Shaun’s Rambles 006: Interviewing the Fans — Jukka Halme
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ia601508.us.archive.org/31/items/ShaunsRambles006InterviewingTheFansJukkeHalme/ShaunsRambles006–InterviewingTheFans–JukkeHalme.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWhat do Moomintrolls, Tolkien, 1978, and reindeer steaks have to do with Jukka Halme? In my third Interviewing the Fans feature, I talk to Jukka Halme about becoming an sf/f fan, the works that influenced him, the changing technological landscape, and Finland.
Book Review: Cracking the Sky by Brenda Cooper
Quantum searching across timelines with a high powered, sentient computer. A little girl who is being raised by robots, and may be one herself. Danger and adventure on a wondrous construct connecting an icy world and its cold neighbor. Small squad operations against rogue corporations. Long-distance virtual reality riding of a young woman living in Mexico. All this and more are found in Cracking the Sky. Cracking the Sky, from Fairwood Press, represents the first science fiction-only collection of stories from science fiction, fantasy and futurist author Brenda Cooper. The stories range throughout her oevure, selected from the last twelve years of her writing career. While Cooper is better known for her novels (see my review of Edge of Dark, for example), Cooper’s pen does take her into shorter forms. Indeed, some of the stories in this collection are short enough to be almost flash-fiction in length.
Episode 8. Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) — the Pastoral and the Child
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/TotallyPretentiousEpisode008MarvelsCinematicUniverseAndTheSecretOfRoanInish/TotallyPretentiousEpisode008–MarvelsCinematicUniverseAndTheSecretOfRoanInish.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThe Secret of Roan Inish, the pastoral, and the child!! Filling in for David, Jen Zink joins me to discuss the state of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and our main event film, The Secret of Roan Inish (1994). We explore The Secret of Roan Inish‘s treatment of its child protagonist, the conflict between the modern world and the pastoral world, and Irish culture and folklore. Needless to say, it’s a lively discussion! We’re also still working on our Subscriber Drive so we can add a second regular episode to the show. Help us spread the word! Enjoy!
#37. Ex Machina (2015) — A Shoot the WISB Subcast
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB37ExMachina/ShootTheWisb37–ExMachina.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSThe Turing test, eccentric billionaires, and the singularity, oh my! In this special edition of Shoot the WISB, Alex takes Shaun and Paul on a journey through Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina. We explore the film’s treatment of AI, its themes, its women, and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later.
Shaun’s Rambles 005: Interviewing the Fans — Rachael Acks
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ia601505.us.archive.org/35/items/ShaunsRambles005InterviewingTheFansRachaelAcks/ShaunsRambles005–InterviewingTheFans–RachaelAcks.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWhat do Transformers, unicorns, and Rachael Acks have in common? In the latest edition of my Interviewing the Fans feature, I talk to Rachael about how she became a fan, how genre has influenced her, dystopia fatigue, and more. You can find out more about Rachael and her work on her website and her Twitter account. Enjoy the episode! You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below. Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
Book Review: The Stories of the Raksura Volume Two by Martha Wells
Through three novels and a previous collection of stories (Stories of the Raksura Volume One: The Falling World and The Tale of Indigo and Cloud), Martha Wells has built up an ever richer tapestry of tales of the Three Worlds, focusing primarily on her alien, shapeshifting and yet all too human race of the Raksura. Stories of the Raksura Volume Two: The Dead City and The Dark Earth Below continues in that tradition. Within, Martha gives us the two titular novellas as bookends to the book, and three stories in between. Also like the first volume, Wells gives us a variety of time frames in which the stories are set. Having contented herself with setting up the framework of Moon (our primary POV protagonist) in the three Raksura books (The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea and The Siren Depths), rather than always progressing the narrative forward in time, she has taken the tack of telling backstories, and side stories about the characters and the world. One of the stories, as detailed shortly, does not involve the Raksura at all. The richness of the peoples and creatures of the Three Worlds allows for amazing diversity in potential protagonists within and without of the Raksura themselves. The Raksura are her primary and overwhelming interest, and with good reason. However, there is nothing to prevent her from exploring other corners of her world.
