catling

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Christian P. HainesTitles: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz Host: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscriber: Kate DollarhydeReferences:Stephen King's The Shining and CarrieRafael Bernal's His Name Was DeathMichel Nieva's Dengue BoyDaryl Gregory's When We Were RealAdrian Tchaikovsky's Service Model, Christian's review for ARBIo9Our Opinions Are CorrectHeinlein's Starship TroopersChristian's The Terraformers review for LARBNewitz's AutonomousHeinlein's Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling StonesArcherMilton FriedmanOrwell's 1984Rand's Atlas ShruggedJames S.A. Corey's The ExpanseKim Stanley Robinson's Mars TrilogyUrsula K. Le Guin's The DispossessedIan McDonald's New Moon trilogyFrank Herbert's DuneSamuel R. Delany's Babel-17Le Guin's The Left Hand of DarknessJo Walton's Among Others and our episode on itHolly Jean Buck's After Geoengineering"Engineering Swallows Up Politics"Neal Stephenson's Termination ShockKSR's AuroraMcKenzie Wark's Molecular RedUlrich Haarbürste's Roy Orbison Wrapped in ClingfilmStar Trek's “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”Spinoza's idea of conatusWalter Kaufman's introduction to Martin Buber's I and ThouKant's Categorical ImperativeAbbot ElementaryDelany's Trouble On TritonOctavia E. Butler's Parable of the TalentsMarx's CapitalJohn Brunner's Stand on ZanzibarKohei Sato's Slow Down: The Degrowth ManifestoKSR's The Ministry for the Future, New York 2140Le Guin's The Word for World is ForestGamers with GlassesFive Theses on Antifascist Game Criticism

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Christian P. HainesTitles: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz Host: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscriber: Kate DollarhydeReferences:Stephen King's The Shining and CarrieRafael Bernal's His Name Was DeathMichel Nieva's Dengue BoyDaryl Gregory's When We Were RealAdrian Tchaikovsky's Service Model, Christian's review for ARBIo9Our Opinions Are CorrectHeinlein's Starship TroopersChristian's The Terraformers review for LARBNewitz's AutonomousHeinlein's Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling StonesArcherMilton FriedmanOrwell's 1984Rand's Atlas ShruggedJames S.A. Corey's The ExpanseKim Stanley Robinson's Mars TrilogyUrsula K. Le Guin's The DispossessedIan McDonald's New Moon trilogyFrank Herbert's DuneSamuel R. Delany's Babel-17Le Guin's The Left Hand of DarknessJo Walton's Among Others and our episode on itHolly Jean Buck's After Geoengineering"Engineering Swallows Up Politics"Neal Stephenson's Termination ShockKSR's AuroraMcKenzie Wark's Molecular RedUlrich Haarbürste's Roy Orbison Wrapped in ClingfilmStar Trek's “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”Spinoza's idea of conatusWalter Kaufman's introduction to Martin Buber's I and ThouKant's Categorical ImperativeAbbot ElementaryDelany's Trouble On TritonOctavia E. Butler's Parable of the TalentsMarx's CapitalJohn Brunner's Stand on ZanzibarKohei Sato's Slow Down: The Degrowth ManifestoKSR's The Ministry for the Future, New York 2140Le Guin's The Word for World is ForestGamers with GlassesFive Theses on Antifascist Game Criticism

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Marita ArvanitiTitle: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope MirrleesHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:A Meal of Thorns and the Ancillary Review of Books are Hugo finalists! We are delighted and honored; a big congratulations to all the finalists.Dianna Wynne Jones, Greer Gilman, Elizabeth BearDianna Wynne Jones' Fire and HemlockElizabeth Hand's Mortal LovePamela Dean's Tam LinTerri Windling & Ellen Datlow edited fairytale collectionsRobin Hobb's Mad Ship Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin booksAmal El-Mohtar's The River Has RootsRobert Jackson Bennett's A Drop of CorruptionE.R. EddisonLaurie J. Marks' Elemental Logic seriesKatherine Arden's The Bear and the NightingaleEuripedes' The BacchaeFriedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of TragedyMichael Swanwick's Hope in the MistJ.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & The Lord of the RingsC.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically Prince CaspianRobert Luketic's Legally BlondeEdgar Allen Poe, Julio Cortázar, Franz Kafka, H.P. LovecraftUrsula K. Le Guin's The Farthest ShoreAnne Carson's translation of BakkhaiChristina Rossetti's Goblin MarketSusanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellFritz Lang's MetropolisN.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand KingdomsSofia Samatar's Olondrian novelsSylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly WillowesNaomi Mitchison's To the Chapel Perilous and Memoirs of a SpacewomanT.H. White, Tanith LeeEllen Kushner's Thomas the RhymerJo Walton's Among OthersKat Howard's Roses and RotElizabeth Hand's Waking the MoonTerri Windling's The Wood WifeGuardian Article on romantasyCopyright romantasy caseSarah J. MaasJacqueline Carey Kushiel's DartNicholas Stuart Gray's Seven SwansMarita's Instagram

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Marita ArvanitiTitle: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope MirrleesHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:A Meal of Thorns and the Ancillary Review of Books are Hugo finalists! We are delighted and honored; a big congratulations to all the finalists.Dianna Wynne Jones, Greer Gilman, Elizabeth BearDianna Wynne Jones' Fire and HemlockElizabeth Hand's Mortal LovePamela Dean's Tam LinTerri Windling & Ellen Datlow edited fairytale collectionsRobin Hobb's Mad Ship Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin booksAmal El-Mohtar's The River Has RootsRobert Jackson Bennett's A Drop of CorruptionE.R. EddisonLaurie J. Marks' Elemental Logic seriesKatherine Arden's The Bear and the NightingaleEuripedes' The BacchaeFriedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of TragedyMichael Swanwick's Hope in the MistJ.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & The Lord of the RingsC.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically Prince CaspianRobert Luketic's Legally BlondeEdgar Allen Poe, Julio Cortázar, Franz Kafka, H.P. LovecraftUrsula K. Le Guin's The Farthest ShoreAnne Carson's translation of BakkhaiChristina Rossetti's Goblin MarketSusanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellFritz Lang's MetropolisN.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand KingdomsSofia Samatar's Olondrian novelsSylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly WillowesNaomi Mitchison's To the Chapel Perilous and Memoirs of a SpacewomanT.H. White, Tanith LeeEllen Kushner's Thomas the RhymerJo Walton's Among OthersKat Howard's Roses and RotElizabeth Hand's Waking the MoonTerri Windling's The Wood WifeGuardian Article on romantasyCopyright romantasy caseSarah J. MaasJacqueline Carey Kushiel's DartNicholas Stuart Gray's Seven SwansMarita's Instagram

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Archita MittraTitle: Among Others by Jo WaltonHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Eliza Chan's Fathomfolk & Archita's reviewSue Lynn Tan's ImmortalLavanya Lakshminarayan's Interstellar Megachef & The Ten Percent ThiefMichael Nieva's Dengue BoyIsaac Fellman's Notes from a RegicideUrsula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of HeavenErnest Cline's Ready Player OneStranger ThingsJ.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RingsJame Tiptree, Jr.Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17List of books mentioned in Among OthersAnne Rice Vampire ChroniclesC.S. Lewis's Chronicles of NarniaLe Guin's “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?” from The Language of the NightKurt Vonnegut's Cat's CradleLe Guin's The Dispossessed and Delany's Trouble on TritonWalton's Informal History of the HugosC.J. Cherryh's Gate of IvrelArchita's reviews @ Strange Horizons & LocusArchita on Twitter, Bluesky, InstagramArchita's Locus year-endCasella's Locus year-endJared Pechaček's The West Passage, Casella's review, and of course Jared's A Meal of Thorns episode on E.R. Eddison's Mistress of Mistress

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Archita MittraTitle: Among Others by Jo WaltonHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Eliza Chan's Fathomfolk & Archita's reviewSue Lynn Tan's ImmortalLavanya Lakshminarayan's Interstellar Megachef & The Ten Percent ThiefMichael Nieva's Dengue BoyIsaac Fellman's Notes from a RegicideUrsula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of HeavenErnest Cline's Ready Player OneStranger ThingsJ.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RingsJame Tiptree, Jr.Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17List of books mentioned in Among OthersAnne Rice Vampire ChroniclesC.S. Lewis's Chronicles of NarniaLe Guin's “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?” from The Language of the NightKurt Vonnegut's Cat's CradleLe Guin's The Dispossessed and Delany's Trouble on TritonWalton's Informal History of the HugosC.J. Cherryh's Gate of IvrelArchita's reviews @ Strange Horizons & LocusArchita on Twitter, Bluesky, InstagramArchita's Locus year-endCasella's Locus year-endJared Pechaček's The West Passage, Casella's review, and of course Jared's A Meal of Thorns episode on E.R. Eddison's Mistress of Mistress

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Dan HartlandTitle: Heir to the Empire by Timothy ZahnHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Gautam Bhatia's The SentenceAlex Pheby's WaterblackCristina Rivera Garza's The Taiga SyndromeKatherine Addison's The Tomb of DragonsElizabeth Sandifer's Hugboxing vs ScabpickingDavid BrinThe Wilhelm ScreamJack London's The Call of the WildBrandon Taylor's “against casting tape fiction”The idea of “novelization style” as discussed in Garth Marenghi's DarkplaceI saw your black chanel boots mr skywalkerTimothy Zahn's Cascade PointDiane Carey's Ghost ShipWinamp skinsMichael P. Kube-McDowell's Black Fleet Crisis trilogyVonda N. McIntyre's The Crystal StarUna McCormackKevin J. AndersonMichael A. Stackpole's I, JediDresden CodakKim Stanley Robinson's 2312AndorDr. Who "New Adventures" novelsAhsoka, RebelsAlan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's EyeTales from Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales from Jabba's PalaceStrange Horizons Criticism Special Issue & Tansy Gardam's article on Jackson's LOTR filmsThe Going Rogue episode on The Star Wars Holiday Special

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Dan HartlandTitle: Heir to the Empire by Timothy ZahnHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Gautam Bhatia's The SentenceAlex Pheby's WaterblackCristina Rivera Garza's The Taiga SyndromeKatherine Addison's The Tomb of DragonsElizabeth Sandifer's Hugboxing vs ScabpickingDavid BrinThe Wilhelm ScreamJack London's The Call of the WildBrandon Taylor's “against casting tape fiction”The idea of “novelization style” as discussed in Garth Marenghi's DarkplaceI saw your black chanel boots mr skywalkerTimothy Zahn's Cascade PointDiane Carey's Ghost ShipWinamp skinsMichael P. Kube-McDowell's Black Fleet Crisis trilogyVonda N. McIntyre's The Crystal StarUna McCormackKevin J. AndersonMichael A. Stackpole's I, JediDresden CodakKim Stanley Robinson's 2312AndorDr. Who "New Adventures" novelsAhsoka, RebelsAlan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's EyeTales from Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales from Jabba's PalaceStrange Horizons Criticism Special Issue & Tansy Gardam's article on Jackson's LOTR filmsThe Going Rogue episode on The Star Wars Holiday Special

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Eden KupermintzTitle: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. TolkienHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:anarchySF, heavy blog is heavy, Eden's work at ARB, the Death // Sentence podcastAlex Pheby's WaterblackAdrian Tchaikovsky's House of Open WoundsDarkly Lem's Transmentation TransienceDeath // Sentence episode on Unknown LanguageThe Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (and others)Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone's This Is How You Lose The Time WarJeff Noon & Steve Beard's Gogmagog & LudludaThe Going Rogue podcastTolkien's The Hobbit & The Lord of the RingsRobert Louis Stevenson's Treasure IslandBen Berman Ghan's The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits & Eden's reviewThe Kalevala, The Mabinogion, the Matter of BritainThe Folio SocietyGene Wolfe's The Book of the New SunOctavia Butler's KindredUrsula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of DarknessSiegfried & the DragonKate Wagner on Wagner's (no relation) The RingJared Pechaček's The West PassageThe By-The-Bywater podcastE.R. Eddison's Mistress of Mistresses, and our episode on that with Jared PechačekThe Tea With Tolkien podcastJohn Milton's Paradise LostEden's Death // Sentence episode on one page of the AkallabêthFallout 3 and Fallout: New VegasM. John Harrison, worldbuilding as the “clomping foot of nerdism”Anthony Burgess's (and probably Stanley Kubrick's tbf) A Clockwork OrangeBlind Guardian's Nightfall in Middle-Earth and “The Bard's Song”The Hobbit (1977) Dopesmoker EditionFor a concise overview of some of the conservative/fascist love affair with Tolkien, see Robert T. Tally Jr.'s “Tolkien's Deplorable Cultus”.Jason Guriel's Forgotten WorkEden's Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Eden KupermintzTitle: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. TolkienHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:anarchySF, heavy blog is heavy, Eden's work at ARB, the Death // Sentence podcastAlex Pheby's WaterblackAdrian Tchaikovsky's House of Open WoundsDarkly Lem's Transmentation TransienceDeath // Sentence episode on Unknown LanguageThe Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (and others)Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone's This Is How You Lose The Time WarJeff Noon & Steve Beard's Gogmagog & LudludaThe Going Rogue podcastTolkien's The Hobbit & The Lord of the RingsRobert Louis Stevenson's Treasure IslandBen Berman Ghan's The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits & Eden's reviewThe Kalevala, The Mabinogion, the Matter of BritainThe Folio SocietyGene Wolfe's The Book of the New SunOctavia Butler's KindredUrsula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of DarknessSiegfried & the DragonKate Wagner on Wagner's (no relation) The RingJared Pechaček's The West PassageThe By-The-Bywater podcastE.R. Eddison's Mistress of Mistresses, and our episode on that with Jared PechačekThe Tea With Tolkien podcastJohn Milton's Paradise LostEden's Death // Sentence episode on one page of the AkallabêthFallout 3 and Fallout: New VegasM. John Harrison, worldbuilding as the “clomping foot of nerdism”Anthony Burgess's (and probably Stanley Kubrick's tbf) A Clockwork OrangeBlind Guardian's Nightfall in Middle-Earth and “The Bard's Song”The Hobbit (1977) Dopesmoker EditionFor a concise overview of some of the conservative/fascist love affair with Tolkien, see Robert T. Tally Jr.'s “Tolkien's Deplorable Cultus”.Jason Guriel's Forgotten WorkEden's Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Benjamin RosenbaumTitle: Fire Logic by Laurie J. MarksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Ben's novel, The Unraveling, and latest game, The Ghost & The GolemThe Mohanraj & Rosenbaum Are Humans podcastGennaRose Nethercott's ThistlefootKelly Link's The Book of LoveAnn Leckie's Ancillary Justice & sequelsEvan Dahm's The Last Delivery & Harrowing of HellFlyaway by Kathleen Jennings (who also illustrated the Elemental Logic covers)Myers-Briggs personality testOrson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin MakerAvery Alder on queer game mechanicsUrsula K. Le Guin's “The Day Before the Revolution”George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and FireSmall Beer PressSofia Samatar's A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged HistoriesSeth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru CormorantA Meal of Thorns 07 – THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT with Amal El-MohtarNelson Mandela wearing the Sprinbok jerseyDavids Graeber & Wengrow's The Dawn of EverythingLe Guin's Five Ways to ForgivenessIsaac Asimov's FoundationJohn W. Campbell & Joseph CampbellMaimonides & SaladinCoffee & the “Europe Sobered Up” theoryIsaac Bashevis Singer's “Yentl” & adaptations

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Benjamin RosenbaumTitle: Fire Logic by Laurie J. MarksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Ben's novel, The Unraveling, and latest game, The Ghost & The GolemThe Mohanraj & Rosenbaum Are Humans podcastGennaRose Nethercott's ThistlefootKelly Link's The Book of LoveAnn Leckie's Ancillary Justice & sequelsEvan Dahm's The Last Delivery & Harrowing of HellFlyaway by Kathleen Jennings (who also illustrated the Elemental Logic covers)Myers-Briggs personality testOrson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin MakerAvery Alder on queer game mechanicsUrsula K. Le Guin's “The Day Before the Revolution”George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and FireSmall Beer PressSofia Samatar's A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged HistoriesSeth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru CormorantA Meal of Thorns 07 – THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT with Amal El-MohtarNelson Mandela wearing the Sprinbok jerseyDavids Graeber & Wengrow's The Dawn of EverythingLe Guin's Five Ways to ForgivenessIsaac Asimov's FoundationJohn W. Campbell & Joseph CampbellMaimonides & SaladinCoffee & the “Europe Sobered Up” theoryIsaac Bashevis Singer's “Yentl” & adaptations

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Hilary StrangTitle: Aurora by Kim Stanley RobinsonHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Marooned on Mars, a podcast about the works of KSRUrsula Le Guin's The DispossessedMargaret Killjoy's A Country of GhostsKSR's Mars trilogyFredric Jameson's Archaeologies of the FutureJohn Dos Passos's U.S.A. trilogyWiscon“The Hard Problem” audio project adaptation of a section of Aurora, created with Marina Abramović's workshop, mixed/composed by Adam Tinkle, with the Arthur C. Clarke Centre for Human Imagination at the University of California San Diego.Much of the web-available multimedia about this project is lost to time and linkrot, unfortunately, but there's a very nice write-up at this fan-run KSR site.You can still find a YouTube version of the audio here.As mentioned in the show credits, the “Into the Impossible” podcast later developed into something very different, platforming far-right whackjobs, climate deniers, TESCREALists, that kind of thing, along with lots of presumably credible scientists, so: be warned. I'm not clear on how the early “Into the Impossible” podcasts with the Clarke Centre transitioned to the later, longer-running show with Brian Keating; just don't want to accidentally contribute to any of you going down a brain-worm-inducing YouTube/podcast-algo spiral.Leyna Krow's Sinkhole, and Other Inexplicable VoidsTom Godwin's “The Cold Equations”“Wherever you go, there you are.”KSR's 2312 and New York 2140Sofia Samatar's The Practice, the Horizon, and the ChainTheodore McComb's UraniansGene Wolfe's Book of the Long SunStephen H. Dole's Habitable Planets for ManTracked it down: the "drop unconscious humans off on a grid to check habitability" thing is from Charlie Stross's excellent blog.C.J. Cherryh's Heavy Time"Enough is as good as a feast."Le Guin's “Mrs. Brown Test” is from “Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown” in The Languages of the NightKSR's Science in the Capital Trilogy, re-released as Green Earth"Science Fiction is the Realism of Our Times""True Voyage Is Return"The Alien filmsMary Shelley's Frankenstein

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB's Patreon!Credits:Guest: Hilary StrangTitle: Aurora by Kim Stanley RobinsonHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Marooned on Mars, a podcast about the works of KSRUrsula Le Guin's The DispossessedMargaret Killjoy's A Country of GhostsKSR's Mars trilogyFredric Jameson's Archaeologies of the FutureJohn Dos Passos's U.S.A. trilogyWiscon“The Hard Problem” audio project adaptation of a section of Aurora, created with Marina Abramović's workshop, mixed/composed by Adam Tinkle, with the Arthur C. Clarke Centre for Human Imagination at the University of California San Diego.Much of the web-available multimedia about this project is lost to time and linkrot, unfortunately, but there's a very nice write-up at this fan-run KSR site.You can still find a YouTube version of the audio here.As mentioned in the show credits, the “Into the Impossible” podcast later developed into something very different, platforming far-right whackjobs, climate deniers, TESCREALists, that kind of thing, along with lots of presumably credible scientists, so: be warned. I'm not clear on how the early “Into the Impossible” podcasts with the Clarke Centre transitioned to the later, longer-running show with Brian Keating; just don't want to accidentally contribute to any of you going down a brain-worm-inducing YouTube/podcast-algo spiral.Leyna Krow's Sinkhole, and Other Inexplicable VoidsTom Godwin's “The Cold Equations”“Wherever you go, there you are.”KSR's 2312 and New York 2140Sofia Samatar's The Practice, the Horizon, and the ChainTheodore McComb's UraniansGene Wolfe's Book of the Long SunStephen H. Dole's Habitable Planets for ManTracked it down: the "drop unconscious humans off on a grid to check habitability" thing is from Charlie Stross's excellent blog.C.J. Cherryh's Heavy Time"Enough is as good as a feast."Le Guin's “Mrs. Brown Test” is from “Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown” in The Languages of the NightKSR's Science in the Capital Trilogy, re-released as Green Earth"Science Fiction is the Realism of Our Times""True Voyage Is Return"The Alien filmsMary Shelley's Frankenstein