literature

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

382. Black Lives Matter: Announcements, Octavia Butler, and Tochi Onyebuchi (Reading Rangers)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-382-black-lives-matter/SandF_382_BlackLivesMatter.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, BLACK LIVES MATTER, oh my! Jen and Shaun return (sorta) to the Reading Rangers format to discuss our latest announcement about the direction of the show for the remainder of 2020 AND to examine Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” and Tochi Onyebuchi’s Tor.com essay, “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.” This one is jam packed with content, from our views on what is going on around us to its connections to Onyebuchi’s essay to an in-depth discussion of the themes and social commentary in Butler’s story! You won’t want to miss this one. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes Book Cover
The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

364. Valerie Valdes (a.k.a The Cuban Shepard) — Chilling Effect

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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!

Blog Posts

Book Review: LOST FILMS, Edited by Max Booth III & Lori Michelle

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Along with stories by Stephen King, cinematic horror is largely responsible for introducing the weird and terrifying to me and a generation or two of teens. For years my friends and I sought horror films both good and bad, and we heard that particular macabre whisper calling us to the most unhinged and obscure among them. The memorable ones have been those whose reputations have created anticipatory trepidation equal to the thrills of watching the movie itself. The cursed production history. The banned content of unfathomable realism. The haunted film. Horror built around such themes of its visual representation proves popular, from Apollinaire’s “A Good Film” to Suzuki’s Ringu or American Horror Story: Roanoke. Ironically, written explorations of horror in visual media have a stronger impact on me than the those relayed through a screen medium. An excellent recent example would be Marisha Pessl’s Night Film. The announcement of the Lost Films anthology from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing therefore really excited me. Comprised of nineteen stories with an introduction by Max Booth III (co-editor with Lori Michelle), it is one of the strongest collections I’ve read, with several potential standout favorites for readers from both established and new authors.

Brothers in Arms by Bujold Cover
The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Reading Rangers #7: Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ReadingRangers7BrothersInArmsByLoisMcMasterBujold/ReadingRangers7–BrothersInArmsByLoisMcmasterBujold.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHello, Rangers! It’s once again time to explore the Vorkosiverse with our intrepid Rangers. Paul, Alex, Stina, and Trish (safe from Hurricane Florence in the past), dig into what makes Brothers in Arms such a great addition to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Adventures of Miles Vorkosigan. It basically boils down to the fact that Bujold is willing to make big changes in order to propel her main character’s life forward and sideways and sometimes a bit upside-down. The team discusses new characters (hello, evil clone!) and old, a little bit about Earth as a construct within the Vorkosiverse, how Bujold lets things stick, why Miles is still terrible with women, and a lot more! Next time in our journey through the Vorkosigan Adventures, we’ll discuss Mirror Dance! It’s possible there are some minor spoilers for this book in this episode as well, because the two are very closely linked. 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! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Reading Rangers #6: Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ReadingRangers6BordersOfInfinityByLoisMcMasterBujold/ReadingRangers6–BordersOfInfinityByLoisMcmasterBujold.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSHello, Rangers! We’re back to dig into the uhhh… I would say 6th book, but this is where things get a little complicated. We skipped Ethan of Athos, because the collective decision by the veterans is that it should be burned in the depths of hell, and went straight to Borders of Infinity, which includes the novellas Borders of Infinity, Labyrinth, and The Mountains of Mourning. In this novel, McMaster Bujold included a framing story in order to tie the trio of short stories together. Paul, Trish, Kate, and Stina (straight off a drop-ship) discuss the stories and why they’re an important addition to the Vorkosiverse, including rich world-building, excellent secondary characters, and some important character building motivations for Miles Vorkosigan himself. Have a listen! Next time in our journey through the Vorkosigan Adventures, we’ll be discussing Brothers in Arms, a favorite of the vetarans! Will the newbies agree? 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! Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

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