Podcast appearances and mentions of chris wooding

QuestBoundReader joins the podcast for a free for all discussion covering all of The Wandering Inn through Book 7, The Rains of Liscor.   QuestBoundReader's Youtube Channel QuestBoundReader's Review of The Rains of Liscor   Books Mentioned: Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher; The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding; Malazan by Steven Erikson; Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan; Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones; Tortall Universe (various) by Tamora Pierce; Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones; The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede; Tanya Huff; Louis McMaster Bujold (various including Vorkosigan saga); A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik; Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi; The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez; Kraken Rider Z by David Estes; Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata; Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson; He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon; The Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko; The Will of the Many by James Islington; Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman; The Bound and the Broken by Ryan Cahill; Dresden Files by Jim Butcher Book Recommendations: Dragonus - Temeraire by Naomi Novik; Beware of Chicken by CasualFarmer Oshi - The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner; Vorkosigan Saga by Louis McMaster Bujold; Hidden Legacy and the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews

Dear reader,The big fantasy book news from the last month all has to do with the annual Hugo Awards. Last year they happened in China, but some emails were recently leaked showing that the nominations were influenced by consideration of the ideology of the host nation. Controversial! News to me also is that ‘romantasy' (romance combined with fantasy) is now being discussed as a genre in its own right. Your romantasy exemplar authors would be Sarah J. Mass and Rebecca Yarros. SAGA OF THE JEWELS does have some (albeit very slow-burn) elements of romance in it, so I am wondering if I can cheekily piggyback on this label myself…What I've been readingOne of the books I've read since my last newsletter is COLD IRON, the first fantasy by historical novelist Miles (Christian) Cameron. It was fun, with fantastic worldbuilding, if a bit ‘male' and thinly sketched, for me. My slightly longer review here.What Jo's been readingSome of the books that Jo's read since I last wrote are the rest of the ensemble-cast multi-POV steampunk noblebright KETTY JAY series by Chris Wooding. She had already read RETRIBUTION FALLS and THE BLACK LUNHG CAPTAIN and she went and finished THE IRON JACKAL and THE ACE OF SKULLS. I have read these too and agree with her that they are absolutely awesome: fun, full of heart, meticulously clever plotting, vibrant three-dimensional characters, humour, emotion, and a hopeful core. This newsletter sometimes becomes the Chris Wooding Appreciation Society newsletter, but I'm ok with that… Recommended! In other news…Jo had her first book traditionally published! And by Bloomsbury, no less! This is her Cambridge (UK) Theology PhD thesis, now published as a hardback and an ebook. She wrote it while simultaneously training to be and then working as an Anglican vicar (that's ‘cleric' for you fantasy fans) and putting up with an unstable husband, and in the course of writing it had two bouts of hyperemesis gravidarum and gave birth to two children! She then passed her viva voce exam for it with no corrections!If you don't know, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a 20th-century German theologian who was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler. ‘Polyphony' is a musical term to do with multiple mutually complementary melodies in a piece of music and a ‘pneumatology' is a conceptual system for talking about the Holy Spirit, the third person in God, in Christianity.If that doesn't convince you to buy this book (or at least ask your local academic institution to buy it), then nothing will I don't know what will! An absolute steal currently on sale for £76.50 in hardback or £61.50 for the ebook!That's all for this month, though as ever do check out the indie fantasy book sale of the month and this month's SAGA OF THE JEWELS episode below or on the podcast.TTFN,Faenon / LukeYour indie fantasy FREE ARC book promotion for this month:Click here or the picture below /Now, on with the Saga…Need to catch up? The WHOLE of Book One (Episodes 1 to 21) is available bundled together as a FREE AUDIOBOOK here.Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted bounty hunter. Together the adventurers decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, now borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, now borne by Nuthea. They now find themselves traveling by airship to the distant land of FARR in order to seek out the next Jewel of which they have become aware, the EARTH EMERALD…SAGA OF THE JEWELS EPISODE 24: THE CROSSROADS OF THE EASTRyn stood at the rail of Wanderlust's maindeck and looked out onto the sea of clouds.The clouds were thick here, on their fourth day of travel, allegedly somewhere over Farr and nearing Shun-Pei every moment. Interlacing strands of white and grey dashed past beneath the ship, mostly obscuring the pale blue of the Farrian sky.Just occasionally, he imagined for a brief moment jumping over the rail and into them.Sorrow still weighed down Ryn's heart. It had helped, forgiving Nuthea, General Vorr, and himself, for everything that had happened. Even killing Vorr had helped, in a way, though it had been the forgiveness that had really helped him, in the end...But in his dreams he still saw the faces of his parents, his friends, the other people of his hometown. The dreams were less vivid and, damn it, he was even beginning to forget exactly what their faces looked like. But he imagined them anew each night in the dreams and in the flashbacks that still came to him unbidden throughout the day. He heard their screams, felt the heat from the burning wood of the houses of Cleasor, saw Vorr's sword sliding out of his mother's chest…And in forgiving, then accidentally killing Vorr, he had lost the goal that had been driving him forwards for the past however many months. With Vorr forgiven and dead, Ryn had found he no longer had a purpose.In his previous life, as he had come to think of it, he had had a clear enough purpose: Finish school, take over the farm from Dad, marry Carlotia, read books and go exploring in the woods on Seventhdays.It had been a trivial purpose, perhaps, but it had been his purpose. And after finding and killing Vorr, the person who had taken it away from him, it remained unavailable for him to return to.The emptiness between his ribs ached.Sometimes it was tempting to want to escape from the flashbacks. Sometimes the sadness was so thick and heavy that it was tempting to want just to be free from that too. Forever.But there was something that held him back, that stopped him from throwing himself over the rail into oblivion.What?Of course, he knew what it was, really. But at times like this, left to his own devices, looking out over the ship's rail onto the sky below, he had to deliberately call it to mind and hold on to it.What was keeping him going now was that he had a new purpose.His new purpose was to find the rest of the Primeval Jewels with this crazy collection of miscreants. His new purpose was to find the rest of the Primeval Jewels in order to keep them from the Emperor of Morekemia and stop what happened to him and his hometown from happening to anyone else. His new purpose was to find the rest of the Primeval Jewels and see if the ‘legend' was true, to see if when they were all gathered together they could be used to bring back his mother, his father and his hometown.Oh, and of course, his new purpose was also somehow to get Nuthea to fall in love with him. Carlotia had only been a crush, after all. Nuthea was a golden-haired princess who could sling lightning, and whenever she spoke to him lightning struck Ryn's heart too.Mother. Father. Hometown. Found Vorr. Got Vorr. Forgave Vorr. Killed Vorr. Stay with Nuthea. Win Nuthea's heart. Find the Jewels. Protect the world. Try to bring back my mother, father, hometown.That was a pretty long list. He wasn't sure that he would be able to keep reciting it in his head at that length. He would have to work on an abbreviated version.But the thing was, he realised, looking down into that rushing sea of cloud, while he did have a new purpose, at the same time he had to choose it. Each day, each hour, each minute, each moment.It didn't just come to him automatically, like the purpose of finding and killing Vorr which had come to him each morning bright and hot and angry like the fire that had leapt from his hands and consumed the Imperial soldier in Cleasor after he had first touched the Ruby.Instead, moment by moment, he found himself faced by a choice: throw himself over the rail into sorrow, despair, and death, or choose his purpose.And sometimes it felt hard to choose it by himself. So sometimes, just sometimes, he had started to dare to reach out for help in achieving this purpose, though he hadn't yet told anyone else about this.One God, Ryn prayed as his eyes scanned the clouds, help me in this purpose. Help me to find the Jewels. Help me to—“We're here!” shouted Nuthea, running up onto the deck in a lilac dress. “We've reached Shun-Pei!”Ryn's stomach lurched as the ship immediately began to descend. Nuthea must have been down in the viewing bubble and already told Sagar over the speaking tube.She joined him at the rail as they punctured the topmost cloud layer. Cold and white and moisture washed over them for a few moments, obscuring their vision, and Ryn almost put his hand out to hold onto Nuthea's arm, suddenly fearing that he was going to pitch over the rail into the clouds by accident.But then Wanderlust came out the bottom of the cloud layer and the light changed from bright and golden to grey and faded, filtered by the clouds above.And then they saw it.Green, jagged mountains rose to greet them in the grey below the clouds, but one mountain rose higher and greater than all of them.One mountain thrust out of the earth twice as tall as its nearest neighbours.And this mountain seemed to be covered in hundreds of smaller mountains which dotted it in layers; myriad spikes reaching upwards from its surface.As they flew in closer, Ryn saw that the spikes were actually buildings with pointed roofs. Not hundreds, but thousands, perhaps millions of them.“There she is,” said Elrann, joining them at the rail with Cid and Vish. “Shun-Pei; ‘the Crossroads of the East'.”Ryn could see now why the mountain-city was called a Crossroads. Hundreds of other airships flew towards the mountain, or took off from it. Their own ship was coming in from particularly high up above the cloud layer, but as they came lower Sagar had to steer a path through the other airships to avoid collision.Most bore blimps like their own, but there were other styles of ship Ryn had never seen before: ships with great spinning blades holding them aloft; ships with no outside deck where the hull seemed to be built into the blimp itself; ships with only single small baskets for a hull suspended underneath gigantic, colourful balloons.Sagar took Wanderlust down further still, joining a stream of inbound ships that seemed to be heading for the base of the mountain.As they drew closer, Ryn saw that the mountain was actually arranged in concentric circles, the base layer being the largest, progressing upwards in smaller and smaller layers. This was no purely natural feature. The mountain was either man-made, or it had been shaped by some sort of human design, with what kind of power he could only guess at.Lower still, and now Ryn could see the tiny dots of people moving to and fro between the mini-mountains, the pointed buildings, swarming in what must be the streets around them. There were too many to count.Shun-Pei wasn't so much a city as an enormous ant-hill.They reached an airfield and did some manoeuvring and at last Sagar set Wanderlust down. The thrum of the turbines ceased and they touched down.Ryn breathed a sigh of relief, and noticed Cid doing so too. It had been a long time in the sky.At once they were beset upon by all manner of street-sellers and peddlers, just as they had been those months ago when they had landed in Ast.Only this time, there were a lot more of them.“Carry your luggage?”“Where are you staying?”“Rat on a stick?”“Come with me; I will show you the best inn in the lower circles.”“Best deal for a pull-cart. You stick with me.”“How much for your ship? She's a beauty.”“Rat on a stick? It's good!”The words came from men and women of all different colours and shapes, but Ryn observed that the majority of them had tan skin and eyelids that were slightly taut, like they had been pulled to each side. He assumed that these must be the native Farrians, born here before the advent of steam travel a hundred years ago.“I take you to massage parlour, hmm? Sexy sexy!”“No, no, you want a hot bath, I can see it. Come with me.”“These rats on a stick are really good!”“Tour of the city for six gold pieces.”“Need to refuel? I've got you covered.”“How much for the purple-haired boy? I'll give you a good price.”“You sure you don't want a rat on a stick?”“NO THANK YOU!” shouted Nuthea at the top of her lungs.Ryn half expected her to produce a little flourish of lightning to underscore her refusal, but on this occasion she held back.The street-peddlers fell quiet for a moment even without it, miraculously.“That's better,” said Nuthea, nodding and peering down at them like a Queen addressing her court. “We do not require any of your services just now. We seek an audience with the Governor of Farr.”The street-peddlers were quiet for a moment.Then they burst out laughing, erupting into a chorus of guffaws, giggles, shoulder slaps and belly shakes.“What is so funny?” Nuthea asked, turning to Cid and screwing up her forehead.The old man stroked his beard. “It would appear that getting an audience with the Governor of Farr may not be so easy…”Once the street sellers had calmed down, they moved on to the next airship that had just landed. If nothing else, Nuthea's request had served to get rid of them, at least.Something slammed onto the maindeck. Sagar had vaulted down from where he had been steering the ship up on the forecastle, not bothering to use the steps.“Well, princess,” he said, “it looks like we're going to have to go and find this ‘Governor' guy by ourselves. Let me lock up here and then we can make our way.”They climbed down the handholds from the ship to the dirt floor below, taking only some coin which Cid kept in the common purse, as they had eaten lunch together relatively recently. Cid and Elrann reported that the Governor resided in the structure at the top of the city, so they began their trek up the mountain to try to see them.It took a long time to walk together up to the top circle of the city. Their path consisted of finding the road that led from the airfield to the main road that wound its way round the lower circle, until they got to the place where it led up the massive ramp to the next circle. They proceeded in this way, progressing upwards through the circles of the mountain-city by finding the road that led to the next level each time.As they walked, Ryn couldn't help from staring at the people they passed. Many of them were tan, tight-lidded Farrians, but there were also people with very dark skin; people with slightly less dark skin like Vish's; very pale people with white eyes; people with hair that was black, brown, blonde, red, blue, green, purple or white; men with long bushy beards that came down to their feet; men with no facial- or head-hair to speak of; women in long flowing elaborate floral dresses; women in tunics and trousers; men and women wearing nothing much at all; children of all colours and kinds scampering around underfoot; single or conjoined parents trying to catch or control them.The world is so vast, Ryn thought. And there are so many people in it, each with their own dreams, desires, hopes, fears, sorrows, each with their own story. And I am just one more person in it. Who am I to think that I could have any special significance? Who am I to think that I could do anything ‘great'?With each new circle they ascended to, the earthen streets became a little cleaner and clearer and calmer, the hangings decorating the pointed dwellings became a little more opulent, and the people walking the streets became a little more polite and—apparently—wealthy. Their clothes were smarter and the jewellery at their fingers and throats glittered. Although Shun-Pei was the tallest mountain in this range, it must still not be particularly tall, Ryn judged, because there was still no snow on it.To get onto the third-last circle, of ten, they had to queue.A Farrian official flanked by two enormous but seemingly unarmed shaven-headed guards in green robes was inspecting people, sometimes turning them away if they didn't meet whatever criteria he was assessing them by.It was fortunate that they had been kitted out with new clothes (even changes of clothes!) in Manolia. Ryn was wearing a smart shirt and wool breeches. Nuthea wore her lilac dress with the purple sash. Sagar wore his high-collared brown leather skysailors' jacket, as ever, but now with a much cleaner undershirt. Elrann looked particularly impressive in her new yellow-dyed overalls. The Manolians really did love the colour of gold. Cid was smart in a close-fitting grey tunic and cloak. Vish was the only exception, still wearing his usual black outfit which covered everything except for his eyes, but he looked pretty smart at the worst of times anyway.When they got to the front of the queue the official gave the party a quick look over and let them in straight away.When they got to the entrance to the second-last circle, things weren't so easy.The queue for this circle was much shorter, and ended in front of another Farrian official, this one flanked by four large Farrian guards in green-robed uniforms. The guards all had shaved heads. None of these carried weapons either, but they gave off the impression that they didn't need to.The official was short and spindly and had a face like a mule, with a patchy moustache above his overbite.“State your business, foreigners,” the official snapped when they got to the front of the queue.Nuthea spoke for them. “We seek an audience with the Governor.”“Ha! What are you really here for?”“Just what she said, butt-pimple,” said Sagar.Nuthea facepalmed.The guards rumbled and took a half step forward.Ryn thought he had better intervene. “Apologies for my friend's rudeness,” he said, ignoring Sagar when he said “I'm not your friend.” “We've had a very long flight. But we really are looking to talk with your ruler.”“That's right,” Nuthea joined him. “I am Princess Nutheanna Kaleutheanna of the Queendom of Manolia, and my companions and I seek an audience with the Governor of Farr.”“Don't be ridiculous,” said the official. “We don't have time for jokes. Next!”“No!” protested Nuthea. “I'm serious! Why don't you believe me? Look, let me prove to you that I'm a member of the Manolian royal family.”Nuthea held out her hand, palm up.Ryn expected some lightning to leap from it, or crackle around it, or at least for some sparks to jump off it.Nothing happened.“That's strange…” said Nuthea, holding her hand up to her face to inspect it like a piece of broken equipment.“Move along please,” said the official irritably. “Take your jokes somewhere else, we're very busy here.”“But you don't understand…” said Nuthea. “I am Jewel-touched...”“Move along now or I will have you forcibly removed from the premises.”Nuthea turned to her side. “Ryn, as I'm having some temporary difficulties, would you do the honours?”It took him a moment to realise what she meant. “Oh. Sure.” He stepped forward and held out his own hand, willing fire. To his relief, but not surprise, an orange flame appeared, hovering above his own palm. Thankfully whatever was inhibiting Nuthea didn't seem to be a problem for him. Maybe she was just really tired from the journey.The official's thin eyebrows climbed his forehead. “Ah. I see,” he said, his gaze finding the fire, then darting quickly around the courtyard. “Put it away, boy, or you'll cause a disturbance.”Ryn allowed the fire to disappear.“Manolia, you said?” the official asked.“Yes,” said Nuthea. “I am a royal emissary from Manolia. Ryn here is from Efstan; Sagar from Imfis; Elrann from Zerlan; Cid from Erm; and Vish is from Aibar. We are here to talk to the Governor about some matters pertaining to the Primeval Jewels, as just evidenced to you by my companion Ryn. We have flown a long way to get here, and we have important news for your Governor concerning these Jewels and the Empire of Morekemia. May we have an audience with him?”The official sighed. “You had better come with me.”He beckoned, turned, and led them at last through the entryway of the huge earthen structure that stood behind him, the mountain on top of the mountain.The building was windowless, but rather than being lit by torches it was lit by amber bars. It really was like walking into a giant anthill that had been colonised by humans. The walls were largely bare, but adorned at intervals with hangings like those that decorated many of the houses in the city below, only these were even more intricate in design. The Farrians had a very particular art style, of painting in earthy colours like browns, reds and greens, but with meticulous attention to detail in subtle brush strokes.The hangings depicted various green-robed figures passing through the motions of different complex, elaborate poses. Sometimes there was more than one figure and the poses interacted with one another. Whether they were meant to be dancing or fighting, Ryn could not work out. On some of the hangings the figures carried weapons—swords or staves or whips or clubs, pretty much every weapon imaginable, some he didn't know the names of—but on most of them they didn't.They wound their way down a series of passages and up staircases, passing rooms in which more officials sat at round tables holding forth with each other, or in which others sat at rows of desks and poured over reams of paper. The whole place was a hub of activity, but it was a focused, disciplined kind of activity entirely undertaken by native Farrians, in contrast to the chaos of buying and selling and arriving and departing undertaken by both Farrians and travellers from all over Mid in the city outside.Eventually they came to a large, circular chamber where the high ceiling sloped inwards to a single point far above their heads.They had reached the peak of the mountain upon the mountain, Ryn realised.He couldn't help comparing the chamber of the Governor of Farr to Nuthea's mother's throne room in Orma. Aside from the fact that each was a large room, the two couldn't be more different. Instead of a throne on a raised dais at the back of the room, the Governor sat at a wide wooden desk in the centre of it. Instead of rows of chairs, only two wooden chairs were positioned in front of the desk. Instead of being flanked by guards on either side, only one guard stood at the entrance to the chamber to let them in, another unarmed hulk of a man with a bald head and a smiling face, dressed in the green robes that seemed to be the uniform here. The whole place reminded Ryn more of the office of the clerk in the Healing House in Nont where he had first met Cid than of the palace of the ruler of a country.The man who Ryn assumed was the Governor of Farr stood up at his desk as the official walked them over to it. A squat, rotund man in a brown robe, clean-shaven with an expression like a constipated bulldog. Not a crown, nor a circlet, but a large, cylindrical brown hat sat atop his head.“What is the meaning of this?” the Governor barked. “This is highly irregular!”“I'm sorry, Lord Governor,” squeaked the official as he led them in. “But these foreigners have something important to tell you.”“What could they possibly have to tell me that's important? I'm in the middle of my morning auditing!” Nuthea spoke up. “Governor, I apologise for the unusual and unannounced nature of my visit, but the news I bring is sensitive. My name is Princess Nutheanna Kaleutheanna and I am an emissary from the Matriarchy of Manolia. I come bearing news of the Primeval Jewels.”The Governor had opened his mouth to speak again, but now he paused a moment and his frown deepened, suspicion wrinkling up his fat forehead. “What do you know of the Primeval Jewels?” he said much more quietly.“We know that they exist, we know that we have two of them, and most importantly we know that the Emperor of Morekemia has learned of their existence and has begun to look for them. We also know that you have one of them.”“Ah.” The Governor sat back down in his chair. He looked up at the official who had brought them in. “Leave us, Yal.”“But Lord Governor—” the official began in protest.“Leave us!” the Governor barked.“Yes, Lord Governor,” said Yal, and left. The guard in green closed the doors after him and stood in front of them.The Governor of Farr spoke more slowly now. “First of all, do you have any proof of what you claim? I suppose you must have in order to have been granted entrance to see me.”“Ryn?” invited Nuthea.Ryn stepped forward and showed a flame on his hand again.“Alright, alright!” said the Governor. “Put it away, boy! You might cause an accident.” He sighed. “Well, that shows you are Jewel-touched, at least. But what of the Emperor in the West?”“He has learned of the Jewels,” said Nuthea without pausing. “He desires them, and has been moving to seize them, wherever he can find trace of them.”The Governor nodded. “Yes, that does explain reports we have been receiving of goings on in the West. Thank you for the warning, Manolian. You may leave me now.”“Hang on!” said Sagar. “Aren't you going to hear what we want?”“What you ‘want'? You are in no position to be making demands of me.”“Forgive my companion's rashness, Governor,” said Nuthea, “but it is true that we did not just come here to give you information, but to make a request.”“Well, spit it out then. What is it?”Nuthea hesitated very slightly. “The six of us are seeking to gather the Jewels together, to protect them from the Emperor. We would ask that you give us the Earth Emerald to look after for safekeeping.”“Ah. I see. Well, the problem in that case would be that we don't have it.”“What?!” said Nuthea, breaking character from that of a calm, composed negotiator to play the part of a flustered only-child.The Governor shrugged, making a triple chin for a moment. “We do not have the Earth Emerald. Well, that is to say, it is in Farr, but it is not in our possession.”“Where is it then?”“Why would you think that you have the right to know?!”“Lord Governor, I respect your concern for your own country's interests, but I cannot impress upon you the seriousness of this matter enough. There is an ancient Oneist prophecy which states that if the Primeval Jewels are all gathered together, astonishing power will be unleashed. The Emperor of Morekemia has been operating according to a policy of aggressive expansion of late, and were he to obtain all twelve of the Jewels there is no telling what havoc he would be able to wreak upon the world. He could enslave the whole of Mid under the banner of the Empire.”“Young lady, I am not a Oneist. I worship Eto, god of the earth. I have never heard of this prophecy before. Why should I have any reason to believe it?”“Well…” started Nuthea, but then abruptly ran out of steam. “Um…” She didn't appear to know how to handle people who didn't believe in the One and in Oneism.Cid took over for her. “Lord Governor, that is entirely understandable, but you must concede that even if this prophecy does not turn out to be true”—Huh? Ryn thought. Did Cid just say that?—“the Jewels are still extremely powerful ancient artefacts. When the Empire had just one Jewel, for a time, they were able to invade an entire continent and steal a second Jewel before my companions and I fought them and took them back. It would be a terrible thing for any more of the Jewels to fall into the hands of the Empire, whatever the full extent of the power they bestow.”The Governor raised an eyebrow at Cid. “That is a more persuasive case, old man, but I still see no reason to turn the Earth Emerald over to you. Anyway, you seem to be doing pretty well for yourselves, if you already have two Jewels.” He said this last with a sardonic sting in his voice. “Why should I trust you? How do I know that you are not seeking to do the same as the Emperor of Morekemia?”“He does have a point…” Ryn whispered to Nuthea. He could see where the Farrian Governor was coming from. They had never really cleared up what they would do with the Jewels themselves if they collected them all, apart from keeping them away from the Emperor. Nuthea had been vague about that. Maybe she secretly harboured dreams of using them to resurrect her deceased family, like Ryn did, too...“Shhh,” Nuthea chided him irritably out of the corner of her mouth. “We've been over this, Ryn…” She spoke to the Governor again. “Our motives are pure,” she announced confidently. “My...my mother was killed by the Empire in their pursuit of the Jewels. Both of Ryn here's parents were killed by them. We only seek the Jewels so that we may keep them from the Emperor and prevent others from coming to the same harm that our families did.”The Governor narrowed his eyes at the princess. A ponderous noise escaped his mouth. “And what of the rest of you? You're a bit of a ragtag bunch, aren't you?”Cid stepped up. “I, like the Princess, am a dedicated Oneist and a Healer. I believe in the Oneist legend of the Jewels and I believe it is of paramount importance that they are found.”“What about the rest of you?” the Governor asked, glancing down the line.Sagar shrugged. “I'm just the pilot. I'm only flying them around in exchange for being paid with gold, gemstones and beautiful women. You wouldn't happen to have any of those knocking around here, would you?”“No. Not for you, anyway.”“Damn.”“I'm the engineer,” said Elrann. “I hooked up with these guys when Imfis, where I was living, got invaded.”The Governor's gaze fell on Vish.“Vish, say something!” whispered Nuthea.“What?” The Shadowfinger blinked with surprise; his mind had been somewhere far away. “Oh. I suppose I am their bodyguard. They pay me too, with other things…”“Well, this is all highly suspect,” said the Governor. “I am amazed that you have even been able to obtain two Jewels at all. How have you?”“Um,” said Nuthea, “well… My country were already in possession of the Lightning Crystal…” It glittered where she held it up for a moment on its chain. “I inherited it from my mother. Though we did have to win it back from an Imperial General after he stole it. And Ryn was given the Fire Ruby by his father. Show him, Ryn.”Ryn held up his left hand, where the Fire Ruby sat on its ring around his middle finger.“Though that was stolen,” Nuthea continued, “by the same Imperial General, so we had to get that back too. Ryn did that really, with his flame projection powers. But the rest of us helped fight off the Imperials. Captain Sagar here actually has wind projection powers, since he was given a fragment of the Wind Shell by...um...his father. Show him, Sagar.”Sagar obliged happily, holding out an open palm in front of himself as Ryn had. A gust of air rushed upwards from the floor around him, making his jacket and ponytail flap for a moment.“And as well as being a pilot, Sagar is also a highly skilled swordfighter. And Grandfather Cid has already mentioned that he is a Healer. And Lady Elrann, as well as being an engineer, is highly proficient with pistols and whip. And, um, Shadowfinger Vish was once, um, a Shadowfinger…”“What?!” said the Governor. “One of the elite bounty-hunter assassins of the Empire?!“Um. Yes.”The Governor held up a palm. “Don't worry, I'm quite capable of defending myself.”Ryn turned his head. The guard by the door had started forward, but now reluctantly resumed his original position, his smile replaced by a tightly-clenched jaw.“How did you end up traveling with this party?” the Governor said to Vish.“They made me a better offer than the Empire,” Vish said matter-of-factly.“Oh?”“They keep me supplied with poppy seed. The Healer keeps them in his bag.”Ryn assumed that this would seal the Governor's disapproval and that the man was about to dismiss them again, even more forcefully this time. But instead of shouting them out of his audience chamber, the Governor went quiet again, then made another pondering noise.“Hmmm. You do seem to have some talents after all.” He put his fingers to his lips for a moment, and rubbed them, apparently in thought. After a while he said, seemingly to himself, “Defeating an Imperial General and winning back two Jewels is quite impressive, I suppose. Maybe there is some sense in trying to reclaim the Earth Emerald, especially if there is a chance of you actually doing it…”“Lord Governor,” said Nuthea, “where is the Earth Emerald?”“Hm? Well, if you're going to have a go at retrieving it, I suppose you do need to know where it is. It was placed by my predecessor in the Shrine to Eto, the earth god.”“Well, that's not too much of a problem,” said Ryn. “We can just go and retrieve it from there for you.”The Governor gave Ryn a withering look. “He placed it there so that nobody would be able to retrieve it. The Shrine to Eto is a labyrinthine temple now filled with traps, obstacles and monsters.”“Ah.”“That's nothing we can't handle!” spoke up Sagar. He counted their feats off on his fingers. “As a team we've already successfully escaped from an invasion, infiltrated the Imperial ranks, fought off an Imperial battalion, and defeated an Imperial general. Four of us are jewel-touched. And all of us are deadly fighters. Well, most of us,” he corrected himself, looking sideways at Ryn. The Governor tapped his lips. “Are you sure? Are you telling me that you are really prepared to attempt to enter the Shrine to Eto and retrieve the Earth Emerald yourselves? Facing the prospect of vicious monsters, deadly traps, and the high likelihood of injury and death?”“We have no other choice,” said Nuthea. “Either we do it or, sooner or later, the Empire will be here doing the same thing.”“Huld!” the Governor shouted suddenly.“Pardon?” said Nuthea. “What would you like us to hold?”“My Lord Governor,” said the soldier who had been standing guard at the door, now appearing alongside the companions, at the end of the line next to Vish. It hadn't been a command; it was a name.“Huld,” said the Governor, “I want you to take these six foreigners to the Shrine to Eto and bring the Earth Emerald back from there with them.”“I live to serve, Lord Governor.”“Woah!” said Sagar, instantly protesting. “We never agreed to that! Why do we need to take a bald Farrian along with us? We can do it just fine by ourselves!”“Why do you think; you loose-tongued Imfisi?” snapped the Governor. “You will need a Farrian guide both to lead you to the Shrine and to help you navigate it. And nobody is better suited to helping you in your task than Huld. He is my best monk. He is extremely well trained in the fighting arts. He will be able both to guide you to the Shrine to Eto and to assist you in retrieving the Emerald. I trust him implicitly.”Ryn looked at the soldier. No...the Governor had said monk. The man's massive smile was back on his face again. It was so wide it pushed his cheeks up into his already narrow eyes, making them look as though they were shut.“Hello,” said Huld, in a controlled, polite voice.“Er, hello,” said Ryn.“Good,” said the Governor, apparently seeing this as some kind of successful assimilation of Huld to the group. “That's settled then. Huld will assist you in retrieving the Earth Emerald. I have some matters I will need to discuss with him now. You will leave at first light tomorrow.” Get full access to Faenon's Fantasy Fiction Newsletter at sagaofthejewels.substack.com/subscribe

What's this?! Surprise Attack! You aren't ready! Surprise Attack! We're reading, we're chatting, we're bringing you with us on this adventure whether you want to or not! Try to follow Swan (@aSwanNamedEmily), Tim (@remobware), Jenna (@JennaChil - WITH ONE 'L'), and Alex (@AlexandBirds) as Tim brings us some easy listening podcast radio! Read along with us: Broken Sky Part Two by Chris Wooding

What's this?! Surprise Attack! You aren't ready! Surprise Attack! We're reading, we're chatting, we're bringing you with us on this adventure whether you want to or not! Try to follow Swan (@aSwanNamedEmily), Tim (@remobware), Jenna (@JennaChil - WITH ONE 'L'), and Alex (@AlexandBirds) as Tim brings us some easy listening podcast radio! Read along with us: Broken Sky Part Two by Chris Wooding

SURPRISE ATTACK BOOK CLUB!  What's this?! Surprise Attack! You aren't ready! Surprise Attack! We're reading, we're chatting, we're bringing you with us on this adventure whether you want to or not! Try to follow Swan (@aSwanNamedEmily), Tim (@remobware), Jenna (@JennaChil - WITH ONE 'L'), and Alex (@AlexandBirds) to hear when we strike again! Read along with us: Broken Sky Part One by Chris Wooding

SURPRISE ATTACK BOOK CLUB!  What's this?! Surprise Attack! You aren't ready! Surprise Attack! We're reading, we're chatting, we're bringing you with us on this adventure whether you want to or not! Try to follow Swan (@aSwanNamedEmily), Tim (@remobware), Jenna (@JennaChil - WITH ONE 'L'), and Alex (@AlexandBirds) to hear when we strike again! Read along with us: Broken Sky Part One by Chris Wooding

“Everything you write makes you better. But if you really need a tip, here's one: a good story begins in opposition to its ending. That means you work out how it finishes first, and then begin the story as far away from that point - in terms of character development - as you can.” -Chris Wooding. The shaky house theory of character transformation. For fiction AND nonfiction authors (along with my frequent reminder about the extremely thin line between fiction and nonfiction writing because writing is writing is writing). Join the author conversation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/inkauthors/ Learn more about YDWH and catch up on old episodes: www.yourdailywritinghabit.com

The Fam gather to hide something for the new tenants, rename LGBTQQIP2SAAA, get their egos withered with slaps from animals, draw the line on which animals to eat, imagine birds overselling their cloacas, share our recent horrible internet finds, FMK The Muppets, & draft the line-up for their dream festivals.   Hosts this issue are Heather, Seal, Tom & Taz.   Why not submit your own topic at www.pottopicpodcast.com or email an AUDIO TOPIC to emails@pottopicpodcast.com.   PIMP BIT: HEATHER ”Retribution Falls” by Chris Wooding: www.goodreads.com/book/show/6285903-retribution-falls   SEAL ”Coin Locker Babies” by Ryū Murakami: www.goodreads.com/book/show/14289.Coin_Locker_Babies   TAZ PTP Chuck Tingle Book Club: A Butt In The Mist: Stirred To The Core Of My Bodice By The Duchess Triceratops Of Helena: www.youtube.com/watch?v=px6168MgRfE   Thought Slime: www.youtube.com/channel/UCrr7y8rEXb7_RiVniwvzk9w   TOM Aunty Donna Podcast: https://play.acast.com/s/aunty-donna-podcast   Website: www.pottopicpodcast.com Email: emails@pottopicpodcast.com Instagram & Twitter: @pottopicpodcast Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pottopicpodcast Tumblr: www.headgreebo.tumblr.com Steam Group: www.steamcommunity.com/groups/pottopicpodcast Discord Server: www.discord.gg/88X734V   Intro & Outro Music Credit: Orangafruüp – Trippples Buy the album at www.wobblyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/orangafru-p www.orangafruup.com   Orangafruüp are no more but now members form Scotch Lobster and Monkey Fist: https://www.facebook.com/scotchlobster/ https://monkeyfist.bandcamp.com/track/bah-dee-doo-dah   See site for more details: www.pottopicpodcast.com   Album art this issue is inspired by the fam that will slam (when one of us goes down we all have to group up) …and a Caterham 7 kit car.

[Warning] This episode contains explicit language and explicit themes. Listener discretion is advised. Once they were cousins in same thought and now they collide in an epic battle of opinions! Maybe that is more righteous than it sounds but truthfully it is always good when the literary cousins don't feel the same way about the review material. Through conversation Danny and Spangar discuss the second book in the series by Chris Wooding and why their opinions crossed. Spangar outlines the plot and how the book evolved from the first novel and then supplies a list of positives and negatives, while Danny goes in hard with one of his favorite relationships in all of literature. They agree on a lot of things but this book challenged both of them in different ways, but the one thing they agree on is the book is good and that they can't wait to read more. Set sail and hear the ballad of aggressive conversation! ~Follow all the Legionaries on Twitter~ Danny: twitter.com/legionsarchive The Tsar: twitter.com/TsarAlexander6 Allen: twitter.com/blkydpease Spangar: twitter.com/LSFspangar ~Credits~ Original Sound Cloud imagery taken from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3QJB3H/ref=bseries_primary_1_B01N3QJB3H Original cover art owned by Chris Wooding, Christopher M. Zucker, Spectra, The Random House, Gollancz, and The Orion Publishing Group. Original "The Broken Shelf" symbol created and published by Danny Archive. New "The Broken Shelf" symbol created by CMart Graphics - follow IG @cmartgraphics Music - "Grey Flannel" Artist - Vans in Japan Provided free from YouTube Audio Library Podcast edited by Danny Archive using Audacity. Download Audacity here: www.audacityteam.org/ This podcast is fair use under U.S. copyright law because it is (1) transformative in nature, the audio is a journalistic commentary on popular media (2) uses no more of the original work than necessary for the podcast's purpose, the claimed duration is an edited clip for rhetoric, and (3) does not compete with the original work and could have no negative affect on its market. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the materials (music/artworks). All rights belong to the original artists. If you are the content owner and want to remove it, please contact me at legionssoulfood@gmail.com. Thank you! ~Follow Chris Wooding~ Twitter: twitter.com/_ChrisWooding_ Website: www.chriswooding.com/ ~Do Us A Favor~ Hey! At the time of publishing episode eighty of The Broken Shelf, the podcast became available on TuneIn, Stitcher, Google Play, and iTunes. That said, if you downloaded the podcast via anything else other than Sound Cloud, maybe check out our Sound Cloud, give us a follow, and listen to a few more of our other tracks. Sound Cloud was there from the beginning for us and no matter what the others provide it was and is our host. Thanks! Sound Cloud: @user-377177156

Click here to buy: https://adbl.co/2kLcUpV All good things come to an end. And this is it: the last stand of the Ketty Jay and her intrepid crew. They've been shot down, set up, double-crossed and ripped off. They've stolen priceless treasures, destroyed a 10,000-year-old Azryx city and sort-of-accidentally blew up the son of the Archduke. Now they've gone and started a civil war. This time, they're really in trouble. As Vardia descends into chaos, Captain Frey is doing his best to keep his crew out of it. He's got his mind on other things, not least the fate of Trinica Dracken. But wars have a way of dragging people in, and sooner or later they're going to have to pick a side. It's a choice they'll be staking their lives on. Cities fall and daemons rise. Old secrets are uncovered and new threats revealed. When the smoke clears, who will be left standing?

Rob J. Hayes is the author of the Amazon Best Selling The Heresy Within, the SPFBO-winning piratical swashbuckler Where Loyalties Lie, and the critically acclaimed Never Die. Website: www.robjhayes.co.ukTwitter: @RoboftheHayesShow Notes: My grimdark fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead, just became the #1 bestseller on Amazon's 'Fantasy Adventure Fiction', 'Sword & Sorcery', and various other charts. Read it here: https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead My Novel Analyst episode 46 on Never Die by Rob J. Hayes: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/46--Never-Die-by-Rob-J--Hayes---Choreographing-Excellent-Ensemble-Casts-easrko Novel Analyst episode 41 on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/41--The-Ember-Blade-by-Chris-Wooding---Nailing-the-Opening-48-Pages-e96cua--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The guys discuss their magic systems thus far, and how they're integrating them into their stories at this early stage. Sure, this podcast is all about avoiding excessive worldbuilding, but there inevitably comes a time in the story plotting process when you need magic to do its thing...which means you have to know what that thing is, at least in general terms. How do you integrate your magic system into your story without using it as a crutch to simply get characters out of bad situations without considering the wider implications of its use? And how do you keep yourself from getting bogged down in tweaking the finer details while your story languishes on your hard drive? Plus, what are the guys drawing creative inspiration from right now? John is reading The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding and Vito is diving back into the multimedia universe of The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski. 

Click here to buy: https://adbl.co/2maBHnH Things are finally looking good for Captain Frey and his crew. The Ketty Jay has been fixed up good as new. They've got their first taste of fortune and fame. And, just for once, nobody is trying to kill them. Even Trinica Dracken, Frey's ex-fiancée and long-time nemesis, has given up her quest for revenge. In fact, she's offered them a job - one that will take them deep into the desert heart of Samarla, the land of their ancient enemies. To a place where the secrets of the past lie in wait for the unwary. Secrets that might very well cost Frey everything. Join the crew of the Ketty Jay on their greatest adventure yet: a story of mayhem and mischief, rooftop chases and death-defying races, murderous daemons, psychopathic golems and a particularly cranky cat. The first time was to clear his name. The second time was for money. This time, Frey's in a race against the clock for the ultimate prize: to save his own life.

A masterclass in writing beginnings that make readers reach your endings. Check out my shiny new instagram account for a behind-the-scenes look into my writing life: https://www.instagram.com/jedherne/--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

November is here! As the frost rolls in, light your oil lamps, power up your clockwork spiders and climb aboard the Airship as we tackle Steampunk! We get our gears turning to break down the complex web of "punk" subgenres, including Dieselpunk, Cyberpunk, Biopunk and more. • 'The Iron Wyrm Affair' by Lilith Saintcrow (27:03) • 'Ironskin' by Tina Connolly (38:57) • 'Retribution Falls' by Chris Wooding (49:09) • 'Senlin Ascends' by Josiah Bancroft (57:43) • 'The Black Opera' by Mary Gentle (1:12:08) Buy Daniel's Book, 'Dave Woke Up'! See Peter's games! For More TMT Shenanigans: toomanythoughtsmedia.com Twitter: @TMT_Media, @tackyslacks, @ArgentRabe, @ShoelessPete, @ShimmyBook, @SinisterInfant E-mail: toomanythoughtsmedia@gmail.com  

Available from Audible.co.uk (https://adbl.co/2oxgsOf) Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more. Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters. Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it ... Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back!

[Warning] This episode contains explicit language and explicit themes. Listener discretion is advised. Spangar reads and reviews his first steampunk novel. Entering the word of grim and dirigible battles, Spangar and Danny talk about the fantasy sub-genre, the pirate angle of air pillaging, and their general opinions on Pirates of the Caribbean (spoiler: they're split - as per usual). Perhaps more notable is the shift in podcast style: swiftly approaching the big 100, Spangar decided it was time to try something new and Danny supports the decision (but still manages to go of course). Together, they explore a short synopsis and then go through a small list of Spangar's likes and dislikes. With a fantastic assortment of crew members, and one of the most memorable female pirate captains serving as the antagonist, Chris Wooding's "Tales of the Ketty Jay" belongs in the pantheon of The Broken Shelf reviews. Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode of The Broken Shelf. ~Follow all the Legionaries on Twitter~ Danny: twitter.com/legionsarchive The Tsar: twitter.com/TsarAlexander6 Allen: twitter.com/blkydpease Spangar: twitter.com/LSFspangar ~Credits~ Original Sound Cloud image provided by Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Falls-Tales-Ketty-Jay/dp/0345522516/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Original cover art owned by Chris Wooding, Christopher M. Zucker, Spectra, The Random House, Gollancz, and The Orion Publishing Group The Broken Shelf symbol created and published by Danny Archive. Intro Song - "Pluck It Up" Artist - Dan Henig Provided free from YouTube Audio Library Interlude Song - "Midnight" Artist - Dan Henig Provided free from YouTube Audio Library Outro Song - "Chimez" Artist - Dan Henig Provided free from YouTube Audio Library Podcast edited by Danny Archive using Audacity. Download Audacity here: https://www.audacityteam.org/ This podcast is fair use under U.S. copyright law because it is (1) transformative in nature, the audio is a journalistic commentary on popular media (2) uses no more of the original work than necessary for the podcast's purpose, the claimed duration is an edited clip for rhetoric, and (3) does not compete with the original work and could have no negative affect on its market. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the materials (music/artworks). All rights belong to the original artists. If you are the content owner and want to remove it, please contact me at legionssoulfood@gmail.com. Thank you! ~Follow Chris Wooding~ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ChrisWooding_ Website: http://www.chriswooding.com/ ~Do Us A Favor~ Hey! At the time of publishing episode eighty of The Broken Shelf, the podcast became available on TuneIn, Stitcher, Google Play, and iTunes. That said, if you downloaded the podcast via anything else other than Sound Cloud, maybe check out our Sound Cloud, give us a follow, and listen to a few more of our other tracks. Sound Cloud was there from the beginning for us and no matter what the others provide it was and is our host. Thanks! Sound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-377177156

Still Scared talks over 'The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray' by Chris Wooding, and finds that the podcast title has never been more appropriate. In this episode we discuss the romanticisation of Jack the Ripper, chat about plotting a novel like a D&D campaign, lament the fact that we never became goths, and stop our discussion in the middle to read the creepiest extracts out loud to each other. The subject matter does also get a bit dark at times, so heads up for references to murder (including one reference to child murder), violence against women, disease, and some grisly monsters. A full transcript of this episode is available at http://stillscared.podigee.io/4-alaizabel_cray

Bonus episode: Megan Leigh interviews Chris Wooding at Nine Worlds Geekfest. Chris Wooding has been a professional author since he was nineteen years old. Since then he has published twenty-four fantasy and SF books for both adults and YA readers, including a graphic novel, and worked in TV and the movie industry. In between, he […] The post Chris Wooding: A life in writing first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Bonus episode: Megan Leigh interviews Chris Wooding at Nine Worlds Geekfest.

In this episode we discuss Space Opera and all the endless tangents. This is a LONG conversation (we almost split it in two, but we’re trying to catch up episodes to our current reading topic). We talk about losing our solid footing on genre definitions, defining the term “worldbuilding”, when re-reading books from your youth goes horribly wrong, wondering just what is up with those TV and movie tie-ins, misogyny infecting Sci-Fi classics (Oh, hello there Sad Puppies), the delight of scientists reading Sci-Fi, and so much more. Your Hosts This Episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Amanda Wanner Space Opera We Read (or kinda): Recommended Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (lukewarm recommendation by a reader who is deeply ambivalent about anything speculative, Sci-Fi, or Fantasy in nature) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (not spectacular but a slow-burn, exploratory read) Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (difficult to like narrator warning) Ancillary Mercy (and the entire Ancillary Justice series) (HIGHLY recommended series) Accessing the Future: A Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction edited by Kathryn Allan Lightless by C.A. Higgins Read Sassinak by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon Knights of Sidonia, Vol. 1 by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian Space Opera edited by Brian W. Aldiss (Features stories from 1900 (!) - 1972. Most are from the 1950s) More Adventures on Other Planets edited by Donald A. Wollheim Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis (Not so much Space Opera and not enough girl mechanic) The Year’s Best Military SF & Space Opera 2015 edited by David Afsharirad Did Not Finish Armada by Ernest Cline (read this Wikipedia article about a video game urban legend instead) Red Rising by Pierce Brown Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks (would try another one by this author) The Star Dancers by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens  A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (so long - for 900+ pages, would prefer to try the better known A Fire Upon the Deep, which was recommended by another group member) The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (recommended to us - ran out of time this month; try it as an audiobook?) Koko the Mighty by Kieran Shea (really enjoyed Koko Takes a Holiday) Other titles and media mentioned Mass Effect video games are totally Space Opera, especially if you read all the internal game encyclopedia entries like Matthew. The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (not exactly Space Opera but totally recommended) Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein - Military Sci-Fi or Space Opera?? Space Opera by Jack Vance - An opera troupe in Space Red Spider White Web by Misha Nogha The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Have you not read this yet? It’s short - go read it!) District 9 movie Firefly TV series & Serenity movie & the Firefly comics (pretty much all recommended highly) Please skip Sassinak and read Elizabeth Moon’s excellent connected series set in the world of Paksenarrion (Fantasy not Sci-Fi), or at least read the three books of The Deed of Paksenarrion. All those zillion Pern books (Science Fantasy series) by Anne McCaffrey Dune by Frank Herbert (hefty but worth a read - recommended) The Martian by Andy Weir (about space but not Space Opera and definitely recommended) Transformers: More than Meets the Eye, Vol. 1 (comic book series) (recommended even if you don't care about Transformers. Really! ) Ascension (Tangled Axon, #1) by Jacqueline Koyanagi (Meghan mis-spoke and called this book “Ascendent”) After Man by Dougal Dixon (so cool!) Octavia’s Brood edited by Walidah Imarisha, and Adrienne Maree Brown Samuel Delaney  - We discuss Dhalgren which is not space focused, but Delaney has a few space books to try. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, and Jay Kristoff (YA Space Opera - read before the month, recommended) A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix (read after the episode, recommended) Links etc. OK Go Upside Down & Inside Out (music video shot in zero gravity) The review of Ancillary Justice Anna tried to read without being spoiled for the book The Wikipedia article on Space Opera bring up many aspects of the definition we discussed and is worth a skim, at least. Scientists read sci-fi and have opinions about it Read some stuff (here, here, and here are a few to start with) about Sad Puppies if you care about issues of diversity in publishing, book awards, and media more generally. Check it out: Afro futurism Book Riot sympathises with Sci-Fi fans Xenoanthropology Questions What (the heck) is space opera? (We thought we knew! We were so naive.) What is Worldbuilding? Any suggestions of your favourite instances of worldbuilding? Is bug punk real? Who else wants a “Ten Rules to Break When Dating a Space Pirate” from Sarah MacLean? Are Star Trek tie-in novels Space Opera? What’s the relationship between Space Opera/space-based Sci-Fi and the history of Colonialism? Check out our Pinterest board and Tumblr posts for all the Space Opera people in our club read (or tried to read), and follow us on Twitter!

Guest of honour interview with Chris Wooding at Swecon 2014 – the Steampunk festival in Gävle, Sweden The music is from Sands Of Time (Psychadelik Pedestrian) / CC BY-NC 3.0