Fictional antihero of comic science fiction novels by Harry Harrison
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On Ron's Amazing Stories this week we look into the sensational, fast-paced, and wildly imaginative world of Pulp Magazines, exploring both their history and some captivating stories from the era. Episode Highlights: Introduction to Pulp Magazines. Story 1: "Test Rocket" (Read by Ron) Published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, April 1959. A tale of humanity's first attempt at space exploration. The intriguing juxtaposition of human curiosity and alien perception. Story 2: "Toy Shop" (Read by Corey Samuels) Appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, April 1962. Written by Harry Harrison, famous for The Stainless Steel Rat. A toy can change the world. Story 3: "2BR02B" (Read by Anthony Wood) Authored by Kurt Vonnegut, first published in If: Worlds of Science Fiction, January 1962. A dystopian story reflecting on life, death, and society's control over both. Story 4: "We Didn't Do Anything Wrong…Hardly" (Read by Fatima) From Astounding Science Fiction, May 1959. A whimsical sci-fi adventure, rumored to have inspired the 1985 film The Explorers. Closing Thoughts. Thank You for Listening! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and share! Ron's Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible - You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at . Your Stories: Do you have a story that you would like to share on the podcast or the blog? Head to the main website, click on Story Submission, leave your story, give it a title, and please tell me where you're from. I will read it if I can. Links are below. Music Used In This Podcast: Most of the music you hear on Ron's Amazing Stories has been composed by Kevin MacLeod () and is Licensed under . Other pieces are in the public domain. You can find great free music at which is a site owned by Kevin. Program Info: Ron's Amazing Stories is published each Thursday. You can download it from , stream it on or on the mobile version of . Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on . Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this . Social Links: Contact Links:
The important thing was that they survive. Men were needed who'd be able to explore the surface once the ship landed. Trainee for Mars by Harry Harrison. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Special thanks to "Tony from the future" who bought us 20 coffees. Tony had this to say, “Just found this podcast and am addicted. My wife is a bit worried as I've been literally listening 24hours a day, even as I sleep. Your selections and narration are unparalleled. As a 60+ year old these are the types of stories I craved as I grew up. I'm so happy to be able to support your efforts. I would like to make a recommendation. Since I know you like uncommon authors and also support female writers, please look into Zenna Henderson.”Thank you Tony from the future for your generous support and please make sure you get some sleep. I had never heard of Zenna Henderson but there is at least one story that she wrote that is in the public domain. Listen for one of her stories in the near future and thanks for your kind words.If you would like to buy us a coffee there is always a link in the description.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVYou can never have too much Harry Harrison! His story The Stainless Steel Rat remains one of the most listened-to episodes on our podcast.Today's tale first appeared in Fantastic Universe in June 1958, accompanied by this note from the magazine: “We seem so close to Space Flight that we've been afraid, these last weeks, that history might catch up with us and make Harry Harrison's exciting story dated. There is that danger, these days.”As it turned out, history took a little longer—nearly three years later, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, piloting Freedom 7 for 15 minutes and 28 seconds.Open the pages of Fantastic Universe to page 4, Trainee for Mars by Harry Harrison…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, To those who were the goggle of Dr. Dragonet there is another world–of mystery, joy and, yes, terror… The Goggles of Dr. Dragonet by Fritz Leiber.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPod=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony From the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Giles Richards returns to discuss a new collection of the Stainless Steel Rat stories, and this time they are in colour. Grab yourself a copy from the 2000AD store.Check out Giles' new INH records on Bandcamp and read his article about his inspiration for creating his own record label.You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.comMusic used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub. Click here to listen to the episode online. Or Download here Right click and choose save link as to download to your computer.
They'd long known that they were more than mere machines. They could reason, remember, and teach. And also plan, The Robots Strike and Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Author Harry Harrison is best known for his character The Stainless Steel Rat which we featured on the podcast more than a year ago. But he also wrote a plethora of lesser known short stories beginning in the 1950s and you will hear two of them today.Our first story appeared in Fantastic Universe magazine in January 1959. We will discover this robot rebellion on page 58, The Robots Strike by Harry Harrison…Our second story was published earlier in Harrison's career. If you didn't know better you would swear that Harrison didn't write it because in the October 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine our story is credited to Felix Boyd. Harrison used the pen name Felix Boyd three times and we've already narrated one of the others, The Robot Who Wanted to Know. The Magazine, Fantastic Universe, the date October 1957, the page where it begins 92, the story, Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, All his life he had been searching for the big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had come to Mars—his last chance. This had to be—Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison audiobook. This is the story that inspired and kicked off the Stainless Steel Rat series of stories and novels by Harry Harrison. A slippery con man and thief, frustrating every police force on every planet for years, finally meets a worthy adversary in the Special Corps. Slippery Jim deGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat himself, goes on to have many adventures but this is the first...and the last in a way. After this, his cunning and crooked mind is put to the bigger task of saving the universe from itself. Which he does with zest, self interest and sense of fun that describe the Stainless Steel Rat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Being an interstellar trouble shooter wouldn't be so bad … if I could shoot the trouble! The Repairman by Harry Harrison, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode. Support the show - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV We receive a lot of great comments on YouTube, this one from @richardhoffman2681 “Easily one of my favorite YouTube channels. Don't worry, it's going to catch on. Bet $100 bucks a year from now you have 100,000+ subscribers. Keep it up!” Thank you, Richard!! 100,000+ subscribers a year from now? I hope you're right. @sarabrooks1996 says, “I think I'm too late for the live feed but I just wanna tell you that I love your voice. And you really bring the stories to life.” Thank you, Sara, we appreciate you and your comments. We've featured Harry Harrison's work 4 times previously on the podcast and he's back today with a story about a controlling boss and the challenges that follow. Open your February 1958 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine to page 60 for, The Repairman by Harry Harrison… Tomorrow on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, You can't always escape evils by running away from them… but it may help! A Traveler in Time by August Derleth. That's tomorrow on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Support the show
It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship—in the wrong hands!—can be most dangerous. “The Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison”, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode. Last week more people listened to more episodes of the podcast than ever before. So, to say thank you you'll hear three more episodes again this week. A few days ago we met James Bolivar diGriz for the first time here on the podcast. The story you're about to hear picks up where “The Stainless Steel Rat” left off. After a life of crime diGriz is now one of the good guys tasked with catching criminals instead of being one. From the pages of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine in April 1960, turn to page 71 for The Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison… In two days on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, the method by which one man might be pinpointed in the vastness of all Eternity was the problem tackled by the versatile Frank Belknap Long in this story. And as all minds of great perceptiveness know, it would be a simple, human quality he'd find most effective even in solving Time-Space. “The Man From Time by Frank Belknap Long”. That's in two days on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the show
Something was tapping on the window. Blowing up against the pane, again and again. Carried by the wind. Tapping faintly, insistently. Lori, sitting on the couch, pretended not to hear. She gripped her book tightly and turned a page. The tapping came again, louder, and more imperative. It could not be ignored. Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode. I received an email recently asking why I read reviews on the podcast. The answer is simple, it's my way of publicly saying thank you for taking the time and effort to write a review for us. It means a lot to me when I read your review. And if I knew the names of all 57 of you, so far, who have rated us on Spotify I'd read those too. By the way our rating on Spotify is 4.9, probably 4.98 if they added a decimal point, and on Apple podcasts it's 4.99! Thank you!! Our most recent review on Apple Podcasts comes to us from RLVader who says, “The Best Sci-fi podcast to date! I have listened to every sci-fi podcast I can find. This is by far the best and most consistent one I have come across. Great selection of stories and superb narration.” Wow! Thanks RLVader. We've showcased Philip K. Dick more than any other author on the podcast. Why? Because you keep asking for more PKD and the episodes with a Philip K. Dick story are among the most listened to episodes we have.“Of Withered Apples” appeared in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine. If that publication doesn't ring a bell, well, it's because there were only four issues. From the July 1954 issue let's turn to page 21 for “Of Withered Apples” by Philip K. Dick… Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, the follow-up to “The Stainless Steel Rat”, It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship—in the wrong hands!—can be most dangerous. The Misplaced Battleship by Harry Harrison. That's next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the show
All human history shows that not all humans are men; some are mules, and some are wolves–and there are always a few rats. The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode. The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is growing like a weed out of control, all over the world, and baby there ain't no pesticide! We're seeing phenomenal growth in Australia which now boasts 3 out of the top 10 cities for weekly listens to our podcast. There are more downloads every week in Melbourne, Australia than any other city in the world. Brisbane is 7th and Adelaide is 9th. Thanks Australia! And we thank you, no matter where you are listening to The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Harry Harrison has been on the podcast before with the short story “The Robot Who Wanted To Know”. That story is only 18 minutes long. What you're about to hear today is considerably longer, about an hour, and it's the first of two stories you will hear by Harry Harrison in the next 5 days. “The Stainless Steel Rat” is a series of science fiction short stories and novels written by Harrison over four decades. Today's story is the first of twelve in the series featuring James Bolivar diGriz, the fictional character created by Harrison. Let's turn to page 41 in the August 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine for “The Stainless Steel Rat” by Harry Harrison… In two days on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, something was tapping on the window. Blowing up against the pane, again and again. Carried by the wind. Tapping faintly, insistently. Lori, sitting on the couch, pretended not to hear. She gripped her book tightly and turned a page. The tapping came again, louder, and more imperative. It could not be ignored. Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick. That's this week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the show
The most dangerous game, said one writer, is Man. But there is another still more deadly! Seventh Victim by Robert Sheckley, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is growing like crazy, thanks to you, so we're delivering two bonus episodes this week, to say thank you. In two days, we're featuring the work of Harry Harrison and two days after that, Philip K. Dick returns.Thousands of you listen to us on podcast players like Apple, Spotify and Overcast and thousands more enjoy us on YouTube. Recent YouTube comments include this from Bob, “Thank you so much for these fabulous stories! I have a solitary job as a night custodian. I thoroughly enjoy these stories and the wonderful voice, who narrates them, as I work the graveyard shift. Thank you so much! Bob in Oregon” Thank you Bob!0therun1t21 says, “Well read! I love these stories, had to subscribe. Thank You!” Thank you for your comment 0therun!Dimitrikorsakov2570 had this to say, “Your narration is so damn good. You're so easy and pleasant to listen to.” Thanks Dimitri! Leave us a comment on YouTube or send us an email, scott@lostscifi.com. In the last couple of months, we've heard from Robert Sheckley twice, Watchbird and Beside Still Waters. Our Sheckley story today comes from the pages of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine in April 1953. Let's go to page 38 for Seventh Victim by Robert Sheckley…In two days on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, James diGriz lives a life of crime, and he's good at it. Perhaps not as good as he thinks he is! The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. And two days later we've got a story for you from Philip K. Dick. That's this week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the show
A zoo is a place where some people make sport of lower animals. That included Kemper, but for him people were the lower animals! The Man Who Liked Lions by John Bernard Daley, that's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.We are going live on YouTube in 2 days on Thursday, July 20th at 4 PM US Eastern time. We'll be narrating some of Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat, answer any questions you have, and everything else is up to you. If you want to send us questions in advance please do so, scott@lostscifi.com. That's in two days, July 20th at 4 PM in New York, Atlanta and Toronto, 3 PM in Chicago, 1 in Los Angeles and Seattle, and 9 PM in Leicester, Manchester and London. It should be fun; I hope you will join us. There's a link to our YouTube channel in the description https://www.youtube.com/vintagescifiaudiobooksJohn Bernard Daley makes his debut on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast today. Daley was born in Pittsburgh in 1918 and died at age 92 in 2011. He wrote three short sci-fi stories in the 1950s and that's all we know about him. This story is the very definition of Lost Sci-Fi. Turn to page 70 in the October 1956 issue of Infinity Science Fiction Magazine for The Man Who Liked Lions by John Bernard Daley… Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, History was repeating itself; there were moats and nobles in Pennsylvania and vassals in Manhattan and the barbarian hordes were overrunning the land. The Barbarians by Algis Budrys.That's next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the show
Apologies for the week delay (due to vacation). We're just a couple of no-goodniks, I guess, like the subject of this episode, about the galaxy's greatest criminal, Slippery Jim DeGriz, a guy so good at crime they put him in charge of catching all the other criminals. We explore the satirical (and long-running) romp that is the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Phil's Twitter Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2022 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
What do you call a con man in an advanced world of rocket ships, concrete, and stainless steel? A stainless steel rat. Harry Harrison, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. We are proudly supported by our listeners. Please sign up to be a supporter for as little as $5 a month. We'll give you a monthly coupon code for $8 off any audiobook order. Your support on a monthly basis is vital to keep us going. Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a financial supporter today. Thank you so much. The Arsène Lupin Podcast is coming along. If you haven't heard, I'll be releasing the first collection of Lupin stories as its own show. Wednesdays are about to get even better. And now for something completely different. I thought we'd have a little bit of classic science fiction for a while. We're starting with a short story by Harry Harrison. The Stainless Steel Rat is his most well-known story, along with the Deadworld series. Originally released in the August 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, the noir style of the story helps us to immediately know our protagonist, and the world he inhabits. I hope you like it. And now, The Stainless Steel Rat, by Harry Harrison Follow this link to become a monthly supporter: Follow this link to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: Check out our blog about how audiobooks are made:
This week, we're launching towards the stars so we can see brave new worlds and commit all sorts of cosmic crimes alongside James Bolivar diGriz, AKA "The Stainless Steel Rat." This collection of British comics from the same writer who gave us Soylent Green was a shockingly fun read. ----more---- Our new site is live! For the transcript of this episode, head over to https://www.tencenttakes.com/transcripts. References: Wikipedia articles for Harry Harrison and The Stainless Steel Rat Series https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/harry-harrison/stainless-steel-rat/ https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3531/return-stainless-steel-rat Email: tencenttakes@gmail.com Twitter: @Tencenttakes Instagram: @Tencenttakes Facebook: /Tencenttakes Mastodon: retro.pizza/@tencenttakes Our banner art is original work by Sarah Frank (https://www.lookmomdraws.com/) Hive: Tencenttakes
The Repairman by Harry Harrison audiobook. This is a collection of 3 of Harry Harrison marvelous early stories that were published in Galaxy, Analog and Fantastic Universe. The Repairman (1958) is a straight fun SF story of a man getting a job done. It is most typical of his later style in series like the Stainless Steel Rat; Toy Shop (1962), a short piece exploring bureaucratic blindness and one ingenious way around it and The Velvet Glove (1956), my favorite for its writing style, fun perspective, sly social commentary on the scene in 1956 and just plain delightful imagination. And he manages to pack excitement and mystery in at the same time.
Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat is an old favorite of Tony's, and a forgotten pleasure of Tom's as well. The adventures of "Slippery Jim" deGriz make for wonderfully fun reading! We were both glad to have revisited this old friend.
Join Mike, Chris and Rob as they discuss Tarot #2, Twilight Avenger #1, Doctor Strange vol 2 #26, Doctor Strange Vol 3 #1, First Adventures #2, Batman #374, Stainless Steel Rat #1
Join Mike, Chris and Rob as they discuss Tarot #2, Twilight Avenger #1, Doctor Strange vol 2 #26, Doctor Strange Vol 3 #1, First Adventures #2, Batman #374, Stainless Steel Rat #1
Join Mike, Chris and Rob as they discuss Tarot #2, Twilight Avenger #1, Doctor Strange vol 2 #26, Doctor Strange Vol 3 #1, First Adventures #2, Batman #374, Stainless Steel Rat #1
It was an honour to be joined by Greg Costikyan who has created many ground-breaking table top role playing games such as Paranoia, Toon and Star Wars D6. Greg has gone on to be a change maker in the game design industry, speaking up for indie game developers, and sharing design theories that are now considered foundational. To learn more about Greg and his work, please visit: https://www.costik.com Shout-out to Noble Knight Games, who rushed me a copy of Stainless Steel Rat at my request! They are my go-to source of after market games: https://www.nobleknight.com Learn more about Dieku Games: https://diekugames.com https://diekugames.itch.io https://www.instagram.com/diekugames https://www.twitter.com/diekugames https://www.tiktok.com/@diekugames https://www.patreon.com/diekugames https://discord.gg/ZBpHnjQ5 #ttrpg #gamedesign #costikyan --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diekugames/message
Nichole has feedback on the Suspension of Disbelief episode. Best Science Fiction Stories of Clifford D. Simak Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams The Complete Stories of Isaac Asimov The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison Soylent … The post Feedback on Suspension of Disbelief appeared first on The Every Day Novelist.
The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is back! After some ... technical difficulties Molch-R returns with a new episode of the Galaxy's Greatest Podcast celebrating the slippery-est son-ovva-gun in the whole cosmos - Jim diGriz, aka THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT!To complement the summer's release of the deluxe edition of the classic 1980s adaptation from the pages of 2000 AD, Molch-R and comics editor John Freeman chat to writer Kelvin Gosnell about the series. Along the way they discuss what 2000 AD owes to Gerry Anderson and vice versa, totally unethical ways of getting animals to act in camera, and the shocking secret about The Airfix Collectors' Club!Got a theme or interview you'd like to hear? Let us know at thrillcast@2000AD.comThe 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy's Greatest Comic with creator interviews, panels, and more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on your favourite podcast app, iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can also listen now at 2000AD.com/podcast or you can watch at youtube.com/2000ADonline
Brigham Young loved the Deseret alphabet, and so do we. It's so cool looking and old and kinda weird. It's perfect Mormon history and it's forever enshrined in Unicode. Let's take a look! Link to new Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Start here! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_alphabet English Phonotypic Alphabet, developed by Sir Isaac Pitman and Alexander John Ellis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Phonotypic_Alphabet George D. Watt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_D._Watt A Simplified Alphabet, by Mark Twain https://englishliterature.net/mark-twain/a-simplified-alphabet Monsters and Mormons https://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Mormons-Wm-Henry-Morris/dp/0982781245 Quite Interesting, J series, ep 13, Jobs https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B084DL9FQC/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s10 Making Peace: Personal Essays, by Eugene England, Chapter 4, On Bringing Peace To BYU, With The Help Of Brigham Young http://signaturebookslibrary.org/on-bringing-peace-to-byu-with-the-help-of-brigham-young/ Dialogue Book Report #13: Kristine Haglund on Eugene England https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/dialogue-book-report-13-kristine-haglund-on-eugene-england/ The Deseret Alphabet in Unicode, by Kenneth R. Beesley http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~jericks/Historical%20or%20Technical/History%20Looking%20Backwards/Ken%20Beesley/Deseret%20in%20Unicode.pdf The Stainless Steel Rat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat
As we start to batten down the hatches for Autumn Monts and Nuge are bringing the sunshine with another slice of geek fun. News A sequel to the Rocketeer...yes please! 2000AD set to rerelease The Stainless Steel Rat. Week that Was Pennyworth The Verve The apocalypse war Shadow and Bone Six of crows Harley Quinn Main The lads answer some listener questions Email: thegeeks@geeksyndicate.co.uk Subscribe to GS on iTunes: http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/subscribe/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/geeksyndicate/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/geeksyndicate Twitter: https://twitter.com/geeksyndicate Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/geeksyndicate/ If you want to donate to the show to help with podcast/website hosting fees you can send us a tip via our paypal account which again is thegeeks@geeksyndicate.co.uk. You can also become a patreon at https://www.patreon.com/geeksyndicate or buy us a virtual coffee over at https://ko-fi.com/geeksyndicate
Ian asks: Did your characterization series cover con artists? How can you write them believably, when so many real-life con artists have paper thin back stories? Resources Mentioned: The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man by David Maurer and Luc Sante The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat … The post Question 937: Con Artists as Characters appeared first on The Every Day Novelist.
We explore some of our favorite crime novels, the genre at large as part of mystery, and pick apart the differences between detective novels (tending to support law & order) vs caper novels (tending to be anti-establishment or radical) and the exceptions. Crime and caper novels can be historic or modern, and cross every genre. What do you need to think about when writing crime stories? We have some ideas. … Continue...Episode 102 – Crime and Euphemisms
On this time we have a brand new Five Minute Mystery where diamonds are stolen and a murder committed. Then Jason Dowd joins us for The Paranormal With Jason. We talk about a frightening adventure sent in by Spencer Johnson titled Mantis Man. We end the program with the conclusion to last week's epic science fiction tale The Misplaced Battleship. Featured Story - The Misplaced Battle Ship Our featured story this week is the Conclusion to The Misplaced Battleship. The work was originally published in the April, 1960 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. If you missed parts one and two you can listen to it . Last week we met James DiGriss AKA the Stainless Steel Rat. He was a con man of skill, but was caught by Special Corps and given the choice of prison or becoming one of their agents. His first assignment was to track down and recover a missing space faring battleship. He heads to the second planet of a B star in Corona Borealis, where he impersonates a General to get to the bottom of the mystery. After much research James discovers an inspired master criminal. His name is Pepe Nero and his accomplice is a girl named Angelina. He thanked the people of Corona Borealis and parted with these words, “The League fleet is already closing in on the renegades and you will be informed of the capture. Thank you for your assistance." About Jason Dowd - From an early age, Jason has loved his art. Over the years he has used various mediums, but none was more profound to him than photography. He finds inspiration wherever he goes because he keeps his eyes open for things that will make the perfect photo. Jason lives in the great state of Florida and has been a part of Ron’s Amazing Stories since the beginning. He first appeared on the podcast in where he introduced us to his book . If that wasn’t enough Jason is our radio producer. He has been putting the podcast out on the radio for the last 5 years! Jason is also the CEO and founder of Gladys Goodies. Jason’s Links: , , , , and . Ron’s Amazing Stories Sponsored by: Audible - You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at and - Good Treats for your dog to eat. Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood:Email: Blog Page: Facebook: Twitter: Helpful Links: - Help the podcast by taking this survey. - Use this link to submit your stories to the show. - Looking for the first 100 episodes of the podcast?
On this time it is all about the Stainless Steel Rat. The character was introduced in Harry Harrison's short story The Misplaced Battleship, first published in 1960 in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine. Harrison used this story, with minor modifications, as the introduction to the series's first full-length novel called The Stainless Steel Rat. Why am I telling you this? Well, because like I said this whole show is about the guy. Featured Story - The Misplaced Battleship In this classic science fiction adventure, we are introduced to James Bolivar diGriz (aka The Stainless Steel Rat). It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship ... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But still a battleship--in the wrong hands!--that can be most dangerous. Ron’s Amazing Stories Sponsored by: Audible - You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at and - Good Treats for your dog to eat. Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood:Email: Blog Page: Facebook: Twitter: Helpful Links: - Help the podcast by taking this survey. - Use this link to submit your stories to the show. - Looking for the first 100 episodes of the podcast?
The final part of our reading of 'Deathworld' by Harry Harrison. Jason dinAlt has discovered the reason for the sheer deadliness of the animals and plants on Pyrrus - a psionic wave pulsating through the planet with the command "Kill all humans." But who is behind it? The Pyrrans are now very suspicious of him, but will Jason be able to use his psionic detector to solve the mystery and escape Deathworld with his life?If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtaleBooks - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast):The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLXThe Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Joshua Clark, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Previously, we left our hero Jason dinAlt outside the main city of Pyrrus. The most deadly plants and animals seem to be clustered around the city, while the mysterious 'grubbers' are more civilised than he's been told. What will happen to him in this penultimate episode...? If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtaleBooks - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast):The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLXThe Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Joshua Clark, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Last time, our hero Jason dinAlt began his investigation into Deathworld. It would seem that, while inhospitable, it wasn't always so deadly to humans. The changes were sudden, too sudden for a natural evolution to have occurred. However, before Jason had a chance to report his findings to the de facto leader of the planet, Kerk Pyrrus, a terrible tragedy struck, and as a result, Jason now finds himself imprisoned awaiting deportation... If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast): The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLX The Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Joshua Clark, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Last episode, we left our hero Jason dinAlt stepping out into Deathworld itself. Everything on Pyrrus is deadly to humans - so deadly in fact, that it seems unlikely that this would occur naturally. It has piqued Jason's interest and he has some investigating to do...If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast): The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLX The Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Joshua Clark, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Last time, our hero Jason dinAlt met the mysterious Kerk Pyrrus. Having scammed a casino out of billions at Kerk's behest, they flee on a ship headed back to Kerk's home world, the inhospitable Pyrrus. Jason is intrigued by the idea that the humans who survive on 'Deathworld' may be physically superior to those born on any other human colony. He's about to arrive on Pyrrus and see for himself what mysteries it holds... If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast): The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLX The Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Our latest Tale is from sci-fi maestro Harry Harrison. 'Deathworld' is a classic of what we might now call science fiction fantasy. First serialised in 1960 in Astounding Science Fiction, it bears a number of similarities with Harrison's other famous series, 'The Stainless Steel Rat,' not least in the form of its protagonist. Join us as we following gambling rogue Jason dinAlt in his voyage across to the stars to the mysterious 'Deathworld' to see what awaits him there... If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast): The Deathworld Trilogy - https://amzn.to/2FfrXCm The Harry Harrison Collection - https://amzn.to/2XRnGLX The Stainless Steel Rat Omnibus - https://amzn.to/3iJep0v I would like to thank my patrons: Toni A, Maura Lee, Jennifer Wood, Jane, Kaffee Stark, Leathery Wings and Drew Atkins. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale)
Mick has the second half of his "Married in Seattle" collection, which has less to do with Seattle than ever. Meanwhile, Susan gets a breath of fresh air with a sci-fi satire of electoral politics. I guess that's not relevant these days or anything FTP
It’s Crime Time! Also it’s the twenty-eighth in our series of Space Spinner 2000 collections! These collections have all of our coverage for a specific character or storyline, all in one place. They’re a great accompaniment to reading collected versions of 2000AD, or to just hear your favorite thrill all in one place. The Stainless … Continue reading Collection 28 – The Stainless Steel Rat
Amanda and Jenn discuss dark and twisty murder mysteries, books about the Vietnam War, literary women, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Book Riot Insiders, Rocky Mountain Press, and Sourcebooks. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. FEEDBACK Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown (rec’d by Sue) The Collectors series by Dot Hutchinsons (The Butterfly Garden & The Summer Children) (rec’d by Shontelle) Crime Junkie (rec’d by Shontelle) Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce (rec’d by Emma) Spain: The Root and the Flower by John A. Crow (rec’d by Chris) QUESTIONS 1. My husband and I always listen to audiobooks on roadtrips. We have a couple long drives coming up in January and February and are looking for some recommendations. We have pretty different tastes, but some crossover. I love literary fiction and shorter fantasy reads. My husband loves high/epic fantasy (he will listen to LOTR and The Hobbit over and over and I don’t love either of those) and really detailed historical fiction. Recent audiobooks we’ve tackled and liked are “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman and “The Hazelwood” by Melissa Albert. PS: We already have The Night Country pre-ordered. -Courtney 2. Thank you so much for making this podcast! I’m a new listener so I apologize if this has been addressed in a previous episode. I would love recommendations for novels set during the Vietnam War, especially those that focus on family dynamics and the long-term effects of the war on veterans. -Roxanne 3. I am brand new to the fantasy genre but I just read Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and loved it! I am looking for more adult fantasy that is more complex and character driven. My preferred genre is definitely literary fiction! -Jessica 4. I would love a book recommendation from you guys, I have been listening to your podcast since my English teacher introduced it to us. She said we could get some extra credit points if we did it and she is running out of recommendations for me. I would really appreciate a recommendation. I LOVE mystery novels and just finished reading The Couple Next Door and am looking for a new book to start reading. I like mystery novels but am not a big fan of lord of the rings or Narnia or other super fantasy books. Some books I have read are This Lie Will Kill You, That’s Not What Happened, In a Dark Dark Wood, and Every Heart a Doorway. Thank you so much for the recommendation!! -Delaney 5. Hello! I am looking for new books, especially book series, to recommend to my Dad. He has just recently gotten really into reading (yay!) and he’s already through most of the books I’ve suggested, so I want to line up some future reads to keep him well stocked! His favorites so far have been Craig Johnson’s Longmire series, William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series, John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport series, and he’s currently diving into Michael Connolly’s Harry Bosch series. Thanks in advance for your suggestions! P.S. To Kaitlin who was looking for Agatha Christie/Clue read alikes, I would suggest In The Hall With the Knife by Diana Peterfreund. This is the first in a new YA series that was inspired by the game Clue. While not as silly as the movie, the book was was very entertaining and not too dark beyond the obvious murder. -Rachael 6. I am looking for a recommendation that will be immersive and thoughtful. The books I have most enjoyed in the past couple years tend to be written by women, are shamelessly intellectual, and tackle big philosophical/sociological/political questions. Han Kang’s Human Acts, Elif Batuman’s The Idiot, and Rachel Cusk’s Outline Trilogy are examples. I also like mythological retellings that center often un-centered leads like women (Circe by Madeline Miller) or queer characters (Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson). Thanks for your help. -Maria 7. I’d like to find a book that I won’t just finish in two days. I love the Sherlock Holmes books and The Stainless Steel Rat series (science fiction), as well as The Hobbit and Tom Sawyer. I don’t particularly like books with time travel or a lot of magic use. I don’t read as often as I used to because I don’t know where to look for books that I’ll like. -Abby BOOKS DISCUSSED The Binding by Bridget Collins (tw homophobia, rape, child abuse) Witchmark by CL Polk (tw: PTSD, violence towards women & children) The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamore) The Deep by Rivers Solomon (tw: suicidal ideation, self-harm, slavery) The Lying Room by Nicci French We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (tw: dog death, human death) Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Highway 59 series) Still Life by Louise Penny Ali Smith’s Seasonal quartet (Autumn) The Cheffe by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump The Rook by Daniel O’Malley The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Today I talk about Jim diGriz adventures in Harrison's first Stainless Steel Rat story. Gases are examined and nostril filter plugs are required. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-yoder/support
Starting with a call in from Ray "Plunder grounds" Otus, I then ramble awhile about Harrison's SciFi adventure series --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-yoder/support
Max and Brian fancast some of their favorite heroes of pulp sci-fi and fantasy.
Everyone at 2000 AD is still reeling from the news that Carlos Ezquerra has passed away. In this episode of the 2000 AD podcast, we talk to some of the people who knew and worked with him, and just a few of the other 2000 AD creators who were influenced by his incredible work over half a century - Garth Ennis, Matt Smith, Dave Gibbons, Kelvin Gosnell, Jock, Rob Williams, David Baillie, PJ Holden, Simon Fraser and Al Ewing. One of the all-time greatest comic book artists, the Spanish illustrator was one of the titans of 2000 AD. Originally from Zaragoza, Carlos began his career in Barcelona, drawing westerns and war stories for Spanish publishers. Breaking into the UK market on romance titles like Valentine and Mirabelle, he was head-hunted for the new IPC title Battle Picture Weekly where he drew Rat Pack, Major Eazy and El Mestizo. In 1976, he was asked to create a new character, the future lawman Judge Dredd, for a new weekly science fiction comic called 2000 AD. Thanks to his enduring partnership with John Wagner, Dredd was to become one of the world’s most recognisable comic book characters, with Carlos there to apply his inimitable style to some of the biggest stories in the strip’s history, such as The Apocalypse War, Necropolis and Origins. Thanks to Dredd as well as his co-creation of Strontium Dog, created for Starlord in 1978, his adaptation for 2000 AD of Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat, and thousands upon thousands of comic book pages, Carlos was lauded by readers and creators alike. Modest and unassuming, Carlos was nonetheless a legend whose contribution to the global comic book industry cannot be understated. His distinctive style - characterised by breathtakingly dynamic, high-energy storytelling and the distinctive ridged thick inking that outlined so many key moments - was instantly recognisable. Despite a brush with lung cancer in 2010, he continued to work and, although the cancer returned this year it was believed he was recovering well. His sudden death is a profound loss not just to 2000 AD but to the comic book medium. The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! As well as interviewing top creators and famous fans, we bring you announcements, competitions, and much more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on iTunes or on the podcast app of your choice, or you can listen now at 2000AD.com/podcast
In our thrilling hundred and twenty-fifth episode Fox and Conrad continue their journey through the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with Progs 399-402 of 2000AD, covering January of 1985. This week the ABC Warriors reunite, the Helltrekkers make the crossing, the Stainless Steel Rat holds a campaign rally, and Dredd and The Mutant see eye-to-eye. Or maybe not! … Continue reading Space Spinner 2000 ep 125
In our thrilling hundred and twenty-third episode Fox and Conrad continue their journey through the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with Progs 395-398 of 2000AD, covering December of 1984. This week the Stainless Steel Rat begins his candidacy, Torquemada gets a new body, Ace quits trucking, we see even more Helltrekker funerals and Dredd fights vampire judges! … Continue reading Space Spinner 2000 ep 123
https://bryanaiello.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/mirage-31-harry-harrison-w-matthew-Bin.mp3 Harry Max Harrison was an American science fiction author, known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel Make Room! Make Room!. The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green. *** Matthew Bin is a Science Fiction author from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Website: http://matthewbin.com/ Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Bin/e/... Twitter @coffeewriting Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Contact info for his publisher: http://www.facebook.com/BundoranPress https://bundoransf.wordpress.com/ https://twitter.com/BundoranPress *** Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates on my other show Origin: Stories on Creativity. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSnMk6QPiULXmKDYmwCmIg Subscribe on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/bryan-aiello/mirage-speculating-on-speculative-fiction-author-and-other-topics?refid=stpr Subscribe on Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mirage-bryan-aiello/id1261093328?mt=2 *** Music on the episode courtesy of: Anjulie That fat rat: fly away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMg8KaMdDYo *** Follow me on twitter @bryaiello for updates on this channel and my podcast and my writing projects. My website is: http://www.bryanaiello.com Email questions and comments to: me@byranaiello.com Support the show on my poorly managed patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/BryanAiello
Episode 1-11: Time After Damned Time Wherein I Review: 35. Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett 36. The Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat #8) by Harry Harrison 37. Blood and Lemonade by Joe R. Lansdale 38. Just One Damned Thing After Another (St. Mary's Chronicles #1) by Jodi Taylor
Episode 1-10: Ain't None Ya Muhfuhs Ever Heard Of Divorce? Wherein I Review: 32. Ill Will by Dan Chaon 33. The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! (Stainless Steel Rat #7) by Harry Harrison 34. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
In the second part of our epic chat with Kelvin Gosnell, the former editor talks about some of the forgotten faces involved in the creation of 2000 AD, the origin of Tharg the Mighty and his vocabulary, and his work adapting Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat... The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! As well as interviewing top creators and famous fans, we bring you announcements, competitions, and much more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on iTunes or on the podcast app of your choice, or you can listen now at www.2000ADonline.com/podcast
pisode 1-09: Rats! Foiled Again! Wherein I review: 26. The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat #4) by Harry Harrison 27. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 28. The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge (Stainless Steel Rat #5) by Harry Harrison 29. The Watcher In The Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 30. The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World (Stainless Steel Rat #6) by Harry Harrison 31. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Episode 1-07: Somebody That I Used To Know Wherein I Review: 19. J by Howard Jacobson 20. A Stainless Steel Rat is Born by Harry Harrison 21. The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted by Harry Harrison
It's time for a science fiction classic as Jake Ebeling joins the book club to discuss Harry Harrison's Stainles Steel Rat as brought to the pages of the prog by Kelvin Gosnell and Carlos Ezquerra. We visit all three of Slippery Jim's 2000AD adventures. Get your copy from the 2000AD online store.You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file hereDownload hereRight click and choose save link as to download to your computer.
In our thrilling fifty-first episode Fox and Conrad continue their journey through the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with Progs 168-172 of 2000 AD, covering July and August of 1980. Join us as the Stainless Steel Rat saves the world, for the first time, but not the last time, Wolfie Smith opens an evil door, the Geeks … Continue reading Space Spinner 2000 ep 51
In our thrilling forty-ninth episode Fox and Conrad continue their journey through the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with Progs 163-167 of 2000 AD, covering May, June and July of 1980. Join us as Dredd travels the spaceways, we get 6 times the Sam Slade, MACH Zero reunites with his son, and the Stainless Steel Rat begins … Continue reading Space Spinner 2000 ep 49
In our thrilling forty-third episode Fox and Conrad continue their journey through the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with Progs 141-145 of 2000 AD, covering December of 1979. Join us Christmas in June (check out the festive airhorn!), as Tharg punches out Santa, Barney the computer grants wishes, and the Stainless Steel Rat comes into his own! … Continue reading Space Spinner 2000 ep 43
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
Prolific, bestselling, multi-genre author Hugh Howey took me on a walk through the writer’s process. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Mr. Howey is the well-known author of Wool, and his self-published dystopian “Silo Series,” that has sold over two million copies worldwide. His books have been optioned for film and TV by well-known Hollywood director Ridley Scott and Heroes creator Tim Kring respectively. He has been a fierce advocate for self-publishing authors and even inked a rare print-only contract with major publishers to retain the electronic rights to his early works. Hugh is a tireless proponent for the pure craft of writing, and he has built an intensely loyal following. As he prepares to sail around the globe on his catamaran, Hugh took a time out from his busy schedule to talk with me on a short walk. In this file Hugh Howey and I discuss: The Importance of Starting Each Day the Right Way Why You Need to Learn to Hit Publish from Anywhere How to Alleviate Your Natural Self-Doubts Why Writing is Like Exercise How Writers Can Fine Tune Their Creativity Where the True Magic of Writing Springs From Why You Should Be a Tourist in Your Own Town Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes Hugh Howey on Amazon The Five Tibetans HughHowey.com Hugh Howey on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Bestselling Author Hugh Howey Writes Voiceover: Rainmaker.FM is brought to you by The Showrunner Podcasting Course, your step-by-step guide to developing, launching, and running a remarkable show. Registration for the course is open August 3rd through the 14th, 2015. Go to ShowrunnerCourse.com to learn more. Kelton Reid: These are The Writer Files, a tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of working writers, from online content creators to fictionists, journalists, entrepreneurs, and beyond. I’m your host, Kelton Reid: writer, podcaster, and mediaphile. Each week, we’ll find out how great writers keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving, and avoid writer’s block. Prolific, bestselling, multi-genre author Hugh Howey took me on a walk through the writer’s process. Mr. Howey is the well-known author of Wool and his self-published dystopian “Silo Series” that has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. His books have been optioned for film and TV by well-known Hollywood director Ridley Scott and Heroes creator Tim Kring, respectively. He’s been a fierce advocate for self-publishing authors and even inked a rare print-only contract with major publishers to retain the electronic rights of his early works. He’s a tireless proponent for the pure craft of writing, and he’s built an intensely loyal following. As he prepares to sail around the globe on his catamaran, he took time out from his busy schedule to talk with me on a short walk. In this file, Huge Howey and I discuss the importance of starting each day the right way, why you need to learn to hit publish from anywhere, how to alleviate your natural self-doubts as a writer, how writers can fine-tune their creativity, where the true magic of writing springs from, and why you should be a tourist in your own town. If you enjoy The Writer Files podcast, please do me a favor and leave a rating or a review in iTunes to help other writers find us. Thanks for listening. Hugh Howey, thank you so much for joining me back on The Writer Files to update your file. Hugh Howey: Hey, it’s good to be back, man. Kelton Reid: So for listeners who may not be familiar with you and your story, who are you, and what is your area of expertise as a writer? Hugh Howey: That’s a good question. Who am I? That could be a couple hours there, and I don’t even know if I’d have an answer. People think of me as a writer, but that’s the last six years of my life. Before that I was a vagabond, a sailor and lived on the water, and spent 10 years as a yacht captain. So that’s kind of who I am. I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, always wanted to write a novel. When I finally finished a book, I got hooked on that and started writing a lot, and my seventh work, Wool, took off and allowed me to write full time. I did that for the last six years or so. I’m going to continue writing, but now, I’m moving back onto a boat to get back to my roots, which is traveling the world by water. Kelton Reid: It’s an amazing story, honestly. You’re a prolific author. You’ve got your hands in a lot of different genres as well. Where can we find your writing for starters? Hugh Howey: The best place is Amazon. I’ve put everything in Kindle Unlimited because I do write a lot, and I like for people who are paying the $9.99 a month or whatever its costs to get to read everything without paying another penny. I do publish a lot, so it works out for me. Also, major bookstores carry Wool usually, or you can get any of my books in. My website s a great just to see what’s available. It’s just HughHowey.com. Kelton Reid: What are you presently working on? Hugh Howey: I’m bouncing back and forth between a fiction series called Beacon 23 and a nonfiction series that’s kind of self-help and travel log called Wayfinding. The Beacon 23 series, it’s weird. It’s another one of those short stories like Wool that took off. I’m telling this story in discrete parts. Each one has its own arc. Kind of like a season of TV, each episode tells a story, and people are eating them up at 99 cents each. And Warren Ellis, who I love to death, a graphic novelist and author, has become a fan of the series, and my film agent’s getting calls about the film rights. So it’s having a very similar trajectory that Wool had, which is kind of weird for lightning to strike twice like this. Kelton Reid: That’s amazing, and your sci-fi series, The “Silo Series,” is amazing. That’s the one that Wool kind of kicked off, right? And now Sand, the dystopian sci-fi novel that you wrote, is actually being adapted, is that right? Did I read that correctly? Hugh Howey: Yeah. It got picked up by Imperative. They re the team behind the relaunch of the Heroes TV show, “Heroes Reborn,” and I just met with them at Comic-Con and got to spend a couple days hanging out with them. Just a great group of people. I’m flattered when someone options something for film, but Wool has been with Ridley Scott for a couple years. They’ve written screenplays for that. It’s just really flattering. But however excited people are and they say they really want to make something, I don’t get my hopes up. I don’t assume that anything is going to go into production. I’d rather be surprised when it does than sit there and think about it and hound my agent for updates. It’s just better for me to keep writing. Kelton Reid: Absolutely. So let’s talk about writing and your productivity a little bit. How much time per day would you say you’re reading or doing research for projects? The Importance of Starting Each Day the Right Way Hugh Howey: Research, I don’t do direct. My research is very indirect. I read because I want to learn. I’ve been like that my whole life. I mentioned when I read nonfiction, I read veraciously. So all of what I read ends up getting distilled, mixed up, and then ends up in my writing. So even though I mostly write fiction, I want to write about the human condition and satirize popular culture and things like that. That comes from all my nonfiction reading. Probably two or three hours a day I spend reading, and some days, I can have an eight-hour day of just reading. The same thing with writing. I generally try to do two or three hours a day of writing, and sometimes I’ll have an eight-, 10-, or 12-hour day of writing where I pound out 5,000, 7,000 words in a day. Kelton Reid: Before you get into a writing session, do you have any pre-game rituals or practices? Hugh Howey: Yeah, but I don’t know if it has anything to do with the writing. I just live a healthy lifestyle. When I get up in the morning, I have a healthy breakfast of some yogurt with some raisins in it. Then I try to do the same thing every day, so I’m not having to make decisions. I’m not taxing my brain. It’s the same reason I think that I wear the same T-shirt and cargo shorts every single day and flip-flops. I do an exercise routine called The Five Tibetans, which is like yoga. It wakes me up better than a cup of coffee. It only takes about 10 minutes, and it really keeps you in shape. Then I open my laptop and start into whatever story I’m in progress. Kelton Reid: Nice. Do you have a most productive time of day and/or locale for getting into a session? Hugh Howey: Yeah, the morning for me. I’m most creative in the morning, but it’s also a matter of getting a lot of work done before I start checking email and get distracted with the business of writing. That doesn’t just come from self-publishing. I’ve published with traditional publishers as well. Having success as a writer means doing a lot of non-writing activities, supplemental stuff. Kelton Reid: Yeah. Do you have a favorite place to write? Why You Need to Learn to Hit Publish from Anywhere Hugh Howey: No. I can write anywhere. Yesterday, I’m at a family reunion, and I’m sitting at a table with a lot of conversations, a lot going on. I wrap up a work and hit publish and published right there from a dining room table. I’ve published while up on a panel. Right before the panel started, I was putting the finishing touches on a piece. They were doing introductions, and I’m hitting publish under the table. Sitting on curbs, waiting on taxis, on a book tour — Sand, that entire novel I wrote while in Europe on book tour. I wrote that book across nine different countries without a word of that rough draft written in the U.S. That’s the dedication you have to have. You can’t have an excuse. “Well, I’m traveling today, so I’m not going to write,” or “I’m doing this today, so it’s okay if I don’t write today.” My attitude is, if you take a day off, you’re giving yourself an excuse to two, or three, or four days off. Kelton Reid: Yeah. So as a world traveler, are you a writer who can stick on headphones? Do you like to listen to music while you write, or do you prefer silence or white noise? How to Alleviate Your Natural Self-Doubts Hugh Howey: I prefer silence or white noise, even crowds like cafes or airports, but I just posted on my website a few songs that I like to listen to when I’m having natural self-doubts that come from being creative. They’re very heavy-hitting songs just to fire you up and get the adrenaline going. So sometimes I use music to motivate me to have a powerful writing session, but I don’t like to listen to music while I’m writing. Kelton Reid: Got it. I think I already know the answer to this next one, but do you believe in writer’s block? Hugh Howey: I don’t. What I believe is that our writing varies in quality depending on what we’ve consumed, our chemical state, what’s going on in our life, how distracted we are, things that we’re anticipating might happen, how well the last writing session went. All of those things increase or decrease our expectation for how good our writing is going to be if we started clicking our keyboard. Sometimes we get into a mindset where we know we’re going to write crap, so we’d rather sit there and not write anything. I think we have to embrace the fact that we’re going to write poorly at times. When we feel that hesitation and that lack of confidence, that should motivate us to really pour the words out, prime the pump, get back to the good stuff, and trust the editing process. Kelton Reid: Absolutely. Are you still working on a MacBook Air? Hugh Howey: Yeah, I prefer the Air. I might be switching to this new Dell laptop they ve got out, which is a smaller form factor. I’ve not been too overwhelmed with the updates to the Mac OS. I’ve played with Windows 10. I kind of liked that, so I might be switching. Kelton Reid: Interesting. So what software do you use most for your writing? Hugh Howey: I usually use Microsoft Word. Kelton Reid: Do you have any organizational hacks since you’re constantly on the move? Hugh Howey: Not really. Organizational hacks. No, I’m sloppy. I have a Word document that I’ll keep open for notes, and I just kind of pile in notes for a series in there. It’s ugly, but it works for me. I’ve used it to write book series with 400,000 plus words across them — a lot of foreshadowing and a lot of plot points and characters — and somehow it all works. I’ve tried using Scrivener and stuff that have those tools built in, but I find myself playing with the tools instead of writing. I’ve never gotten over the learning curve for those things to be useful to me. Kelton Reid: Do you have any best practices for beating procrastination? Why Writing Is Like Exercise Hugh Howey: Yeah. Sit down, and it’s like exercise. There’s so many reasons to not get down on the floor and do push-ups. Your body does not want to be taxed. It doesn’t want to feel that. As soon as you feel it, you have to say, “I’m not going to let that control me. I’m going to choose what I’m going to do with my life and not let my inherent laziness, my desire to conserve calories, or whatever is going on in our bodies that makes us want to curl up in a ball and not attack the task before us.” Open up the document, turn off the Internet, and start writing. If you’re not sure what happens next in the story, skip to the part of the story that you know is going to happen. Start writing there. Just start writing about your character, or if you know the next scene takes place in a bar, just describe the bar. You’re going to delete every bit of that, but describe every facet of that bar — what the jukebox looks like, what the street noise is, every weird detail that aren’t going to end up in your story. As soon as you start doing that, you’re going to find that you’re able to get back into the flow of the plot. Kelton Reid: Very nice. My final question on workflow stuff is how do you unplug at the end of a long day? Hugh Howey: My favorite thing is to get by the water or on the water. Go to the beach. If I can have a nice meal looking out over the water, if I can go for a swim or take a paddle board out, anything like that energizes me. Just chill out with a book and read. Kelton Reid: Just a quick pause to mention that The Writer Files is brought to you by the Rainmaker Platform, the complete website solution for content marketers and online entrepreneurs. Find out more and take a free 14-day test drive at Rainmaker.FM/Platform. So let’s talk about creativity. How do you define creativity in your own words? How Writers Can Fine Tune Their Creativity Hugh Howey: I think creativity is not so much as creating something that’s never been done before. It’s the free expression of a combination of things that we’ve absorbed from elsewhere. To be absolutely creative is almost to be avant-garde, to do stuff that’s almost absurd. There’s some value in that, absurdity for the sake of complete newness or shock value. For me, true creativity is seeing the individual human like a filter, like a coffee filter. You push all this stuff through: popular culture, life experiences, upbringing, genetic makeup. What drips out is the way they distill all that knowledge and all those experiences. It’s different for every person, and people are creative in ways they don’t even appreciate. The way they approach their work, they might think that’s not creativity. There are things that they do in their workflow, how they organize their desk space, or how they organize their day — I see those as expressions of creativity. I think everyone is creative in some ways, and we need to figure out what ways we enjoy being creative and do more of it. It gets us in tune with ourselves. Kelton Reid: When do you feel the most creative? Hugh Howey: After I’ve written something. So when I’m writing, I tend to feel like it’s kind of garbage, but when I’m done with the writing session, I go back and read some stuff. Or I’m revising. That’s when I feel like I don’t completely hate what I’ve just done. Kelton Reid: Do you have a creative muse at the moment? Hugh Howey: Not really. I’m going through a lot of change in my life right now, and some of it is very stressful. It’s sad that that’s inspiration, but the best stuff I’ve ever written has been dealing with huge losses of my life. I’m generally an upbeat, perfectly happy, even-keel person, but the best stuff I’ve ever written is when I’ve lost people in my life or lost a beloved pet. I guess that the tortured artist cliché, there’s something to that because you tap into an emotional well that’s difficult to tap into when you’re just content and happy. Kelton Reid: In your own words, what do you think makes a writer truly great? Where the True Magic of Writing Springs From Hugh Howey: Having read a lot. Actually before having read a lot, I would say having lived and experienced a lot. I think you have to fill yourself with knowledge and experiences before you have something really wonderful to write. What we end up writing is kind of a greatest hits collection of our ideas, our thoughts, and our vocabulary. In order to have a greatest hits collection, you have to have a huge body of work that you absorb. It’s somewhat like photography, something I’m passionate about. The secret to photography is learning lighting and the controls of the camera and framing and all these tricks of the trade, but the magic comes from taking thousands of photos and then having an eye that recognizes the dozen in there that are truly spectacular. When we write, we have thousands of ideas, thousands of word choices, thousands of word combinations and sentence flow options, and the quality of a writer and the skill comes from knowing out of those thousands, which handful are viable options. Kelton Reid: Do you have a few favorite authors that you’re reading at the moment? Hugh Howey: I tend not to follow writers. I tend to follow subjects. Nonfiction makes it difficult to follow writers. Rick Adkins wrote a World War II Trilogy that I really liked, and I’ll read anything that Bill Bryson writes. I just read McCullough’s biography of the Wright Brothers. I’ve really enjoyed his work, but it’s rare for me to find … Stephen Pinker is a guy who, anything he writes, I’ll pick up and dabble. With nonfiction, it’s not like with a fiction author where you’re going to get a book a year. You might be likely to get one every five years. It’s hard to follow an individual author like that. Kelton Reid: Yeah. Well, I found your original writer’s file to be infinitely quotable, but do you have a favorite quote yourself? Hugh Howey: I don’t know. One that I’ve come back to time and again — and it’s so cliché, everyone uses it — but maybe there’s a reason for that. I’ll get the exact quote wrong, but I’ll paraphrase. I’m pretty sure Hemingway said it. “Writing is easy. You just sit down in front of your typewriter and bleed.” I love that because it tells me that writing was difficult for him, and it reminds me that it’s not supposed to be easy. The same thing is true of exercise, and diet, and anything worth doing in life. We should look for the things that are most difficult and then attack those things. We tend to live the path of least resistance. That’s defined to preserve calories, preserve our energy, and find ways to not tackle long-term goals and be fulfilled deeply in life. I found fulfillment through listening to my body, figuring out what it least wants to do, and then doing that thing. That quote kind of inspires me to do that. Kelton Reid: Nice. Couple fun questions for you. Do you have a favorite literary character? Hugh Howey: That’s a good question. Maybe growing up I loved The Stainless Steel Rat. That character really resonated with me. Kelton Reid: If you could choose one author from any era to sit down and have an all-expense paid dinner, who would you choose? Hugh Howey: Oh, it’d be William Shakespeare for sure. Kelton Reid: I’m always curious about this answer, but why Shakespeare? Hugh Howey: I like to tell everybody, “Hey, it was definitely William Shakespeare’s. Stop with the theories. I know for a fact it was him.” Kelton Reid: Do you have a writer’s fetish? Any good luck charms or any weird collectibles? Hugh Howey: No. All I really need is my laptop. I do feel kind of naked if I don’t have it with me. I grab it in the middle of the night to make notes. I try to carry it with me everywhere. I will say, as a reader, that I’ve upgraded my Kindle to the Kindle Voyage, and that’s such a sexy reading device. I feel I do not like not having that thing with me. With that in my pocket, I’ve got every book that I own and access to every ebook out there. I fetishize the heck out of that thing. Kelton Reid: Nice. So who or what has been your greatest teacher? Hugh Howey: Literally, Dr. Dennis Goldsbury, my English professor at the College of Charleston. I was a physics major when I had him for a prereq and loved his class so much that I made sure I had my 102 from him the next semester. Then I asked him what he was teaching the semester after that. He was the hardest teacher I’ve ever had. Getting an A from him was the most rewarding challenge in my collegiate career. I started taking all of his classes, and soon he was like, “Look, you have to be an English major to take these 4000-level classes.” I probably would’ve written something at some point in my life anyway because it’s been a dream of mine for a long time, but I wouldn’t be the writer that I am today without his guidance. Kelton Reid: Can you offer any advice to fellow writers on how to keep the ink flowing and the cursor moving? Why You Should Be a Tourist in Your Own Town Hugh Howey: Yeah. What are you doing to have novel experiences? Without that, you’re just not going to be inspired to write. Find a way to be a tourist in your hometown. Look at towns that are a short drive away, and get out on the weekend and do something. Talk to strangers. If you see an old man with a military service hat on, sit down on the bench beside him, and ask him his story. Observe the world. Carry around a notebook. Describe strangers. Describe settings. Writing is not something you do in front of your laptop. Writing is something that you do all day long, and the laptop is just the place where you dump that out. Kelton Reid: Where can fellow scribes connect with you out there? Hugh Howey: You can find me on Twitter at @HughHowey and on my website. Once I’m on the boat in another two and a half weeks, I’ll be moving onto the catamaran, and I’ll be at sea a lot. I’ll hopefully still be able to keep in touch when I’m in port, but I don’t know how much I’ll be accessible like I have been for the last five or six years. Kelton Reid: That’s really exciting. Where is your first destination? Hugh Howey: Well, I’m starting in St. Francis Bay, South Africa, and my first port of call will be Cape Town. I’ll stay there for a few weeks, and then I’m just going to spend a couple of months total in South Africa. Early October, we’ll head to St. Helena, which is in the middle of the south Atlantic and then Ascension Island, which is where Napoleon was held captive. From there, either Brazil or Barbados and then up the Caribbean chain into the Bahamas and Florida. Kelton Reid: Amazing. Well, we wish you a safe journey, and I’m sure that will spark some more really inspiring stories and writing. So best of luck to you, sir. Hugh Howey: Thanks, man. Well, if something bad happens to me, it’ll probably boost book sales just for a brief moment with any obituary or news mention. My heirs have that to look forward to. Kelton Reid: Well, I’ll knock on wood over here, and thank you so much for stopping by. Hugh Howey: All right. Thanks, man. Kelton Reid: Take care. Thanks for tuning into the show. In the words of Mr. Howey himself, you are a startup. The next great business is you. For more episodes of The Writer Files and all of the show notes or to leave us a comment or a question, drop by WriterFiles.FM. You can always chat with me on Twitter, @KeltonReid. Cheers. See you out there.
This week, Dave and Gunnar open the Security Thunderdome, and talk about red-teaming large bureaucracies. Gunnar is planning a visit to Akron While in Akron, stop by Cleveland’s Randall Park Mall D&G Security Doghouse Fantasy League ← VOTE HERE Verizon Wireless to Allow Complete Opt Out of Mobile ‘Supercookies’ (Soon) AT&T gives you a discount of $30/mo for monitoring your Internet OR charges you $30 unless you comply with their surveillance regime. You pick! Lenovo preinstalls MITM-enhanced adware Superfish is sure it’s all going to be fine Facebook is now tracking you across websites on advertiser’s behalf for a better ad experience, of course Google Now now SLURPS data from third party apps so YOU don’t have to Today In Creepy Privacy Policies, Samsung’s Eavesdropping TV diff this w/1984 And there’s more: Samsung Smart TVs Don’t Encrypt Speech Or Transcriptions But wait, there’s more! Samsung smart TVs inserting ads into third-party apps Uber Will Add Panic Button And Location/Journey Sharing In India On February 11 The Onion’s Take: “It’s nice knowing Uber is willing to do everything it can to protect its customers short of properly screening its drivers.” We’ve seen this before In other news… NRO releases MLS HPC system Big ups to Matt Zager: Five ways open source middleware can impact unmanned systems RHEV 3.5 is out! RHEL OSP 6 is out! Red Hat Mothership is written up in DesignMilk Willard event: Sonny Hashmi says “Open will win every time.” Oh, and private cloud isn’t a thing. Pop Quiz: How long does it take for your emails to no longer be private? 180 days Pop Quiz: Who’s in charge of Federal IT? Green bubbles and why small decisions make a big difference Adobe Kickbox is live Bonus link: Author also wrote Make Room! Make Room! which became the movie Soylent Green Stainless Steel Rat Cutting Room Floor For Soren’s birthday party: Highly Dexterous Robot Can Fold Balloon Animals, Close Zip-Ties EFF’s Parker Higgins on the DOJ’s abiding consistency wrt encryption Guitar face instructional videos Mattell’s ViewMaster relaunch! Fastest-selling toy of all time? Playmobil’s Martin Luther Perils of public code: Intel’s Galileo build scripts use some dude’s grub fork on GitHub Life Inside a Secret Chinese Bitcoin Mine $160 for Sony 64 GB microSDXC card with Premium Sound
The Misplaced Battleship by Harry HarrisonPart 2 of 2 Read by Julie Hoverson Music by Gregoire Lourme The original Stainless Steel Rat story - and if you haven't read the SSR books, why the heck not???
The Misplaced Battleship by Harry HarrisonPart 1 of 2 Read by Julie Hoverson Music by Gregoire Lourme The original Stainless Steel Rat story - and if you haven't read the SSR books, why the heck not???