Episode 136 – Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” with special guest Yochai Gal

Yochai Gal joins us to discuss Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, Ursula K. LeGuin, Cairn’s influences, Book of the New Sun, the Blade Runner movie, androids and empathy, what makes a belief system valid, Philip K. Dick’s less approachable works, sex as a survival strategy, current concerns about AI, cyberpunk LARPs, Jack Vance, and much more!

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Episode 135 – Caroline Stevermer’s “A College of Magics” with special guest Katrin Dirim

Katrin Dirim joins us to discuss Caroline Stevermer’s “A College of Magics”, the diverse gaming scene in Turkey, YA book covers, politically correct highwaymen, the price that magic extracts, inevitable Harry Potter comparisons, the changing experiences of college students, playing the outsider, Dungeon Crawl Classics luck checks, players who struggle stepping into the spotlight, hat bombs, and much more!

A College of Magics

Patron Book Club 134 – Michael Chabon’s “Gentlemen of the Road” with our Patron Book Club

Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Michael Chabon’s “Gentlemen of the Road”, miniature wargaming, doing “a Jeff” by listening to the audiobook, Robert E. Howard’s Middle Eastern adventures, melancholy guys dressed in black, the role of the animals in the story, surviving in a ruined temple, dual power structures, chloroform mini-games, five-page backstories, being rewarded in-game for bringing in aspects of your character, hitting Wikipedia hard, and much more!

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Episode 133 – Michael Chabon’s “Gentlemen of the Road” with special guest Bill Gosline

Bill Gosline joins us to discuss Michael Chabon’s “Gentlemen of the Road”, reading books written for adults as kids, Deities & Demigods as Appendix N, elephant-related words, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay”, smug afterwords, Ren faire troupes, world-building in epic fantasy, world-building around the characters, historical fiction, when magic is not a technology, the future demise of Twitter, and much more!

Gentlemen of the Road

Episode 133 – Poul Anderson’s “Operation Chaos” with special guest Andy from Breakfast in the Ruins

Andy from Breakfast in the Ruins joins us to discuss Poul Anderson’s “Operation Chaos”, homemade ginger beer, Moorcock’s influence on the fantasy genre, frothing latter-day conspiracy theorist wet dreams, the limitations of the word lycanthropy, main characters who suck, heroes defending the military industrial complex, Anderson’s influence on Moorcock, Van Helsing the Cleric, werewolves as player characters, Gygaxian naturalism, statting up Christian mythology, and much more!

Operation Chaos

Episode 132 – Scott Oden’s “A Gathering of Ravens” with special guest Rick Byrne

Rick Byrne joins us to discuss Scott Oden’s “A Gathering of Ravens”, demons in Norse mythology, purging darkness with creativity, faction play, the various Viking lands, grim dark, authentic Irish representation, giving monsters meaning, Orc morality, periods of transition, Conan, the number 42, and much more!

A Gathering of Ravens

Episode 131 – P. Djèlí Clark’s “A Master of Djinn” with special guest Maxwell Lander

Maxwell Lander joins us to discuss P. Djèlí Clark’s “A Master of Djinn”, programming VR games, conversational RPGs, Audible audiobooks, villains plotting since childhood, the steampunk literary genre, when men write women, antisocial characters, Tunnel Goons, Shadowrun, freaky angels, anti-colonial violence, and much more!

A Master of Djinn

Patron Book Club 130 – Arkady & Boris Strugatsky’s “Hard to Be a God” with our Patron Book Club

Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Arkady & Boris Strugatsky’s “Hard to Be a God”, impecunious dons, Brave New World, the Soviet Union in the 1960s, de-Stalinization, going straight to feudalism to fascism, the stench of the 18th century, saving artists to advance society, the great expansion of man, the collaboration between criminals and reactionary religious clashes to create facism, the 2007 video game adaptation, The Worm Ouroboros, and much more!

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Episode 130 – Arkady & Boris Strugatsky’s “Hard to Be a God” with special guest Aaron King

Aaron King joins us to discuss Arkady & Boris Strugatsky’s “Hard to Be a God”, West Marches-style gaming, fantasy bestiaries, impecunious dons, astronauts in the middle ages, the character arcs of doomed nobles, the inherent tension that exists from generation to generation, keeping each other safe in the dirt, playing with Barbies, Warhammer 40K, characters using their imagination to see their future, our patron book clubs, and much more!

Hard to Be a God

Episode 129 – Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Farthest Shore” with special guest Joshua Phillip Johnson

Joshua Phillip Johnson joins us to discuss Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Farthest Shore”, elves named Josh, media being smarter than us, Audible audiobooks, hanging in Hort Town, magic being leached from the world, ideas of power and kingship, the importance of mentorship, journeying from the quiet places to the places where stuff happens, adult themes in YA lit, warriors’ powers being looked at as magic, the reason for the season, and much more!

The Farthest Shore