Podcasts about fantasy science fiction

Especial Philip K. Dick | ️ Dramatización de "Total Recall" Philip K. Dick no solo escribió historias. Implantó recuerdos. Sus relatos nos han hecho cuestionar la realidad, la identidad y el tiempo. ¿Qué es verdad? ¿Qué es falso? ¿Importa la diferencia? En este especial, en la semana de su muerte, nos sumergimos en su legado y exploramos uno de sus relatos más fascinantes, su título original: We can remember it for you wholesale , cuento de ciencia ficción escrito por Philip K. Dick y publicado en abril de 1966 en The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Representa un clásico enmarañado acerca de la realidad, la falsa memoria y la memoria real. La historia está incluida en la colección del mismo nombre. Un hombre que sueña con Marte. Una empresa que vende recuerdos falsos. Un secreto enterrado en su mente… o tal vez implantado. Con las voces de: ️ Yannick – Narrador Lucía – Kristen Xavi – Quail Alexa – Recepcionista Sergi – McClane Viktoria – Lowe Emilio – Keeler Lucas y Cadabre – Taxista y policías Isahrael – Psiquiatra Antonio Salinas – Oficial de Interplan Un programa montado por Antonio Salinas "Lobo", con la participación de nuestros Cuervos de la Tormenta. Y el trabajo tremendo de Rosa del estudio de pintura @laratamojada y de MekanCorvus nuestras Bibliotecarias jefas sin las que esto no podría ser. Nos despedimos con la certeza de que juntos, podemos seguir trayendo las historias que merecen ser contadas. Sed felices, que el tiempo apremia. ¡Viktoria o muerte!"* Recordad que podéis uniros al Canal de Telegram de La Torre del Cuervo para estar al tanto de todas las novedades: https://t.me/+fnXc1Gr1WydmYTY8 Y no olvidéis visitar nuestra página web: https://latorredelcuervo.com/ Encontraréis artículos con novedades del hobby, reseñas de las novelas más Grimdark y menciones a eventos que podrían estar ocurriendo en vuestra ciudad sin que lo sepáis. Apóyanos en iVoox pulsando el botón azul. Con tu ayuda, no solo haces posible este programa, sino que participas automáticamente en el sorteo mensual de 200€ en material de wargames, cortesía de MultiversoWar. www.multiversowar.com ¡Notición en La Torre del Cuervo! Nos complace anunciar nuestra nueva colaboración con InstaGaming, la plataforma líder para conseguir tus juegos favoritos a precios de locura. ️ Ahora, gracias a esta alianza, podrás disfrutar de descuentos exclusivos y apoyar a nuestro proyecto al mismo tiempo. ¿Cómo funciona? Es muy sencillo: entra en este enlace, explora un catálogo brutal de juegos con ofertas increíbles y hazte con ese título que llevabas tiempo deseando. RPG, estrategia, aventuras… ¡lo tienen todo! Y lo mejor: parte de tus compras ayudarán a seguir haciendo crecer La Torre del Cuervo. ⚔️ Sorteos y ventajas especiales Además, gracias a esta colaboración, InstaGaming nos patrocina los sorteos que hemos preparado para nuestra comunidad. ¡Prepárate para llevarte premios épicos! Entra ya en este enlace, aprovecha los descuentos y no pierdas esta oportunidad de jugar más por menos! https://www.instant-gaming.com/?igr=gamer-7f052f1 ¡Gracias por vuestro apoyo constante y por seguirnos en este viaje grimdark! ⚔️ Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales: Facebook: La Torre del Cuervo Twitter: @LaTorredelCuervo Instagram: El_Corintio La Torre del Cuervo YouTube: Canal La Torre del Cuervo Telegram: https://t.me/+fnXc1Gr1WydmYTY8 Para sugerencias o comentarios: info@latorredelcuervo.com

Especial Philip K. Dick | ️ Dramatización de "Total Recall" Philip K. Dick no solo escribió historias. Implantó recuerdos. Sus relatos nos han hecho cuestionar la realidad, la identidad y el tiempo. ¿Qué es verdad? ¿Qué es falso? ¿Importa la diferencia? En este especial, en la semana de su muerte, nos sumergimos en su legado y exploramos uno de sus relatos más fascinantes, su título original: We can remember it for you wholesale , cuento de ciencia ficción escrito por Philip K. Dick y publicado en abril de 1966 en The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Representa un clásico enmarañado acerca de la realidad, la falsa memoria y la memoria real. La historia está incluida en la colección del mismo nombre. Un hombre que sueña con Marte. Una empresa que vende recuerdos falsos. Un secreto enterrado en su mente… o tal vez implantado. Con las voces de: ️ Yannick – Narrador Lucía – Kristen Xavi – Quail Alexa – Recepcionista Sergi – McClane Viktoria – Lowe Emilio – Keeler Lucas y Cadabre – Taxista y policías Isahrael – Psiquiatra Antonio Salinas – Oficial de Interplan Un programa montado por Antonio Salinas "Lobo", con la participación de nuestros Cuervos de la Tormenta. Y el trabajo tremendo de Rosa del estudio de pintura @laratamojada y de MekanCorvus nuestras Bibliotecarias jefas sin las que esto no podría ser. Nos despedimos con la certeza de que juntos, podemos seguir trayendo las historias que merecen ser contadas. Sed felices, que el tiempo apremia. ¡Viktoria o muerte!"* Recordad que podéis uniros al Canal de Telegram de La Torre del Cuervo para estar al tanto de todas las novedades: https://t.me/+fnXc1Gr1WydmYTY8 Y no olvidéis visitar nuestra página web: https://latorredelcuervo.com/ Encontraréis artículos con novedades del hobby, reseñas de las novelas más Grimdark y menciones a eventos que podrían estar ocurriendo en vuestra ciudad sin que lo sepáis. Apóyanos en iVoox pulsando el botón azul. Con tu ayuda, no solo haces posible este programa, sino que participas automáticamente en el sorteo mensual de 200€ en material de wargames, cortesía de MultiversoWar. www.multiversowar.com ¡Notición en La Torre del Cuervo! Nos complace anunciar nuestra nueva colaboración con InstaGaming, la plataforma líder para conseguir tus juegos favoritos a precios de locura. ️ Ahora, gracias a esta alianza, podrás disfrutar de descuentos exclusivos y apoyar a nuestro proyecto al mismo tiempo. ¿Cómo funciona? Es muy sencillo: entra en este enlace, explora un catálogo brutal de juegos con ofertas increíbles y hazte con ese título que llevabas tiempo deseando. RPG, estrategia, aventuras… ¡lo tienen todo! Y lo mejor: parte de tus compras ayudarán a seguir haciendo crecer La Torre del Cuervo. ⚔️ Sorteos y ventajas especiales Además, gracias a esta colaboración, InstaGaming nos patrocina los sorteos que hemos preparado para nuestra comunidad. ¡Prepárate para llevarte premios épicos! Entra ya en este enlace, aprovecha los descuentos y no pierdas esta oportunidad de jugar más por menos! https://www.instant-gaming.com/?igr=gamer-7f052f1 ¡Gracias por vuestro apoyo constante y por seguirnos en este viaje grimdark! ⚔️ Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales: Facebook: La Torre del Cuervo Twitter: @LaTorredelCuervo Instagram: El_Corintio La Torre del Cuervo YouTube: Canal La Torre del Cuervo Telegram: https://t.me/+fnXc1Gr1WydmYTY8 Para sugerencias o comentarios: info@latorredelcuervo.com

Join me on an epic adventure through the world of fantasy and science fiction as we explore AMAZING reads from A to Z! From classic novels to modern bestsellers, I'm sharing my list of some of the most captivating stories that will transport you to new worlds, introduce you to unforgettable characters, and ignite your imagination. Whether you're a fan of magic, space exploration, or dystopian futures, this episode is for you! Get ready to discover new authors, series, and genres that will keep you reading all night long. So, sit back, relax, and let's start our journey through the infinite possibilities of fantasy and science fiction! #FantasyForTheAges #readingrecommendations #scifi #sciencefiction #Fantasy #Grimdark #TBR #EpicFantasy #SFF #booktube #booktuber Want to purchase books mentioned in this episode? All Systems Red: https://t.ly/clNRv All the Weyrs of Pern: https://t.ly/N53p9 The Black Company: https://t.ly/QMwqB The Blade Itself: https://t.ly/LSDn2 The Caves of Steel: https://t.ly/uQgGq The Color of Magic: https://t.ly/0joes The Dragonbone Chair: https://t.ly/p02xZ Dune: https://t.ly/4_w_k Empire of the Vampire: https://t.ly/VPeGO Ex-Heroes: https://t.ly/XuifA The Eye of the World: https://t.ly/V-eqm Fated: https://t.ly/h3ku0 Flowers for Algernon: https://t.ly/cOenO The Gunslinger: https://t.ly/U7LP2 Gwendy's Button Box: https://t.ly/Vhn1p Hell Divers: https://t.ly/7DCoU Hyperion: https://t.ly/VYqkP In the Lives of Puppets: https://t.ly/y8J2b Interview with the Vampire: https://t.ly/oddIu Jake the Dragon Talker: https://t.ly/fMu9F Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: https://t.ly/8MoJB The Kaiju Preservation Society: https://t.ly/BGopw The King Beyond the Gate: https://t.ly/wspat Leviathan Wakes: https://t.ly/muEYa The Lies of Locke Lamora: https://t.ly/1UV3h The Man in the High Castle: https://t.ly/wVUUm The Martian: https://t.ly/9Ty2E The Name of the Wind: https://t.ly/ndJbg Neuromancer: https://t.ly/lN79I Old Man's War: https://t.ly/Q3uJu The Once and Future King: https://t.ly/veIkR Perdido Street Station: https://t.ly/BMosB The Poppy War: https://t.ly/d6CIF Quarantine: https://t.ly/TpmLC The Queen of the Damned: https://t.ly/R33Rx Red Mars: https://t.ly/Qhd1H Red Rising: https://t.ly/yIHdF Snow Crash: https://t.ly/auBgE The Stand: https://t.ly/UG_4m Tigana: https://t.ly/VVxzk A Time of Dread: https://t.ly/mjcOX Under the Dome: https://t.ly/unbVA Uprooted: https://t.ly/08qm3 Valor: https://t.ly/2PagY Vicious: https://t.ly/HCmTx A Wizard of Earthsea: https://t.ly/pJ922 World War Z: https://t.ly/WYhtl Xanth: https://t.ly/eO4w7 Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: https://t.ly/_SE6e The Year of the Flood: https://t.ly/Y3V1W Zombie Fallout: https://t.ly/oLnaQ Zone One: https://t.ly/6Y9sK Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on "X": @Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Blue Sky: @fantasy4theages.bsky.social Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/

Join us as we explore the most iconic stars in modern fantasy, science fiction, and horror! From legendary actors who have brought beloved characters to life, to up and comers who have shocked us with their stellar performances, we've got an amazing Top 50 list for you. We'll be counting down the biggest stars who have made a lasting impact on the genres, and exploring their most notable works. Whether you're a fan of intergalactic adventures, supernatural thrillers, or dystopian futures, this video is for you! So, sit back, relax, and let's dive into the world biggest stars of the modern era in fantasy, science fiction, and horror! #FantasyForTheAges #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #horror #Top10 #Top 50 #SFF #bestmovies #booktube #booktuber Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/

The first women to appear (as "soloists") on the ballot for science fiction's Hugo Awards were Zenna Henderson and Pauline Ashwell, in 1959. (Catherine L. Moore had appeared on an earlier ballot, but for a collaboration with Henry Kuttner.) Fearing that Henderson and Ashwell might be drifting into obscurity, Colin and Phil set out to review their Hugo-nominated novelettes: Zenna Henderson's "Captivity" - find it here: https://archive.org/details/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v014n06_1958-06_PDF/page/n3/mode/2up Pauline Ashwell's "Unwillingly to School" - find it here: https://archive.org/details/sim_astounding-science-fiction_1958-01_60_5/page/8/mode/2up We also have the obligatory fiendish sci-fi quiz, and our usual round-up of recommendations of past/present/future SF. For full show notes, check out our blog - https://101sf.blogspot.com/2024/08/zennas-people-and-paulines-lizzie.html

We love our movies, and one particular feature of a great movie is how it brings it home in the end. Today Jim's sharing his Top 10 epic endings for movies from fantasy and science fiction (or close to that). Will you agree? Note, these contain HUGE spoilers, so be sure to skip to the next one anytime one comes up that you haven't watched. Want to purchase/stream media mentioned in this video? Avengers: Infinity War: https://t.ly/sIqPa The Empire Strikes Back: https://t.ly/ozNWC Logan: https://t.ly/yVYbD The Mist: https://t.ly/7aKyc Monty Python and the Holy Grail: https://t.ly/BZQJ1 Planet of the Apes: https://t.ly/PraEZ Psycho: https://t.ly/1emr5 Schindler's List: https://t.ly/vA5zm The Sixth Sense: https://t.ly/KZ-uf Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: https://t.ly/k4Zb7 Terminator 2: Judgment Day: https://t.ly/1Zfdh The Village: https://t.ly/y1l7T Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/ #FantasyForTheAges #movies #MovieRecommendations #fantasy #Top10 #SFF #booktube #booktuber #FavoriteMovies

We finally reach the top of the mountain. Out of 80 favorite SFF reads contributed by 45 different content creators, here are the top 20, all of which were submitted by multiple people. There are the big boys. Master works. Must reads. How many have you already enjoyed, and when will you read the missing ones? Want to purchase books/media mentioned in this video? The Book of the New Sun: https://t.ly/klihi The Bound and the Broken: https://t.ly/wkC-d The Broken Earth Trilogy: https://t.ly/PPa-7 The Chronicles of the Black Company: https://t.ly/KsKQQ The Dark Tower: https://t.ly/0yCfx Dune: https://t.ly/bXqcZ The First Law: https://t.ly/XpiiK The Green Bone Saga: https://t.ly/q6686 Hyperion Cantos: https://t.ly/CW0Mk The Lord of the Rings: https://t.ly/1eEP9 Malazan Book of the Fallen: https://t.ly/mJrmu Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn: https://t.ly/zw91m Realm of the Elderlings: https://t.ly/2cMBJ Red Rising Series: https://t.ly/33acx A Song of Ice and Fire: https://t.ly/neP1L The Stormlight Archive: https://t.ly/0NJy7 Sun Eater Series: https://t.ly/Iztgz The Wars of Light and Shadow: https://t.ly/NvF5V Wayfarers: https://t.ly/qe_Zd The Wheel of Time: https://t.ly/vmGYt Content Creators Mentioned in this Episode: Another Turning, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnotherTurning The Artsy Reader, Blogger: https://theartsyreader.com/ Book Reading Billy, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bookreadingbilly8329 Books with Zara, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bookswithzara Bryce at Shelf Centered, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShelfCentered Darran Handshaw, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author: https://x.com/Engineer7601 Green Team of the Legendarium Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7y28T1qUAaZAM75F4Yd1iN Mackenzie Reads, Blogger: https://litlemonbooks.com/ Morgan at Podcast of the Dragon, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@podcastofthedragon3034 On Wednesdays We Read Podcast: https://owwrpod.com/ The Shaggy Shepherd Book Reviews, Blogger: https://theshaggyshepherd.wordpress.com/ Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/ #FantasyForTheAges #readingrecommendations #scifi #sciencefiction #Top10 #SFF #Top80 #Top 20 #Bestfantasy #FavoriteFantasy #FavoriteSciFi #fantasybooks #contentcreators #booktube #booktuber

Arcx is all about literary inspiration. We're kicking off this season with debut novelist Prashanth Srivatsa to discuss his debut epic fantasy novel, The Spice Gate (HarperCollins 2024).  Prashanth lives in Bengaluru, India, and is a longtime sci-fi and fantasy enthusiast. His short stories have been published in a variety of prestigious publications such as Asimov's Science Fiction, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and more.  The Spice Gate is a sweeping, exciting first novel, featuring a young man from the lowest rung of society, who, through a series of strange events, changes the world. Amir, the protagonist, is desperate to save himself and his family from a life of exploitation spent painfully transporting spices between kingdoms. Despite his dire circumstances, Amir dares to dream of a different life and soon becomes embroiled in political plots, resistance movements, and more. Throw in a love story, a socio-religious revolution, magic, mayhem, and you have a recipe for something truly special.  Join us as we discuss South Asian pirates, white saviour complexes, the best biryani, the many aspects of resistance, and generational trauma.  You can follow Prashanth on X where he's at prashatsa. Arcx is a mini series from the Subverse, the podcast of Dark ‘n' Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagines futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or visit darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

We asked other content creators for their three favorite science fiction or fantasy books or series. Wow! In just 48 hours we'd heard from nearly 50 creators and collectively had a list of 80 amazing books. And here, today, in ranked order of how many put these books forward, are books 61-80. Check our next episode for the continuation of this list! Want to purchase books/media mentioned in this video? Alien Novelizations: https://t.ly/p5woQ The Azetha Tetralogy: https://t.ly/_gt9t Bloodbane: Quest of Lance: https://t.ly/sySJa Buried Goddess Saga: https://t.ly/SJuwF Collateral Damage: https://t.ly/KRSkm Darkglass Mountain Trilogy: https://t.ly/Jt3b7 Digitesque Series: https://t.ly/fQOm- Empires of Dust: https://t.ly/GcfWz The Grand Tour Series: https://t.ly/L1DUn The Heroes of Spira: https://t.ly/M9zhj The Nutcracker Trilogy: https://t.ly/Kb0Ay The Runelords: https://t.ly/xeeQq Small Spaces Quartet: https://t.ly/RLJXw Starship Troopers: https://t.ly/dsq75 The Stonewood Trilogy: https://t.ly/2BTPL The Swan's War Trilogy: https://t.ly/xswXn Terra Electrica: https://t.ly/_uaUu Time Quintet: https://t.ly/xGOlJ Warhammer 40k: https://t.ly/9H4Ze Wayfarer Redemption: https://t.ly/TIF4n The Wizard Knight Duology: https://t.ly/d_Hzn Content Creators Mentioned in this Episode: Alex at Spells & Spaceships Blog: https://spellsandspaceships.home.blog/ Becky's Books, book blogger: https://crooksbooks.blog/ Nick Borrelli, book blogger and reviewer running Out of This World SFF website: https://outofthisworldrev.blogspot.com/ John A. Douglas, Author and YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorJohnADouglas D&J's Epic Quest: https://www.youtube.com/@djsepicquest226 The Fantasy Files: https://www.youtube.com/@FantasyFiles Fantology Podcast: https://www.fantologybooks.com/ Inking Out Loud Podcast: https://iolpodcast.com/ King Killer Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@kingkillerpodcast8559 Leslee Sheu, Author of the Kumasagi Series: http://lesleesheu.com/ Elyn Turne, Author of Online Grimdark Fantasy series Swine Plague: https://sites.google.com/view/swineplague/home Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/ #FantasyForTheAges #readingrecommendations #scifi #sciencefiction #Top10 #SFF #Top80 #Bestfantasy #FavoriteFantasy #FavoriteSciFi #fantasybooks #contentcreators #booktube #booktuber

Jim shares five key things any fantasy and science fiction reader needs to know. Or your life is missing something! Ways to connect with us: Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Jim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n ———————————————————————————— Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements: https://elements.envato.com/ #FantasyForTheAges #readingrecommendations #scifi #sciencefiction #SFF #fantasy #fantasybooks #SciFiBooks #fantasyfiction #Malazan #RedRising #TheExpanse #TBR #audiobooks #booktube #booktuber

Author Maria Guglielmo was last on the show some years back for her debut book, “Summoned,” and since then, she's been up to quite a bit, including debuting her new “Riftworld” series with “Witch City Rift” and “Rifted Hearts,” which drops on March 19. Curtis and I talk with Maria about this new series and what went into building the world behind it. We do a deep dive into her main character, Remi Gatti, a con man who seems to find himself in over his head in both stories. We look at his power to manipulate sexual desire and the role this plays in the story, as well as the mystical realm that extends into Boston and Salem. There's a mysterious figure called The Matchmaker in both books and we talk about just who this person is and how they're influencing the tale. 

It's not just about a fun story. Great SFF has depths, it moves us, it can even cause us to look at the world around us differently. Think about how many people went into the field of engineering after being inspired by Scotty on the original Star Trek TV series. We connect with the words and events of great stories. Here today Jim shares his current top 10 most impactful quotes from SFF. How many of these have meaning for you, as well? #top10 #Fantasy #SFF #inspirationalquotes #scifi #Booktube #Booktuber We hope you'll Like and Subscribe! Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Rate & review us at Apple Podcast or wherever you download content. Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com. Find us on social media: Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasyForTheAges

Sports are a huge part of the culture in most parts of the world. It makes sense that sports would capture a significant aspect of literature as well, including science fiction and fantasy. Here are Jim's thoughts on perhaps the 10 best sports on display in SFF. Do you agree? What did he miss? #top10 #Fantasy #SFF #sciencefiction #scifi #Booktube #Booktuber We hope you'll Like and Subscribe! Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Rate & review us at Apple Podcast or wherever you download content. Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com. Find us on social media: Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasyForTheAges

In this 250th of our long form episodes, we come together to discuss books we love (mostly) that also happen to be severely overhyped. They're good, but not THAT good. Sometimes it's the rabid fanbase. Sometimes it's one of us. But somehow, the heights these books have been raised to don't match the quality of the reading experience. Again - still good, just not as good as people say. See if you agree! #SFF #sciencefiction #fantasy #books #fantasyfiction ##SciFi #Booktube #Booktuber #Booktubers We hope you'll Like and Subscribe! Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Rate & review us at Apple Podcast or wherever you download content. Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com. Find us on social media: Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasyForTheAges

Chatting With Sherri welcomes award-winning author and WOTF Judge Nina Kiriki Hoffman! , Nina Kiriki Hoffman has creaed adult and young adult novels and stories and books for 40 years now.she's sold about 400 short stories and a number of novels and young adult books, plus several collections.. Her works have been finalists for the World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick and Endeavour Awards. Her first novel, The Thread That Binds the Bones, won a Bram Stoker Award, and her short story “Trophy Wives” won a Nebula Award in 2009. Her most recent novels are Fall of Light and Thresholds. She's teach science fiction, fantasy, and horror short story writing on Zoom through Fairfield County Writers Studio. I also teach through Wordcrafters in Eugene. Hoffman does production work for the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and she also works with teen writers. As one of the original winners of Writers of the Future, she was published in Volume 1. She became a judge of the Writers of the Future Contest in 2000.  

Travis I. Sivart is a prolific author of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Social DIY, and more. He's created a shared universe that connects his cyberpunk, fantasy, and steampunk worlds by a shared thread, and writes characters that readers connect with and who feel real. You can find Travis live-streaming the writing and editing of his latest project from his home in Central Virginia, surrounded by too many cats. Other Random Facts: Began creating stories at age 5, and started writing them down at age 13, and was first published in the 1990's Played Dungeons & Dragons since 1984, and writes in the world he began creating on his thirteenth birthday Began researching the paranormal and launching investigations in his teens, and has a Doctorate in Metaphysics Has written for a living as a reporter and a journalist * Travis live streams his writing process on Twitch.tv under the screen name of TravisWritingTavernwww.travissivart.com

Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey are both powerhouse bestselling authors in their own rights. Now, they've merged their considerable talents in cosmic horror and urban fantasy to create the new novel, THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN. In a New York City absolutely filthy with magic—monsters and the mundane intermingle. When that cohabitation breeds horrific problems—and it always does—you need people like Julie Crews to clean up the mess. But being a coked-out, broke ass, pig-pen disaster of a magician like Julie creates as many issues as it solves. Struggling to make rent and constantly getting screwed by her clients, Julie is desperate to score some real paying work. Complicating matters is the arrival of her childhood friend Sarah, the prim and pretty opposite to Julie's deadbeat, mage-punk lifestyle. Sarah's brightness is just what she needs, and the vibes are way more than platonic. But Sarah brought her own baggage to the big city. When Julie's pompous Wall Street ex-boyfriend Tyler calls, offering big money for a highly suspicious job, she can't refuse. Getting tangled up in his lies, and the innumerable arms of a dream-eating demon, will be least of their issues, though. Because Tyler's corporate job serves some seriously eldritch monstrosities, big ugly elder god-things on a schedule to consume their workforce. And maybe the world. This, of course, is all about to become Julie's giant mess to solve—and make infinitely worse along the way. THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN is a visceral, violent, wickedly fun urban fantasy available now from Tor Nightfire: Amazon »  Bookshop »  About Cassandra Khaw Cassandra Khaw is an award-winning game writer and former scriptwriter at Ubisoft Montreal. Khaw's work can be found in places like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Tor.com. Khaw's first original novella, HAMMERS ON BONE, was a British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist, and their latest novella, NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH, was a USA Today bestseller; Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Award nominee; and an Indie Next Pick. In 2023, they won the Bram Stoker Awards Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection for BREAKABLE THINGS, a collection of short stories. Instagram  Twitter  Amazon Profile »  Goodreads Profile  About Richard Kadrey Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the SANDMAN SLIM supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon's “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime,” and is in production as a feature film. Some of Kadrey's other books include THE GRAND DARK, THE EVERYTHING BOX, and BUTCHERBIRD. In comics, he's written for Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. He's currently partnered with Winterlight Productions for his original horror screenplay, Dark West. Website  BlueSky  Instagram  Twitter  Amazon Profile »  Goodreads Profile   

Ron and Jake welcome Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey to the podcast! They chat about their collaboration, the urban horror novel, The Dead Take The A Train.You'd be hard-pressed to find a more impressive horror co-writing team than Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. A British Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, and Locus Award finalist, Cassandra won a Stoker last year for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection for Breakable Things. Widely published, their short fiction may be found in such venues as Fantasy Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Tor. com, and Nature. Cassandra is also a game writer, with credits on She Remembered Caterpillars, Wasteland 3, and Falcon Age, and projects for Magic the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, and Warhammer 40k.Richard Kadrey is the author of the acclaimed New York Times best-selling Sandman Slim series, the first volume of which William Gibson called "a dirty ass masterpiece," and which Amazon included in its 100 science fiction and fantasy books to read in a lifetime. Kadrey's other books include King Bullet, The Grand Dark, and Butcher Bird.Richard and Cassandra joined us to discuss their first collaboration, the urban fantasy horror novel The Dead Take the A Train, part of the Carrion City duology published by Tor Nightfire. For fans of Hellblazer, Angel, The Magicians, and yes, Sandman Slim, this is a must-read. The Dead Take The A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey (Tor Nightfire)https://tornightfire.com/catalog/the-dead-take-the-a-train-cassandra-khaw-richard-kadrey/Cassandra Khawhttps://casskhaw.carrd.co/Richard Kadeyhttps://www.richardkadrey.me/The Wrath of the iOtiansEmail: thewrathoftheiotians@gmail.comInstagram: thewrathoftheiotiansTwitter:  @OfiOtiansLinktree: https://linktr.ee/wrathoftheiotianspodcastWebsite: https://thewrathoftheiotians.buzzsprout.com/

In this episode we're going to deviate a bit from the usual focus on fiction to talk about writing for tabletop roleplaying games and related media. RPGs have always been deeply interconnected with fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, and right now they are more popular and prevalent than ever before. James L. Sutter co-created the lore and story-rich fantasy RPG PATHFINDER for Paizo Publishing, which has become one of the most popular roleplaying games in the world. He then took the role of Creative Director on STARFINDER, a science-fantasy RPG that reimagined the world of Pathfinder in a space-faring future. Along the way, he's written Pathfinder tie-in novels DEATH'S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE, RPG adventures and source books for Pathfinder, Starfinder, and Dungeons & Dragons, and a large body of short fiction, comics, and video games. His latest book, DARKHEARTS, is a departure from genre fiction—a young adult romance about estranged bandmates that must reconcile the loss of their best friend, and their unexpected attraction to each other. DARKHEARTS is available now from Wednesday Books: Amazon »  Bookshop »  » Some of the links above are affiliate links. Using them helps support this site and creator. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. All of the RPG work previously mentioned is available at your local game store, or wherever books are sold: Pathfinder (1st Edition) Core Rulebook »  Starfinder Core Rulebook »  Pathfinder Tales: Death's Heretic »  Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine »  About James L. Sutter James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the Pathfinder and Starfinder Roleplaying Games. From 2004 to 2017, he worked for Paizo Publishing, starting out as an editor on Dungeon Magazine, moving on to do foundational work for Pathfinder, and eventually becoming the Creative Director in charge of launching Starfinder, as well as the Executive Editor of the Pathfinder Tales novel line for Paizo and Tor. James is also the author of the young adult romance novel Darkhearts, as well as the fantasy novels Death's Heretic—a finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel—and The Redemption Engine, which won the 2015 Scribe Award for Best Original Speculative Novel. His short stories have appeared in such venues as Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Escape Pod, and the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death. In addition, he's written comic books, essays in venues like Clarkesworld and Lightspeed: Queers Destroy Science Fiction, a wealth of tabletop gaming material, and video games. When not writing, James has performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater. He lives in Seattle. Website  Instagram  Twitter  Amazon Profile »  Goodreads Profile 

Episode 186 Notes and Links to Stephanie Feldman's Work   *Content Warning-Please be aware of discussion of sexual assault*        On Episode 186 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Stephanie Feldman, and the two discuss, among other things, her early trajectory towards becoming a writer, formative and transformative writers and writing, genre and genre-less writing, the balance between allegory and plot in Saturnalia, the book's focus on Philadelphia and on the world at large, hedonism/inaction  in the wake of climate disasters, the long echoes of sexual assault, class and power in her book, and whether the book has a sense of optimism.       Stephanie Feldman is the author of the novels Saturnalia and The Angel of Losses, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of the Crawford Fantasy Award, and finalist for the Mythopoeic Award. She is co-editor of the multi-genre anthology Who Will Speak for America? and her stories and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming from Asimov's Science Fiction, Catapult Magazine, Electric Literature, Flash Fiction Online, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Rumpus, Uncharted Magazine, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Weird Horror, and more. She lives outside Philadelphia with her family.     Buy Saturnalia   Stephanie Feldman's Website   Review of Saturnalia from John Mauro at Grimdark Magazine   At about 1:55, Stephanie describes her early reading and writing, and being “fated” to be a writer   At about 4:00, Stephanie shouts out Anne Rice, Jeanette Winterson, and others as formational and transformational writers   At about 6:00, Stephanie cites the “world building and atmosphere” of Rice's work that inspired Saturnalia and the Philadelphia of the book   At about 7:20, Stephanie highlights Sofia Samatar, her work regarding Uzbekistan especially, and Jeffrey Ford as beloved contemporary writers   At about 9:00, Stephanie responds to Pete's questions about the importance (or lack thereof) of genre   At about 11:55, Stephanie gives background on/seeds for Saturnalia, including The Masque of Red Death and the Covid pandemic   At about 15:00, Pete asks about the balance/timing involving the book's allegory/symbolism and its plot/premise   At about 16:30, The two discuss the epigraph from Umberto Eco and its connection to hedonism and climate change    At about 18:40, The exposition is laid out, and Stephanie discusses connections to Saturn and fortune telling's importance in the book   At about 22:45, Pete summarizes the night of the winter solstice, including The Lord of Misrule, and Nina's tough times that lead her to do a job for Max    At about 24:30, Pete connects a telling quote from Faulkner to the book's pivotal violation and gender roles and power dynamics   At about 30:50, Stephanie responds to Pete's musings about the book's commentary on social class and power    At about 33:00, Stephanie and Pete speak about Philadelphia's small-town feel and Niña's feelings of being “trapped”   At about 36:55, Stephanie responds to Pete's questions about any optimism/pessimism that comes from the book   At about 38:55, Alchemy and myth and the stories are discussed    At about 40:00, Stephanie talks about the ways she and readers continue to experience the book some seven months after publication    At about 41:40, Pete shares the book's blurb from Carmen Maria Machado    At about 42:00, Stephanie shares an exciting future project   At about 43:00, Stephanie gives the history of the “blue laws” in PA   At about 44:00, Stephanie shares social media/contact info and places to buy her work, including Main Point Books, A Novel Idea, Weird Horror “The Getaway”      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.  Please tune in for Episode 187 with V Castro. She is a two-time Bram Stoker award nominated writer born in San Antonio, Texas, to Mexican American parents, and she has been writing horror stories since she was a child, always fascinated by Mexican folklore and the urban legends of Texas. Her latest is The Haunting of Alejandra.    The episode will air on June 13.

  Could the power of story-telling help create a better reality?  Afterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world. Afterglow draws inspiration from a range of cutting-edge literary movements including Afrofuturism, hope-punk, and solar-punk—genres that uplift equitable climate solutions and continued service to one's community, even in the face of despair. The Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, disabled, feminist, and queer voices in this collection imagine intersectional worlds in which no community is left behind. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality. Panelists Sheree Renée Thomas is a New York Times bestselling, two-time World Fantasy Award-winning author and editor. A 2023 Octavia E. Butler Award honoree and a 2022 Hugo Award Finalist, she is the author of Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future, a Locus, Ignyte, and World Fantasy Finalist, Marvel's Black Panther: Panther's Rage novel, and she collaborated with Janelle Monáe on “Timebox Altar(ed)” in The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer. She co-edited Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, a NAACP Image Award Nominee, and is the Editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Sheree lives in her hometown, Memphis, Tennessee, near a mighty river and a pyramid. Justine Norton-Kertson is a genderfluid author of stories and poems as well as a screenwriter, game maker, musician, and community organizer. They're the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Android Press and Solarpunk Magazine. They've been published in magazines such as Utopia Science Fiction and Jupiter Review. Their anthologist debut, Bioluminescent: A Lunarpunk Anthology, was published in January 2023 from Android Press. And their debut nonfiction book, Solarpunk Witchcraft, is forthcoming from Microcosm Publishing in 2024. They live in rural Oregon with their partner, puppies, cats, goats, bunnies, and beehives. Find them at http://justinenortonkertson.com Andrew Simon is a writer and editor living in Seattle. Simon has been an editorial leader at award-winning media organizations including Grist, Fast Company, ESPN, and Complex Media. He's launched a journalism fellowship, the annual Grist 50 list, and a podcast, among other projects. He currently works on thought leadership and business solutions. He is co-author of the book ‘Racing While Black: How an African-American Stock Car Team Made Its Mark on NASCAR.' Tory Stephens creates opportunities that transform organizations and shift culture. He is a resource generator and community builder for social justice issues, people, and movements. He currently works at Grist Magazine as their climate fiction creative manager and uses storytelling to champion climate justice, and imagine green, clean, and just futures. In another life, he owned a kick-butt streetwear company, and he would have gotten away with eating the last cookie too if it weren't for his three meddling kids. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Its goal is to use the power of storytelling to illuminate the way toward a better world, inspire millions of people to walk that path with us, and show that the time for action is now. Afterglow Third Place Books

Brian Trent, who I originally met almost 10 years ago when he was a Writers of the Future winner, published in volume 29 with his story “War Hero.” His work appears in the New York Times bestselling Black Tide Rising series, Weird World War series, Analog Science Fiction, Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF, Escape Pod, Galaxy's Edge, and in 2019 he was the winner of Baen Books' Readers' Choice Award. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since we met back in 2013. He just published a fantastic novel that I read in preparation for this podcast, “Red Space Rising.” It was based on his winning Writers of the Future short story, which we discuss. briantrent.com/ podcastwritersofthefuturemilitaryscifiscifihorrorBrianTrentLRonHubbard      

How does a fiction author make a living? When it comes to finding an agent, working with editors, and getting paid, Stephanie Feldman, author of Saturnalia and The Angel of Losses, is an open book about the good, the bad, and the honestly confusing side of publishing. She shows us just how much “rejection is not personal” matters when it comes to getting your work out into the world. And that perseverance to navigate an often harsh industry has resulted in two published novels, being the co-editor of the multi-genre anthology Who Will Speak for America? and her stories and essays appearing in Asimov's Science Fiction, Catapult Magazine, Electric Literature, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Rumpus, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn.    This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: What it takes before a writer gets royalties The journey of 11 years between her 2 books Inside the world of book editing and publishing What her new book Saturnalia is all about Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing deal Is there any correlation between the quality of a book with how much it sells? How Stephanie gets her advance paid Primary parenting, writing, boundaries, and managing it all How the Amazon algorithm works Intense Twitter trolls Also Mentioned in this Episode: Saturnalia on Amazon Saturnalia on Goodreads The Angel of Losses Vox news on publishers in court Stephanie's short stories Connect with Stephanie Feldman Website Twitter Instagram Thanks for tuning into the Get Paid Podcast! If you enjoyed today's episode, head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe, rate, and leave your honest review. Connect with me on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, visit my website for even more detailed strategies, and be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media. Now, it's time to go get yourself paid.

N.K. Jemisin is a talented and impactful writer of genre works. Inspired by dreams, society, and science, Jemisin builds fantastical worlds that mirror our own. Kat walks us through Jemisin's life, her history, and why we're so thankful this fellow nerd decided to finally pursue writing as a career. Gabe dives into Jemisin's inspirations, her dreams, and the recurring powerful themes in her work. Sources in this Episode: N. K. Jeminsin's Dream Worlds N. K. Jemisin's New Contemporary Fantasy Trilogy Will “Mess with the Lovecraft Legacy” --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-ghouls-next-door/support

Recorded on July 14th, 2022In this episode, I go back and share my entire writing journey up to this point. From my first confrontation with rejection in elementary school, to how I believed I was a literary genius in my teenage years & early twenties (and how I was brutally brought back to reality), to my worst writing years and how I got through them!Mentioned in this episode:On Writing by Stephen King: https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781982159375NaNoWriMo: https://nanowrimo.orgShawn Coyne & The Story Grid (website): https://storygrid.comThe Story Grid by Shawn Coyne (book): https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781936891351Rachael Herron: https://rachaelherron.com/write/Scrivener: https://a.paddle.com/v2/click/49535/150971?link=1570The War of Art by Steven Pressfield: https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781936891023Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield: https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781936891030Do the Work by Steven Pressfield: https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781936891375Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: https://bookshop.org/a/85049/9781594634727Writers of the Future Contest: https://www.writersofthefuture.com/J. Thorn: https://theauthorlife.comKsenia Anske: https://www.kseniaanske.comHorror Writers Association: https://horror.orgThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/Read the full transcript of this episode: https://leftie-aubes-writing-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-1-my-journey-so-far/transcriptSupport the show (and my writing career!): https://ko-fi.com/leftieaubeTag me on your screenshots of the show @leftieaube and follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leftieaube/⬇️ Visit my Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/leftieaube ⬇️When you buy a book from this page, you are supporting an indie bookstore, the author of the book AND me, all at the same time!Try out Scrivener (my favorite writing tool ever, the one I use to write all my novels!): https://a.paddle.com/v2/click/49535/150971?link=1570This podcast is recorded and edited using Descript: https://www.descript.com?lmref=V_4suQIt is hosted by Simplecast: https://simplecast.comIntro music credit: “Cinematic Cello Arpeggio Trailer” by Gregor Quendel, found on Free Sound https://freesound.org/s/555995/Disclaimer: Some of the above links are affiliates. At no extra cost to you, I'm receiving compensation for any purchase made through those links. Buying through those links supports my writing journey, which I highly appreciate!

Join Town Hall Seattle Writer-in-Residence Sarah Salcedo, author John Wiswell, and author Ross Showalter for a virtual-only event as they share their short fiction and discuss the power of stories, creative processes, and the beauty and difficulties inherent in bringing their disabilities into their own work. Sarah Salcedo is an award-winning filmmaker, illustrator, and author. Her writing has been published in Luna Station Quarterly, Hobart After Dark, Not Deer Magazine, Pacifica Literary Review, The Future Fire, Hypertext Magazine, Words & Sports Quarterly, and elsewhere. Her poetry has been featured at The Daily Drunk and their Marvelous Verses anthology. She is the Spring 2022 Writer-in-Residence for Town Hall Seattle and attended the 2022 Tin House Winter Workshop. John (@Wiswell) is a disabled writer who lives where New York keeps all its trees. He is a winner of the Nebula Award for Best Short Story for “Open House on Haunted Hill,” as well as a finalist for the Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. His work has appeared at Uncanny Magazine, the LeVar Burton Reads Podcast, Tor.com, Lightspeed Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, among other fine venues. Ross Showalter is a Deaf queer writer based in the Pacific Northwest. His short stories, personal essays, and critical pieces have been published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, Strange Horizons, Catapult, Black Warrior Review, and elsewhere. His work has been a finalist for the Best of the Net anthology, included on Entropy Magazine's Best of the Year lists, and supported by the Anderson Center and Deaf Spotlight. He earned his BFA in creative writing from Portland State University and he currently teaches creative writing courses in UCLA Extension Writers' Program. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Breaking down the fantasy genre and how its roots in an often Western vision of “the past” has been slowly changing with Afro-Futurism and more mainstream BIPOC actors. Unabridged is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Democracy demands wisdom.

In this episode: This is the first episode of the New Year 2022, so happy New Year, everyone! My New Year's resolution is to follow George Carlin's conversation policy  The brutal Australian Open men's finals Nearly 50 percent of the world still needs to get vaccinated. And so why aren't we doubling down on getting the remaining half of the world vaccinated by lifting vaccine patents and sharing recipes "Moving the production plants closer to customers" should be the operations and supply chain strategy of pharma companies producing coronavirus vaccines The James Webb Space Telescope is currently one million miles away from Earth--much, much farther away from the moon, which is 238,900 miles away from Earth Elon Musk's Neuralink company is about to begin human trials to test brain implants. And a man with life-threatening heart disease has received a heart from a genetically modified pig. Rest In Peace, Meat Loaf Taylor Swift's brutal response to Damon Albarn, who discredited her work by saying she doesn't write her songs And everything else Instagram @justanobodypod Email: justanobodypodcast@gmail.com   #newyearfirstepisode #georgecarlin #rafaelnadal #nadal #australianopen #AO2022 #jargons #pandemic #variants #jameswebbspacetelescope #JWST #meatloaf #taylorswift #sciencefiction #spacetravel #Neuralink  

Welcome to episode 25 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. This week Jonathan and Gary sit down with the very talented and extremely busy Sheree Renée Thomas to discuss her award-winning collection Nine Bar Blues, her first year editing the venerable Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the lasting impact of her Dark Matter anthologies, her forthcoming anthologies Trouble the Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue (co-edited with Pan Morrigan and Troy L. Wiggins) and Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction (co-edited with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Zelda Knight, her own experiences growing up as an SF and horror reader, and the new age of recognizing African and African diaspora SFF.  It's a pretty lively conversation. As always, our sincere thanks to Sheree Renée Thomas, and we hope you enjoy the episode.   Order now!   

In today's episode, Kelly nerds out with Dr. Melody Green about books and stories. Particularly children’s fantasy and science fiction with characters, plots, or symbols that provide insight into the nature of God in Christianity. And how this might provide new and imaginative ways to connect to the Divine. Melody gives examples of how imagery that's used in fantasy is already familiar and lets us talk about the bigger picture and the human condition. In fact, children's fantasy and science fiction stories are the perfect genres for exploring spiritual questions. In her classes and research, she dives into the themes and messages about God that show up in the popular and lesser-known works of authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. But her classes aren't just for those who identify as Christian. Students come from different backgrounds and beliefs, and Melody meets them just where they are on their spiritual journey. Listen in on our conversation around how spiritual themes in children’s fantasy and science fiction, and other books, films, and even TV shows can challenge and inspire us. She shares LOTS of recommended titles you can add to your reading list. And we even get into talking about Dr. Who and Harry Potter a bit. Meet Melody Dr. Melody Green is the Dean at Urbana Theological Seminary and an Assistant Professor of Christianity and Culture. You'll find her teaching courses there on literature and theology. Melody’s research interests include the intersection of faith and literature, especially focusing on the authors J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and George MacDonald. She has spoken at a wide variety of conferences and published quite a few articles and book chapters on these and related topics. You can find out more about Urbana Seminary (where you’ll find the classes she teaches) here, and more about the annual Tolkien Conference she organizes here. Resources We Mention 1979 animated television movie – The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe 1977 animated television movie – The Hobbit C. S. Lewis’ Letters to Children by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead  The Mythopoeic Society Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women by George MacDonald The Wingfeather Saga Book Series (including North! or Be Eaten and On The Edge of The Dark Sea of Darkness) by Andrew Peterson The Chronicles of Prydain Book Series (including The Black Cauldron and The Book of Three) by Lloyd Alexander The Neverending Story by Michael Ende Ursula LeGuin books The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yol

This week on Haunting Season, Josh and Cody interview author and Psychiatrist Justin C. Key. Welcome to Haunting Season, a weekly storytelling podcast about life and the afterlife, hosted by Joshua Sterling Bragg and Cody Dugan. New episodes every Friday! Subscribe for more haunting: http://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonSubscribe Check out our latest episodes: http://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonRecentUploads Justin C Key https://justinckey.com/ https://twitter.com/JustinKey_MD?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor N-Raptured, is out now in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It's available here: https://weightlessbooks.com/authors/elizabeth-hand-authors/the-magazine-of-fantasy-and-science-fiction-january-february-2021/ Follow for more updates on the Haunting Season Podcast: TikTok: https://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonTikTok Instagram: https://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonIG Twitter: https://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonTwitter Facebook: https://bit.ly/HauntingSeasonFacebook Theme music for Haunting Season is produced by North Innsbruck. Available on Apple Music: http://bit.ly/NorthInnsbruck 

Anyone who can take a cute Kangaroo and make it terrifying has my respect. While ‘The Roo’ is a very entertaining book, Alan’s new book ‘The Gulp’ is riveting. The conversation turned to a discussion on Stephen King’s Castlerock series and how Alan is going to do the same thing with Gulpepper aka The Gulp. We also talk about martial arts since he is a Kung Fu Master and teaches in Australia.   About Alan Baxter Alan Baxter is a British-Australian author who writes horror, supernatural thrillers, and dark fantasy, liberally mixed with crime and noir. He rides a motorcycle and loves his dog. He also teaches Kung Fu. He lives among dairy paddocks on the beautiful south coast of NSW, Australia, with his wife, son, dog, two lunatic cats, several tropical fish, and a lizard called Fifi. Read extracts from his novels, a novella, and short stories at his website - www.warriorscribe.com - or find him on Twitter @AlanBaxter and Facebook, and feel free to tell him what you think. About anything. Alan's novels include the urban horror novel, Devouring Dark (Grey Matter Press), the urban horror noir novel, Hidden City (Gryphonwood Press), the dark supernatural thriller trilogy, Bound, Obsidian and Abduction (The Alex Caine Series, HarperVoyager/Gryphonwood), and the dark supernatural duology, RealmShift and MageSign (The Balance 1 and 2, Gryphonwood Press). He has also writes novellas including the supernatural noir, Manifest Recall (Grey Matter Press), the cosmic horror noir, The Book Club (PS Publishing), a sci-fi/noir novella, Ghost of the Black, and a gonzo Ozploitation creature feature novella called The Roo. As well as long fiction, Alan has had more than 80 short fiction publications in magazines and anthologies throughout the world. His work has been translated into French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, Postscripts, and Midnight Echo, among many others, and more than two dozen anthologies, including the Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror on several occasions. Alan's award-winning first volume of collected short fiction, Crow Shine, was published by Ticonderoga Publications in 2016, and a second volume of collected short fiction, Served Cold, was published by Grey Matter Press in 2019. Alan also collaborates with US action/adventure bestselling author, David Wood. Together they have co-authored the horror novel, Dark Rite, the action adventure series, the Jake Crowley Adventures, (Sanctum, Blood Codex, Anubis Key, and Revenant), and the Sam Aston Investigations giant monster thrillers, Primordial and Overlord. Alan has also written narrative arcs and dialogue for video games, and a variety of non-fiction, including the writer's guide to fight scenes, Write the Fight Right.   https://www.alanbaxteronline.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Alan-Baxter/e/B002BOBQFQ

We bring you another Interview w/ acclaimed Fantasy/Science Fiction author Chase Bolling of the Vanguard series. You can head to Amazon to purchase your own book! We talk inspiration and also tips for creative writers. Chase is also a leader for the SF/For the Culture, an indie-publishing company! Follow the Team on Twitter! Inside the Mind of a Blerd (Twitter)/ Inside the Bind of a Blerd (IG) KamKickz Bo Prince Follow our Guest on Instagram! Chase Bolling SF/For the Culture

Sal de tu pozo y ven a jugar el futuro postapocalíptico que te espera, joven del ayer termonuclear [semi-spoilers] “Hola qué tal, ola que pasa qué tal; mira mi Barbie te mola, si no te mola pistola,…”. Amazing Stories publicó este cuento de Dick en 1963. Como ocurre muchas veces con este hombre, cuentos y novelas comparten un universo propio; a veces los cuentos son fragmentos que inspiran la novela posterior y otras aportan ángulos distintos que no son los fundamentales en aquellas. En este caso la novela correspondiente es “Los tres estigmas de Palmer Eldritch” (1964) donde parte de la acción transcurre en una tierra devastada como la del cuento donde los adultos efectivamente juegan “Perky Pat” pero lo hacen habiendo ingerido una droga alucinógena que traslada su percepción dentro de los muñecos, como si de un avatar de Second Life se tratase, por lo que la evasión de la realidad es una temática más importante que en el cuento en mi opinión. Está claro en qué “moñeca” se inspiró Dick para este cuento y él así lo deja en unos comentarios que hizo al respecto y que traduciré a continuación, pero para el cuento yo le veo partiendo más de la reflexión sobre el juego simbólico en los niños, como les condiciona de camino a la adultez y cómo el consumismo y el capitalismo afectan a nuestros valores y deseos determinando aquello que pretendemos de la realidad. Los adultos de este mundo vienen de la sociedad del “sueño americano” y sus modos y aspiraciones ya han sido troquelados por esta, son incapaces de adaptarse a la nueva realidad “postnucelar” y no buscan mejorar como grupo -aunque como se entiende al final del cuento, los avances y cambios que experimenta Perky Pat en su maduración hacen que los “pozos” evolucionen causando rechazo en aquellos cuyas ideas y moral todavía no han “avanzado”- mientras que los niños, que han nacido en la nueva realidad buscan sacar lo mejor de esta e incluso la valoran aunque de un páramo yermo se trate. Lo digo porque los adultos muestran que tienen habilidades: son capaces de construir pequeños televisores y otros aparatos tecnológicos para sus “barrios de Perky Pat” y sin embargo no seles ocurre extrapolar esos conocimientos para modificar el mundo real en el que de repente les ha tocado vivir. Los niños sin embargo corren como titanes, cazan, se fabrican sus propios cuchillos… en un momento se ríen cuando piensan que los “auxiliadores” podrían hacer algo por ellos, tienen todo el mundo a sus pies para explorarlo/explotarlo. En cierto modo me hicieron recordar a los niños zoomer de las manifestaciones ambientalistas de los viernes que se quejan del mundo que los adultos boomers les dejan (insensatos que podrían haberlo hecho mejor porque tenían las herramientas, información y conocimientos pero no la voluntad). Además se sobrentiende que los auxiliadores envían material y recursos para ayudar en la “reconstrucción” pero es que ni se les ocurre intentarlo quizá porque como buenos “carambolos” provienen de una generación que no tuvo que luchar sino sólo disfrutar como buenos niños imbuidos en la sociedad consumista dominada por las empresas (siempre pensé que Dick es el mayor antecedente de las ideas centrales del cyberpunk) durante la época dorada del sueño americano. Una buena traducción de “Perky Pat” creo que sería “Patri la Pizpireta”, o sencillamente “Pizpi Patri”. No queda muy súper claro cómo se desarrolla el juego. Es gracioso cómo discuten por hacerlo lo más parecido posible al “mundo del ayer” que recuerdan (por ejemplo, cuando se ponen a discutir sobre el precio de una consulta terapéutica o si el frutero es quién te rellena la cesta de la compra o lo haces tu mismo). Parece, cómo no, que gana el que más dinero gana (sic) pero hacia el final del cuento nos enteramos que en el tablero hay casillas con cartas de eventos aleatorios y botes muy como en el monopoly (se me ocurre que Dick se animase a juntar ambos productos icónicos de la sociedad capitalista). Estuve investigando sobre los orígenes de Barbie, y data de 1959. En nada salió Kent y múltiples vestiditos y complementos para él y para ella, y en unos pocos años ya había Barbie dentista, Barbie profesora, Barbie azafata y un sinfín más de costosos “upgrades” que seguro sus hijas deseaban y debían sacar de los nervios a los padres por el chorreo económico que implicaban. Siempre habrá habido cromos, pero Dick vivió el auge de Barbie y ese modelos de negocio y alienación infantil (el juego es una importante herramienta a través de la cual los niños aprenden a ser adultos, o al menos un tipo de adulto) y estoy seguro que a Dick le tuvo que hacer flipar y provocar rechazo. Poco sabemos del pasado reciente, salvo que una Guerra termonuclear diezmo la población dejándola en números insignificantes de supervivientes (genial el nombre y la traducción de “Carambolos”) que sobreviven gracias a la ayuda de unos alienígenas que podemos suponer arrepentidos vencedores de un conflicto a gran escala. Sólo están sus ayudas, ellos no aparecen. Dan y dan, igual que los adultos dan a los niños. Muy significativo un momento en que los niños plantean que si los auxiliadores supieran a qué dedican los adultos la ayuda que les dan probablemente se enfadarían con ellos. Por esta relación de dependencia y actitud pasiva el relato me recordó también la novela “Los jugadores de Titán” (1963 también). Por el tema evasión y nostalgia del pasado al relato genial “Artefacto Precioso” que ya subimos. Considero importante la inversión de roles niños-adultos y el hecho de que estos, siendo capaces de “hacer cosas” no las hacen mientras que aquellos aprenden a vivir en el “mundo del mañana” utilizando los recursos que les ofrece. Cuando consiguen hablar por primera vez con otros pozo sólo lo hacen para hablar de Barbies, nada de preguntarles “buah pavo como estáis por ahí que tal sobrevivís etc”. Desde luego los niños son el futuro. Son insansatos e inconscientes, su hijo les ofrece ayuda para moverse por el mundo exterior y ellos la rechazan! Los niños son más adultos que estos que son totalmente “ninis”. La Barbie es de 1959, diseñada para Mattel por Ruth Handler, pero parece ser que se inspiró en una muñeca alemana parecida, Lilith, sólo que no era tanto para niñas como una broma para los adultos (quizá Dick sabía esto?). La modificó y la lanzó con mattel el 9 de marzo de 1959 por 3 dolares, éxito fulminante. Su cara inicial era muy distinta. Me tragué unos cuantos anuncios horripilantes, como en el que una señora enseñando a niñas como si fueran adultas todo lo que se podían poner y ellas preguntando “y tiene modelos para Salir con Kent?”. Este con niñas como si fueran adultas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7BUkXoGqOs&list=PLC36B6061AAEEB1BD&index=3 o este otro con una canción lo que Barbie llevedepende de ti hay un monton de estilos para elegir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH_0sF79LGA&list=PLC36B6061AAEEB1BD&index=4 un par de zapatos, que puede ser mejor? Me gustó el concepto del gatocan, que le da la salsilla mutante al escenario, aunque nada que ver con el concepto gatoperro. Vivan los minimiaus y todos los pequeños mamíferos sin discriminación. Para que sirven las barbies: para que los ñiños aprendan (como cualquier juego simbólico) a vivir en el consumismo (a los adultos les tiran materiales y ellos los malgastan) y el capitalismo (el juego lo gana quién más tiene). Por otro lado es necesario comprar y comprar más complementitos (modelo de negocio). Los niños sin embargo son “conscientes de sus muchas responsabilidades”. Al niño le encontramos fabricándose un cuchillo, no un Perky Pat. El primer juego que vemos es “no se quien va con el carrito a la compra, el otro: no se lo da al verdulero y él se lo llena, la otra: eso solo pasa en las tiendas de barrio, blablablá”. Los niños desaprueban mucho a sus padres (cuando se encuentran y llos padres de ambos están fuera jugando se miran y ponen cara de mutua desaprobación compartida). Los auxiliadores siempre andan de aquí para allá. Nunca paran, porque, si lo hicieran los adultos se morirían”. Se ríen de que los auxiliadores les pudieran ayudar con sus cosas, “tenían la superficie entera para ellos” la valoraban. Son expertos en correr, cazan conejos y venden las pieles. Por el tema: generaciones que nacen en un contexto versus nuevas generaciones que viven en otro nuevo he usado música de la película “A boy and his dog” (1975), basada en una serie de relatos homónima (1969) de Harlan Ellison, autor y antologista de series como “Dangerous Visions” de la que hemos subido ya algunos relatos (La fe de nuestros padres del propio Dick o Madre de Farmer por ejemplo). Os dejo un link a la peli: https://gnula.nu/sci-fi/ver-a-boy-and-his-dog-un-muchacho-y-su-perro-1975-online/ Sobre esta historia, Dick dijo: “Sobra decir que fue la locura que se creó en torno a la muñeca Barbie ™ lo que me indujo a escribir esta historia. A mí siempre me pareció innecesariamente realista. Añós después tuve una novia cuya ambición era ser una Barbie. Espero que lo haya conseguido” Después dijo mucho más: “Los días de Perky Pat” se me ocurrió de repente como un “flash” cuando miraba a mis niños jugar con muñecas Barbie ™ . Estas muñecas anatómicamente superdesarrolladas obviamente no fueron diseñadas para ser usadas por niños, o, siendo más precisos, no deberían haber sido. Barbie y Kent son básicamente dos adultos en miniatura. La idea general es que fuera necesario comprar y comprar más y más ropas si querías que los dos llevaran el estilo de vida al que estaban acostumbrados. Tenía visiones en las que una Barbie (TM) ™a por la noche a mi dormitorio y me decía: “Necesito un abrigo de visón”. O incluso peor: “Oye, grandullón… quieres venir a dar una vuelta hasta Las Vegas en mi Jaguar XKE?” . Tenía miedo de que mi mujer nos encontrara junto y me disparase. La venta de “Los días de Perky Pat” a “Amazing” fue una de las gordas porque en aquellos tiempos Cele Goldsmith era la editora y ella era una de las mejores en su profesión. Avram Davidson, de “Fantasy & Science Fiction”, la había rechazado, aunque más tarde me dijo que si hubiera sabido algo acerca de las muñecas Barbie ™ por aquel entonces probablemente la hubiera comprado. No me podía imaginar que hubiera alguien que no supiese de su existencia. Yo tenía que lidiar con ella y sus costosas compras constantemente. Era tan terrible como mantener en correcto funcionamiento mi televisión; el aparato siempre necesitaba algo y lo mismo pasaba con ella. Siempre pensé que Kent al menos debería comprarse sus propias ropas [sic]. En aquellos días (los primeros años 60) escribí un montón y algunas de mis mejores historias y novelas provienen de ese período. Mi mujer no me dejaba trabajar en casa, así que alquilé un cuchitril por 15 dólares al mes donde acudía cada mañana. Todo lo que veía en mi camino hacia allá eran unas cuantas vacas en sus prados y mi propio rebaño de ovejas, que nunca hicieron nada más que zarandear sus cencerros por ahí. Estaba terriblemente sólo, encerrado en mi mismo dentro de mi cobertizo durante todo el día. Así que quizás “Los días de Perky Pat” era un poco una ilusión mías; me hubiera encantado ver a Barbie (o a Perky Pat y Connie companion) aparecer súbitamente en la puerta de mi choza. Lo que se me apareció fue algo mucho más feo: mi visión del rostro de Palmer Eldritch, que se convirtió en la base de partida para la novela “Los tres stigmas de Palmer Eldritch” a partir de la cual se generó la historia de Perky Pat. […] En “Los días de Perky Pat” encontré un vehículo al que podía trasladar la base temática para la novela que quería escribir. Mira: Perky Pat representaba la más-pura. Das eqoge Weobñocjleit, “la eterna feminidad” en palabras de Goethe. El aislamiento generó la novela y el anhelo la historia. Así que la novela es una mezcla del miedo a ser abandonado con la fantasía de una mujer hermosa que está esperando por ti--- en algún lugar, aunque sólo Dios sabe donde, yo todavía tengo que averiguarlo. Pero si, día tras día, te sientas sólo ante tu máquina de escribir escribiendo una historia tras otra y sin nadie con quien hablar, nadie con quien estar, aún teniendo nominalmente una mujer y cuatri hijas de cuya casa has sido expulsado, desterrado a un cobertizo con cuatro paredes, tan frío en invierno que literalmente se congelaba la tinta en la cinta de mi máquina de escribir, bueno: vas a escribir una historia sobre caras con ojos huecos y mujeres jóvenes. Y por tanto así lo hice. Y por tanto así lo sigo haciendo.” Y eso es. Un abrazo y ojalá haga compañía a alguien una horita. Acudid a vuestras biliotecas y librerídas a comprar cosas de Dick y cía. Drechos humanos para los replicantes ya! Los átomos están hechos de vacío, las palabras pueden convertirse en cárceles, el futuro ha d esr fluido asi vaporoso y ¿por qué existe algo y no nada? Errores deedición? Haberlos haylos /// soymescalito@gmail.com /// Cuento, historia, ciencia ficción, postapocalíptico, fallout, juego, Barbie, relato, fantasía, nuclear, filosofía, historia, castellano, voz humana, cositas que ahora no se me ocurren

Bokraddel er tilbake som podkast og denne gangen er det bibliotekarene Audhild Tjugen og Siri O. Vikse som har tatt styringen med nytt format. Siden Bokraddel er tilbake som fysisk arrangement, vil nå podkasten inneholde tematiske episoder i stedet for bare nyheter. Masse lesetips som er verdt å få med seg vil komme i denne serien fremover! Lesetips nevnt i denne episoden: "Widdershins" av Charles DeLint (Foreløpig utilgjengelig på biblioteket, følg med og gi gjerne lyd ved interesse!) "Skyward" av Brandon Sanderson "Red Rising" av Pierce Brown "His dark materials" av Philip Pullman finnes også på norsk "Sanctuary" av Paola Mendoza og Abby Sher "The way of the house husband" av Kousuke Oono --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haugesundbibliotek/message

Cuckoo's Nest by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. Featuring an afterword written by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. #fantasy #urbanfantasy  She reached out and gripped his chin in her too-hard grasp.  He tried to draw back, but she was too strong.  She stared at his mouth, leaned closer, suddenly pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.  Before he could react, her tongue was in his mouth.  She tasted like lemon, like rosemary, like something wild.  She bit his lower lip, sucked on the wound until he had vampire fears.  There was nothing arousing about her actions; all of him was damped down with fear. Over the past thirty-odd years, Nina Kiriki Hoffman has sold adult and young adult novels and more than 350 short stories.  Her works have been finalists for many major awards, and she has won Stoker and Nebula Awards. Nina's novels have been published by Avon, Atheneum, Ace, Pocket, Scholastic, Tachyon, and Viking.  Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. Nina does production work for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and teaches writing.  She lives in Eugene, Oregon. For a list of Nina's publications: http://ofearna.us/books/hoffman.html.   Please help support The Overcast. Become a Patron Today! Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher  or Spotify so you never miss an episode. While you're there, don't forget to leave a review!   J.S. Arquin's Crimson Dust Cycle trilogy is complete! Go to www.arquinworlds.com to download your free prequel story. Are you an author who loves J.S. Arquin's narrations? Ask him to narrate your audiobook at www.arquinaudiobooks.com     

“El Fin del Mundo tal como lo conocemos” trata de los intentos de un superviviente del Apocalipsis por lidiar con la dimensión emocional de su pérdida. Pero más que eso, es una historia del fin del mundo que nos ilustra cómo funcionan realmente las historias del fin del mundo". ------------------------------------- DALE BAILEY es autor de tres novelas, The Fallen, House of Bones y Sleeping Policemen (con Jack Slay, Jr.). Ha publicado más de veinte obras de ficción cortas, principalmente en The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, y una selección de estas ha sido recogida en The Resurrection Man’s Legacy and Other Stories. Este relato, que quedó finalista en el premio Nebula, surgió del intento de Bailey de entender nuestra fascinación morbosa por el género de relatos del fin del mundo y la idea de nuestra propia extinción. Algo que Bailey comprendió mientras escribía la historia es que el mundo se acaba para alguna persona cada minuto de cada día. El propio autor dice: «No necesitamos la destrucción de ciudades completas para saber lo que significa sobrevivir a una catástrofe. Cada vez que perdemos a alguien que amamos profundamente, experimentamos el fin del mundo tal como lo conocemos. La idea central de la historia no es simplemente que el Apocalipsis se acerca, sino que se acerca a ti. Y no hay nada que puedas hacer para evitarlo» Visita su web: https://dalebailey.com/dale-baileys-bibliography/ ------------------------------------------------------- -- Redes Sociales Historias para ser leídas: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HLeidas Web https://historiasparaserleidas.wordpress.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXtyRhW_-h0&feature=emb_title Gracias a todos los mecenas que apoyan este Podcast. :***

“El Fin del Mundo tal como lo conocemos” trata de los intentos de un superviviente del Apocalipsis por lidiar con la dimensión emocional de su pérdida. Pero más que eso, es una historia del fin del mundo que nos ilustra cómo funcionan realmente las historias del fin del mundo". ------------------------------------- DALE BAILEY es autor de tres novelas, The Fallen, House of Bones y Sleeping Policemen (con Jack Slay, Jr.). Ha publicado más de veinte obras de ficción cortas, principalmente en The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, y una selección de estas ha sido recogida en The Resurrection Man’s Legacy and Other Stories. Este relato, que quedó finalista en el premio Nebula, surgió del intento de Bailey de entender nuestra fascinación morbosa por el género de relatos del fin del mundo y la idea de nuestra propia extinción. Algo que Bailey comprendió mientras escribía la historia es que el mundo se acaba para alguna persona cada minuto de cada día. El propio autor dice: «No necesitamos la destrucción de ciudades completas para saber lo que significa sobrevivir a una catástrofe. Cada vez que perdemos a alguien que amamos profundamente, experimentamos el fin del mundo tal como lo conocemos. La idea central de la historia no es simplemente que el Apocalipsis se acerca, sino que se acerca a ti. Y no hay nada que puedas hacer para evitarlo» Visita su web: https://dalebailey.com/dale-baileys-bibliography/ ------------------------------------------------------- -- Redes Sociales Historias para ser leídas: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HLeidas Web https://historiasparaserleidas.wordpress.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXtyRhW_-h0&feature=emb_title Gracias a todos los mecenas que apoyan este Podcast. :*** Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

  Book Vs Movie Total Recall The Philip K. Dick Short Story  Vs the Arnold Schwarzenegger 1990 Film   If memory serves, this is the first movie the Margos are covering that stars action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time we are visiting Mars and it is nothing like David Bowie would have enjoyed. 1990’s Total Recall (directed by Paul Verhoeven) is based on the short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by prolific writer Philip K. Dick.  The short story (first published in 1966 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) follows the story of Douglas Quail and an ordinary, earth-bound man who dreams of going to Mars. He works as a clerk at a boring office job and his wife, Kristen, seems to enjoy making fun of his dreams.  Quail discovers Rekal Incorporated, a company that provides memory implants that takes the place of actual experience. Instead of a fake memory--he actually remembers that he is a secret agent who killed a political operative on Mars and his “real life” is fake.  The movie is much more complicated and the budget of $55 million for 1990 was considered astronomical for the time (it eventually made over $261 million) and was the 5th highest-grossing film in 1990 (Ghost was #1!)  The plot? We try to make sense of it in this episode while enjoying the insane special effects and inane dialog.  Between the short story and film--which did the Margos like better?  In this ep the Margos discuss: The bio of Philip K. Dick The career of Paul Verhoeven & Schwarzenegger  The “sleazy & demure” love interest (eye roll) Margo’s story about San Diego actress Priscilla Allen (billed as “Fat Lady” in the movie!) The cast which includes: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Quaid,) Rachel Ticotin (Melina,) Sharon Stone (Lori,) Ronny Cox (Cohaggen,) Michael Ironside (Richter,) Marshall Bell (Kuato,) Ray Baker (McClane,) and Rosemary Dunsmore (Dr. Lull.)  Clips Featured: Total Recall trailer “Two Weeks” “You Blew My Cover!” Arnold yelling “Take the pill” Music: Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith The Dream Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie    Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/ Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com   Brought to you by Audible.com You can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial here http://www.audible.com/?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/ 

My guest today is Dr Trent Hergenrader, Professor of Worldbuilding! Trent Hergenrader is a real life Professor of Worldbuilding! He holds a position as Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success.  Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com  and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding  for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities! Janet Forbes (pen-name J.D. Blythe) is a published fantasy author, professional Dungeons and Dragons Streamer, and also the co-founder of World Anvil, the ULTIMATE worldbuilding platform for writers and tabletop gamers!  Follow her on Twitter to keep up with her latest content, advice and publications: https://www.twitter.com/JD_Blythe  You can find her first novelette here: https://kyanitepublishing.com/product/kyanite-press-v2i1/

My guest today is Dr Trent Hergenrader, Professor of Worldbuilding! Trent Hergenrader is a real life Professor of Worldbuilding! He holds a position as Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success.  Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com  and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding  for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!   Janet Forbes (pen-name J.D. Blythe) is a published fantasy author, professional Dungeons and Dragons Streamer, and also the co-founder of World Anvil, the ULTIMATE worldbuilding platform for writers and tabletop gamers!  Follow her on Twitter to keep up with her latest content, advice and publications: https://www.twitter.com/JD_Blythe  You can find her first novelette here: https://kyanitepublishing.com/product/kyanite-press-v2i1/

My guest today is Dr Trent Hergenrader, Professor of Worldbuilding! Trent Hergenrader is a real life Professor of Worldbuilding! He holds a position as Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success.  Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com  and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding  for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!   Janet Forbes (pen-name J.D. Blythe) is a published fantasy author, professional Dungeons and Dragons Streamer, and also the co-founder of World Anvil, the ULTIMATE worldbuilding platform for writers and tabletop gamers!  Follow her on Twitter to keep up with her latest content, advice and publications: https://www.twitter.com/JD_Blythe  You can find her first novelette here: https://kyanitepublishing.com/product/kyanite-press-v2i1/

My guest today is Dr Trent Hergenrader, Professor of Worldbuilding! Trent Hergenrader is a real life Professor of Worldbuilding! He holds a position as Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success.  Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com  and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding  for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities! Janet Forbes (pen-name J.D. Blythe) is a published fantasy author, professional Dungeons and Dragons Streamer, and also the co-founder of World Anvil, the ULTIMATE worldbuilding platform for writers and tabletop gamers!  Follow her on Twitter to keep up with her latest content, advice and publications: https://www.twitter.com/JD_Blythe  You can find her first novelette here: https://kyanitepublishing.com/product/kyanite-press-v2i1/

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2y32eKh Veronica Roth is well known for her successful Divergent series of books which were also put on screen. She recently wrote a fantasy science fiction novel “Chosen Ones” and she spoke to me about that book and her approach to writing. 0:31 – Veronica talks about why she wrote … Continue reading Fantasy science fiction novel – “Chosen Ones” (John Joseph Adams, 2020) – Veronica Roth interview →

Alyx Dellamonica is a Canadian science fiction writer, with many short stories published since the 80s! They recently completed an MFA in creative writing, for which they wrote a horror screenplay. As L X Beckett, they have begun a brand new science fiction novel series, published by Tor, that starts with “Gamechanger.” It tackles climate change, social rating systems, the gig economy and more!For a great introduction to this world, check out their novella, “Freezing Rain, A Chance of Falling”, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction:https://www.curiousfictions.com/stories/2156-l-x-beckett-freezing-rain-a-chance-of-fallingWe talk about challenging yourself as a writer, the Clarion West Writers Workshop--and terrible Canandian weather!Gamechanger:https://www.amazon.com/Gamechanger-L-X-Beckett/dp/1250165261LX Beckett site:https://www.lxbeckett.com/AM Dellamonica site:https://alyxdellamonica.com/As always, if you're a reader, writer, creative type, someone with something to say, you can always get in touch with me using losingtheplotpodcast_at_gmail_dot_com. I look forward to hearing from you!Marshall, who provided Losing the Plot’s intro music, has an EP out now! Check out “Emerald Shitty” here!https://emeraldshitty714.bandcamp.com/releases

Chatting With Sherri welcomes author; Brian Trent! Brian Trent's work regularly appears in Analog, Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Terraform, Daily Science Fiction, Apex, Pseudopod, Escape Pod, Galaxy’s Edge, Nature, and numerous year’s best anthologies. The author of the recently published sci-fi novel Ten Thousand Thunders and the dark fantasy series Rahotep, Trent lives in New England. His website is www.briantrent.com.

Today we have Dr Trent Hergenrader, a genuine, real-life  PROFESSOR OF WORLDBUILDING! We talk about magic and technology, specifically how they might interact in a worldbuilding setting, and different ways you can do this. We examine old tropes and paradigms, and look at great examples of the two combined! We always have amazing guests, so check back for new episodes soon. You can also catch these discussions live on Twitch.tv/worldanvil, watch the videos on youtube.com/worldanvil, or head over to www.worldanvil.com to start worldbuilding right now. So grab your hammer, and go worldbuild!   The amazing Professor Trent Hergenrader teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology, New YorkTrent Hergenrader is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success. Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!    

In part two of our discussion on interactions between Magic and technology, we continue our talk with Dr Trent Hergenrader, a genuine, real-life  PROFESSOR OF WORLDBUILDING! We talk about magic and technology, specifically how they might interact in a worldbuilding setting, and different ways you can do this. We examine old tropes and paradigms, and look at great examples of the two combined! We always have amazing guests, so check back for new episodes soon. You can also catch these discussions live on Twitch.tv/worldanvil, watch the videos on youtube.com/worldanvil, or head over to www.worldanvil.com to start worldbuilding right now. So grab your hammer, and go worldbuild!   The amazing Professor Trent Hergenrader teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York Trent Hergenrader is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success. Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!

In part two of our discussion on interactions between Magic and technology, we continue our talk with Dr Trent Hergenrader, a genuine, real-life  PROFESSOR OF WORLDBUILDING! We talk about magic and technology, specifically how they might interact in a worldbuilding setting, and different ways you can do this. We examine old tropes and paradigms, and look at great examples of the two combined! We always have amazing guests, so check back for new episodes soon. You can also catch these discussions live on Twitch.tv/worldanvil, watch the videos on youtube.com/worldanvil, or head over to www.worldanvil.com to start worldbuilding right now. So grab your hammer, and go worldbuild!   The amazing Professor Trent Hergenrader teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York Trent Hergenrader is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success. Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!

Today we have Dr Trent Hergenrader, a genuine, real-life  PROFESSOR OF WORLDBUILDING! We talk about magic and technology, specifically how they might interact in a worldbuilding setting, and different ways you can do this. We examine old tropes and paradigms, and look at great examples of the two combined! We always have amazing guests, so check back for new episodes soon. You can also catch these discussions live on Twitch.tv/worldanvil, watch the videos on youtube.com/worldanvil, or head over to www.worldanvil.com to start worldbuilding right now. So grab your hammer, and go worldbuild!   The amazing Professor Trent Hergenrader teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology, New YorkTrent Hergenrader is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He teaches worldbuilding modules and this semester he's using World Anvil to teach his class! His fiction writing has appeared in such places as Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk, and Best Horror of the Year #1. He is co-editor of Creative Writing in the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Creative Writing Innovations (Bloomsbury, 2017). His book “Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers” was published in October last year by Bloomsbury and was an instant success. Check out http://www.collaborativeworldbuilding.com and  https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/collaborative-worldbuilding for the Collaborative Worldbuilding book and cards.  You can also hit up Trent on Twitter at @thergenrade and @collabworldbldg, and go to http://www.trenthergenrader.com for all his complete professional profile and activities!    

Links Fell | https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/fell Dictionary of Mu | https://pakasthreadgames.bigcartel.com/product/the-dictionary-of-mu | Judd's Twitter | https://twitter.com/Judd_of_Kryos | --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daydreaming-about-dragons/message

TCW Podcast Episode 084 - Time Shared   We lay the groundwork of computer development that led to some of the earliest influential games that would shape the industry.  We cover how computers were one-program-at-a-time systems, and it was only through experimentation that were computers developed that could handle multiple inputs at once.  We see how Sputnik scared the USA into spending a lot more in the sciences in order to keep up with Russian space development, which benefited computer-based education initiatives.  We finish up looking at the proliferation of computers with remote terminals in universities, high schools, and some grade schools.   That combined with the high level programing language BASIC set the stage for development, and spread of games!   Castlevania 2 Runner Pays 400/month for Internet: https://youtu.be/C_3Tdjs0iVA?t=1991 The SAGE Systen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06drBN8nlWg IRQ, DMA, and Address Ports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPKXmGkRxQ8 How Computers Work Overview playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAx_6-wdslM&list=PLzdnOPI1iJNcsRwJhvksEo1tJqjIqWbN- Crash Course Computer Science playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpIctyqH29Q&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNlUrzyH5r6jN9ulIgZBpdo The Story of Sputnik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJnt3xW2Fc "The Fun They Had" by Isaac Asimov: https://archive.org/stream/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v006n02_1954-02/Fantasy__Science_Fiction_v006n02_1954-02#page/n125/mode/2up 1963 MIT Timesharing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q07PhW5sCEk Machine Code and High Level Languages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OukpDfsuXE Birth of BASIC: https://youtu.be/WYPNjSoDrqw Hello Computer reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqiDu1BQXY   New episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month!   TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com  Twitter: @tcwpodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's forthcoming book will be released through CRC Press!   Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download:http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode  Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love  Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lawrence C. Connolly’s books include the Veins Cycle novels Veins (2008), Vipers (2010), and Vortex (2014). His collections include Visions (2009), This Way to Egress (2010), and Voices (2011), which include his stories from Amazing Stories, Cemetery Dance, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror, and other top magazines and anthologies of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Voices was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Laura met Lawrence at the recent NYC Horror Film Fest and followed up to talk about his screenplay for This Way to Egress. Learn more at https://lawrencecconnolly.com or find him on Facebook @LawrenceCConnolly and on Twitter @LCConnolly. To find out more about Laura and her work please visit her website at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find Laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers, on Facebook @thatlaurapowers, and on instagram at laurapowers44.

Today we try something new. DJ and Justin sit down and talk about what they liked, didn't like and what should of been. This is Simplistic Reviews on Aquaman. Aquaman PG-13 2018 ‧ Fantasy/Science Fiction ‧ 2h 22m   Once home to the most advanced civilization on Earth, the city of Atlantis is now an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm. With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to conquer the remaining oceanic people -- and then the surface world. Standing in his way is Aquaman, Orm's half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko, Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the deep.   Release date: December 21, 2018 (USA) Director: James Wan  

Noted science fiction writer, Yoon Ha Lee, author of Revenant Gun and other works, delivers an interesting analysis of the science fiction world in which he thrives. Yoon Ha received a B.A. in mathematics from Cornell University as well as an M.A. in math education from Stanford University. His work in fiction has appeared in publications such as The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; the popular online sci-fi magazine, Tor.com; and Clarkesworld Magazine, as well as many anthologies. Yoon Ha was inspired to become a writer by his very passionate 3rd grade teacher who challenged students to be creative. Learning about the craft of writing at such an early age pushed Yoon Ha to try his hand at it, and by the end of middle school he had completed his first novel. And while Yoon Ha recounts that this first effort was not very good, he continued to work at his craft and wrote several more through his high school years. Yoon Ha discusses his work and the technical merits of writing that he sought to improve as he was cutting his teeth in those early years as a burgeoning young writer. From improving his prose to world building, Yoon Ha sought to enhance his work in every way possible. He details how characterization is an important aspect of novel writing, as readers like to relate to the characters personally, through the characters' eyes. And he explains that while world building is important, perhaps the building of characters is the most important task of writing novels. Yoon Ha discusses his first successful novel, Ninefox Gambit, and the reasons he feels the novel worked, and why it was commercially successful. Yoon Ha describes the unusual world that he built in that novel and the physics elements, as well as the cat and mouse dynamic, all of which he felt contributed to the popular interest in the book. The sci-fi author outlines his road to commercial success in the publishing world and he acknowledges that the many years he spent improving his craft helped get him there. As he built a significant following for his creative short stories through the years, his publisher sought to take his work to the obvious next level—marketable books. Yoon Ha speaks about his own personal reading lists and how the reading and study of a broad range of disparate topics helps to expand his own mind and ultimately expand his creativity. From military to math, Yoon Ha found that literally any subject matter could help to broaden his mind as a reader, which of course helped to improve his craft. He talks about some notable authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, David Eddings and others, and recounts how their work impacted him as a young reader, and how his experience growing up as a Korean-American affected his perception and connection to some works. And as the work he was devouring as a young reader was largely from a western perspective, Yoon Ha thought to bring an East Asian influence to the sci-fi genre. As the publishing field expands, Yoon Ha states that diversity is increasing, which allows more types of stories to be told, which in turn allows a larger audience to see themselves represented. The popular author describes some of the relative differences he sees between Korean culture and classically typical American culture, and the symbolic elements of both. Wrapping up, Yoon Ha provides an overview of the elements of his latest work, the novel, Revenant Gun. And he talks about his website (yoonhalee.com) and the many samples that interested readers can browse there for free.

“¡Señora! El fabricante de juguetes ha llegado a su barrio. Llévese uno de estos encantadores soldaditos en miniatura. Harán las delicias de niños y niñas. Y por supuesto no tratarán de someterle y hacerse con el control del mundo empezando por los niños” [semi-spoilers] Subo dos cuentos cortos y algo tontuaces que me dejé en el tintero pero lo siguiente me pongo con otro cuento más serio y leído con más calma. “ The little movement” se publicó por primera vez en Fantasy & Science Fiction en la primavera de 1952. Después de aceptada Dick decidió darle unos últimos retoques y escribió de vuelta a los editores “… una versión mejorada con sólo unos pocos cambios, todos para mejor, creo. Es mucho más fluida (…). Si “The little movement” vuelve con un rechazo, me dará un infarto”. Es una historia de la que estaba muy orgulloso. En 1958 pidió que la incluyeran en una antología junto con Foster, estás muerto” y “Más allá yace el Wub” (ambos ya subimos). Hablando con el mismo editor (Boucher) acerca de la antología que estaba recopilando le dice: “¿Y qué te parece alguna de esas historias cortas que me publicaste? ¿O acaso esta colección es estrictamente ciencia-ficción? [otra vez la fina línea entre fantasía y ciencia ficción] Mira, aunque llegue a vivir 100 años nunca conseguiré escribir algo tan bueno como aquellas historias, especialmente “Little Movement”. Cuando la leo, me asombro de que yo haya podido escribir eso. Oh! La inspiración de la juventud…” Me gustó mucho el relato. Me acordé inmediatamente de Toy Story por supuesto pero también de Small Soldiers (1998) quizá con la que más tiene que ver pues los juguetes de la película pertenecen a dos facciones que luchan entre sí. Me llamó la atención eso de que los niños son una raza completamente sometida porque es totalmente cierto (al menos los bien educados o todavía ingenuos) y es muy puntero el tema de los robots que se fabrican a sí mismos (lo hemos visto por ejemplo en “Segunda Variedad” y “El mundo de Jon” que ya subimos). Es muy tierna una escena en la que el niño abraza a su oso Teddy. Yo de pequeño tenía dos osos, se llamaban Panda y Berna. Seguro que me protegieron de los juguetes malvados muchas veces. Siempre busco las mismas explicaciones pero no sé si Dick está fijándose en la irrupción del consumismo en la sociedad americana, y la utilización de los niños como mercado. Los juguetes saben que tienen que legar a los adultos, que son los que tienen el dinero y por tanto tienen el poder. Pero son muy “grandes”. Así que van a por los niños. Dado que esto es una fábula cibernética para la música elegí Pedro y el Lobo (Prokofiev), también en parte porque acabo de ir a ver la secuela de Blade Runner (sic) y la sintonía del teléfono (Joi) de Ryan Gosling (K) es Pedro y el lobo. No sé si por algún tipo de metáfora o porque quisieron usar algo clásico como la sintonía típica de los Nokia (“Gran Vals” de Francisco Tárrega). De pequeños seguro que lo habéis oído, con un narrador que va explicando que animal es cada instrumento y la historia. Aquí [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Df9snxMcM ] con el mítico doblador que ponía la voz de Homer y la de los Fragel Rock (d.e.p.) . Pero la parte que más me mola es la marcha del lobo [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctsWdUaHsHM ] que es la que usé realmente y porque el lobo es nuestro antihéroe favorito y los protagonistas de la historia realmente son malos. Muchas gracias! =^___^= errores de edición? haberlos haylos soymescalito@gmail.com Ilustración: Scanned Objects de DVS (Flickr) Cuento, infantil, fantasía, ciencia, ficción, relato, historia, historias, juguetes, niños, audiolibro, audiorelato, voz, humana, Philip, K, Dick

“¡Señora! El fabricante de juguetes ha llegado a su barrio. Llévese uno de estos encantadores soldaditos en miniatura. Harán las delicias de niños y niñas. Y por supuesto no tratarán de someterle y hacerse con el control del mundo empezando por los niños” [semi-spoilers] Subo dos cuentos cortos y algo tontuaces que me dejé en el tintero pero lo siguiente me pongo con otro cuento más serio y leído con más calma. “ The little movement” se publicó por primera vez en Fantasy & Science Fiction en la primavera de 1952. Después de aceptada Dick decidió darle unos últimos retoques y escribió de vuelta a los editores “… una versión mejorada con sólo unos pocos cambios, todos para mejor, creo. Es mucho más fluida (…). Si “The little movement” vuelve con un rechazo, me dará un infarto”. Es una historia de la que estaba muy orgulloso. En 1958 pidió que la incluyeran en una antología junto con Foster, estás muerto” y “Más allá yace el Wub” (ambos ya subimos). Hablando con el mismo editor (Boucher) acerca de la antología que estaba recopilando le dice: “¿Y qué te parece alguna de esas historias cortas que me publicaste? ¿O acaso esta colección es estrictamente ciencia-ficción? [otra vez la fina línea entre fantasía y ciencia ficción] Mira, aunque llegue a vivir 100 años nunca conseguiré escribir algo tan bueno como aquellas historias, especialmente “Little Movement”. Cuando la leo, me asombro de que yo haya podido escribir eso. Oh! La inspiración de la juventud…” Me gustó mucho el relato. Me acordé inmediatamente de Toy Story por supuesto pero también de Small Soldiers (1998) quizá con la que más tiene que ver pues los juguetes de la película pertenecen a dos facciones que luchan entre sí. Me llamó la atención eso de que los niños son una raza completamente sometida porque es totalmente cierto (al menos los bien educados o todavía ingenuos) y es muy puntero el tema de los robots que se fabrican a sí mismos (lo hemos visto por ejemplo en “Segunda Variedad” y “El mundo de Jon” que ya subimos). Es muy tierna una escena en la que el niño abraza a su oso Teddy. Yo de pequeño tenía dos osos, se llamaban Panda y Berna. Seguro que me protegieron de los juguetes malvados muchas veces. Siempre busco las mismas explicaciones pero no sé si Dick está fijándose en la irrupción del consumismo en la sociedad americana, y la utilización de los niños como mercado. Los juguetes saben que tienen que legar a los adultos, que son los que tienen el dinero y por tanto tienen el poder. Pero son muy “grandes”. Así que van a por los niños. Dado que esto es una fábula cibernética para la música elegí Pedro y el Lobo (Prokofiev), también en parte porque acabo de ir a ver la secuela de Blade Runner (sic) y la sintonía del teléfono (Joi) de Ryan Gosling (K) es Pedro y el lobo. No sé si por algún tipo de metáfora o porque quisieron usar algo clásico como la sintonía típica de los Nokia (“Gran Vals” de Francisco Tárrega). De pequeños seguro que lo habéis oído, con un narrador que va explicando que animal es cada instrumento y la historia. Aquí [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Df9snxMcM ] con el mítico doblador que ponía la voz de Homer y la de los Fragel Rock (d.e.p.) . Pero la parte que más me mola es la marcha del lobo [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctsWdUaHsHM ] que es la que usé realmente y porque el lobo es nuestro antihéroe favorito y los protagonistas de la historia realmente son malos. Muchas gracias! =^___^= errores de edición? haberlos haylos soymescalito@gmail.com Ilustración: Scanned Objects de DVS (Flickr) Cuento, infantil, fantasía, ciencia, ficción, relato, historia, historias, juguetes, niños, audiolibro, audiorelato, voz, humana, Philip, K, Dick

¿Dougie? Vamos despierta, gandul. Acude a tu puesto de trabajo insignificante. Nunca llegarás a nada. Siempre con pájaros en la cabeza, siempre soñando con ser importante, con conocer sitios recónditos... Viajar a Marte? Ja! Jamás tendrás la oportunidad. Pon los pies en la Tierra. Levántate, y haz el café, cariño. [semispoilers] Como es un poco tarde me calaré a la espera de aportar algo otro día, sois bienvenidos a comentar porque el cuento toca tremendos temas de la ciencia ficción psicológica de Dick, aún teniendo, en mi opinión, un final muy impuesto y sin tener tanta acción como otros o la peli que inspiró (sin comentarios, aunque no agacho la cabeza y admito que yo la disfruto. Total Recall (Recuerdo Total), por cierto, aquí titulada en esta tradición que tienen de cambiar los títulos mogollón, Desafío Total). Se publicó en 1966 en The magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. El título oirignal es "We can Remeber it for you wholesale". Wholesale en inglés significa al por mayor. Se suele encontrar traducido como "Podemos recordarlo todo por usted". A mi el título me inspira que Dick quería darle una pizca de sonido a slogan comercial. Como si las rebajas llegaran incluso hasta la ciencia de la "mnemotecnia fáctica". Es genial cuando el ayudante le explica al jefe que el cliente se acordará de la visita... siempre y cuando él no le diga que se la borre. De todos modos la miga del cuento no me parece que esté en la parodia de la sociedad de consumo que es una de las aristas de la ficción cyberpunk que Dick trabajaba tanto (deduzco que le preocupaba mucho la publicidad), yo me voy a quedar con la parte que nos habla más de él... y de sus preocupaciones como escritor (cuál es la verdad? La verdad para alguien verdaderamente escéptico es algo difícil de encontrar. Es muy fácil atraparse entre dos premisas, siendo una y la otra verdad al mismo tiempo, o no pudiendo refutar ninguna.. ese es el camino de la psicosis. Ya lo dice uno de los ayudantes. El cliente tendrá que convivir con dos recuerdos, eso generará una disonancia que puede generar en psicosis. Antes de continuar recordemos qe Dick tenía esquizofrenia, o algo parecido. Por una lado una persona con un brote puede ser consicente de que nos e puede fiar de la realidad pero si las pistas que recibe le guían mucho hacia un sitio puede acabar concluyendo o aceptando cosas muy alejadas de la realidad. Por otro lado muchos esquizofrénicos siente que la gente se mete dentro de sus cabezas, u aquí a nuestro personaje se le meten dentro de los pensamientos. Uno no sabe si todo es verdad o si todo es locura, porque desde el momento en que la mujer se va de casa y aparece el policía que estaba agazapado en la sombra todo se va de madre. Pero a lo mejor es porque hay´ ya está solo y todo se lo imagina. Según lo veo el cuento directamente apuesta porque todo es verdad. Nunca nos aclara si la mujer esta compinchada o no. Hoy por hoy se ve que no en todos los casos era así pero a mucha gente que tiene locuras de personalidad se le atribuye una función adaptativa: la de permitirles no tener que enfrentarse con la realidad: construirse "máscaras", armaduras, que protejan su yo (un yo que ha quedado empequeñecido por el yo de la locura (el histriónico) En este caso aplica muy bien, si eres una persona insignificante, soñar con que en realidad eres un espía. Está genial como riza el rizo Dick y busca aquel deseo que es más egocéntrico y narcisista posible. Ser la persona más importante del mundo. Si no existes tú, el mundo no existe. Ilustración: Escena de Total Recall nota: Podría ser que se me pirase bajar el volumen de alguna música respecto a la voz, que el volumen general sea demasiado alto y se distorsione, o demasiado bajo, que se me escapase algún ruido... si ves algo de eso, please, dejame un mensaje y sería épico para que lo pudiera arreglar, bajar el volumen, subirlo.. no es fácil editar (sin saber:) Muchas gracias! =^___^= errores de edición? haberlos haylos soymescalito@gmail.com

¿Dougie? Vamos despierta, gandul. Acude a tu puesto de trabajo insignificante. Nunca llegarás a nada. Siempre con pájaros en la cabeza, siempre soñando con ser importante, con conocer sitios recónditos... Viajar a Marte? Ja! Jamás tendrás la oportunidad. Pon los pies en la Tierra. Levántate, y haz el café, cariño. [semispoilers] Como es un poco tarde me calaré a la espera de aportar algo otro día, sois bienvenidos a comentar porque el cuento toca tremendos temas de la ciencia ficción psicológica de Dick, aún teniendo, en mi opinión, un final muy impuesto y sin tener tanta acción como otros o la peli que inspiró (sin comentarios, aunque no agacho la cabeza y admito que yo la disfruto. Total Recall (Recuerdo Total), por cierto, aquí titulada en esta tradición que tienen de cambiar los títulos mogollón, Desafío Total). Se publicó en 1966 en The magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. El título oirignal es "We can Remeber it for you wholesale". Wholesale en inglés significa al por mayor. Se suele encontrar traducido como "Podemos recordarlo todo por usted". A mi el título me inspira que Dick quería darle una pizca de sonido a slogan comercial. Como si las rebajas llegaran incluso hasta la ciencia de la "mnemotecnia fáctica". Es genial cuando el ayudante le explica al jefe que el cliente se acordará de la visita... siempre y cuando él no le diga que se la borre. De todos modos la miga del cuento no me parece que esté en la parodia de la sociedad de consumo que es una de las aristas de la ficción cyberpunk que Dick trabajaba tanto (deduzco que le preocupaba mucho la publicidad), yo me voy a quedar con la parte que nos habla más de él... y de sus preocupaciones como escritor (cuál es la verdad? La verdad para alguien verdaderamente escéptico es algo difícil de encontrar. Es muy fácil atraparse entre dos premisas, siendo una y la otra verdad al mismo tiempo, o no pudiendo refutar ninguna.. ese es el camino de la psicosis. Ya lo dice uno de los ayudantes. El cliente tendrá que convivir con dos recuerdos, eso generará una disonancia que puede generar en psicosis. Antes de continuar recordemos qe Dick tenía esquizofrenia, o algo parecido. Por una lado una persona con un brote puede ser consicente de que nos e puede fiar de la realidad pero si las pistas que recibe le guían mucho hacia un sitio puede acabar concluyendo o aceptando cosas muy alejadas de la realidad. Por otro lado muchos esquizofrénicos siente que la gente se mete dentro de sus cabezas, u aquí a nuestro personaje se le meten dentro de los pensamientos. Uno no sabe si todo es verdad o si todo es locura, porque desde el momento en que la mujer se va de casa y aparece el policía que estaba agazapado en la sombra todo se va de madre. Pero a lo mejor es porque hay´ ya está solo y todo se lo imagina. Según lo veo el cuento directamente apuesta porque todo es verdad. Nunca nos aclara si la mujer esta compinchada o no. Hoy por hoy se ve que no en todos los casos era así pero a mucha gente que tiene locuras de personalidad se le atribuye una función adaptativa: la de permitirles no tener que enfrentarse con la realidad: construirse "máscaras", armaduras, que protejan su yo (un yo que ha quedado empequeñecido por el yo de la locura (el histriónico) En este caso aplica muy bien, si eres una persona insignificante, soñar con que en realidad eres un espía. Está genial como riza el rizo Dick y busca aquel deseo que es más egocéntrico y narcisista posible. Ser la persona más importante del mundo. Si no existes tú, el mundo no existe. Ilustración: Escena de Total Recall nota: Podría ser que se me pirase bajar el volumen de alguna música respecto a la voz, que el volumen general sea demasiado alto y se distorsione, o demasiado bajo, que se me escapase algún ruido... si ves algo de eso, please, dejame un mensaje y sería épico para que lo pudiera arreglar, bajar el volumen, subirlo.. no es fácil editar (sin saber:) Muchas gracias! =^___^= errores de edición? haberlos haylos soymescalito@gmail.com

Chocolate Milkshake #314 by Caroline M. Yoachim.  Read by J.S. Arquin.  Featuring an afterword by Caroline M. Yoachim.  #SF #SciFi #blackholes #milkshakes #fiction #flashfiction #flashfictionmonth #podcast   The day we found out we didn't have enough fuel to escape our orbit, Carlos programmed the replicator to make a chocolate milkshake.  He figured if we only had 628 days left to live - a mere 628 days until we were stretched spaghetti thin by the tidal forces of the black hole - he at least wanted one last chocolate milkshake.   Caroline M. Yoachim lives in Seattle and loves cold, cloudy weather.  She is the author of dozens of short stories, appearing in Lightspeed, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and Asimov's, among other places.  Her debut short story collection, Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World & Other Stories, came out with Fairwood Press in 2016.  You can find her online at carolineyoachim.com and on Twitter @CarolineYoachim.   Please help support The Overcast.  Become a Patron Today! Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher so you never miss an episode.  And while you're there, please be sure to leave us a review!      

In Episode 92, Mark Lefebvre interviews Charles de Lint, who is the author of more than seventy books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, Charles is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and has been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. In the interview, Mark and Charles talk about: The underlying theme for de Lint's new book, The Wind in His Heart – accepting the past and how community and a connection with others can help us surmount the challenges we face in the present – but only if we can teach ourselves to open up and trust those around us How long de Lint has worked on the book through its various stages The connections this novel has to de Lint's popular Newford novels and stories The pattern of writing adult novel, young adult novel and then repeating that pattern until it was suggested to de Lint that he focus on the YA market for a while The readership of de Lints work, which spans from 12 to 82 years and how various folks have started with different introductory books to his work and then stuck with his writing no matter which direction he has taken The factors that led to de Lint experimenting with indie publishing; such as the fact that the digital/eBook rights to his books were never sold to a publisher The comparison between independent authors and independent musicians The true hybrid approach for The Wind in His Heart, with de Lint self-publishing the eBook as well as a standard trade paperback POD version of the book, but how PS Publishing, a specialty publisher in the UK is released a limited edition hardcover version of the book and how de Lint's agent ended up selling the audiobook rights to a major audiobook publisher The great success of an independent musician such as Ani DiFranco - https://www.righteousbabe.com/ The hopeful and optimistic viewpoint that de Lint draws when comparing the music industry to the publishing industry Some of the music that de Lint listened to when working on the novel, and how he believes that the southwest style music of Calexico (http://www.casadecalexico.com/) encapsulates the mood of the novel quite well How de Lint got into writing book reviews, interviews with authors and articles about writers and the reasons behind putting all that work into it Places where de Lint hangs out, such as the Facebook group The Mythic Café, with Charles de Lint and Company (https://www.facebook.com/groups/114379772019551/) The launch events for the novel: Ottawa (Sept 19th at The Savoy Brasserie - https://savoybrasserie.com/_ ) Toronto Oct 21st at Bakka Phoenix - http://www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com/) A few of the projects that de Lint is working on now for future release and the liberating joy he has experienced being able to follow his muse and just write the books he would like to write (rather than trying to follow a requirement from a contract) De Lint's advice for beginning writers   Mark then talks about the “true hybrid” approach that de Lint has taken on his writing and publishing journey – effectively and efficiently dividing up the rights of his works, as well as the optimism not only inherent in de Lint's new novel, but in his overall approach to the opportunities available through digital publishing, and what writers can learn from embracing that spirit of hope and hard work.   Links of Interest Charles de Lint's Books at Kobo Charles de Lint's Facebook page Mythic Café with Charles de Lint & Company  Charles de Lint on Twitter Charles de Lint on Goodreads  Charles de Lint on Instagram Charles de Lint on Tumblr More info about Kobo Audiobooks KWL EP 52 - One More Story Games – Interview with co-founder Jean Leggett about the great opportunities for writers with this storytelling/game creation platform

1970, Nueva York: bar de Pop. Jane no está contenta en su realidad. Se muestra hostil, fría, irascible,… Aquel marrano la abandonó a su suerte en su momento más débil y cuando más le necesitaba. Pero, ¿y si pudiera vengarse, y si pudiera tenderle una trampa? ¿Se olvidaría su resquemor? Asistiremos a una extraña versión de la historia del cazador cazado. AVISO: Radio Albemuth, maravilloso podcast incipiente con tan buen gusto que habíamos decidido leer la misma historia sin previo aviso; y corran, señoras, a escucharlo y recomendar para que pueda dejar de leer en voz alta y pasarme al lado de los “escuchantes” de nuevo (los gatos ya dan por normal que hable solo)! Gracias! [semi-spoiler] “All You Zombies”, rechazado por Playboy, el cuento se publicó en el verano del 58 en la revista “The Magazine of Fantasy& Science Fiction”. En 2014 estrenaron una adaptación “Predestination” que me vi incautamente en su momento y la verdad no me pareció fatal. A Heinlein (Robert, 1907) se le suele incluir dentro de los tres autores más importantes del género, junto con Asimov y Clarke; pero de los dos supongo que es menos conocido. Mi primer contacto con él fue una novela de título genial: "La luna es una cruel amante"; me la llevé en un viaje y me moló muchísimo. Es recordado también por obras como "Double Star" (que tiene una serie de TV antiquísima) o Starship Troopers. La peli homónima tardo noventera está basada en su libro, recuerdo verla en el cine y desde entonces siempre quiero que exista un botón de esos de "Quiere saber más??" Si la viste sabés lo que digo. Al cuento. Todas las fechas en las que nos movemos, excepto el momento de la donación del niño al orfanato, son posteriores a la edición del cuento; es futurista. En este cuento, siendo cincuentero como es, cristalizan muchos temas dentro del género de los viajes temporales. Para empezar la existencia de una organización que trata de arreglar los errores cometidos (en el último fragmento el protagonista nos habla del error de 1962 y de la bomba de Nueva York que nunca llegó a explotar; es necesario leer el cuento escuchando a las fechas y siendo conscientes que fue escrito en 1954) cuyos agentes son reclutados de entre aquellos que no están felices en su propia época/vida (como el infeliz burócrata del cuento de Bester que subimos “La Elección de Hobson”). Me gusta que toda la primera parte es la historia mientras que la segunda parte y el final se trata de ir atando los cabos sueltos para conseguir que se cierre el círculo. Aquí hay que traer el concepto de Uorobóros, la serpiente que se muerde la cola, representada en el anillo que lleva Jane. Otra referencia es la canción “I’m my own grandpaw” (Soy mi propio abuelo) que es una novelty song de 1947, traída aquí en la versión de Lonzo & Oscar. Las novelty song eran canciones con letras un poco para reírse, Dany Kaye es un buen lugar para empezar). Aclarar que los nombres de las organizaciones de mujeres que custodian que los astronautras tengan cubiertas sus necesidades (sic) son siglas que en inglés se leen como P.U.T.A. (W.H.O.R.E). Se agradece mucho que Heinlein en ningún momento nos quiere engañar y desde el principio sabemos que el protagonista es un viajero del tiempo pero aún así está difícil seguir el hilo de la paradoja, bucle temporal, etc. No se puede escapar al destino ¿Cómo cerrar el círculo, como construir la paradoja para que la protagonista pueda ser su propia madre y acabe reclutándose a sí mismo? Lo más importante es que nuestro/a protagonista sufre una rara condición de hermafroditismo. Realmente existe una “patología” por la que una persona puede nacer con dos sistemas reproductores, normalmente uno está más desarrollado que el otro y de pequeños se les asigna un género en función de ello. Por si os habéis quedado un poco ojipláticos, voy a hacer un resumen y ya luego me callo. Creo que sería algo así - chico embaraza chica - chico abandona chica - chica da a luz bebe hermafrodita - el bebé es asignado el género chica - tras la cesárea la chica se convierte en chico - chico se hace periodista - chico entra en bar - chico viaja al pasado - chico conoce chica - chico embaraza chica - chico abandona chica - chico rapta bebé bebé crece en orfanato como chica - chica encuentra trabajo - chica conoce chico - chico embaraza chica - Bueno, la verdad es que me he perdido. Es como una cinta de Moebius rara. ¿Y que sería de aquellos supuestos viajeros del tiempo? Acabarían en soledad. Si las paradojas fueran posibles, como es la apuesta de Heinlein para conducir esta historia (en otras historias nos encontramos con exposiciones en las que las paradojas son imposibilitadas de manera muy astuta) ¿Cómo haría su mente para reconciliar la despersonalización que supone el fragmentarse en mútliples personas? Todos ellos viven dentro de él/ella, en el pasado, muertos ya, dejados atrás. Son zombies por eso, o porque no tienen libre albedrío? Todos ellos estaban condenados acabar entregando el informe de “Trabajo cumplido, agente asignado” décadas más tarde. ¿Dónde van? ¿Por eso som zombies? Alguien me lo tiene que explicar ^^} Cierro mis geriatreces con una cita que atribuyen a Heinlein pero que verte tu a saber “Si quieres conocer a un hombre, observa como trata a un gato”. Yo siempre dije cuando viajaba por ahí que los sitios eran de gente tanto mejor cuanto más gatos callejeros y simpáticos hubiera por la calle. Ilustración: Heinlein au chat /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp, temponauta, relatividad general, física, robot, androide, consciencia, espíritu, cibernética, ia, inteligencia artificial, computación, cyborg, esclavitud, revolución, obrero, círculo temporal, huérfano, bebé, mamá, papá, abuelo, paradoja, niño, niña, embarazo, celos, abandono, ruptura, soledad, pareja, destino,

1970, Nueva York: bar de Pop. Jane no está contenta en su realidad. Se muestra hostil, fría, irascible,… Aquel marrano la abandonó a su suerte en su momento más débil y cuando más le necesitaba. Pero, ¿y si pudiera vengarse, y si pudiera tenderle una trampa? ¿Se olvidaría su resquemor? Asistiremos a una extraña versión de la historia del cazador cazado. AVISO: Radio Albemuth, maravilloso podcast incipiente con tan buen gusto que habíamos decidido leer la misma historia sin previo aviso; y corran, señoras, a escucharlo y recomendar para que pueda dejar de leer en voz alta y pasarme al lado de los “escuchantes” de nuevo (los gatos ya dan por normal que hable solo)! Gracias! [semi-spoiler] “All You Zombies”, rechazado por Playboy, el cuento se publicó en el verano del 58 en la revista “The Magazine of Fantasy& Science Fiction”. En 2014 estrenaron una adaptación “Predestination” que me vi incautamente en su momento y la verdad no me pareció fatal. A Heinlein (Robert, 1907) se le suele incluir dentro de los tres autores más importantes del género, junto con Asimov y Clarke; pero de los dos supongo que es menos conocido. Mi primer contacto con él fue una novela de título genial: "La luna es una cruel amante"; me la llevé en un viaje y me moló muchísimo. Es recordado también por obras como "Double Star" (que tiene una serie de TV antiquísima) o Starship Troopers. La peli homónima tardo noventera está basada en su libro, recuerdo verla en el cine y desde entonces siempre quiero que exista un botón de esos de "Quiere saber más??" Si la viste sabés lo que digo. Al cuento. Todas las fechas en las que nos movemos, excepto el momento de la donación del niño al orfanato, son posteriores a la edición del cuento; es futurista. En este cuento, siendo cincuentero como es, cristalizan muchos temas dentro del género de los viajes temporales. Para empezar la existencia de una organización que trata de arreglar los errores cometidos (en el último fragmento el protagonista nos habla del error de 1962 y de la bomba de Nueva York que nunca llegó a explotar; es necesario leer el cuento escuchando a las fechas y siendo conscientes que fue escrito en 1954) cuyos agentes son reclutados de entre aquellos que no están felices en su propia época/vida (como el infeliz burócrata del cuento de Bester que subimos “La Elección de Hobson”). Me gusta que toda la primera parte es la historia mientras que la segunda parte y el final se trata de ir atando los cabos sueltos para conseguir que se cierre el círculo. Aquí hay que traer el concepto de Uorobóros, la serpiente que se muerde la cola, representada en el anillo que lleva Jane. Otra referencia es la canción “I’m my own grandpaw” (Soy mi propio abuelo) que es una novelty song de 1947, traída aquí en la versión de Lonzo & Oscar. Las novelty song eran canciones con letras un poco para reírse, Dany Kaye es un buen lugar para empezar). Aclarar que los nombres de las organizaciones de mujeres que custodian que los astronautras tengan cubiertas sus necesidades (sic) son siglas que en inglés se leen como P.U.T.A. (W.H.O.R.E). Se agradece mucho que Heinlein en ningún momento nos quiere engañar y desde el principio sabemos que el protagonista es un viajero del tiempo pero aún así está difícil seguir el hilo de la paradoja, bucle temporal, etc. No se puede escapar al destino ¿Cómo cerrar el círculo, como construir la paradoja para que la protagonista pueda ser su propia madre y acabe reclutándose a sí mismo? Lo más importante es que nuestro/a protagonista sufre una rara condición de hermafroditismo. Realmente existe una “patología” por la que una persona puede nacer con dos sistemas reproductores, normalmente uno está más desarrollado que el otro y de pequeños se les asigna un género en función de ello. Por si os habéis quedado un poco ojipláticos, voy a hacer un resumen y ya luego me callo. Creo que sería algo así - chico embaraza chica - chico abandona chica - chica da a luz bebe hermafrodita - el bebé es asignado el género chica - tras la cesárea la chica se convierte en chico - chico se hace periodista - chico entra en bar - chico viaja al pasado - chico conoce chica - chico embaraza chica - chico abandona chica - chico rapta bebé bebé crece en orfanato como chica - chica encuentra trabajo - chica conoce chico - chico embaraza chica - Bueno, la verdad es que me he perdido. Es como una cinta de Moebius rara. ¿Y que sería de aquellos supuestos viajeros del tiempo? Acabarían en soledad. Si las paradojas fueran posibles, como es la apuesta de Heinlein para conducir esta historia (en otras historias nos encontramos con exposiciones en las que las paradojas son imposibilitadas de manera muy astuta) ¿Cómo haría su mente para reconciliar la despersonalización que supone el fragmentarse en mútliples personas? Todos ellos viven dentro de él/ella, en el pasado, muertos ya, dejados atrás. Son zombies por eso, o porque no tienen libre albedrío? Todos ellos estaban condenados acabar entregando el informe de “Trabajo cumplido, agente asignado” décadas más tarde. ¿Dónde van? ¿Por eso som zombies? Alguien me lo tiene que explicar ^^} Cierro mis geriatreces con una cita que atribuyen a Heinlein pero que verte tu a saber “Si quieres conocer a un hombre, observa como trata a un gato”. Yo siempre dije cuando viajaba por ahí que los sitios eran de gente tanto mejor cuanto más gatos callejeros y simpáticos hubiera por la calle. Ilustración: Heinlein au chat /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp, temponauta, relatividad general, física, robot, androide, consciencia, espíritu, cibernética, ia, inteligencia artificial, computación, cyborg, esclavitud, revolución, obrero, círculo temporal, huérfano, bebé, mamá, papá, abuelo, paradoja, niño, niña, embarazo, celos, abandono, ruptura, soledad, pareja, destino,

Últimamente papá actúa un poco raro. Es … no sé, como si no fuera él. ¿Pero si es igual? ¿Mírale, en qué ha cambiado? No es eso… habla raro, se mueve raro… no es el mismo. ¿Pero qué es lo que quieres decir Charles? No importa, sabía que no me entenderías mamá. Cállate hijo, y ve al garaje a sacar la basura, que está a punto de pasar el camión. [semi-spoiler] Titulo original “The Father-Thing”, se publicó en “Fantasy & Science Fiction” en 1954. No sé hasta qué punto esta historia es precursora de otras como “La invasión de los ultracuerpos” (“Invasión of the Body Snatchers”, 1956) o está en la línea general de muchas historias de la época. En mi cabeza es leer la historia y esta ir de la mano con esa película. Existe una versión setentera con Donald Sutherland pero por dios, la versión de 1956 es fa-kin-mas-ter-pis. Toda la peli se disfruta muchísimo y la escena final es memorable. No busqué cruces de referencias entre esta historia y la película que ahora voy a nombrar pero yo creo que tienen mucho que ver. En “Invaders from mars” (de 1953!) también es un niño quien descubre que unos alienígenas se están apoderando de los cuerpos de su padre y de su madre (es dramático!: ). La peli se deja ver y si eres de los que disfrutas con este género cincuentero seguro. El parecido con la historia de Dick me parece muy curioso, cuanto menos. Despúes de publicarse, muchos niños escribieron al autor preguntándole de dónde había sacado la idea. A una niña, Dick le respondió lo siguiente: “… la idea realemente vino a mí cuando era pequeño. Mis padres estaban divorciados y a veces no veía a mi padre durante mucho tiempo, cinco años por ejemplo. Cuando le veía, siempre era un extraño para mí; diferente de lo que yo recordaba. Siempre le recordaba como un hombre amable, pero cuando le veía de nuevo, siempre me parecía duro y cruel. Era como si hubiera dos padres: el padre real que yo recordaba [el real es el de la imaginación, muy Dick] y el “otro” padre, que parecía exactamente igual al mío, pero que era en realidad inhumano y un extraño. Desde luego el tema los doppelgänger es muy Dick y ya hemos hablado de ellos varias veces en estos semispoilers. Desde la gratuidad que me caracteiza voy a traer otra referencia cinematográfica a riesgo de estar repitiéndome. Hay una película ochentera que se llama “They Live” (1988) en la que el protagonista descubre, a través de una gafas de sol muy “peculiares” que la una buena parte de la gente no es realmente gente…. Si no... otra cosa. Y están en todas partes: por la calle, en el metro, en las tiendas y en posiciones importante de poder. Está peli de Carpenter es muy recomendable y disfrutona y clásica del género y de los amantes de la conspiranoia. El objetivo de los alienígenas-planta de “La invasión de los ultracuerpos” es eliminar a altos cargos del gobierno y sustituirlos por réplicas para poder hacerse con el control del mundo. ¿Cómo sabemos que esto no está pasando hoy por hoy? No podemos. Bienvenidos al mundo de un esquizofrénico. Más bien pensar que no está pasando es un acto de fé que sirve para alejarnos de la (s montañas de) locura. Ya conoceréis todo el tema de los reptilianos, tgente que sube vídeos demostrando que tal presentador o tal político son en realidad reptiles, arkones, alienígenas oscuros, etc… No es mi intención negarlo! Sólo traer la referencia más actual. De hecho el padre no muestra intención de querer tejer ningún control político. Se sigue comportando como un padre normal, aun cuando desde la perspectiva del narrador se ha descubierto todo el pastel. Dick no apuesta por la ambigüedad (dejarnos sin saber si realmente el padre era padre-padre o padre-cosa) aunque el monstruo que se encuentran en el jardín bien podría ser un ciempiés muy grande mitificado por la imaginación de los niños éstos ven la “muda” de piel del viejo padre tirada en el cubo de basura del garaje y el protagonista ve las crisálidas de los sustitutos de él y su madre. Pero el padre en un principio se comportaba normal, y quien sabe qué mas padres de más niños no habrán sido ya “sustituidos”. Esta operación de sustitución en masa me lleva irremediablemente a otra referencia del género: los zombies. Siendo la más clásica cita “La noche de los muertos vivientes” en la segunda parte “El amanecer de los muertos vivientes” casi toda america es zombi y en ausencia de cerebros que comer los zombies lo que hacen es seguir las rutinas que hacían durante su vida anterior: por tanto, se congregan miles y miles de zombies en el centro comercial, donde iban a pasar el día y donde los protagonistas quedan acorralados (recomiendo ambas y también la tercera, y puestos a recomendar de zombies, una inglesa que se llama Zombies Diaries, rodada estilo Rec o Blair Witch Project). La metáfora del zombie es una crítica al lavado de cerebro que nos hace la sociedad y el sistema. Con todas estos tipos de transformaciones o copias de las personas auténticas quiero llegar a lo que para mí expresa este relato, que está irremediablemente unido al hecho de que el protagonista sólo recibe ayuda de otros niños. En principio esto se podría interpretar como un mensaje vitalista por parte de Dick y un piropo a los púberes. Lo comparto; pero también veo que este padre-cosa, y esa futura madre-cosa e hijo-cosa pueden ser una metáfora de cómo la sociedad nos troquela y moldea nuestra personalidad y cuando más nos metemos en la vida del sueño americano, el centro comercial, las canciones de moda, los drive-in las comodidades el átomo y la electricidad, acabamos perdiendo el alma y siendo nosotros mismos una copia de lo que es real, igual que todo lo demás. Es un proceso que nos curre a todos los que estamos inmersos de nacimiento en esta cultura consumista, contra el que se puede luchar si te desligas un poco de los canales mainstream pero que está orquestado a todos los niveles. Nacemos originales y en el colegio, en la calle, en la tv: nos alienan. Sólo los niños conservan la autenticidad, hasta que el estado a través de la educación les devora. Y ES POR ESO que usé “Another Brick on The Wall” (Pink Floyd) para las pausas!! Por cierto, que las pausas no me las invento yo si no que están en todos los cuentos. Os la he dejado al final porque me doy cuenta que mi voz no es muy buena para dormir así que doy por sentado que si estáis trabajando o viajando en autobús no os va a parecer mal plan escuchárosla gratuitamente. PKD dijo sobre la historia: “Siempre tuve la impresión cuando era muy pequeño, de que mi padre era dos personas, una buena y otra mala. El padre bueno se iba fuera y el padre malo le reemplazaba. Supongo que muchos niños tendrán este sentimiento. ¿Que pasaría si esto ocurriera de verdad? Esta historia es otra iteración de un sentimiento normal, que es de hecho incorrecto, de alguna manera haciéndose correcto… con la miseria añadida de que no puedes comunicárselo a otros. Afortunadamente, hay otros niños a los que sí puedes contárselo. Los niños entiendes: ellos son más sabios que los adultos – hmmmm, estuve a punto de decir, “más sabios que los humanos”” Que grande. Fuera de la reflexión sobre Qué nos hace humanos, típica de Dick, me quedo con la reflexión (quizá me la estoy inventando) de que los niños todavía conservan la pureza que la sociedad capitalista/consumista nos hace perder. Y precisamente no son niños de lo más normal. El primero es un matón del colegio entendemos que algo marginado, está fuera en el porche limpiando su arma, el protagonista es muy pequeño para haber perdido todavía la pureza y el otro niño es “un negro”, que en aquella época todavía se consideraban a parte de la sociedad normal. Sólo pueden contar con ellos mismos y afortunadamente consiguen salvarse mutuamente. Es épico que derrotan al padre-cosa entre todos. Pero ese no era el primer final de esta historia. Os traduzco libremente un intercambio de cartas entre Dick y los editores de SMLA para terminar y dejar de añadir a este tema de los niños. “Queridos Mr Boucher y Mr McComas Aquí esta la reescritura de “El Padre-Cosa”. Once nuevas páginas. Un nuevo final, como habéis sugerido, y material reelaborado por completo: páginas que pensé que se podrían mejora. El neuvo final añade una página al total; traté de mantener la longitud corta lo más que pude. Estoy de acuerdo en que el viejo final termianba de manera de masiado abrupta y no resolvía realmente la situación. Me parece que el principal fallo está en la precipitada huida de Daniels y Peretti. Construí una imagen de ellos más realista, de su lealtad, de su organización – y después les hice escapar en el momento de crisis, dejando a Charles solo. Un insulto hacia los niños! […]” Yo creo que los editores le dieron largas para que les deira tiempo a producir la película Invaders From Mars (1953 : ). El próximo relato que subiré no será de Dick, es de otro autor viejuno que nunca había leído (Fester), pero todavía no hemos terminado con Dick por aquí… Ilustración: Fotograma de Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1953) /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp, alienígena, alien, extraterrestre, planta, crisálida, copia, locura, loco, miedo.

Últimamente papá actúa un poco raro. Es … no sé, como si no fuera él. ¿Pero si es igual? ¿Mírale, en qué ha cambiado? No es eso… habla raro, se mueve raro… no es el mismo. ¿Pero qué es lo que quieres decir Charles? No importa, sabía que no me entenderías mamá. Cállate hijo, y ve al garaje a sacar la basura, que está a punto de pasar el camión. [semi-spoiler] Titulo original “The Father-Thing”, se publicó en “Fantasy & Science Fiction” en 1954. No sé hasta qué punto esta historia es precursora de otras como “La invasión de los ultracuerpos” (“Invasión of the Body Snatchers”, 1956) o está en la línea general de muchas historias de la época. En mi cabeza es leer la historia y esta ir de la mano con esa película. Existe una versión setentera con Donald Sutherland pero por dios, la versión de 1956 es fa-kin-mas-ter-pis. Toda la peli se disfruta muchísimo y la escena final es memorable. No busqué cruces de referencias entre esta historia y la película que ahora voy a nombrar pero yo creo que tienen mucho que ver. En “Invaders from mars” (de 1953!) también es un niño quien descubre que unos alienígenas se están apoderando de los cuerpos de su padre y de su madre (es dramático!: ). La peli se deja ver y si eres de los que disfrutas con este género cincuentero seguro. El parecido con la historia de Dick me parece muy curioso, cuanto menos. Despúes de publicarse, muchos niños escribieron al autor preguntándole de dónde había sacado la idea. A una niña, Dick le respondió lo siguiente: “… la idea realemente vino a mí cuando era pequeño. Mis padres estaban divorciados y a veces no veía a mi padre durante mucho tiempo, cinco años por ejemplo. Cuando le veía, siempre era un extraño para mí; diferente de lo que yo recordaba. Siempre le recordaba como un hombre amable, pero cuando le veía de nuevo, siempre me parecía duro y cruel. Era como si hubiera dos padres: el padre real que yo recordaba [el real es el de la imaginación, muy Dick] y el “otro” padre, que parecía exactamente igual al mío, pero que era en realidad inhumano y un extraño. Desde luego el tema los doppelgänger es muy Dick y ya hemos hablado de ellos varias veces en estos semispoilers. Desde la gratuidad que me caracteiza voy a traer otra referencia cinematográfica a riesgo de estar repitiéndome. Hay una película ochentera que se llama “They Live” (1988) en la que el protagonista descubre, a través de una gafas de sol muy “peculiares” que la una buena parte de la gente no es realmente gente…. Si no... otra cosa. Y están en todas partes: por la calle, en el metro, en las tiendas y en posiciones importante de poder. Está peli de Carpenter es muy recomendable y disfrutona y clásica del género y de los amantes de la conspiranoia. El objetivo de los alienígenas-planta de “La invasión de los ultracuerpos” es eliminar a altos cargos del gobierno y sustituirlos por réplicas para poder hacerse con el control del mundo. ¿Cómo sabemos que esto no está pasando hoy por hoy? No podemos. Bienvenidos al mundo de un esquizofrénico. Más bien pensar que no está pasando es un acto de fé que sirve para alejarnos de la (s montañas de) locura. Ya conoceréis todo el tema de los reptilianos, tgente que sube vídeos demostrando que tal presentador o tal político son en realidad reptiles, arkones, alienígenas oscuros, etc… No es mi intención negarlo! Sólo traer la referencia más actual. De hecho el padre no muestra intención de querer tejer ningún control político. Se sigue comportando como un padre normal, aun cuando desde la perspectiva del narrador se ha descubierto todo el pastel. Dick no apuesta por la ambigüedad (dejarnos sin saber si realmente el padre era padre-padre o padre-cosa) aunque el monstruo que se encuentran en el jardín bien podría ser un ciempiés muy grande mitificado por la imaginación de los niños éstos ven la “muda” de piel del viejo padre tirada en el cubo de basura del garaje y el protagonista ve las crisálidas de los sustitutos de él y su madre. Pero el padre en un principio se comportaba normal, y quien sabe qué mas padres de más niños no habrán sido ya “sustituidos”. Esta operación de sustitución en masa me lleva irremediablemente a otra referencia del género: los zombies. Siendo la más clásica cita “La noche de los muertos vivientes” en la segunda parte “El amanecer de los muertos vivientes” casi toda america es zombi y en ausencia de cerebros que comer los zombies lo que hacen es seguir las rutinas que hacían durante su vida anterior: por tanto, se congregan miles y miles de zombies en el centro comercial, donde iban a pasar el día y donde los protagonistas quedan acorralados (recomiendo ambas y también la tercera, y puestos a recomendar de zombies, una inglesa que se llama Zombies Diaries, rodada estilo Rec o Blair Witch Project). La metáfora del zombie es una crítica al lavado de cerebro que nos hace la sociedad y el sistema. Con todas estos tipos de transformaciones o copias de las personas auténticas quiero llegar a lo que para mí expresa este relato, que está irremediablemente unido al hecho de que el protagonista sólo recibe ayuda de otros niños. En principio esto se podría interpretar como un mensaje vitalista por parte de Dick y un piropo a los púberes. Lo comparto; pero también veo que este padre-cosa, y esa futura madre-cosa e hijo-cosa pueden ser una metáfora de cómo la sociedad nos troquela y moldea nuestra personalidad y cuando más nos metemos en la vida del sueño americano, el centro comercial, las canciones de moda, los drive-in las comodidades el átomo y la electricidad, acabamos perdiendo el alma y siendo nosotros mismos una copia de lo que es real, igual que todo lo demás. Es un proceso que nos curre a todos los que estamos inmersos de nacimiento en esta cultura consumista, contra el que se puede luchar si te desligas un poco de los canales mainstream pero que está orquestado a todos los niveles. Nacemos originales y en el colegio, en la calle, en la tv: nos alienan. Sólo los niños conservan la autenticidad, hasta que el estado a través de la educación les devora. Y ES POR ESO que usé “Another Brick on The Wall” (Pink Floyd) para las pausas!! Por cierto, que las pausas no me las invento yo si no que están en todos los cuentos. Os la he dejado al final porque me doy cuenta que mi voz no es muy buena para dormir así que doy por sentado que si estáis trabajando o viajando en autobús no os va a parecer mal plan escuchárosla gratuitamente. PKD dijo sobre la historia: “Siempre tuve la impresión cuando era muy pequeño, de que mi padre era dos personas, una buena y otra mala. El padre bueno se iba fuera y el padre malo le reemplazaba. Supongo que muchos niños tendrán este sentimiento. ¿Que pasaría si esto ocurriera de verdad? Esta historia es otra iteración de un sentimiento normal, que es de hecho incorrecto, de alguna manera haciéndose correcto… con la miseria añadida de que no puedes comunicárselo a otros. Afortunadamente, hay otros niños a los que sí puedes contárselo. Los niños entiendes: ellos son más sabios que los adultos – hmmmm, estuve a punto de decir, “más sabios que los humanos”” Que grande. Fuera de la reflexión sobre Qué nos hace humanos, típica de Dick, me quedo con la reflexión (quizá me la estoy inventando) de que los niños todavía conservan la pureza que la sociedad capitalista/consumista nos hace perder. Y precisamente no son niños de lo más normal. El primero es un matón del colegio entendemos que algo marginado, está fuera en el porche limpiando su arma, el protagonista es muy pequeño para haber perdido todavía la pureza y el otro niño es “un negro”, que en aquella época todavía se consideraban a parte de la sociedad normal. Sólo pueden contar con ellos mismos y afortunadamente consiguen salvarse mutuamente. Es épico que derrotan al padre-cosa entre todos. Pero ese no era el primer final de esta historia. Os traduzco libremente un intercambio de cartas entre Dick y los editores de SMLA para terminar y dejar de añadir a este tema de los niños. “Queridos Mr Boucher y Mr McComas Aquí esta la reescritura de “El Padre-Cosa”. Once nuevas páginas. Un nuevo final, como habéis sugerido, y material reelaborado por completo: páginas que pensé que se podrían mejora. El neuvo final añade una página al total; traté de mantener la longitud corta lo más que pude. Estoy de acuerdo en que el viejo final termianba de manera de masiado abrupta y no resolvía realmente la situación. Me parece que el principal fallo está en la precipitada huida de Daniels y Peretti. Construí una imagen de ellos más realista, de su lealtad, de su organización – y después les hice escapar en el momento de crisis, dejando a Charles solo. Un insulto hacia los niños! […]” Yo creo que los editores le dieron largas para que les deira tiempo a producir la película Invaders From Mars (1953 : ). El próximo relato que subiré no será de Dick, es de otro autor viejuno que nunca había leído (Fester), pero todavía no hemos terminado con Dick por aquí… Ilustración: Fotograma de Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1953) /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp, alienígena, alien, extraterrestre, planta, crisálida, copia, locura, loco, miedo.

Fact: Looking Back at Genre History by Amy H. Sturgis Main Fiction: "Oh Give Me A Home" by Adam Rakunas Originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July-August 2013 Adam Rakunas is the author of the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated WINDSWEPT and the forthcoming LIKE A BOSS. His short fiction has appeared in Futurismic.com and the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He has had a long and varied career as a video game engineer, a triathlon race director, a parking lot attendant, an IT consultant, and a theater usher. He splits his copious spare time between writing, political rabble-rousing, and being a stay-at-home dad. A former Southern Californian, he and his family now live in the Pacific Northwest. Find him online at giro.org. Narrated by Mikael Naramore Mikael Naramore has worked in the audiobook industry since 2001 when, fresh out of college, he was hired as a recording engineer for publisher Brilliance Audio (now Brilliance Publishing, subsidiary of Amazon.com). Over... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Roog. Gritaba el perro. Nadie le hacía caso. Unos extraños seres penetraban en el patio mientras la familia dormía. Vienen a robar la comida. El amo no le hace caso, está sólo ante el peligro con la responsabilidad de defender a los que ama. [semispoiler] Es un cuento muy corto. Voy a subir unos cuantos cortos y luego volveré a audios más largos. Es de los primeros cuentos de Dick. Lo escribió en 1951 y se publicó “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction” en 1953, en cosa que le dio bastante subidón. A mí no me queda claro si las apariciones son reales, si son alegóricas o si el pobre perro tiene alzheimer. En este relato se reconocen algunos de los motivos clásicos de Dick: dudar de la realidad, los problemas de comunicación, la soledad de la responsabilidad, el miedo… Es un relato que me da mucha pena :( . Sobre él, Dick comentó: “cuenta una historia sobre el terror, habla de lealtad, de amenazas oscuras y de una criatura inherentemente buena que no puede transmitir o advertir a quienes ama del peligro que se cierne sobre ellos” P.K. Dick era un gran tipo, yo le adoro: mucha gente lo hace – y podrán hablaros sobre su literatura (y su vida) mejor que yo en esta introducción. Recomiendo googlear, o ir directamente aquí [http://www.caninomag.es/guia-para-principiantes-philip-k-dick/]. Todo el mundo le conoce, aunque no lo sepa, porque infinidad de películas de Hollywood se han basado en sus relatos y novelas (Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, Paycheck, por ejemplo). Sus novelas son la leche – yo para empezar recomiendo Ubik, pero tiene muy distintas etapas. Durante toda su carrera, escribió también muchos cuentos. Muchos. Tenía que ganarse la vida vendiéndolos a revistas y gracias a la gran editorial Minotauro hoy podemos disfrutar de la antología completa en varios volúmenes. P.K. Dick también tuvo una vida… interesante. Muy recomendable el cómic de Crumb sobre su biografía [http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/authors/dick/Religious-Experience-of-Philip-K-Dick-by-Robert-Crumb.pdf]. Tenemos que suponer que padecía una esquizofrenia poderosa. Las personas esquizofrénicas suelen sentirse perseguidas (entre diferentes tipos de delirio), pueden sentir que se apropian de su identidad o la identidad de otros (el concepto de doppelganger), que el mundo en el que viven cambia… Todo eso se traslada a sus cuentos y casi siempre vemos personajes que son víctimas a quienes el mundo en el que viven se les da la vuelta o donde las cosas no son lo que parecen. Sus temas centrales son la identidad, la realidad. P. K. Dick era un gran filósofo /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= Ilustración: Gelm (http:stoicdecay.blogspot.com.es) fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp

Roog. Gritaba el perro. Nadie le hacía caso. Unos extraños seres penetraban en el patio mientras la familia dormía. Vienen a robar la comida. El amo no le hace caso, está sólo ante el peligro con la responsabilidad de defender a los que ama. [semispoiler] Es un cuento muy corto. Voy a subir unos cuantos cortos y luego volveré a audios más largos. Es de los primeros cuentos de Dick. Lo escribió en 1951 y se publicó “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction” en 1953, en cosa que le dio bastante subidón. A mí no me queda claro si las apariciones son reales, si son alegóricas o si el pobre perro tiene alzheimer. En este relato se reconocen algunos de los motivos clásicos de Dick: dudar de la realidad, los problemas de comunicación, la soledad de la responsabilidad, el miedo… Es un relato que me da mucha pena :( . Sobre él, Dick comentó: “cuenta una historia sobre el terror, habla de lealtad, de amenazas oscuras y de una criatura inherentemente buena que no puede transmitir o advertir a quienes ama del peligro que se cierne sobre ellos” P.K. Dick era un gran tipo, yo le adoro: mucha gente lo hace – y podrán hablaros sobre su literatura (y su vida) mejor que yo en esta introducción. Recomiendo googlear, o ir directamente aquí [http://www.caninomag.es/guia-para-principiantes-philip-k-dick/]. Todo el mundo le conoce, aunque no lo sepa, porque infinidad de películas de Hollywood se han basado en sus relatos y novelas (Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, Paycheck, por ejemplo). Sus novelas son la leche – yo para empezar recomiendo Ubik, pero tiene muy distintas etapas. Durante toda su carrera, escribió también muchos cuentos. Muchos. Tenía que ganarse la vida vendiéndolos a revistas y gracias a la gran editorial Minotauro hoy podemos disfrutar de la antología completa en varios volúmenes. P.K. Dick también tuvo una vida… interesante. Muy recomendable el cómic de Crumb sobre su biografía [http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/authors/dick/Religious-Experience-of-Philip-K-Dick-by-Robert-Crumb.pdf]. Tenemos que suponer que padecía una esquizofrenia poderosa. Las personas esquizofrénicas suelen sentirse perseguidas (entre diferentes tipos de delirio), pueden sentir que se apropian de su identidad o la identidad de otros (el concepto de doppelganger), que el mundo en el que viven cambia… Todo eso se traslada a sus cuentos y casi siempre vemos personajes que son víctimas a quienes el mundo en el que viven se les da la vuelta o donde las cosas no son lo que parecen. Sus temas centrales son la identidad, la realidad. P. K. Dick era un gran filósofo /// errores de edición? Haberlos haylos >>> soymescalito@gmail.com /// Muchas gracias!! =^__^= Ilustración: Gelm (http:stoicdecay.blogspot.com.es) fantasía, novela, cuentos, cuento, scifi, ciencia, ficción, literatura, audio, audiolibro, ciencia ficción, novelas, relato, relatos, voz, lectura, scifi, ficion, cyberpunk, ciberpunk, literatura, historia, historias, terror, pulp

Week 2 of Hugo Nominees This story is nominated for Best Novelette Main Fiction: "Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu Originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine In 2002, Hao Jingfang was awarded First Prize in the New Concept Writing Competition. She gained her undergraduate degree from Tsinghua University’s Department of Physics and her PhD from the same university in Economics and Management in 2012. Her fiction has appeared in various publications, including Mengya, Science Fiction World, and ZUI Found. She has published two full–length novels, Wandering Maearth and Return to Charon; a book of cultural essays, Europe in Time; and the short story collection, Star Travellers. Her fiction has appeared before in English translation in Lightspeed. Ken Liu (kenliu.name) is an author and translator of speculative fiction, as well as a lawyer and programmer. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards, he has been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s,... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Main Fiction: “The Rings of Mars” by William Ledbetter Fact: Science News by J J Campanella Originally published in Writers of the Future Volume 28. William Ledbetter is a writer with more than forty speculative fiction stories and non-fiction articles published in markets such as Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jim Baen’s Universe, Writers of the Future, Escape Pod, Ad Astra and Baen.com. He’s been a space and technology geek since childhood and spent most of his non-writing career in the aerospace and defense industry. He administers the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award contest for Baen Books and the National Space Society, is a member of SFWA, the National Space Society of North Texas, a Launch Pad Astronomy workshop graduate, is the Science Track coordinator for the Fencon convention and is a consulting... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Feature Guest: Brian TrentHere’s the ultimate challenge for science fiction. How do you describe the appearance and behaviour of an intelligent alien species when we have no example to go on but us? How can we ever know our portrayal is truly alien and not a projection of our own expectations, hopes and fears? Or has the job of science fiction all along been to hold up a mirror to ourselves? Today we're joined at The Star Spot by Brian Trent, an award-winning science fiction author who manages to blend shockingly unfamiliar alien beings within stories of profound humanity. Today’s episode of The Star Spot is the third in a three part series featuring interviews with the keynote speakers at the 13th annual Expanding Canada’s Frontier’s symposium, this year on the topic Astronomyths: Science or Fiction?, looking at cosmology and alien life, hosted at the University of Toronto this past January.The Star Spot is Now on the Radio!The The Star Spot podcast is now The Star Spot podcast and radio show. That’s right. Your favourite astronomy program is now travelling through space, specifically the 1280AM frequency. Our broadcaster, CJRU The Scope at Ryerson, is now available on the radio dial, which means you can join us at The Star Spot at 1280AM every Sunday 8PM and Tuesday 6PM Eastern Time.Current in Space Did the Large Hadron Collider just discover a new heavy particle beyond the Standard Model of particular physics? Anuj reports. Then Dave explains how astronomers captured for the first time the very beginning of a supernova explosion. And Tony reveals how space rocks arriving on Earth from before the formation of the solar system show chemicals produced in long dead stars.    About Our GuestBrian Trent is a journalist and science-fiction writer. His work appears regularly in major publications like AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review, ANALOG, Fantasy & Science Fiction, COSMOS, Nature, Galaxy’s Edge and Daily Science Fiction.  In 2013 his story “War Hero” was a winner in the Writers of the Future Contest. His most recently published Novel, Rahotep, came out in December.Brian Trent describes himself as “a futurist with an interest in the past.” He studies how technology has affected our world in order to speculate on where we are headed. His  writings on artificial intelligence, longevity research and the search for life in the universe, among other topics, lead him towards a picture of what the future looks like for our society and our species. His ideas have appeared in UTNE, The Humanist, Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld and other publications. 

Coming Up… Support District of Wonders on Patreon   StarShipSofa: Call for Assistant and Slush Reader Main Fiction: “Beneath the Willow Branches, Beyond the Reach of Time”, by Caroline M. Yoachim Originally appeared in Interzone Caroline M. Yoachim lives in Seattle and loves cold cloudy weather.  She is the author of dozens of short stories, appearing in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, and Lightspeed.  Her debut short story collection, SEVEN WONDERS OF A ONCE AND FUTURE WORLD & OTHER STORIES, is... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seventh Day of the Seventh MoonBy Ken Liu“Tell me a story,” said Se. She had changed into her pajamas all by herself and snuggled under the blankets.Se’s big sister, Yuan, was just about to flip the switch next to the bedroom door. “How about you read a story by yourself? I have to … go see a friend.”“No, it’s not the same.” Se shook her head vigorously. “You have to tell me a story or I can’t sleep.”Yuan glanced at her phone. Every minute tonight was precious. Dad was out of town on business, and Mom was working late and wouldn’t be home till midnight. Yuan needed to be home before then, but if she could get her little sister to sleep quickly, she’d still have a couple of hours to see Jing on this, her last night in China.Full transcript appears after the cut.----more----[Intro music plays.]Hello! Welcome to GlitterShip episode 15 for September 15th, 2015. This is your host, Keffy, and I'm super excited to be sharing this story with you.Our story today is "Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon" by Ken Liu.Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an author and translator of speculative fiction, as well as a lawyer and programmer. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards, he has been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s, Analog, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, among other places. He also translated the Hugo-winning novel, The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin, which is the first translated novel to win that award.Ken’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings, the first in a silkpunk epic fantasy series, was published by Saga Press in April 2015. Saga will also publish a collection of his short stories, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, in March 2016. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.We also have a special guest reader this week, which is awesome.Our reader this week is S. Qiouyi Lu. You can visit their site at http://s.qiouyi.lu/ and follow them on Twitter at @sqiouyilu.Seventh Day of the Seventh MoonBy Ken Liu“Tell me a story,” said Se. She had changed into her pajamas all by herself and snuggled under the blankets.Se’s big sister, Yuan, was just about to flip the switch next to the bedroom door. “How about you read a story by yourself? I have to … go see a friend.”“No, it’s not the same.” Se shook her head vigorously. “You have to tell me a story or I can’t sleep.”Yuan glanced at her phone. Every minute tonight was precious. Dad was out of town on business, and Mom was working late and wouldn’t be home till midnight. Yuan needed to be home before then, but if she could get her little sister to sleep quickly, she’d still have a couple of hours to see Jing on this, her last night in China.“Come on, Yuan,” Se begged. “Please!”Yuan came back to the side of the bed and stroked Se’s forehead gently. She sighed. “All right.”She texted Jing: Late by half hour. Wait?The crystal cat charm, a gift from Jing, dangled from her phone. It twirled and glittered in the warm bedroom light as she waited impatiently for the response.Finally, the phone beeped. Of course. Won’t leave until we meet.“Tell the story about the Qixi Festival,” said Se, yawning. “That’s tonight, isn’t it?”“Yes, yes it is.”Long ago, a beautiful young woman, the granddaughter of the Emperor of Heaven, lived in the sky by the eastern shore of the Silver River—that’s the broad band of light you can sometimes see in the sky at night, when the air is clear.She was skilled at the loom, and so that’s why people called her—“You skipped the part where you describe her weaving!”“But you’ve heard this story a hundred times already. Can’t I just get it over with?”“You have to tell it right.”—as I had apparently neglected to mention: her works were displayed proudly by the Heavenly Court in the western sky at every sunset: glorious clouds of crimson, amethyst, periwinkle, and every shade in between. So people called her Zhinü, the Weaver Girl. And though she was the youngest of seven immortal sisters, we mortals addressed her by the honorific Big Sister Seven.But over time, Zhinü grew wan and thin. Her brows were always tightly knit into a frown, and she did not wash her face or comb out her hair. The sunset clouds she wove were not as lovely as before, and mortals began to complain.The Emperor of Heaven came to visit. “What ails you, my granddaughter?”“Haha, you do that voice so well. You sound just like Grandfather.”“I’m glad you approve. Now stop interrupting.”“Oh, Gonggong, I’m so lonely. Living all by myself in this hut, my only company are my loom—jiya, jiya, it squeaks all day long—and a few magpies.”The Emperor took pity on her and found her a good match. The young man tended to cows on the western shore of the Silver River, so people called him Niulang, the Cowherd. He was handsome and kind and full of funny stories, and Zhinü loved him, and he her, the moment they set eyes on each other.“See, I’m not such a bad matchmaker.” The Emperor of Heaven smiled as he stroked his beard. “Now I know you’re young, and you should have fun. But now that you have a companion, please don’t neglect your work.”Zhinü moved to the western shore of the Silver River to be with Niulang, and the two of them married. They had two boys, and there never was a happier family.“Oh, no, here comes the boring part. You can skip it if you want to.”“No way! This is the best part. You’ll understand when you’re older. Now pay attention.”Every morning, as Niulang got up before sunrise to take the cows to their favorite pasture, Zhinü could not bear the thought of being separated from him. So she would come along. She’d put the two babies in two baskets draped on each side of an old, gentle ox, and she would ride on the back of a pure white bull led by Niulang. They’d sing together, tell each other stories from before they met, and laugh at the jokes that only they understood.Zhinü’s loom sat unused back at the hut, gathering dust.Sunsets became ugly affairs. The few clouds that remained became tattered, wispy, colorless. The people laboring in the fields lost the beauty that had once lifted up their hearts at the end of a hard day, and their laments rose to the Heavenly Court.“My maritorious child,” said the Emperor of Heaven—“What does that word mean?”“It means loving your husband too much.”“How can you love someone too much?”“Good question. I don’t know either. Maybe the Emperor of Heaven didn’t have enough love in his heart to understand. Maybe he was too old.”—“I warned you about neglecting your duty. For your disobedience and neglect, you must now move back to the eastern shore of the Silver River and never see Niulang and your children again.”Zhinü begged for reprieve, but the Emperor’s word was as irreversible as the flow of the Silver River.At the Emperor’s decree, the Silver River was widened and deepened, and Zhinü forever parted from her husband. Today, you can see the star that is Zhinü on one side of the Silver River and the star that is Niulang on the other, their two sons two faint stars on each side of Niulang. They stare at each other across that unbridgeable gap, the longing and regret as endless as the flowing river.“Why did you stop?”“It’s nothing. My throat just felt itchy for a bit.”“Are you sad for Niulang and Zhinü?”“Maybe … a little bit. But it’s just a story.”But the magpies that once kept Zhinü company took pity on the lovers. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh moon by the lunar calendar, on Qixi, the day when Zhinü is at her highest position in the sky, all the magpies in the world fly up to the Silver River and make a bridge with their bodies so that the lovers can spend one night together.This is the day when all the young women in old China would pray to Big Sister Seven for love.Oh, I know you want to hear more about the bridge of magpies. You love this part. Well, I imagine it’s a lot of work for the birds. They probably have to go to magpie bridge-building school, and those who’re a bit slow have to go to cram school for extra study sessions …Yuan turned out the light and tiptoed out of her sister’s bedroom.On my way, she texted.She made sure the air conditioning was set comfortably low, locked the door of the apartment, and ran down the stairs. And then she was in the hot, humid evening air of Hefei in August.She biked through the streets, dodging an endless stream of cars beeping their horns. She liked the physicality of the ride, the way it made her body come alive, feel awake. She passed the sidewalks filled with people browsing past stores and kiosks filled with everything imaginable: discount electronics, toys, clothes, fancy European soups and cakes, mouth-watering sweet potatoes baked in tinfoil and fried, smelly tofu. The heat and the exertion stuck her shirt to her skin, and she had to wipe her forehead from time to time to keep the sweat out of her eyes.And then she was at the coffee shop, and Jing—slender, graceful in a plain white dress and a light jacket (for the air conditioning), a faint whiff of the floral perfume that always made Yuan dizzy—greeted Yuan with that bright smile that she always wore.As if this wasn’t the night the world ended.“Are you done packing?” Yuan asked.“Oh, there’s always more to pack.” Jing’s tone was light, breezy, careless. “But I don’t have to get to the airport ‘til nine in the morning. There’s plenty of time.”“You should dress in layers, with something long-sleeved on top,” said Yuan—mainly because she feared saying nothing. “It can get cold on the plane.”“Want to take a walk with me? The next time I walk around at night I’ll be in America. Maybe I’ll miss all this noise.”Yuan left her bike locked to the light post outside the coffee shop, and they strolled along the sidewalk like the rest of the crowd. They did not hold hands. In Shanghai, perhaps no one would have cared, but in Hefei, there would have been looks, and whispers, and maybe worse.Yuan imagined Jing walking about the campus of the American high school at night. Jing had shown her pictures of the red brick buildings and immaculate lawns. And the smiling boys and girls: foreigners. Yuan felt out of breath; her heart seemed unable to decide on a steady rhythm.“Look at that,” said Jing, pointing to the display window of a pastry shop. “They’re selling Qixi Lovers’ Cakes now. So overpriced. And you know some stupid girl is going to throw a fit if her boyfriend doesn’t buy it for her. I want to throw up.”“Not quite as bad as Valentine’s Day,” Yuan said. “I think the vendors are pretty restrained. Relatively speaking.”“That’s because people aren’t into Qixi any more. We Chinese always get more enthusiastic for Western imports, even holidays. It’s a national character weakness.”“I like Qixi,” Yuan said. She said it more emphatically than she meant to.“What, you want to set out an altar under a melon trellis, offer up a plate of fruits, pray to Big Sister Seven, and hope for a spider to weave a web over the offering by morning so you’ll get a nice husband in the future?”Yuan’s face grew hot. She stopped. “You don’t have to mock everything Chinese.”Jing cocked her head, a teasing smile in her eyes. “You suddenly getting all patriotic on me now?”“Your father has the money to pay for you to go to an American boarding school. That doesn’t make you better than everyone else.”“Oh, lay off that wounded tone. You’re hardly some migrant worker’s daughter.”They stared at each other, the neon lights from the nearby stores flickering over their faces. Yuan wanted to kiss Jing and scream at her at the same time. She had always liked Jing’s irreverence, the way she wanted to turn everything into a joke. She knew her anger had nothing to do with this conversation about Qixi at all.Jing turned and continued down the sidewalk. After a moment, Yuan followed.When Jing spoke again, her tone was calm, as if nothing had happened. “Remember the first time we went hiking together?”That had been one of the best days of Yuan’s life. They had skipped their cram school sessions and taken the bus to Emerald Lake, an artificial pond bordering several college campuses. Jing had showed Yuan how to set up her phone so that her mom couldn’t see the messages Jing sent her, and Yuan had showed Jing her baby pictures. They had bought a lamb chuanr from a street vendor and shared it as they walked along the lakeshore. Her heart had beaten faster with each bite of roasted meat off the skewer, thinking that her lips were touching where hers had touched. And then, as they strolled through one of the campuses, Jing had boldly taken her hand: it was a college, after all.And then that first kiss behind the willow tree, tasting the hot spices from the lamb kebab on Jing’s tongue, the calls of wild geese behind her somewhere…“I remember,” she said. Her voice still sounded wounded, and she didn’t care.“I wish we could go there again,” Jing said.The anger in Yuan disappeared, just like that. Jing always had such a way with her. Yuan felt like putty in her hands.“We can chat on QQ or Skype,” Yuan said. She hurried to catch up so that she was walking next to Jing. “And you’ll come back for visits. This isn’t like the old days. It will be okay. We can still be together.”They had wandered off the main thoroughfare onto a less busy side street. The streetlights on one side were out, and looking up they could see a few stars in the sky. Hefei wasn’t as polluted as some of the cities on the coast.“I’m going to be really busy,” Jing said. Her tone was calm, too calm.“We can text every day, every hour.”“It’s different over there. I’ll be living on my own in a dorm. I have to actually study if I want to go to a good college. My family is paying a lot to give me this.”“Americans don’t study that much.”“It’s not like watching American TV shows. There aren’t subtitles. I’ll meet lots of new people. I have to make a new life over there, new friends. I’ll need to be thinking, talking, breathing English all the time if I want to make it.”“I can text you in English,” Yuan said. “I’ll do whatever you want.”“You’re not listening,” Jing said. She stopped again and looked at Yuan.“What are you trying to say?” As soon as she asked the question, Yuan regretted it. It made her sound so weak, so clingy, like a girl from one of those Korean dramas.“I’m going away, Yuan. I told you this was going to happen last year, when we … started.”Yuan looked away so that Jing would not see her eyes. She pushed the image of Jing with someone else out of her mind. She cursed her eyes and told them to behave and stop embarrassing her.“It will be okay.” Jing’s tone was now comforting, gentle, and that made it worse. “We’ll both be okay.”Yuan said nothing because she knew she couldn’t control her voice. She licked her lips, tasting the salt from the sweat of her ride. She wanted to wipe her eyes so she could see clearly again, but she didn’t want to do it in front of Jing.“I want to make this night a happy memory,” Jing said, but her voice finally cracked. She struggled, but failed, to keep her calm mask on. “I’m trying to make this easier. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do for those you love?”Yuan looked up, blinking her eyes hard. She looked for the Silver River, and she remembered that in English it was called the Milky Way—what a graceless and silly name. She looked for Zhinü and Niulang, and she vaguely remembered that in English they were called Vega and Altair, names as cold and meaningless to her as the stars.Just then, magpies seemed to come out of nowhere and gathered over their heads in a cloud of fluttering wings. While they looked up, stunned, the flock swept out of the night sky, descended over them like a giant spider web, and lifted them into the heavens.Riding on the wings of magpies, Yuan found, was not like riding a magical carpet.Not that she knew what riding a magical carpet felt like—but she was sure that it didn’t involve being constantly poked from below by a hundred—no, a thousand—little winged fists.The magpies would fall a bit below where they were and flap their wings rapidly in an upward burst until they collided with the girls’ bodies. The combined force of all the magpies would push them up until the birds lost their momentum and began to fall away, and then a new wave of upward-thrusting magpies would take their place. The girls resembled two ping-pong balls riding on the water spout from a hose pointing up.In the maelstrom of wings they found each other and clung together.“Are you all right?” They each asked at the same time.“What in the world is happening?” Jing asked, her words jumbled together from fear and excitement.“This is a dream,” Yuan said. “This must be a dream.”And then Jing began to laugh.“It can’t be a dream,” she said. “These magpies carrying us: they tickle!”And Yuan laughed too. It was so absurd, so impossible; yet it was happening.Some of the magpies began to sing, a complicated, trilling, lovely chorus. There were magpies of every description: some with white bellies, some with white beaks, some with iridescent, shimmering, blue wings. Yuan felt as if she and Jing were enclosed inside the beating heart of some giant, flying, alien musical instrument.Arms around each other, gingerly sitting side by side, they peeked out at the world below from between the darting wings of the magpies.They were floating in a dark sea. The lights of the city of Hefei spread out below them like a pulsing, receding jellyfish.“It’s getting cold,” said Yuan. She shivered as the wind whipped her hair around her face.“We’re really high up,” said Jing. She took off her summer jacket and draped it around Yuan’s shoulders. Yuan tucked her nose into the collar of the jacket and breathed in the lingering perfume. It warmed her heart even if the thin fabric did little against the chill.Then Yuan berated herself. Jing had broken up with her, and she didn’t need to look so needy, so pathetic. It was fine to cling to Jing in a moment of weakness, but now they were safe. Gently, she took her arm from around Jing and shrugged out of her arm as well. She lifted her face into the clear, frosty air, and tried to shift away from Jing, keeping some distance between them.“Reminds you of Su Shi’s poem, doesn’t it?” Jing whispered. Yuan nodded reluctantly. Jing was the literary one, and she always knew the pretty words, suitable for every occasion.A half moon, like a half-veiled smile, loomed pale white in the dark sky. It grew brighter and larger as they rose on the backs of the magpies.Jing began to sing the words of the Song Dynasty poem, set to a popular tune, and after a moment, Yuan joined her:When did the Moon first appear?I ask the heavens and lift my wine cup.I know not whether time passes the same wayIn the palace among the clouds. I’d like to ride up with the wind,But I’m afraid of the chill from being so highAmong the jade porticos and nephrite beams. We dance with our shadows.Are we even on earth any more?The silver light dapples the window,Illuminating my sleepless night.Do you hate us, Moon?Why are you always waxing just when we’re parting?Like a dancer and her shadow, the two girls swayed, each separately, to a harmony as young as themselves and as old as the land beneath.“So, it’s all true,” said Jing.The magpies had lifted them above the clouds and leveled off. As they glided over the cottony mists, they could see a celestial city of bread loaf-like buildings, punctuated by spiky towers here and there, gleaming in the late summer moonlight in the distance: blue as ice, green as jade, white like ivory. The styles of the buildings were neither Western nor Chinese, but something that transcended them all: heavenly, the Palace of Immortals.“I wonder if there really are immortals living there,” said Yuan. What she didn’t say out loud was her secret hope: she and Jing had been picked by the magpies for this trip to the heavens because the immortals thought they were as special a pair as Niulang and Zhinü—the thought was tinged with both excitement and sorrow.And then they were at the Silver River. It was broader than the Yangtze, almost like Taihu Lake, with the other shore barely visible on the horizon. The rushing torrent roared past like stampeding horses, and giant waves as tall as the apartment buildings in Hefei pounded against the shore.“Hey, don’t carry us over the water!” Jing shouted. But the magpies ignored her and continued to fly towards the river.“They’re building a bridge,” said Yuan. “It’s Qixi, remember?”Indeed, more flocks of magpies appeared. Along with the flock carrying the girls, they congregated like rivulets coalescing into a mighty river of wings. The magpies hovered over the water, with newcomers extending the flock’s reach towards the other shore. They were forming an arching bridge over the Silver River.“I have to take a picture of this,” said Yuan, and she took out her cell phone.The crystal cat charm dangling from the phone caught the light of the moon and dazzled. The magpies immediately surrounding Yuan trilled and dashed at it, knocking the phone out of her hand. And then it was a free for all as more of the magpies forgot about building the bridge and rushed after the shiny bauble. Even when charged with a magical mission, birds were still just birds.Or maybe even the birds have realized we’re not such a special pair after all, Yuan thought, and the charm is more interesting.She gazed after her phone anxiously. If Se woke up from a nightmare, she might try to call her. And if her mom got home before her, she might wonder where she was. She needed that phone back. She hoped the birds would bounce the phone closer to her so she could snatch it.Then those worries were pushed out of her mind as the magpies that had supported Yuan dropped off to join the chase after the charm, and no new magpies replaced them. Her weight overwhelmed the few magpies that remained on task, and she began to fall. She didn’t even have time to cry out.But then a strong hand caught her right wrist and arrested her descent. Yuan looked up into Jing’s face. She was lying down on the bridge of magpies, and she strained as she reached out and held onto Yuan with one hand while fumbling in her purse with the other.“Let go!” shouted Yuan. “You’ll fall, too!” Her world seemed to shrink down to her hands as they clasped around Jing’s hand, around her warm, pale skin. She willed herself to let go, but she could not.“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Jing, panting.The magpies continued to fight each other for the shiny charm, causing Yuan’s phone to bob up and down over the flock like a stone skipping over water. They had stopped extending the living bridge over the water.Jing finally managed to free her own phone from her purse. She paid no attention as her purse almost tumbled over the side of the bridge, where it would have disappeared into the roiling waves below. By feel, she pressed the first button on the dial pad.Yuan’s phone came to life and began to vibrate and buzz. The shocked magpies backed off in a panic, and the phone stayed still in the air for a second before falling, faster and faster, and finally disappeared into the Silver River without a trace.Yuan felt her heart sink. That cat charm, the first gift Jing had ever given her, now gone forever.“Good thing I have you on speed dial,” Jing said.“How do we still have reception here?”“After all that, that’s what you are worried about?” Jing laughed, and after a moment, Yuan joined her.The magpies seemed to have awakened from a bad dream, and they rushed over and lifted Yuan up onto the bridge. Once the girls were safe, the magpies continued to extend their bridge to the other side of the Silver River, leaving the pair at the middle of the bridge, suspended over the endless water and mist.“We almost caused the magpies to fail to build the bridge,” Yuan said. “It would be so sad if Niulang and Zhinü don’t get to meet this year.”Jing nodded. “It’s almost midnight.” She saw the look on Yuan’s face. “Don’t worry about not being home. Nothing bad can happen on the night of Qixi.”“I thought you weren’t into Qixi.”“Well, maybe just a little bit.”They sat down on the bridge together, watching the moon rise over the Silver River. This time, Yuan did not let go of Jing’s hand.“She’s coming,” said Yuan. She jumped up and pointed down the bridge towards the eastern shore. Now that she had spent some time on the bridge of magpies, she was getting pretty good at keeping her footing over the fluttering wings.In the distance, through the mist that wafted over the bridge from time to time, they could see a small, solitary figure making its way towards them.“So is he,” said Jing. She pointed the other way. Through the mist they could see another tiny figure slowly creep towards them.The girls stood up and waited, side by side, looking first one way and then the other. Being in the presence of the annual reunion of this pair of legendary lovers was exciting, maybe even better than meeting TV stars.The two figures from the opposite ends of the bridge came close enough for Yuan and Jing to see them clearly.Out of the east, an old woman approached. Yuan thought she looked as old as, maybe even older than, her grandmother. Her back bent, she walked with a cane. But her wrinkled face glowed healthily with the exertion of having traveled all the way here. Wearing a Tang Dynasty dress, she looked splendid to Yuan. Her breath puffed out visibly in the cold air.Out of the west, an old man emerged from the mist: straight back, long legs, wiry arms swinging freely. His full head of silvery white hair matched the old woman’s, but his face was even more wrinkled than hers. As soon as he saw the old woman, his eyes lit up in a bright smile.“They’re not—” Jing started to say in a whisper.“—quite what we expected?” finished Yuan.“I guess I always pictured immortals as being … well, I guess there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t grow old.”A wispy tendril of sorrow brushed across Yuan’s heart. She tried to imagine Jing as an old woman, and the tenderness made her almost tear up again. She squeezed Jing’s hand, and Jing squeezed back, turning to smile at her.The old man and the old woman met in the middle of the bridge, a few paces away from where the girls stood. They nodded at Jing and Yuan politely and then turned their full attention to each other.“Glad to see you looking so well,” said Zhinü. “Da Lang told me that you were having some trouble with your back the last time he visited with his family. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it here this year.”“Da Lang always exaggerates,” said Niulang. “When he visits I don’t dare to sneeze or cough, lest he insist that I go to the moon to visit Chang’E for some Osmanthus herbs. This old bag of bones can’t really take any more medicine. I think he’s more upset than you or I that his brother didn’t want to be a doctor.”They laughed and chatted on, talking about children and friends.“Why don’t they kiss?” Jing whispered to Yuan.“That’s a Western thing,” Yuan whispered back. “Niulang and Zhinü are old school.”“I’m not sure that’s true. I’ve seen Internet posts arguing people in ancient China used to kiss—but anyway, they’re standing so far apart!”“It’s like they’re friends, not lovers.”“It seems that we have some curious guests,” said Zhinü as she turned around to look at the girls. She didn’t sound angry—more like amused.“We’re sorry,” said Yuan, feeling her face grow hot. “We didn’t mean to be rude.” She hesitated. It didn’t seem right at all to call this old woman “Big Sister Seven.” So she added, “Grandma Zhinü and Grandpa Niulang.”“We just thought,” Jing said, “that … um … you’d be more … passionate.”“You mean less laughing, and more tears and recitation of love poems,” said Niulang, a gentle smile in his eyes.“Yes,” said Jing. “No,” said Yuan, simultaneously.Zhinü and Niulang laughed out loud. Niulang said, “It’s okay. The magpies have been building this bridge for thousands of years, and they sometimes bring guests. We’re used to questions.”Zhinü looked from Yuan to Jing and back again. “You two are together?”“Yes,” said Jing. “No,” said Yuan, simultaneously. They looked at each other, embarrassed.“Now that sounds like a story,” said Zhinü.“We were together,” said Yuan.“But I’m leaving,” said Jing. “We’ll be parted by the Pacific Ocean.” And they told their story to Niulang and Zhinü. It seemed perfectly right to pour their hearts out to the legendary lovers.“I understand,” said Zhinü, nodding sympathetically. “Oh, do I understand.”At first I was inconsolable. I stood on the shore of the Silver River day after day, pining for a glance of my husband and children. I thought the pain in my heart would never go away. I refused to touch my loom. If my grandfather was angry, then let him find someone else to weave the sunsets. I was done.The first time we met over the bridge of magpies, Niulang and I could not stop crying the whole time. My children were growing up so fast, and I felt so guilty. So, when we had to part again, Niulang came up with a stratagem: he asked the magpies to retrieve two large rocks that were about the weight of my babies and carried them home in two baskets on the ends of a pole over his shoulder, the same way he had carried the boys onto the bridge. And everyone thought they had gone home with him. But unbeknownst to anyone else, I carried the boys home with me on my back.And after that, every year, as we met on the bridge, we passed the boys back and forth. They’d spend one year with me, one year with Niulang. They would not have their parents together, but they would have both of them.Each time we met, I told him again and again of the solitude of my hut, the desultory squeak of my loom. And he told me of how he took his herd to the same pastures that we had gone to as a family, to relive the happiness we shared. The grass had grown thin and bare from overgrazing, and his animals were just skin and bones.And then, one year, when the boys were a little older and could walk on their own, Niulang held me and told me that he didn’t want to see me sad any more.“We live a whole year for this one day,” he said. “We’re letting our lives pass us by. It’s not right that you should sit by your loom pining from morning ‘til evening. It’s not right that our sons should think our lives are lives of sorrow. It’s not right that we should come to believe that yearning for what we can’t have is what love is all about.”“What are you saying?” I asked. I was angry, and I didn’t know why. Was he saying that he no longer loved me? I had been faithful to him, but had he been to me?“We know we cannot be together,” he said. “We know that sometimes things happen to people that keeps them apart. But we have refused to look for new happiness. Are we sad because we’re in love? Or are we sad because we feel trapped by the idea of love?”I thought about what he said, and realized that he was right. I had become so used to the story about us, the idea of us living our whole lives for this once-a-year meeting, that I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted. I had become my own legend. Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves obscure our truths.“You’re beautiful when you laugh,” he said.“We’re beautiful when we seek to make ourselves happy,” I said.And so I went back to my loom and poured my love for Niulang into my weaving. I thought those were some of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever woven.And then I found that love was not a limited thing, but an endless fount. I found that I loved the laughter of my children, and the chatter of friends new and old. I found that I loved the fresh breeze that brought smells from far away. I found that other young men made my heart beat faster.And Niulang went and took his herd to new pastures, and he came up with new songs. Young women came and listened to him, and he found that conversation with them gladdened his heart.We told each other these things the next time we met over the bridge. I was glad for him and he for me. We had been clinging to each other as though we were afraid to drown, but in fact, we had been holding each other back from moving on.“And so we each went on and had other loves, joys as well as sorrows,” said Zhinü.“We still meet once a year,” said Niulang, “to catch up on each other’s lives. Old friends are hard to come by.” He and Zhinü looked at each other with affection. “They keep you honest.”“Are you disappointed?” asked Zhinü.Jing and Yuan looked at each other. “Yes,” they said together. Then they said “no,” also together.“Then, are you not in love anymore?” asked Yuan.“You ask that question because you think if we’re no longer in love, then that means the love we had was somehow not real.” Zhinü turned serious. “But the past does not get rewritten. Niulang was the first man I loved, and that would be true no matter how many times I fell in love after him.”“It’s time to go,” Niulang said. The magpies under them were getting restless. The eastern sky was brightening.“You were together, and you’re together now,” said Niulang to the girls. “Whatever comes, that remains a fact.”“You look lovely together, dears,” said Zhinü.Niulang and Zhinü embraced lightly and wished each other well. Then they turned and began to walk in opposite directions.“Look!” said Jing, and gripped Yuan’s hand.Where the old Niulang and Zhinü had been, there was now a pair of ghostly figures: a young man and a young woman. They embraced tightly, as if Yuan and Jing were not there at all.“They were such a handsome couple,” said Yuan.“They still are,” said Jing.And as the bridge of magpies broke up, carrying the girls down to earth, they looked back at the pair of ghost lovers dissolving gradually in the moonlight.Miraculously, Yuan found her bike where she’d left it.The sidewalks were still relatively empty. The first breakfast shops were just getting ready for the day, and the smell of warm soy milk and freshly fried youtiao filled the air.“Better rush home,” said Yuan. “Don’t miss your flight.”“And you need to go, too. Your mom will be worried sick!”Jing pulled her in, wrapping her arms around her. Yuan tried to pull back. “People will see.”“I don’t care,” Jing said. “I lied that day at Emerald Lake. I told you I had kissed other girls before. But you were the first. I want you to know that.”They held each other and cried, and some of the passers-by gave them curious looks, but no one stopped.“I’ll call you every day,” Jing said. “I’ll text you whenever I get a chance.”Yuan pulled back. “No. I don’t want you to think of it as a chore. Do it if you want to. And if you don’t, I’ll understand. Let whatever will happen, happen.”A quick kiss, and Yuan pushed Jing away. “Go, go!”She watched as Jing ran down the street to catch the bus. She watched as the bus pulled into the stream of traffic, a mighty river of steel like the Silver River, and disappeared around the corner.“I love you,” Yuan whispered. And no matter how the stream of time flowed on, that moment would be true forever.END“Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon” was originally published in Kaleidoscope, published by Twelfth Planet Press, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios in 2014.This recording is a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license which means you can share it with anyone you’d like, but please don’t change or sell it. Our theme is “Aurora Borealis” by Bird Creek, available through the Google Audio Library.Thanks for listening, and I’ll have another story for you on September 22nd.[Music plays out]

THE TRUE ALCHEMISTby Sonya Taaffefor Mat JoinerWhatever they left in the garden, Seth, I don’t think it wants to stay there.The man and the woman who came about the gas meter yesterday, or maybe it was the water bill? I had a deadline, I barely noticed them except for the noises they made, the crunch of shoes on stiff grass, scrapes and clangs as if they were wrestling the dustbins back against the garage door, a sudden snap of bracken that startled me until I remembered the rose-canes you’d pulled down in great, dry-cracking armfuls, their petals the soft and blotted brown of foxed paper, dead as the end of Sleeping Beauty——I forgot to call the city to take them away, brambling like baling wire beside the shed...A full transcript appears under the cut:----more----[Music plays]Hello! Welcome to GlitterShip episode two for April 9th, 2015. I’m your host, Keffy, and I’m super excited to be sharing these stories with you.My intro is going to be much shorter than it ought to be this week. Um, it turns out I was sick all of last week and that it was pneumonia. Of all things. I know. Seriously, what are the chances.Although, speaking of chances, I want to thank everyone who took the chance and pledged money toward the GlitterShip Kickstarter campaign. We successfully funded on April 8th and our final tally was $5,015!This means that not only is GlitterShip funded through the first year, but I’ll also be able to bring on other readers for many of the stories going forward, and there will be four episodes a month instead of two, and one story a month will never have been published anywhere ever before!I’m still working on the logistics regarding the submissions period for original fiction, but as soon as I know, I will make an announcement and update the submissions guidelines.This week, I have three very short stories for you by three awesome authors.I’m starting with “The True Alchemist” by Sonya Taaffe.Sonya Taaffe's short fiction and poetry can be found in the collections Ghost Signs (Aqueduct Press), A Mayse-Bikhl (Papaveria Press), Postcards from the Province of Hyphens (Prime Books), and Singing Innocence and Experience (Prime Books), and in anthologies including Aliens: Recent Encounters, Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction, The Moment of Change: An Anthology of Feminist Speculative Poetry, People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase, and The Best of Not One of Us. She is currently senior poetry editor at Strange Horizons; she holds master’s degrees in Classics from Brandeis and Yale and once named a Kuiper belt object. She lives in Somerville with her husband and two cats. She maintains a livejournal at Myth Happens.THE TRUE ALCHEMISTby Sonya Taaffefor Mat JoinerWhatever they left in the garden, Seth, I don’t think it wants to stay there.The man and the woman who came about the gas meter yesterday, or maybe it was the water bill? I had a deadline, I barely noticed them except for the noises they made, the crunch of shoes on stiff grass, scrapes and clangs as if they were wrestling the dustbins back against the garage door, a sudden snap of bracken that startled me until I remembered the rose-canes you’d pulled down in great, dry-cracking armfuls, their petals the soft and blotted brown of foxed paper, dead as the end of Sleeping Beauty—I forgot to call the city to take them away, brambling like baling wire beside the shed. Two of the city’s representatives banging around in our back garden and I didn't think to ask them, crouched over my computer with a legion of tea mugs cluttering up among the books and less than sixteen hours before Nora was going to run out of excuses to make to the publisher on my sorry, late-arsed behalf, I didn't even mark the color of their eyes or the length of their hair. They were white as winter sunshine, dressed in coveralls as if for dirtier work than reading a meter. You won’t have any more trouble, sir, the woman said on her way out, or maybe it was the man; I was nearly throwing them out at that point, giving that rattled manic grin that is supposed to pass for comradely homeownership, presumably to soften the slam of door in face—I knew I should have pretended to be sick, or in the shower, or just not at home. I’m a bad liar when I don’t have time to think. I’m too good at it when I do. Seth, the garden’s fucked. Call me tonight or come home. Or both.Seth, I know the conference isn't over till Sunday, but could you just tell them it’s an emergency—the cat’s on fire, the kitchen blew up, your husband is having a baby? I got the article sent off on time and I haven’t slept since. Or I can’t tell if I’m sleeping, rolling over and over through dreams of the same cold, entangling sheets, vacant and huge around one person in this bed that’s a jigsaw puzzle for two, the same little sounds rustling up the back stairs, fanning underneath the windowframe with the icy slip of the air. It sounds like footsteps moving unhurriedly on frost-brittle grass, the squeal and judder of metal dragged over asphalt chips; it sounds like a trampling of dead branches, each as sharp and sick as a bone-break, the knuckle-pop crackling of twigs wrung like a neck. So fast. I think murder instead of horticulture, intruders instead of rats or the cats that hunt them. The swimming cathedral light before dawn looks like the underside of water to a long-drowned man. I made a point of shaving, combing my hair, putting on a different sweater. I haven’t been out all day. I've taken all my pills, including the ones I try to ration; Nora knows I'm feeling skittish—it’s not like she can pretend not to when I turn in a page and a half of self-recrimination with the other twenty-five about Philoktetes and the poisons and cures of language. I'll call Dr. Linsey if it gets much weirder. I won’t call anyone. I’m crap at self-care. I’ll just sit here drinking our ever-diminishing hoard of tea and typing run-on sentences, knowing it’s not like New York is three days away by transatlantic steamer anymore and it doesn't matter. Our neighbors are right there on the other side of the kitchen window—washing dishes, in fact, side by side with soapy plates and dishrag in some urban equivalent of a tranquil, pastoral scene—and it doesn't matter. I might as well be on the far side of the moon. If the moon were haunted by the smell of oil and leaf-mold, slick as a slug’s track or petrol-spill. Seth, this is bad. I hate that fucking mobile, I wouldn't check my e-mail on it to win a bet, but I've started carrying it like a locket, as if it really contained something of you. I’d check the gas meter if I could go outside. Or the water. I went outside. I want to stress that very carefully. I unlocked the back door and I went down and I stood in the garden, freezing, hugging myself over the sweater I hadn't thought to supplement with a jacket or even a scarf, breathing out sharp quick clouds that hurt as much to draw breath for as it did to stand there with the no-colored sun in my eyes, the sky pressing down on my hair and my shoulders and the backs of my hands, seeing me. The neighbors with their curtainless windows, locked in newlywed oblivion: two mirrors gazing into each other endlessly. Passing cars, passers-by, graffiti hanging over the wall. The air.Our garden, Seth. It doesn't move after all. It might be a machine, if machines were pinned and carved from rose-thorns and rain-torn petals and withered cuttings, blown dandelions and willowherb wreathed in seed-silk like a questioning cigarette; it might have grown there, if rails of brick-spiked iron and clagged tin could throw out runners, coil delicately to follow the sun. There was a ragged round of copper crept in green from the edges, turning like a suncatcher as the verdigris crawled. There was a spiderweb beaded from one prong of fused glass to a tarnished silver spike of lamb’s ear, glittering cleanly in the morning chill. It saw me. That was when I went upstairs, and I left a message at your hotel, and I did not take any more of my pills than I was supposed to, and I went to bed. It was cold and bright and the sounds came up through the walls, from nothing moving around where the neighbors, or me, or anything at all could see. After a while it started to sound familiar. After that I really couldn't sleep. I dreamed anyway. There was a door. How is this supposed to end, Seth? You’d drop everything if I checked myself in, but I don’t want to be that hungry ghost when I don’t need to, Eurydike-reeling myself in and out of the dark to see if you’ll brave it one more time for me; I don’t want you to find me with an empty bottle or emptier wrists, curled in the rime-blackened ruins of our garden like a child on a cold hill’s side. You've got epidemics to talk about and I've got my contagion here at home, allowed passage like every good haunting—any more trouble, but then maybe I don’t. It smells very strongly like burning now, acrid as antifreeze, sweet as spiced woods, and I think of an engine turning over, cogs and pistons and sap and steam. I think of pavement cracking like a caddis-husk, ice-starred earth rumbling like a drum. If it doesn't want to stay here, Seth, I won’t stop it: I’ll hold the gate for it just as I let it in, or I’ll sit here and drink the last of the black ginger tea, typing sentences that don’t stop as usual; we’ll get more when you’re home. The cat’s not on fire. The garden’s fucked, but aren't we all? Maybe it will tell me when it goes, knowing we feel the same way about an audience. I’m truthful when I need to be, too.ENDOur next story is “Ulder” by Vajra Chandrasekera.Vajra lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Black Static, and Shimmer, among others. You can find more work by him at vajra.me.ULDERby Vajra Chandrasekera“Ulder,” said the man in the hat, leaning in, lips barely moving. His eyes darted, as if anyone else on the train would hear him through their prophylactic earplugs. We were the only two with ears open."What?" I said, too loud. The man in the hat leaned away, mouth tight, beard bristling. He didn't look at me again.At the station, guardsmen took the man in the hat away. I watched them go out of the corner of my eye; they'd knocked his hat off when they took him down, and his hair was tousled from the scuffle. I couldn't see the hat anywhere, but there were so many people on the platform. I imagined it, briefly, crushed and stepped on somewhere in the press.I mentioned the word to Kirill in bed that night, and he stiffened, asked me where I'd heard it."He didn't tell you what it meant?" Kirill asked when I'd told him the story."What does it mean? Do you know?"Kirill hesitated so long that I prodded him to see if he'd fallen asleep. "You know I hate it when you keep secrets," I said."Don't be melodramatic," Kirill said.And then he told me what the word meant.It was several days before I thought to ask him how he had known the word. I spent those days in a haze, raw and newborn. The wind seemed colder. I started letting my beard grow. The long bones in my shins felt weak, as if from fever. And the word, it reverberated in me, growing echoes like fungi in the dark.Ulder, I said to myself at my desk, working and writing. But only inside, so that the other people in my office wouldn't hear me. I needn't have worried; they all wore prophylactics anyway.Ulder, I said to myself when I saw uniforms on the street, guardsmen arresting someone.("Disappearing," Kirill had once said, early in our acquaintance. "Not arresting, disappearing them." And I only thought, this man is free and beautiful. But if I had known the word then I would not have thought ulder, because Kirill was never that.)Ulder, I whispered when they broadcast the prayer-anthems, tinny from loudspeakers, in the evening as I walked to the railway station. I used to mumble along to the prayers out of habit, never seeing what was in front of me.Ulder, ulder, ulder.I said it out loud the next time Kirill and I slept together. It had been almost a week, because we couldn't afford to be seen together too often. Kirill flinched as soon as I said it. He rolled out of bed, lighting one of his contraband cigarettes."Now who's being melodramatic?" I said.The cigarettes were very Kirill. That was both the extent and the nature of his rebellion; slick, sly, sweet-smelling, carcinogenic."I was afraid you'd react to it this way," Kirill said. "Some are immune to memetically transmitted disease. But you--""MTDs don't exist," I said. "I've told you, it's just state propaganda against disapproved ideologies. Ulder--""Don't say it to me," Kirill said, laughing his bitter tar laugh and coughing. "What do you know about it? I was the one who told--"I don't want to talk about the fight. That's not the way I want to remember him. But we shouted a lot, and I think someone must have heard.A few more days went by, and I wanted to make it up to him. So I went to see him at the teahouse where we usually met after work. But even as I got there, I knew from the commotion that something was wrong. I didn't recognize Kirill's walk at first, pressed between the guardsmen as they marched him out of the building and into the waiting van. I only realized it was him when he laughed, bitter like tar.Not knowing what else to do, I took the train home. It was crowded, as always, and I hung from the strap like a drowning man. And when the young woman, the only other person in the carriage without earplugs in, caught my eye, I didn't have a choice.I knew what would happen, that it wouldn't go unremarked, that you'd be waiting for me on the platform with your batons.But in her eyes I saw a moment of openness, that fragile and fractured thing I had always seen in the mirror and never recognized until I heard the word, and though I knew she wouldn't understand and I couldn't explain, I leaned in and said “Ulder”, the word naked and bright like fever in my mouth.ENDOur next story is "The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced" by Sarah Pinsker.Sarah Pinsker is the author of the novelette, "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind," Sturgeon Award winner 2014 and Nebula finalist 2013. Her fiction has been published in magazines including Asimov's, Strange Horizons, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Daily Science Fiction, The Journal of Unlikely Cartography, Fireside, Stupefying Stories, and PULP Literature, and in anthologies including Long Hidden, Fierce Family, and The Future Embodied.She is also a singer/songwriter with three albums on various independent labels (the third with her rock band, the Stalking Horses) and a fourth forthcoming. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland and can be found online at sarahpinsker.com and twitter.com/sarahpinsker.THE SEWELL HOME FOR THE TEMPORALLY DISPLACEDby Sarah PinskerJudy says, "It's snowing."I look out the window. The sky is the same dirty grey as the snow left from last week's storm. I stand up to look closer, to find a backdrop against which I might see what she sees. The radiator is warm against my knees."You don't mean now." It's not really a question, but she shakes her head. She looks through me, through another window, at other weather. She smiles. Whenever she is, it must be beautiful."Describe it for me," I say."Big, fluffy snow. The kind that doesn't melt when it lands on your gloves. Big enough to see the shapes of individual flakes.""Do you know when you are?"She strains to catch a different view. "1890s, maybe? The building across the street hasn't been built yet. I wish I could see down to the street, Marguerite."Judy isn't supposed to leave her bed, but I help her into her yellow slippers, help her to her feet. I try to make myself strong enough for her to lean on. We shuffle to the window. She looks down."There's a Brougham* waiting at the front door. The horse is black, and he must have been driven hard, because the snow that's collecting elsewhere is just melting when it hits him. There's steam coming off him."I don't say anything. I can't see it, but I can picture it."Somebody came out of the building. He's helping a woman out of the carriage," she says. "Her clothes don't match the era or the season. She's wearing jeans and a T-shirt.""A Distillers T-shirt," I say."Yes! Can you see her too?""No," I say. "That was me, the first time I came here. I didn't stay long, that first time."I hear the creak of the door. It's Zia, my least favorite of the nurses. She treats us like children. "Judy, what are we doing up? We could get hurt if we have an episode."She turns to me. "And you, Marguerite. We should know better to encourage her.""Your pronouns are very confusing," I tell her.She ignores me. "Well, let's get down to lunch, since we're both up and about."Zia puts Judy in a wheelchair. I follow them down to the dining room, slow and steady. She pushes Judy up to the first available space, at a table with only one vacancy. I'm forced to sit across the room. I don't like being so far away from her. I would make a fuss, but I try to tell myself we can stand to be apart for one meal. I keep an eye on her anyway.Judy isn't fully back yet. She doesn't touch her food. Mr. Kahn and Michael Lim and Grace de Villiers are all talking across her. Mr. Kahn is floating his spoon, demonstrating the finer points of the physics of his first time machine, as he always does."Meatloaf again," mutters Emily Arnold, to my left. "I can't wait until vat protein is invented.""It tastes good enough, Emily. The food here is really pretty decent for an industrial kitchen in this time period." We've all had worse.We eat our meatloaf. Somebody at the far end of the room has a major episode and we're all asked to leave before we get our jello. I can't quite see who it is, but she's brandishing her butter knife like a cutlass, her legs braced against a pitching deck. The best kind of episode, where you're fully then again. We all look forward to those. It's funny that the staff act like it might be contagious. I wait in Judy's room for her to return. Zia wheels her in and lifts her into the bed. She's light as a bird, my Judy. Zia frowns when she sees me. I think she'd shoo me out more often if either of us had family that could lodge a complaint. Michael and Grace are allowed to eat together but not to visit each other's rooms. Grace's children think she shouldn't have a relationship now that she lives in so many times at once. Too confusing, they say, though Grace doesn't know whether they mean for them or for her."How was your dinner?" I ask Judy."I can't remember," she says. "But I saw you come in for the first time. You said 'How is this place real?' and young Mr. Kahn said 'Because someday all of us will build it.'""And then I asked 'When can I get started?' and he said 'You already did.'"I can see it now. The dining room was formal, then. Everyone stared when I came in, but most of the smiles were knowing ones. They understood the hazards of timesling. They had been there, or they were there, or they were going to be.Judy takes my hand. I lean over to kiss her."It's snowing," I say. "I can't wait to meet you."END*Brougham was changed to "carriage" for the audio version.“The True Alchemist” was first published in Not One of Us #51 in April 2014. “Ulder” was first published in Daily Science Fiction in July 2014. “The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced” was first published in the Women Destroy Science Fiction edition of Lightspeed Magazine in June 2014. This recording is a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license which means you can share it with anyone you’d like, but please don’t change or sell it. Our theme is “Aurora Borealis” by Bird Creek, available through the Google Audio Library.Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you again on April 9th with a selection of three flash fiction stories.[Music plays out]This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Coming Up… Main Fiction: Subduction, by Paul Berger Paul M. Berger has been a Japanese bureaucrat, an M.I.T. program administrator, an Internet entrepreneur, a butterfly wrangler, a museum tour guide and (God help him) a Wall Street recruiter, all of which, in the aggregate, may have prepared him for nothing except the cretion of speculative fiction. His work has appeared in publications including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Rich Horton’s Space Opera, Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011, Strange Horizons, Interzone, Podcastle and Escape Pod. The story of his battle against giant Japanese spiders was the first true-life memoir published in Weird Tales. He is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion workshop, and is a founding member of the stunningly talented New York-based writers’ group Altered Fluid. His next published story will appear... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coming up… Cover Art: Aeon Lux Fact: Synthetic Voices by Jimmy Rodgers 06:00 Main Fiction: “Pupa” by David D. Levine 20:00 She had already molted seven times and knew this feeling well, but this next molt would be her last as a juvenile. After this molt, she would pupate for three months, her ugly juvenile body replaced by a gleaming adults’. She was thrilled. She was terrified.  David D. Levine is the author of over fifty published science fiction and fantasy stories. His work has appeared in magazines including Asimov’s, Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Realms of Fantasy and has won or been nominated for awards including the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and Campbell.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coming up… Fact: Film Talk by Dennis M. Lane 06:30 “Something Real” by Rick Wilber 14:30 Fact: Movie Soundtracks by David Raiklen 01:19:20 Interview: Ben Chaney 01:33:00 Rick is a journalism professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is also a writer who has published two novels, several short-story collections, a memoir, and several college textbooks on writing and editing for some of the world’s largest publishers. He also published some fifty poems in various magazines and reviews in the United States, Scotland and Ireland, and has published more than fifty short stories in magazines and anthologies ranging from Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine and... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. Join us as we chat up the evening with author Michael A. Martin!