Jeff, Hoi, and a rotating roster of special guests discuss the adventure, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and weird fiction that inspires our gaming
Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss H. Rider Haggard’s “She”, the smell of the flame, Haggard’s other works, “the things dudes won’t do for a hottie”, the city of Cambridge, the good earthy feminine logic, being torn between two ill-fated women, the lost race genre, the tombs of an ancient civilization, quaint local customs, being unalive (instead of undead), democracies and tyrants, and much more!
Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Charles R. Saunders’s “The Quest for Cush”, the Swahili glossary, the shame of the King County Library system, fiction as gaming supplements, inversions of traditional sword and sorcery, Burroughs’s Mythic Africa, the Mary Sue problem, Greeks in Egypt, a dungeon under quicksand, responsible and dilligent city guards, Imaro as a demigod,, and much more!
Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “The Gods of Mars”, John Carter in a blond wig, repetitiveness in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s works, French words, female characters’ screen time, the Tree of Life, fainting characters, early examples of megadungeons, helpful ghosts, constantly escalating tension and perils, authors inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs, wish-fulfillment protagonists, and much more!
Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Dan Simmons’s “Hyperion”, listening to audio books at work, Vaults of Vaarn, prescient fiction, choosing whether or not to continue on with fiction series, the Dying Earth, ambiguous endings, failed attempts at humor, the author’s current politics, chase scenes, Shadowdark, roasting bestsellers, reading books outside of our comfort zone, plans for the future of the show, and much more!
This episode is dedicated to Rick Byrne. Please consider sending a gift to support Leukemia research at UCSF: UCSF Foundation, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145 or make a gift online at makeagift.ucsf.edu. Please be sure to note that the gift is in memory of Rick Byrne to support the Leukemia research of Dr. Neil Dunivan.
Our Patron Book Club joins us to discuss Michael Moorcock’s “The Mad God’s Amulet, Michael Moorcock’s love of arcane texts, action scenes, hyperviolence and gore, following expectations, whimsical supporting characters, battles over land and sea, reskinning monsters for science-fantasy, a device that can unlock any lock, the Devil’s Rejects, our friend Rick Byrne, and much more!
Robert Poyton joins us to discuss Gustave Flaubert’s “Salammbô”, October horror films, the etymology of Hygaxian words, Howardian prose, varied treasures, the French “oh là là”, the literary influences of Clark Ashton Smith, the diversity of intersecting cultures in North Africa, African nations, horse nomads, cult generators, unearthly treasure hoards, and much more!
Tim Mendees joins us to discuss Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”, the dangers of massive hardbacks, literary rabbit holes, the Dorset dialect, cursing those who have wronged us, classist hypocrits, the couragousness that comes with conviction, interdimensional travel through reflective surfaces, interesting and flavorful spells, failing sanity rolls, faerie rewards, and much more!
Brian Yaksha joins us to discuss Robert Asprin’s “Thieves’ World”, the give and take of what you’re going to give to the audience, fantasy shared worlds, Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar, Aragorn’s tax plan, Machiavelli, passing off as older for added credibility, rotating GMs, bespoke stat blocks, power levels, player character points of entry, random tables, and much more!
Goran Gligovic joins us to discuss Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “A Princess of Mars”, Asterix and Obelix, the Library of Wonder, Tarzan, being 30 for as long as you can remember, main characters as blank canvases, Robert E. Howard, the Fighting Man class in OD&D, when to embrace realism and when to eschew it, Frank Frazetta’s action scenes, gargoyles taking a piss, a brightly dressed Elric, and much more!
Appendix N Book Club 