Fiction Fans
We Read Books and Other Words, Too. Join two casual readers as they completely ignore their academic backgrounds and talk about the books they loved, and sometimes the ones they didn’t. Includes segments like “Journey to the Center of the Discworld,” “Words are Weird,” and “Pet Peeves.” Ever wonder why someone would read bad fanfiction? They talk about that too.
Episodes
184 episodes
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov
Your hosts read Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov (and get a little distracted argreeing [that's arguing and agreeing at the same time] over how it's different from Kushiel's Dart). They discuss political plotlines in SFF, bot...
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Episode 165
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49:48
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts spend 17 minutes talking about some tropes they didn't love in Snuff by Terry Pratchett, and then roughly two hours (cut down to a reasonable time) gushing about the rest of the book in the spoiler section so we can't talk about it. ...
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Episode 164
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45:59
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Your hosts discuss witchcraft and religion in their conversation about The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson. They talk about familiar conflicts in fantasy settings, surprising (and not so surprising) character arcs, and whether rivers o...
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Episode 163
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58:08
The Call of Cthulhu & Other Works by H.P. Lovecraft
Your hosts were thoroughly unimpressed by the selection of works they read from Great Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft. They talk about trying to avoid bias going into a work, and racist mthrfckrs. They also discuss cosmic horror, Cthulhu's te...
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Episode 162
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45:39
From These Dark Abodes by Lyndsie Manusos
Your hosts talk about skeletons, mythology, and what makes a horror story in Lyndsie Mansusos’ debut novella, From These Dark Abodes. Yes, Lilly made them watch Spooky Scary Skeletons be...
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Episode 161
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44:14
Editor Interview: Sinophagia edited and translated by Xueting Ni
Your hosts are joined by Xueting Ni to talk about her experience translating and editing Sinophagia, a collection of Chinese horror short stories. They discuss both cultural and personal horror. At the end, Sara and Lilly go over their favorite...
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Episode 160
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54:47
Books of Blood vol 1 by Clive Barker
Lilly drags Sara into hell with their first Spooky Month book -- Books of Blood volume 1, by Clive Barker. They discuss the collection of short stories as a whole, and some of the appeal (and repulsion) of horror as a genre. They also talk abou...
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Episode 159
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48:19
I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts take another step on their Journey to the Ends of the Discworld with "I Shall Wear Midnight," by Terry Pratchett, the YA novel to define all YA novels. They talk about quintessential genre examples, relatable teenage angst, and unfor...
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Episode 158
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1:04:18
Author Interview: Countess by Suzan Palumbo
Your hosts are joined by Suzan Palumbo to talk about food, colonialism, and more in her new novella, Countess. They also talk about the unique experiences of queer characters and classic lit inspirations by way of The Count of Monte Cristo....
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Episode 157
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1:15:35
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Your hosts discuss Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. They talk about how eerie it is to read a dystopian future set in… pretty much indistinguishable modern day (although with a little extra cannibalism sprinkled in). They also talk about...
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Episode 156
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52:28
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts pretend to know things about football in their discussion about Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. They talk about character arcs, well developed (and well developed) female characters, and sweet little precious baby gob...
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Episode 155
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1:25:45
City of Spores by Austin Shirey
Your hosts discuss City of Spores by Austin Shirey. They talk about detective/noir tropes and avoiding common pitfalls, as well as subtle worldbuilding in novellas. Mushrooms do come up once or twice.Find us on
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Episode 154
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44:49
Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike
Your hosts discuss Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike. They talk about fantasy maps, RPG tropes, and the genre that is “adventuring but make it a bureaucratic capitalist hellscape.” There’s also charming goblins, less charming halflings, and a new t...
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Episode 153
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38:43
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts read “Making Money” by Terry Pratchett. They discuss consistent love interests and disappointing villains. Sara tries not to be too down on the book.Find us on Discord / Supp...
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Episode 152
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47:06
Ninth Life by Stark Holborn
Your hosts read Ninth Life by Stark Holborn, the third book in what may or may not be a trilogy, they actually have no idea. They talk about the difficulties of year-long gaps before reading a sequel, debate what an epistolary novel is, and loo...
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Episode 151
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46:27
Bonus: Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson
Your hosts are joined by Krystle Matar and Adrian M. Gibson for a spoiler-filled follow-up conversation about his debut novel, Mushroom Blues. They talk about dark themes, cultural influences on the Hopponese, and the character development of K...
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1:50:40
Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey
Your hosts are joined by Krystle Matar to talk about Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey, a book that covers the same events as Kushiel's Dart but from another character's perspective. Lilly can't even bring herself to describe it as "the lov...
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Episode 150
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1:10:37
Bonus: Gods of Dust by Bryan S. Glosemeyer
After our interview with Bryan about his Shattered Gates universe, we reconvened to talk about his short story Gods of Dust, and also bring up some of our thoughts that were, as they say, "more of a comment than a question."Check out ou...
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25:45
Learn to Howl by Jennifer R. Donohue
Your hosts bring some cousin related chaos to their conversation about Learn to Howl by Jennifer R. Donohue. They talk about cousin main characters, werewolf origin stories, dog mannerisms, and more cousin stuff. They also bring up religious me...
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Episode 149
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56:28
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts take a quick detour to discuss ebook formats (including footnotes) before diving in to Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. They also talk about the empire of Nanny Ogg, Annagramma’s Mean Girls character arc, and ask themselves: What Make...
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Episode 148
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53:20
Author Interview: Ashram Assassin by Andrew Cartmel
Your hosts are once again joined by Andrew Cartmel, this time to discuss his novel Ashram Assassin, the second book in his Paperback Sleuth series. They talk about crime novel tropes, yoga, and curry.More information about Dressing Gown...
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Episode 147
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47:08
Author Interview: The Hunter's Gambit by Ciel Pierlot
Your hosts are joined by Ciel Pierlot to talk about her latest novel, The Hunter's Gambit. They discuss vampire lore, equality in fantasy settings, and hot threeways. They also ask the ultimate question: do vampires count as monsterfcking?<...
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Episode 146
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57:22
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
Your hosts read Thud! a City Watch book in Discworld that is probably not the best book in Discworld, but they genuinely liked it despite their complaining. Your hosts talk about fantasy racial tension, the Bechdel test, and lolrandom chickens....
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Episode 145
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1:06:16
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Your hosts try not to make anyone too mad with their opinions about The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson's first Mistborn novel. Credit where credit's due, it's got a really cool magic system. They spend some time comparing it to Kushiel's Dart ...
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Episode 144
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56:49
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The people have spoken! Your hosts let their patreon subscribers choose the book for this episode, and they chose "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Your hosts discuss narrative voice, Fantasy tropes from the mid 20th century, and how...
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Episode 143
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43:56