Science Fiction

SF in Translation, The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Speculative Fiction in Translation #4: Francesco Verso, Italy and Japan

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SFiTEpisode4FrancescoVersoItalyAndJapan/Sfit-Episode4-FrancescoVersoItalyAndJapan.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSItaly and Japan dominate this week’s episode, which includes SFT updates for April and an interview with the very talented and very busy Italian author/editor/publisher Francesco Verso. Rachel fills you in on the Chinese, Italian, Korean, Dutch, French, and Spanish short SFT available in the past month, several novels, excerpts you can read online, reviews, and a new feature on her site:  Daniel Haeusser reviewing short SFT each month. With new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes:

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Book Review: Gate Crashers by Patrick Tomlinson

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In Patrick Tomlinson’s Gate Crashers, the author takes the worldbuilding, dry sense of humor and relatable characters of his previous series to a new universe where First Contact has gone far wilder than expected. The Magellan, state of the art spacecraft for the American-European Union, is thirty light years from our Solar System, the furthest any human spaceship has voyaged into space, in the mid 24th century. More than a half century of travel, the Magellan’s crew is on ice, the AI of the Magellan guiding the ship toward the star it is targeted toward. However, a chance encounter with a stationary alien probe launches humanity into a first contact scenario that it is not prepared for. And, frankly, neither are the aliens.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

Signal Boost #39 — Joseph Brassey (Dragon Road) and Michael R. Underwood (Born to the Blade)

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFSignalBoost39BrasseyUnderwood/Sandf–SignalBoost39–BrasseyUnderwood.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to Joseph Brassey about the second book in his Drifting Lands series, Dragon Road. Careful, because there are spoilers for the first book in the series, Skyfarer, which you should definitely go read right away. When you’re ready, listen to Joseph discuss how he likes to explore what makes good characters good people, what type of redemption arc he has written, and a little bit about how comedy and his improv background inform his writing. Then Paul is joined by our very own Michael R. Underwood to talk about his brand new Serial Box Publishing project, Born to the Blade. They discuss the process that Mike went through to get Born to the Blade from a concept to a Serial Box project and what it’s like to work with 3 other authors (Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older) in a collaborative story-telling process, including what changed from the original concept. We hope you enjoy the episode!

A Quiet Place Poster
The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

At the Movies #69 — A Quiet Place w/ Zin E. Rocklyn

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https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFAtTheMovies69AQuietPlace/Sandf-AtTheMovies69-AQuietPlace.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSign language, killer aliens, and polar bears, oh my! In today’s episode of At the Movies, Shaun, Alex, David, and the lovely Teri (a.k.a. Zin E. Rocklyn) discuss the science fictional horror film, A Quiet Place, which is probably the only film produced by Michael Bay that doesn’t have anything blow-up… except the fireworks. Damn you, Michael Bay! Together, our intrepid crew explores the film’s treatment of disability, the underlying themes of family and terror, the Nail of Evil, the direction, and so much more. We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Book Review: The Genius Plague by David Walton

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Neil Johns is eager to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the NSA, but his lack of strong academic credentials and his reliance on unorthodox techniques make it a long shot. Seeing his promise, the agency gives him a chance, but Neil’s success feels bittersweet. Suffering from early-onset Alzheimers, Neil’s father can’t recognize his son’s accomplishments or be there to help him navigate the challenges that accompany them. Neil’s developing, tenuous professional life also becomes further complicated by other family matters. His mycologist brother Paul returns from a trip to the Amazon that ended by surviving a guerilla terrorist attack and Paul’s subsequent escape through the jungle. Paul arrives home in the US troubled by missing memories of just how he managed to survive to return to human civilization. Before even leaving the airport Paul collapses in front of Neil from what is soon diagnosed as fungal pneumonia. Neil soon begins to suspect that his brother’s condition is something much more than a common infection, something that may be spreading into a global pandemic with frightening sociopolitical implications that relate to current threats that he is analyzing with the NSA.

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Book Review: Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson

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Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach is Kelly Robson’s successful  leap from shorter fiction into novella format, combining new ideas on the uses of a time machine with a strong character-focused milieu and story. Time Travel is one of the seminal ideas in all of science fiction. Going all the way back to Mark Twain and H.G Wells, traveling outside of one’s own time frame is an idea that has been done and done innumerable times. There have been plenty of novels, stories and movies that explore the idea of time travel, to the past, to the future, to parallel timelines, to alternate worlds. It seems that any long-running science fiction series on television must have a time travel episode. And of course, the longest-running science fiction series in television history is…a show about time travel.

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