365. Looking Back, Moving Forward: The 2020 Edition
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandf365lookingbackmovingforward2020/SandF_365_LookingBackMovingForward2020.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSNew years, new decades, and new changes, oh my! In our first episode of 2020, Jen and Shaun take a trip in a time machine to discuss some of the things they loved in 2019 and some of the things they’re looking forward to in 2020. From books to movies to awkward social events, there’s a lot to love about 2019 and a lot to expect in 2020. That’s kinda the theme, right? Looking back! Moving forward! Of course, a new decade means new changes to the show. Shaun and Jen take a minute to talk about what you can expect from the show in 2020, why we’re making some changes to things, and what they’re hoping to get out of our 10th year of podcasting. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Best of 2019 and Award Eligibility Post
2019: Umm, yeah. Let’s instead talk Award Eligibility first and then get to the best of 2019. I am eligible for BEST FAN WRITER, for my work at BN Sci Fi (now sadly closed) Tor.com, Skiffy and Fanty and Nerds of a Feather. I write and publish in a number of places, I do wonder sometimes that no one realizes my prolific output because it is all over the place. And of course, quantity does NOT have a quality all of its own. And there are people who do more, and are more. Me, I just plod along here. Anyway, besides blog posts, reviews and the like, I also do podcast like things. I am of course a central member of the Skiffy and Fanty Show, a central member of SFF Audio and also participate in Juliette Wade’s Dive Into Worldbuilding. All three of those are eligible in the BEST FANCAST category.
364. Valerie Valdes (a.k.a The Cuban Shepard) — Chilling Effect
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandfepisode364valerievaldeschillingeffect/SandF–Episode364–Valerie_Valdes_Chilling_Effect.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSShenanigans, pastelitos, and tele novelas, oh my! Jen Zink and Paul Weimer are joined by Valerie Valdes, author of the banging new space adventure, Chilling Effect. Together, they discuss Valerie’s approach to precursor aliens, building multicultural space systems, and the found family vs. bio family trope. They also take a dive into the influence of video games on Valerie’s work! We hope you enjoy the episode! Don’t forget, if you sign up for our Patreon, where you can get access to other nifty podcast features!
Book Review: The Year of the Fruitcake by Gillian Polack
Could chocolate somehow bring about the apocalypse? Does a group of middle-aged women hold the fate of humanity in their hands? These are some of the many questions tackled in Gillian Polack’s new science fiction novel, The Year of the Fruitcake: or Aliens with Irony. It’s a complex, fiercely feminist narrative that tackles issues of colonialism, cultural appropriation, and the marginalisation of women.
Reading Rangers #11: A Civil Campaign
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sandfreadingrangers11civilcampaignbyloismcmasterbujold/SandF–Reading_Rangers_11–Civil_Campaign_by_Lois_McMaster_Bujold.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHello, Rangers! In today’s exploration of Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, Trish Matson, Kate Sherrod, Alex Acks, Stina Leicht, and Paul Weimer take a stab at A Civil Campaign. Together, they talk about the novel’s exploration of gender roles, the wild world of regency romances, how the book feels like an endpoint for certain narrative threads, and butterbugs! Next time in our journey through the Vorkosigan Adventures, we’ll discuss Winterfair Gift! We hope you enjoy the episode!
Mining the Genre Asteroid: Planet of Exile
Today on Mining the Genre Asteroid, I take you to a Planet of Exile. Last time on Mining the Genre Asteroid, I discussed Ursula K LeGuin’s first novel, Rocannon’s World. This time out, I stay in LeGuin’s Hainish universe and take a look at another early novel of hers set in that verse, Planet of Exile (1966). I look at how this novel extends and builds upon Rocannon’s World, and how it lays foundations for more of the Hainish universe. It is also a rather nifty “under siege novel” that keeps the strengths of character and worldbuilding we saw in Rocannon’s World.
