Two Chairs Talking: Recent Episodes
Grigg & Middlemiss
Two ex-chairmen of the World SF Convention talk about books, movies, science fiction fandom, and much else.
In this special episode, Perry hosts a discussion panel at Conflux, a science fiction convention held in Canberra in October 2023. The topic was "Fanzines: the State of the Art". Introduction (01:10)Panel discussion (59:21)Windup (00:20)
In this special episode, David and Perry give a talk at the Nova Mob about the SF novels of the 1960s. To decide on the best, we treat the exercise as a draft, each of us picking a title in turn in order to try to get the best "team". Who will win?Meeting starts (00:45)Introduction to the draft (01:53)Why the 1960s? (02:02)Perry's first pick (02:45)David's first pick (02:24)Perry's second pick (02:24)David's second pick (03:04)Perry's third pick (02:40)David's third pick (03:41)Perry's fourth pick (02:00)David's fourth pick (02:47)Perry's fifth pick (03:38)David's fifth pick (03:24)Perry's sixth pick (04:37)David's sixth pick (03:34)Possibles and reserves (03:24)Voting (08:56)Results of voting (00:24)Discussion (10:19)Windup (54:20)
Perry and David celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast by discussing the best books they read during 2023. And bid you all a fond farewell.Introduction (00:12)Our 100th Episode! (04:14)Let's talk about Books (02:10)2023: Highlights of our reading (01:11:53)Best Science Fiction read in 2023 (David) (04:24)Best Science Fiction read in 2023 (Perry) (03:41)Best Fantasy read in 2023 (David) (03:40)Best Fantasy read in 2023 (Perry) (03:34)Best Crime read in 2023 (David) (05:28)Best Crime read in 2023 (Perry) (05:59)Best Spy/Thriller read in 2023 (David) (02:01)Best Spy/Thriller read in 2023 (Perry) (02:57)Best Historical Fiction read in 2023 (David) (05:50)Best Novellas read in 2023 (Perry) (05:26)Best Literary read in 2023 (David) (02:13)Best Literary read in 2023 (Perry) (04:32)Best Children's Literature read in 2023 (David) (02:27)Best Collection/Anthology read in 2023 (Perry) (02:19)Best Nonfiction read in 2023 (David) (03:16)Best Nonfiction read in 2023 (Perry) (02:36)Best Overall read for the first time in 2023 (David) (01:22)Best Overall read for the first time in 2023 (Perry) (01:11)Best Overall re-read in 2023 (David) (01:10)Best Overall re-read in 2023 (Perry) (02:39)Windup and Farewell (06:02 Image generated by Wombo AI.
Perry and David discuss their recent reading, including several crime or crime-adjacent books, a middle-school fantasy, and an excellent piece of historical fiction.Intro (03:20)General News (03:33)Goodreads Readers Choice Awards (03:32)What we've been reading (58:11)Winds of Evil by Arthur Upfield (10:43)Dorothy L. Sayers Novels (07:00)A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (09:31)The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann (06:24)Black Sheep by Susan Hill (06:56)Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (04:25)Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (06:51)Loot by Tania James (06:14)Windup (03:33)END (00:10)Title and image from TV Show Get Smart.
Perry and David discuss recent book awards and go on to discuss their recent reading, some of which evoke strong emotions and others which have kept us on the edge of our seats.Intro (04:07)General News (14:02)Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023 (03:21)The Hugo Awards 2023 (03:41)World Fantasy Awards 2023 (00:35)Le Guin Prize for Imaginative Fiction 2023 (01:17)Death of Michael Bishop (01:36)Death of A. S. Byatt (03:22)What we've been reading lately (45:49)All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien (04:49)Beast in View by Margaret Millar (03:04)Blindness by José Saramago (07:11)The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (05:32)The Conversion by Amanda Lohrey (04:16)The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (06:18)Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (05:55)The True Story of Spit McPhee by James Aldridge (08:13)Windup (00:24)Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike.—Evangeline, Part 2. Henry Wadsworth LongfellowImage generated by Wombo art
David and Perry talk about their recent reading, ranging from a confronting story of racism and murder in America, through a pleasant coming-of-age novel, a comedy TV series and an engaging piece of historical non-fiction.Introduction (02:35)Conflux: National Science Fiction Convention (05:40)General News (16:13)U.S. National Book Awards (03:05)Ditmar Awards (02:15)Nobel Prize for Literature 2023 (01:58)A.I. Translation of books (08:42)What we've been reading and watching (55:01)All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby (07:42)The Will of the Many by James Islington (08:51)The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle (09:36)Among Others by Jo Walton (10:50)Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (08:26)The Wager by David Grann (08:52)Travelling with books (01:19)Windup (00:35)Image generated by Wombo.ai.
Perry and David talk about their latest reading, listening and watching in the crime genre, from a classic PI novel to the latest best-seller.Introduction (05:56)General News (11:06)Ned Kelly Awards 2023 (02:13)Dragon Awards 2023 (07:00)Queensland Literary Awards 2023 (01:43)What we've been reading and watching (55:24)In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty (11:43)No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child (11:46)The Sisters by Dervla McTiernan (05:01)D Is For Deadbeat by Sue Grafton (08:54)Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron (07:58)The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 2) (06:01)Deadloch (03:54)Windup (01:10)Image generated by Ideogram.ai"Arrogant priest, this place demands I keep calm,Or thou shouldst find thou hast dishonor’d me.or you would be punished for your insult.Think not, although in writing I preferr’dDo not think that just because I wrote downThe manner of thy vile outrageous crimes,the details of your revolting terrible crimesThat therefore I have forg’d, or am not ablethat I have made anything up or cannotverbatim to rehearse the method of my pen."Henry VI Part I, Act 3 Scene 1
David and Perry discuss a wide range of reading and movie watching, ranging from Restoration period historical fiction through a contemporary true story to the fantastic and not-so-fantastic futures of science fiction.
- Introduction (04:40)
- General News (08:31)
- Hugo Voting Package 2023 (02:59)
- Worldcon Site Selection 2023 (01:36)
- Ditmar Awards Ballot 2023 (02:29)
- Other Awards (01:22)
- What we've been reading and watching (01:16:30)
- Red Notice by Bill Browder (07:15)
- Every Version of You by Grace Chan (13:18)
- Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (08:52)
- The Migration by Helen Marshall (09:31)
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells (10:00)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (07:32)
- The Moon Maid by Edgar Rice Burroughs (06:30)
- Oppenheimer (13:10)
- Windup (00:36)
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Perry and David discuss audiobooks, cover a swag of awards and recent news, and then go on to talk about what they've read (or listened to) recently. And Perry talks about a great TV series he recommends.
- Introduction (01:40)
- Listening to audiobooks (11:57)
- General News (13:42)
- Hugo Ballot 2023 (06:20)
- World Fantasy Awards 2023 (01:32)
- Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award 2023 (00:37)
- Miles Franklin Award Winner 2023 (00:58)
- The Booker Prize long list 2023 (02:46)
- Death of Milan Kundera (01:20)
- What we've been reading (55:00)
- The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (07:18)
- Utterly Dark and the Heart of the Wild by Philip Reeve (07:33)
- An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (07:04)
- Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (07:28)
- Here’s Luck by Lennie Lower (04:24)
- The Russia House by John Le Carre (11:05)
- The Bear (08:33)
- Windup (01:34)
Click here for more info and indexes
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David and Perry take the Hugo Time Machine back to 1970, the year that The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin won the Best Novel Hugo. David has a bone to pick, and Perry discusses the latest Indiana Jones movie.
- Introduction (03:46)
- General News (10:01)
- Hugo Voting ballot (04:53)
- Locus Awards 2023 (03:49)
- Death of Cormac McCarthy (01:13)
- Hugo Time Machine 1970 (01:13:46)
- Heicon '70 Convention (04:11)
- Short Stories (12:28)
- Deeper Than the Darkness by Gregory Benford (00:46)
- Winter’s King by Ursula K. Le Guin (00:40)
- Not Long Before the End by Larry Niven (01:46)
- Passengers by Robert Silverberg (01:17)
- Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones by Samuel R. Delany (05:19)
- Other possible nominees (02:12)
- Novellas (10:18)
- We All Die Naked by James Blish (00:10)
- A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison (01:26)
- Dramatic Mission by Anne McCaffrey (01:01)
- To Jorslem by Robert Silverberg (01:22)
- Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber (03:41)
- Other possible nominees (02:11)
- Novels (46:38)
- Macroscope by Piers Anthony (05:07)
- Up the Line by Robert Silverberg (03:23)
- Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad (06:11)
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (10:44)
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (18:30)
- Other possible nominees (02:34)
- What we've been watching (06:15)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (06:09)
- Windup (00:21)
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Perry and David discuss the volunteer work they've been doing recently, then go on to talk about their recent reading and watching.
- Intro (02:13)
- What we've been doing recently (08:05)
- Standard Ebooks productions (02:05)
- Wikipedia editing (05:54)
- General News (08:45)
- Australian Book Design Awards (02:25)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist (01:39)
- Aurealis Awards 2023 (00:51)
- Hugo Ballot 2023 still coming (03:45)
- What we've been reading (43:33)
- Real Tigers by Mick Herron (11:52)
- David's Reading (00:45)
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (05:29)
- Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (05:30)
- All's Well by Mona Awad (04:23)
- Death in Brunswick by Boyd Oxlade (06:20)
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (09:05)
- What we've been watching (12:05)
- The Batman (2022) (04:41)
- Drive My Car (2021) (07:16)
- Windup (00:15)
- Next episode (01:13)
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David and Perry discuss Perry's recent overseas trip, and then talk about their recent reading, including several books which take existing stories and look at them from a different viewpoint.
- Introduction (06:51)
- Perry's trip to Morrocco (04:06)
- David's news (02:28)
- General News (16:29)
- Death of Martin Amis (06:08)
- Nebula Award Winners (04:12)
- Miles Franklin Award Longlist. (03:06)
- New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (03:00)
- What we've been reading lately. (50:13)
- David's reading slow-down (01:27)
- Five Decembers by James Kestrel (08:59)
- Unknown Shore by Robert Ruby (05:02)
- A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow (04:38)
- The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. (04:28)
- Spear by Nicola Griffith (06:43)
- Fire With Fire by Candice Fox (04:15)
- Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk (04:07)
- Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow (04:57)
- Top Gun Maverick (05:32)
- Windup (00:59)
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Perry and David talk about their recent reading and watching, in particular discussing a novel they have both nominated for this year's Hugo Awards, The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler.
- Introduction (01:04)
- General News (12:44)
- Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards (02:13)
- Australian Book Industry Awards (02:07)
- Australian Book Design Awards (00:58)
- Death of Lee Harding (00:45)
- Other News? (06:24)
- What we've been reading and watching (01:01:09)
- The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (14:46)
- Treacle Walker by Alan Garner (05:06)
- Ebooks vs physical books (02:00)
- Cold Water by Dave Hutchinson (06:16)
- A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (05:15)
- Dead Lions by Mick Herron (07:04)
- Double Indemnity by James M. Cain (04:20)
- Alien Oceans by Kevin Hand (06:39)
- John Wick: Chapter 4 (05:02)
- Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (04:29)
- Windup (00:36)
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Dropping our Twitter account. You can now find us here on Mastodon.
About the episode title: De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine (Latin): "From out of the depths we call thee, Lord".
David and Perry discuss a number of books dealing with alternate or parallel streams of time, and analyse in depth the novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, and the BBC television series based on it.
- Introduction (01:50)
- General News (06:03)
- Phillip K. Dick Award Winner 2023 (01:18)
-- City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky - BSFA Awards 2023 (03:13)
-- The Extractionist by Kimberly Unger - Chengdou Worldcon (01:21)
- Phillip K. Dick Award Winner 2023 (01:18)
- What we've been reading lately (12:36)
- Pavane by Keith Roberts (06:38)
- Civilisations by Laurent Binet (05:55)
- Discussion of Life After Life, TV series and novel (39:16)
- Windup (00:39)
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Perry and David discuss their recent reading of crime novels, or were they merely crime-adjacent novels? You can choose!
- Introduction (02:09)
- Loss of three good friends (01:49)
- Charles Taylor
- Valma Brown
- Eve Harvey
- ChatGPT - new developments (07:10)
- General News (08:37)
- Nebula Awards (02:18)
- Hugo Awards (01:00)
- BSFA Awards (01:06)
- Aurealis Awards (01:56)
- Nominating for the Hugo Awards (01:44)
- Crime Fiction (53:49)
- Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie (04:22)
- Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas (09:10)
- In Her Blood by Nicky Crutchley (04:20)
- The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (07:21)
- Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (04:43)
- In the Woods by Tana French (08:26)
- Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down (08:09)
- Exiles by Jane Harper (06:42)
- Windup & Next Episode (01:45)
Click here for more info and indexes
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Dropping our Twitter account. You can now find us here on Mastodon.
David and Perry spend a while discussing the problems with "generative A.I." and then go on to talk about their recent reading. Perry interviews W.H.Chong about his best reading and watching of 2022.
- Introduction (03:50)
- General News (02:23)
- Chengdu World SF Convention (02:19)
- Discussion on Generative AI (21:32)
- Ezra Klein podcast on AI
- What we've been reading lately (54:38)
- Monash's Masterpiece by Peter Fitzsimons (11:35)
- Joan by Katherine J. Chen (08:15)
- Hex by Jenni Fagan (03:21)
- Rizzio by Denise Mina (02:38)
- Her by Garry Disher (04:20)
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (05:29)
- Embassytown by China Miéville (05:57)
- The Employees by Olga Ravn (04:22)
- Babel by R. F. Kuang (08:21)
- Discussion with W. H. Chong about his 2022 reading and watching (29:13)
- The Mountain Under the Sea by Ray Naylor (04:01)
- Babel by R. F. Kuang (01:37)
- The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (01:33)
- The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox (01:15)
- Everything Everywhere All at Once (01:46)
- Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (02:42)
- Drive My Car (00:43)
- Pinnoccio (03:17)
- Three Plus One (02:57)
- Ted Lasso (01:12)
- My Brilliant Friend & The Lying Life of Adults (00:50)
- Prey (03:09)
- The Last of Us (03:30)
- Windup (01:41)
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Perry talks about the best movies and television he watched during 2022. David discusses his work for Standard Ebooks. Perry interviews Lucy Sussex about the best books she read last year.
- Introduction (03:40)
- General News (13:50)
- Victorian Premier's Literary Awards (03:45)
- Locus Recommended Reading List (06:19)
- Worldcon 2023 (03:37)
- Perry's Best Movies and TV of 2023 (32:09)
- Subtitles (01:33)
- Overview (01:42)
- Movies (14:14)
- Honourable Mentions (03:36)
- Television (14:13)
- Documentaries (01:24)
- Comedies (02:41)
- Drama (08:05)
- Best overall (01:49)
- Standard Ebooks and Copyright (09:50)
- Interview with Lucy Sussex (32:11)
- Skimming Stones by Maria Papas (01:58)
- The Islands by Emily Brugman (02:02)
- Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au (00:53)
- Treacle Walker by Alan Garner (01:24)
- An Uncommon Hangman by Rachel Franks (01:35)
- Nabbing Ned Kelly by David F Dufty (04:48)
- Polly Plum by Jenny Coleman (02:11)
- The Baby on the Fire Escape by Julie Phillips (01:59)
- Laidlaw by William McIlvanney (04:49)
- Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette (02:20)
- After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz (04:36)
- Windup (01:01)
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David and Perry discuss their reading during 2022 and list their selections of the best books in a range of categories, and end up agreeing on the best book of the year.
- Introduction (03:03)
- General News (05:52)
- 2022 Prime Minister's Literary Awards (01:49)
- 2022 Phillip K. Dick Award (01:23)
- Susie McKee Charnas (02:32)
- Best Books of 2022 (58:36)
- Science Fiction (06:14)
- Perry (03:00)
- David (03:10)
- Fantasy (03:53)
- Perry (00:44)
- David (03:07)
- Crime (08:16)
- Perry (05:58)
- David (02:17)
- Spy/Thriller (04:45)
- Perry (02:07)
- David (02:28)
- Literary/Non Genre (07:03)
- Perry (04:45)
- David (02:02)
- Novellas (06:08)
- Perry (06:05)
- Children's Literature (01:23)
- David (01:12)
- Collections & Anthologies (04:32)
- Perry (04:07)
- David (00:16)
- Historical Fiction (00:50)
- David (00:44)
- Nonfiction (06:39)
- Perry (03:16)
- David (03:18)
- Overall Best for 2022 (03:34)
- Perry (01:25)
- David (01:57)
- Science Fiction (06:14)
- Windup (01:14)
- Next episode (01:39)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Illustration by Wombo Art.
Perry and David wind up the year by talking about the books they've read recently, including some neglected works and one being celebrated thirty years after it was first published.
- Introduction (02:36)
- General News (09:44)
- 2022 Best of the Year articles (04:59)
- 2022 Patrick White Award (01:20)
- Prime Minister's Literary Award (03:12)
- What we've been reading (53:17)
- How do you choose what to read next? (05:32)
- Ithaca by Claire North (07:56)
- The Visitor by Maeve Brennan (08:25)
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt (07:49)
- Night Blue by Angela O'Keeffe (09:13)
- The High House by Jessie Greengrass (07:17)
- A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (06:50)
- Brief mentions (04:01)
- Psalms for the End of the World by Cole Haddon (00:28)
- The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner by Grace Tame(00:34)
- The Unbelieved by Vicki Petraitis (00:28)
- Mountains of the Mind by Robert McFarlane (01:15)
- Hull Three Zero by Greg Bear (00:59)
- Windup
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David and Perry discuss Day's End and Limberlost, two new titles from Text Publishing, and then go on to talk with W. H. Chong, who designed the covers of both books. (Apologies for the occasional poor audio quality in this episode).
- Introduction (00:42)
- General News (03:06)
- Death of Greg Bear (02:08)
- What we've been reading (22:50)
- Day's End by Garry Disher (09:17)
- Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (13:12)
- Discussion with W. H. Chong about cover design (20:24)
- Windup (01:05)
- End (00:12)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Many thanks to Text Publishing for review copies of the books discussed today, and to W. H. Chong for joining us to discuss cover design.
Illustration: covers designed by W. H. Chong for Text Publishing
Perry and David discuss some recent awards and general news and then take off in the Hugo Time Machine to visit the year 1969, when Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner won the Best Novel award.
- Introduction (02:34)
- General News (08:39)
- 2022 Ursula K. Le Guin prize (01:13)
- 2022 Booker Prize winner (01:15)
- 2022 Shirley Jackson awards (01:10)
- 2022 Arthur C Clarke Award (00:44)
- Death of Frank Drake (04:07)
- Hugo Time Machine 1969 (01:03:04)
- Short Stories (05:39)
- The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World by Harlan Ellison (01:37)
- Other eligible works (03:36)
- Masks by Damon Knight (01:22)
- All the Myriad Ways by Larry Niven (00:28)
- Novelettes (08:03)
- The Sharing of Flesh by Poul Anderson (03:56)
- Other nominees (01:52)
- Mother to the World by Richard Wilson (01:12)
- Other eligible works (01:43)
- Novellas (06:48)
- Nightwings by Robert Silverberg (04:03)
- Other nominees (01:26)
- Hawk Among the Sparrows by Dean McLaughlin (01:00)
- Other eligible works (00:44)
- Novels (39:50)
- Nova by Samuel R. Delany (04:56)
- Past Master by R. A. Lafferty (04:16)
- Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (08:23)
- The Goblin Reservation by Clifford D. Simak (05:15)
- Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (10:02)
- Other eligible works (02:21)
- New Wave beginning to surge (03:26)
- Other Awards (01:00)
- Short Stories (05:39)
- Wind-up (01:51)
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David and Perry talk about Perry's recent overseas trip and attendance at the World SF Convention in Chicago, and then go on to talk about their recent reading, which was almost all in the crime genre.
- Introduction (01:48)
- Perry's experience of Chicon (13:38)
- 2022 Hugo Awards (06:00)
- General News (05:22)
- Hilary Mantel (01:17)
- Peter Straub (02:22)
- Maureen Kincaid Speller (01:37)
- What We've Been Reading (56:37)
- Dead Lions by Mick Herron (07:46)
- The Maid by Nita Prose (03:29)
- C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton (05:58)
- Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham (05:06)
- Backlash by Brad Thor (08:34)
- Banjawarn by Josh Kemp (05:23)
- Mr Jelly's Business by Arthur Upfield (11:50)
- Bliss Montage by Ling Ma (07:52)
- Windup (01:24)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Many thanks to Text Publishing for the review copy of Bliss Montage.
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"Well, old man, I will tell you news of your son. Give me your blessing; truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man’s son may, but in the end truth will out." —Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene 2
With co-host Perry still overseas, David discusses some recent awards and goes on to interview Rob Gerrand about writing and publishing in Australia, and then Murray MacLachlan about growing up in New Zealand and discovering science fiction and fantasy.
- Introduction (00:21)
- General News (03:31)
- 2022 Hugo Award Winners (01:05)
- David's Thoughts on the 2022 Hugos (00:44)
- 2022 Astounding Award (00:31)
- 2022 British Fantasy Awards (00:21)
- 2022 Davitt Awards (00:44)
- Interview with Rob Gerrand (30:02)
- The Millennium Job by Rob Gerrand (09:34)
- How to publish a novel (02:00)
- The Diplomat of Florence by Anthony Wildman (02:56)
- Charm, Strangeness, Mass & Spin by Stephen Dedman (05:18)
- The Future of Norstrilia Press (08:48)
- Publishing through Substack (00:39)
- Interview with Murray MacLachlan (43:28)
- Growing up in Dunedin, New Zealand (01:39)
- The ages of reading (01:46)
- Dangerous Visions and New Worlds by Andrew Nette et al. (01:28)
- The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne (01:39)
- Anderson's Bay (01:40)
- Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne (00:51)
- Tales from the Galaxies by Amabel Williams-Ellis (00:54)
- Children's library in Dunedin (01:19)
- Star Rangers by Andre Norton (00:12)
- Wumpworld by Bill Peet (00:50)
- Tintin by Hergé (00:06)
- Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo (00:37)
- Non-fiction (00:30)
- Chariots of the Gods by Eric Von Daniken (01:05)
- Librarians (00:17)
- The Ruins of Earth by Thomas Disch (01:41)
- Bullying (01:57)
- Comet in Moominland by Tove Janssen (00:34)
- The library (00:41)
- Noumenon (fanzine) (00:25)
- Discovering fannish community in NZ (00:17)
- National Association of Science Fiction (00:51)
- Aotereapa (03:01)
- Phillip Mann (02:08)
- Early New Zealand SF writing (01:03)
- Leaving Dunedin (00:56)
- Space Time Bucaneers (fanzine) by Ian Gunn (00:29)
- Attending conventions (01:22)
- Coming to Australia (00:53)
- Nova Mob (03:57)
- Galaxy Books and Bernard Brosnan (01:15)
- The Square Root of Man by William Tenn (00:14)
- Nine Hundred Grandmothers by R. A. Lafferty (00:21)
- The Dragon Masters by Jack Vance (00:26)
- The Futurological Congress by Stanisław Lem (00:14)
- The Ballad of Beta Two & Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany (00:09)
- The Unlimited Dream Company by J. G. Ballard (00:32)
- Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (00:40)
- Tales of the Arabian Nights by Richard Francis Burton (00:26)
- Underground comics (00:57)
- Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (00:44)
- Conclusion (01:01)
- Link to unabridged version of this interview on SoundCloud
- Windup (00:20)
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David and Perry discuss crime fiction, both in books and on television, ranging from a fascinating non-fiction book about the making of 'The Godfather' to some TV shows which combine comedy and crime.
- Introduction (00:21)
- General News (00:33)
- Alexei Panshin dies at age 82 (00:31)
- Awards in the Crime Genre (02:47)
- Ned Kelly Awards winners (01:03)
- Davitt Awards Shortlist (01:40)
- Perry's Overseas Trip (02:13)
- Crime Fiction Novels (54:30)
- Leave The Gun Take The Cannoli by Mark Seal (14:58)
- The Island by Adrian McKinty (09:20)
- Wild Place by Christian White (10:05)
- Daughters Of Eve by Nina D. Campbell (06:24)
- The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo (08:56)
- Wake by Shelley Burr (04:30)
- Crime fiction on TV (25:36)
- Ozark (00:50)
- Line of Duty (00:38)
- Slow Horses (05:58)
- The Outlaws (04:09)
- Only Murders in the Building (02:18)
- The Staircase (07:03)
- 'Capitol Crimes' (04:08)
- Windup (00:41)
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Photo by Julia Volk
The evil that men do lives after them, While the good is oft interred with their bones
Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 2): William Shakespeare
Perry and David talk about a bunch of recent literary awards and then go on to discuss the books they've read recently, which cover the range from an entertaining children's book to a confronting Booker Prize winner. And in the middle, a lot of snow.
- Introduction (02:04)
- General News (13:49)
- Miles Franklin Award Winner 2022 (00:43)
- Booker Prize long list 2022 (01:54)
- British Fantasy Awards 2022 (03:39)
- Le Guin Prize for Fiction 2022 (01:59)
- Age Book of the Year Shortlist 2022 (01:58)
- Vale David Ireland (01:34)
- Other Awards (00:46)
- Barack Obama's Summer Reading List 2022 (01:05)
- What we've been reading (57:01)
- The Girl Savage by Katherine Rundell (04:37)
- Lisey's Story by Stephen King (06:43)
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (05:50)
- The Guns of Navarone by Alastair MacLean (08:06)
- Frostquake by Juliet Nicholson (07:28)
- Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au (06:28)
- The Circle by Dave Eggers (09:51)
- At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop (07:32)
- Future recording schedule (05:29)
- Windup (00:09)
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Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow. Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver's brilliant bow.
-- W. H. Auden Illustration generated by MidJourney AI
David and Perry complete their review of all of the fiction nominated for this year's Hugo Awards by discussing the Best Novel category. Then Perry and Lucy Sussex investigate the controversy around the novel which was withdrawn from this year's Miles Franklin Award.
- Introduction (03:03)
- General News (04:07)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award Short List (01:11)
- 2022 Women's Prize Winner: The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki (00:47)
- Publication date for Robbie Arnott's next novel (01:19)
- Miles Franklin Award (00:39)
- Best Novel Nominees for 2022 Hugos (01:09:21)
- The Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (10:53)
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (13:07)
- The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (09:07)
- A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (10:17)
- Light of Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (06:39)
- She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (15:15)
- Summary of the Hugo novels (01:05)
- Introduction to discussion (01:22)
- Discussion with Lucy Sussex about The Dogs by John Hughes (33:54)
- Windup (00:48)
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Perry and David discuss in detail the novellas nominated for this year's Hugo Awards, and Perry talks to Rose Mitchell about the latest season of Star Trek: Picard.
- Introduction (02:52)
- General News (09:49)
- 2022 Locus Awards Winners (05:39)
- Miles Franklin Award Shortlist (01:47)
- Frank Moorhouse (02:10)
- Hugo Nominated Novellas 2022 (43:56)
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (06:27)
- Across The Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire (09:03)
- Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard (06:22)
- Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky (05:21)
- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow (05:14)
- The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente (08:22)
- Assessment of Novellas (01:32)
- Introduction to Interview (01:38)
- Star Trek Picard - discussion with Rose Mitchell (26:07)
- Windup (02:25)
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David and Perry discuss this year's nominees for the Short Story and Novelette categories of the Hugo Award, and Perry discusses the movie "Everthing Everywhere All at Once" with W. H. Chong.
- Introduction (02:42)
- General News (04:59)
- Nebula Awards (01:46)
- International Thriller Awards (01:37)
- Australian Book Design Awards (01:23)
- Hugo Nominees 2022 (53:57)
- Hugo Voting Packet (03:47)
- Short Stories (19:42)
- Unknown Number by Blue Neustifter (03:00)
- Proof by Induction by José Pablo Iriarte (02:51)
- The Sin of America by Catherynne M. Valente (03:35)
- Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow (02:29)
- Tangles by Seanan McGuire (02:47)
- Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker (04:40)
- Novelettes (26:53)
- Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer (04:24)
- That Story Isn’t the Story by John Wiswell (02:26)
- Unseelie Brothers, Ltd. by Fran Wilde (02:54)
- L’Esprit de L’Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente (05:41)
- O2 Arena by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (04:27)
- Colors of the Immortal Palette by Caroline M. Yoachim (06:09)
- Overall opinions (02:47)
- Discussion on Everything Everywhere All at Once (33:59)
- Windup (01:03)
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Illustration by David Grigg
Perry and David talk about their recent reading in the crime field, and spend some time on one particularly interesting crossover of the crime and SF genres.
- General News (07:21)
- Locus Awards (03:06)
- CWA Daggers Awards (02:10)
- Patricia McKillop (01:46)
- Crime Fiction (57:32)
- Those Who Perish by Emma Viskic (05:14)
- Better Off Dead by Lee and Andrew Child (14:39)
- The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan (09:25)
- Duck Deason Death by June Wright (05:43)
- The City & the City by China Miéville (13:37)
- B Is for Burglar by Sue Grafton (08:14)
- Windup (01:52)
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Illustration: painting by Pieter Claesz (1597-1660)
...I have heard That guilty creatures sitting at a play Have by the very cunning of the scene Been struck so to the soul, that presently They have proclaim’d their malefactions: For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ.
⸺Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2
David and Perry discuss recent awards and nominations, say a sad farewell to a friend, and talk about their recent reading, several items of which seem to deal with the loss of memory.
- General News (07:25)
- Hugo Nominees (03:57)
- Philip K. Dick Award (00:26)
- Compton Crook Award (00:28)
- 2022 Shadows Awards (00:58)
- BSFWA Awards (01:03)
- RIP Christine Ashby (02:30)
- What have we been reading? (01:13:48)
- The Last Woman in the World by Inga Simpson (06:07)
- The Spare Room by Helen Garner (10:37)
- Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore (04:53)
- The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (08:22)
- Deeplight by Frances Hardinge (07:50)
- SF&F Novellas from 2021 (Pt. 1) (14:12)
- Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Garth Powell (03:26)
- Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (02:58)
- Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (03:03)
- Stone Sky, Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe (05:07)
- SF&F Novellas from 2021 (Pt. 2) (16:27)
- And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed (01:42)
- Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden (02:20)
- Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn (01:45)
- The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler (02:32)
- The Giants of the Violet Sea by Eugenia Triantafyllou (05:45)
- Windup (00:56)
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Perry and David take the Hugo Time Machine back to the year 1968, when the shorter fiction was dominated by the Dangerous Visions anthology edited by Harlan Ellison and Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny won the Best Novel award.
- General News (10:07)
- Nebula Award Short List (03:14)
- Forthcoming Releases (02:29)
- Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter project (04:15)
- Hugo Time Machine 1968 (01:12:20)
- Best Short Story (12:30)
- The Dangerous Visions anthology (00:50)
- The Jigsaw Man by Larry Niven (03:18)
- Aye And Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delany (03:17)
- I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison (02:17)
- Other possible nominees (02:44)
- Best Novelette (14:26)
- Faith of Our Fathers by Philip K. Dick (03:46)
- Wizard's World by Andre Norton (02:45)
- Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes by Harlan Ellison (03:04)
- Gonna Roll the Bones by Fritz Leiber (02:32)
- Other possible nominees (02:06)
- Best Novella (19:46)
- The Star-Pit by Samuel R. Delany (03:07)
- Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny (03:56)
- Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg (03:05)
- Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey (02:48)
- Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip José Farmer (04:20)
- Other possible nominees (01:42)
- Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (00:30)
- Best Novel (23:52)
- Thorns by Robert Silverberg (03:09)
- The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany (05:39)
- Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (09:34)
- Other possible nominees (04:36)
- Best Short Story (12:30)
- Windup (01:25)
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Photo by Omar Houchaimi on Pexels
David and Perry plunge again into the murky depths of crime fiction, both in print and on television.
- General News (05:04)
- 2022 International Thriller Writers Awards (01:45)
- The Stella Prize 2022 longlist (01:22)
- BSFA Awards (01:44)
- Crime Fiction we've been reading (52:18)
- The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin (09:44)
- The Housemate by Sarah Bailey (05:35)
- Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby (07:48)
- The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie (05:14)
- The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith (06:00)
- The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield (06:21)
- The Way It Is Now by Garry Disher (08:29)
- David responds on The Way It Is Now (02:44)
- Troppo TV Series (07:21)
- Windup (01:47)
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Photo by Jimmy Chan from Pexels
He took my father grossly, full of bread; With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May; And how his audit stands who knows save heaven?
Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 3
Perry and David discuss their recent reading, in particular Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and The Lost Daughter book and film.
- News (07:19)
- Locus Magazine recommended reading list (02:26)
- Dublin Literary Award longlist (01:30)
- Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Winners (03:13)
- What we've been reading (49:40)
- David on Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (03:46)
- Perry's take on Cloud Cuckoo Land (08:23)
- Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (04:05)
- Last Stand in Lychford by Paul Cornell (03:19)
- All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton (03:21)
- Flames by Robbie Arnott (07:49)
- The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante (book) (04:02)
- The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante (movie) (14:25)
- Discussion with Lucy Sussex (27:05)
- The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore (04:29)
- I Hear the Mermaids Singing by Charmian Clift (03:01)
- A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge (02:22)
- Deeplight by Frances Hardinge (02:12)
- Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (00:52)
- A Long Way from Verona by Jane Gardam (05:23)
- Defiant Voices by Yvette Smith (01:34)
- Vandemonians by Janet McCalman (02:41)
- Enigma of China by Qiu Xiaolong (01:36)
- Windup (00:39)
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David and Perry talk about their favourite TV and movies they saw in 2021; and Perry talks at length with W. H. Chong about the new Dune movie.
- News (04:19)
- Philip K. Dick Award (01:34)
- 2022 Hugo Nominations open (01:20)
- Vale Bill Wright (01:21)
- Perry's Overview of TV and Movies 2021 (04:29)
- Perry's Best Movies 2021 (24:24)
- The Dig (05:04)
- Emma (03:52)
- Green Book (04:54)
- The Father (05:16)
- Dune Part 1 (01:48)
- Nomadland (02:28)
- Perry's Honourable Mentions in movies (05:52)
- Echo in the Canyon (01:08)
- Trial of the Chicago Seven (01:11)
- The Power of the Dog (03:24)
- David's movies 2021 (00:36)
- Perry's Best TV 2021 (14:50)
- Hemmingway (02:26)
- Midnight Diner (03:31)
- Succession (03:21)
- Anthony Bourdain : Parts Unknown (01:52)
- Upright (03:26)
- Perry's Honourable Mentions in TV(03:49)
- Mare of Easttown (01:26)
- The Chair (01:17)
- Bodyguard (01:04)
- David's Best TV 2021 (08:39)
- The Expanse (00:42)
- The Umbrella Academy (00:51)
- The Wrong Mans (02:09)
- Get Back (Beatles) (03:00)
- Hanna (01:43)
- David's Honourable Mentions in TV (01:19)
- Broadchurch (00:14)
- Maigret (01:01)
- Discussion with W. H. Chong on Dune (41:24)
- Windup (01:04)
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Illustration: generated by wombo.art.
Episode title: from a quote by Federico Fellini.
Perry and David talk about the best books they read during 2021 in a number of different categories.
- Hugo Winners (03:33)
- Site for Worldcon in 2023 (01:22)
- Our best books of 2021 (01:17:48)
- David's top SF of 2021 (02:54)
- Perry's top SF of 2021 (05:35)
- David's top fantasy of 2021 (04:35)
- Perry's top fantasy of 2021 (05:10)
- David's top crime of 2021 (02:19)
- Perry's top crime of 2021 (09:56)
- David's top literary of 2021 (03:26)
- Perry's top literary of 2021 (06:47)
- David's top novellas of 2021 (02:35)
- Perry's top novellas of 2021 (04:16)
- David's top children's lit of 2021 (04:32)
- Perry's top collections of 2021 (06:55)
- David's top non-fiction of 2021 (02:51)
- Perry's top non-fiction of 2021 (07:04)
- David's best overall of 2021 (01:41)
- Perry's best overall of 2021 (03:33)
- Windup (00:45)
- Change to our schedule (00:42)
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David and Perry discuss who invented science fiction and go on to talk about their recent reading, including intriguing crime novels and literary award winners.
- News (00:59)
- Taking a break (02:54)
- Who Invented Science Fiction? (05:34)
- What we've been reading (53:02)
- Laidlaw by William McIlvanney (13:04)
- Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve (06:05)
- A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton (07:18)
- The Labyrinth by Amanda Lowrey (05:46)
- Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill (07:37)
- The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott warning: spoilers!
- Windup (02:23)
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Photo by Altaf Shah from Pexels
Perry and David discuss recent news; David talks about the best book he's read all year; Perry reviews a magnificent book about whales; and interviews prominent fan Justin Ackroyd.
-
- News (08:49) - Ditmar Awards (02:43) - Amazon Best Books of 2021 (02:01) - Announcement of interview on Fannish History (03:20) - Presentation on Standard Ebooks (00:38)
- Letters of Comment (05:40)
- From Ben Sims (00:32)
- Audiobooks (04:24)
- From Don Ashby (00:36)
- What we've been reading (28:47)
- She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (04:59)
- May Week Was in June by Clive James (07:06)
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers (05:38)
- Fathoms: the World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs (10:46)
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Where great whales come sailing by, Sail and sail, with unshut eye, Round the world for ever and eye.
-- Matthew Arnold, The Forsaken Merman
Illustration: Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
David and Perry discuss a number of recent award winners and take the Hugo Time Machine zooming back to the year of 1967
- A. Bertram Chandler Award (01:48)
- Booker Prize Winner (00:37)
- Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (00:58)
- World Fantasy Awards (02:02)
- Readings Prize (00:38)
- Hugo Voting closes (00:25)
- Hugo Time Machine~1967 (01:00:58)
- Short Stories (17:09)
- “Mr. Jester” by Fred Saberhagen
- “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer” by Harlan Ellison
- “Rat Race” by Raymond F. Jones
- “The Secret Place” by Richard McKenna (Won Nebula)
- “Man in His Time” by Brian W. Aldiss
- “Comes Now the Power” by Roger Zelazny
- “Light of Other Days” by Bob Shaw
- WINNER “Neutron Star” by Larry Niven
- Novelettes (13:30)
- “The Alchemist” by Charles L. Harness
- “An Ornament to His Profession” by Charles L. Harness
- “The Manor of Roses” by Thomas Burnett Swann
- “Call Him Lord” by Gordon R. Dickson
- “For a Breath I Tarry” by Roger Zelazny
- “This Moment of the Storm” by Roger Zelazny
- “Apology to Inky” by Robert M. Green, Jr.
- “The Eskimo Invasion” by Hayden Howard
- WINNER “The Last Castle” by Jack Vance
- Other possible nominees (06:27)
- Novels (16:47)
- Day of the Minotaur by Thomas Burnett Swann
- The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz
- Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
- WINNER: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
- Other possible nominees (01:26)
- Other 1967 Hugo awards (01:23)
- Short Stories (17:09)
- Windup (00:39)
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Perry and David celebrate St. Crispin's Day by discussing recent awards, what they've been reading, both non-fiction and fiction, and summarising their thoughts about this year's Hugo Award nominees.
- News (04:36)
- Ursula K. Le Guin prize (01:08)
- Ditmar Awards (01:14)
- Prime Minister's Literary Awards (02:03)
- Critic vs Reviewer (02:46)
- What we've been reading (41:05)
- The Library by Stuart Kells (04:22)
- Beeswing by Richard Thompson (07:28)
- Dead Wake by Erik Larson (08:02)
- A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain (06:35)
- The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley (07:03)
- Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (07:10)
- Summary of our 2021 Hugo reading (04:23)
- Windup (01:33)
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Illustration: production still from Henry V starring Kenneth Branagh.
David and Perry discuss -- and disagree about -- "The Bass Rock" and "Notes from the Burning Age" as well as two of the novels nominated for this year's Hugo Award.
- Saint Wiborada (01:21)
- Nobel Prize for Literature (07:32)
- The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld (14:13)
- Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North (11:18)
- Hugo Nominated Novels (26:14)
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (13:00)
- The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (12:27)
- Windup (01:30)
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Photo by Stephen Cavenagh, ABC News
Perry and David talk about crime novels again, discussing books by Australian writers Garry Disher and Candice Fox, a classic by Dorothy L. Sayers, and others.
- Booker Prize Shortlist (02:15)
- US National Book Award (01:48)
- Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (08:04)
- Hirchausen Series by Garry Disher (09:20)
- The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (10:47) Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (Free Standard Ebooks Edition)
- Hades Trilogy by Candice Fox (09:14)
- We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker (12:11)
- Nominative Determinism (01:47)
- Science fictional crime (02:58)
- Windup (01:55)
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David and Perry discuss recent news and go on to discuss their projects outside the podcast. They also talk about some nominees for this year's Hugo Best Novel award.
- Reading in bed (02:46)
- Recent news (06:09)
- Farewell Judith Hanna (02:45)
- Piranesi wins The Women's Prize (01:17) [Interview with Neil Gaiman]
- Centenary of the birth of Stanisław Lem (01:09)
- Seven hundred years since the death of Dante (00:56)
- Our other interests (20:22)
- The Alien Review (14:22)
- Through the Biblioscope (05:32)
- Best Novel nominees for Hugos 2021 (30:36)
- Network Effect by Martha Wells (15:39)
- The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal (12:22)
- Wind-up (00:34)
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Illustration: painting by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807-1863)
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Perry and David discuss recent award winners, the nominees for the Short Story category of this year's Hugos, and the books they've been reading.
- Letters of Comment (04:06)
- Awards (07:38)
- Ned Kelly Award winners (03:38)
- Davitt Awards (01:04)
- Children's Book Council of Australia Awards (02:55)
- Hugo Awards - Short Story Nominees (26:32)
- A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (02:41)
- The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (03:09)
- Badass Moms of the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (02:31)
- Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (03:11)
- Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (04:47)
- Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (02:30)
- Our Rankings (05:56)
- What we've been reading (24:52)
- Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (04:20)
- A Stairway to Paradise by Madeleine St. John (04:48)
- The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell (04:22)
- Say No to Death by Dymphna Cusack (11:15)
- New website (01:06)
- Windup (01:31)
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Illustration by Arthur Rackham, courtesy of Old Book Illustrations.
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David and Perry discuss the nominees in the Novelette category for this year's Hugo Awards, and go on to talk about their other recent reading.
- Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award (03:15)
- Davitt Award shortlist (02:58)
- Hugo Award Novelette Nominees (36:18)
- The Pill by Meg Elison (05:03)
- Helicopter Story by Isabell Fall (06:43)
- Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt (03:10)
- The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (05:56)
- Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (08:29)
- Monster by Naomi Kritzer (06:03)
- What we've been reading (30:33)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (07:23)
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (07:48)
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov (07:20)
- The End of the Day by Claire North (07:16)
- Windup (01:00)
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Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels.
Perry and David discuss recent award shortlists and then go on to talk about television shows they have recently watched.
- Awards Season (14:14)
- Ned Kelly Awards (03:52)
- World Fantasy Awards (03:58)
- The Age Book of the Year Award (03:00)
- Booker Prize (02:52)
- What we've been watching on television (43:41)
- Absentia (05:59)
- Mare of Easttown (08:17)
- Broadchurch (06:35)
- Loki (06:52)
- Hanna (08:46)
- The Falcoln and the Winter Soldier (06:50)
- Windup (02:14)
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David and Perry discuss the nominees for Best Novella at this year's Hugo Awards, then talk about some more recent reading.
- Miles Franklin Award Winner: The Labyrinth (02:22)
- International Thriller Award: Blacktop Wasteland (00:27)
- Steel Dagger Award: When She Was Good (01:02)
- Hugo Award Novella nominees (33:08)
- Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (03:47)
- Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark (06:33)
- Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (03:43)
- Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (07:28)
- Finna by Nina Cipri (04:30)
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (07:28)
- What else we've been reading (24:20)
- Slough House by Mick Herron (06:06)
- Helgoland by Carlo Rovelli (05:58)
- The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva (06:24)
- Say You're Sorry by Michael Robotham (05:47)
- Windup (00:40)
Click here for more information and links
Photo by Scott Webb from Pexels
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Perry and David nominate their best reads in the year so far and then go on to discuss their recent reading, ranging from children's books to a strange novel by a Japanese author
- Locus Awards (03:25)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award (01:37)
- Other Awards (01:03)
- David's top 5 books of the year so far (02:51)
- Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson (00:56)
- The Women in Black by Madeleine St John (00:10)
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (00:13)
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (00:08)
- Lavengro / Romany Rye by George Borrow (00:25)
- Perry's top 5 books of the year so far (04:11)
- Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin (01:24)
- Dune by Frank Herbert (00:54)
- The Yield by Tara Jane Winch (00:11)
- First Love by Ivan Turgenev (00:51)
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (00:17)
- Emails and Tweets of Comment (01:57)
- Why You Should Read Children's Books by Katherine Rundell (04:32)
- The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman (06:08)
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (07:15)
- Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (07:08)
- The Labyrinth by Amanda Lowrey (06:26)
- Lavengro, Romany Rye by George Borrow (06:08)
- Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolfe (05:46)
- Windup (01:11)
Click here for more info and links.
Illustration: rooftops of Paris.
David and Perry return to their life of crime and discuss several excellent crime novels by Australian authors and others. They jointly discuss "The Chase", the latest novel by Candice Fox.
- Hugo Voting Packet (02:42)
- Miles Franklin Award shortlist (03:00)
- ALS Gold Medal (02:36)
- The Dragon Man by Garry Disher (07:51)
- The Wife and the Widow by Christian White (08:32)
- Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher (09:02)
- Later by Stephen King (06:56)
- The Chase by Candice Fox (10:18)
- Windup (01:26)
Click here for more info and links.
Image from pxhere.com
Perry and David discuss science fiction fandom and their introduction to it via amateur magazine publishing. Perry interviews Rose Mitchell, the Fan Guest of Honour at CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon.
- Nebula Awards 2021 (07:01)
- Best Novel: Network Effect by Martha Wells (00:46)
- Best Novella: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (00:59)
- Best Novelette: “Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (00:19)
- Best Short Story: “Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (01:19)
- Best Game Writing: Hades by Greg Kasavin (00:12)
- Ray Bradbury Award: The Good Place (00:25)
- Andre Norton Award: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (00:58)
- Fanzines and Fandom (00:29)
- What is a fanzine? (03:02)
- Changes in terminology and technology (00:57)
- Amateur Press Associations (00:19)
- ANZAPA (01:26)
- Wanting to be a writer (00:38)
- How apas work (03:43)
- General distribution fanzines (01:53)
- Why publish a genzine? (01:07)
- Visual design of fanzines (01:10)
- Including illustrations (03:07)
- Email and the Internet (04:02)
- Changed the dynamic (03:04)
- Ego scanning (01:56)
- Access to old material (02:51)
- Running conventions (01:49)
- Younger people and fanzines (03:24)
- Using up our creative energy (04:13)
- Interview with Rose Mitchell (44:58)
- Getting in to SF (04:53)
- Becoming involved with organising (02:09)
- Attending conventions (04:41)
- Things started to change (00:22)
- Melbourne SF Club (00:39)
- Getting involved with Worldcon 1999 (01:16)
- Appointed as Treasurer of convention (02:46)
- Did the 1999 Worldcon change your ideas of fandom? (01:46)
- After 1999 (01:31)
- Running national and smaller conventions (01:44)
- Chairing national conventions (00:29)
- Attending overseas conventions (01:24)
- Chair of the 2010 Worldcon (02:38)
- After 2010 (03:15)
- New Zealand Worldcon bid (02:44)
- Fan Guest of Honour (07:22)
- What does the future hold? (00:12)
- Australian Science Fiction Foundation (00:14)
- Fully retired (03:51)
- Windup (01:29)
Click here for more info and links
Illustration: a selection of Australian fanzines.
David and Perry discuss recent awards in the Horror genre; Perry talks about a recent Australian novel, a podcast, and some fantasy novellas; and David talks about fascinating non-fiction books he's recently enjoyed.
- The horror, the horror... (05:53)
- The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (00:37)
- Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (00:33)
- The Invisible Man (screenplay) (00:40)
- Werewolf novel by John Steinbeck (03:12)
- Non-fiction (01:17)
- Deep Sea and Foreign Going by Rose George (07:11)
- The Yield by Tara June Winch (08:02)
- The Shape of Sound by Fiona Murphy (09:37)
- Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks (00:24)
- Sideways podcast by Matthew Syed (10:55)
- Extraterrestial by Avi Loeb (08:51)
- Nghi Vo novellas (06:46)
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (03:00)
- When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (02:56)
- Liftoff by Eric Berger (09:13)
- Windup (01:22)
Click here for more info and links.
Photo of dragon by Eva Elijas from Pexels. Rocket launch courtesy of SpaceX.
Perry and David take the Hugo Time Machine on an expedition to the year 1966, the year when Dune won the Best Novel award
- The Big Jab (01:48)
- 2021 Locus Awards shortlists (04:11)
- Hugo Time Machine 1966 (01:20:06)
- Worldcon in 1966 (01:08)
- First Nebula Awards (02:50)
- Marque and Reprisal by Poul Anderson (08:36)
- Stardock by Fritz Leiber (04:59)
- The Day of the Great Shout by Phillip Jose Farmer (07:55)
- The Doors of his Face by Roger Zelazny (05:56)
- “Repent Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellision (06:21)
- Comparison with Nebulas (05:05)
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (04:15)
- The Squares of the City by John Brunner (06:05)
- Skylark DuQuesne by E. E. Smith (03:59)
- Dune by Frank Herbert (09:58)
- And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny (08:01)
- Other possible nominees (04:37)
- Windup (01:01)
Click here for more info and links
Image created by smithytomy - www.freepik.com
David and Perry talk about television and movies. Perry discusses several films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards, and David talks about The Flash television series and a short film based on the work of Terry Pratchett.
- Letters of Comment (05:25)
- From Szymon Szott (02:08)
- From Candice Fox (01:27)
- Meeting Garry Disher (01:26)
- Hugo ballot (10:51)
- The Flash Season 5 (07:35)
- Zack Snyder's Justice League (01:52)
- Nomadland (07:37)
- The Flash Season 6 (05:10)
- The Father (07:58)
- Troll Bridge (06:38)
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 (08:27)
- The Current War (06:21)
- Mank (04:59)
- Windup (01:07)
Click here for more information and links.
Illustration: combines photo of an Academy Award by Davidlohr Bueso (CC BY 2.0) with a poster for The Flash series, copyright Warner Brothers (used here for purposes of review: fair use).
Perry and David celebrate their 50th episode of the podcast, and talk about the books they have read recently in the crime and thriller genre.
- Game of Thrones anniversary (01:14)
- Hugo Ballots coming (00:50)
- Worldcon date change (03:19)
- Game of Thrones book publication date (00:20)
- Letter of Comment - comfort reading (03:04)
- Crime Fiction (00:17)
- Gathering Dark by Candice Fox (10:18)
- Consolation by Garry Disher (06:34)
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (07:57)
- The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child (12:45)
- Darkness for Light by Emma Viskic (09:28)
- A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin (08:09)
- Windup (01:22)
Click here for more info and links
Illustration: "Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill" by Pieter Claesz. Thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
David and Perry look at Australian literature, ranging from a book about bushrangers written in serial form in 1882 to modern science fiction.
- Reading overload (00:30)
- Comfort reads (01:50)
- Hugo Award nominations (02:47)
- Nebula Awards short list (07:58)
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (00:05)
- The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (00:17)
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (00:22)
- The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk (00:42)
- Black Sun by Rebecca Rowanhorse (00:22)
- Network Effect by Martha Wells (01:22)
- Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (03:35)
- Such is Life by Joseph Furphy (04:42)
- The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower (08:12)
- Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood (08:47)
- Dispersion by Greg Egan (05:59)
- The Black Opal by Katharine Susannah Prichard (07:52)
- Falling Towards England by Clive James (04:42)
- The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (01:36)
- Discussion with W. H. Chong (21:14)
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (04:03)
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (02:04)
- The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott (03:53)
- Underland by Robert McFarlane (03:24)
- Reading multiple genres (02:41)
- Poetry (00:29)
- New translation of Beowulf (01:43)
- Wind-up (02:15)
Click here for more info and indexes
Illustration: "Fire's On!" by Arthur Streeton.
Perry and David talk about a diverse selection of books they've been reading lately, and Perry talks to Dr. Lucy Sussex about the best books she read last year.
- NASA naming of Perseverance landing spot (02:00)
- Nebula Awards (06:25)
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (04:53)
- Cross-cultural influence of The Beatles (01:41)
- Website Galactic Journey - http://galacticjourney.org/ (08:48)
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (05:54)
- The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (09:36)
- Daria's Daughter by Linda Huber (06:28)
- Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (09:48)
- Interview with Lucy Sussex (19:03)
- Square Haunting by Francesca Wade (01:29)
- Truganini by Cassandra Pybus (04:03)
- Friends & Rivals by Brenda Niall (01:05)
- The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale (02:29)
- No Love Lost by Marjorie Allingham (01:41)
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (07:22)
- Windup (01:07)
Click here for more information and indexes.
Image: detail from "High Treason" by Sir John Lavery
David and Perry discuss a recent book and television series they have both enjoyed and then move on to talk about some of their volunteer activities outside podcasting. David interviews Alex Cabal, the Editor in Chief of Standard Ebooks.
- Hugo Nominations deadline (05:27)
- The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John (07:40)
- The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) (08:12)
- Volunteering (01:28)
- Perry's Work for AusLit (17:47)
- David's Work for Standard Ebooks (10:07)
- Perry's experience with Wikipedia (05:26)
- Interview with Alex Cabal of Standard Ebooks (22:46)
- Personal background, education (01:33)
- What gave you the idea of starting SE? (04:06)
- How did you choose which books to begin with? (02:42)
- Who selects which books to work on? (02:51)
- How did you decide on the appearance of the books? (02:35)
- Why do you dedicate the books to the public domain? (01:59)
- What do you see as the challenges for SE in future? (03:46)
- Scribophile and Writerfolio (02:40)
- Windup (01:18)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Photo by rawpixel.com from PxHere
Perry and David revisit the scene(s) of the crime, discussing books in a variety of sub-genres within the crime/thriller category.
- Vale Yvonne Rousseau (02:21)
- Locus Recommended Reading List 2020 (05:31)
- Doing Crime (01:58)
- Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Crosby (04:40)
- The Spy Of Venice by Benet Brandreth (05:44)
- The Survivors by Jane Harper (06:13)
- Waiting For Elijah by Kate Wild (06:37)
- The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace (05:08)
- Good Girl/Bad Girl and When She Was Good by Michael Robotham (08:50)
- The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (08:18)
- Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett (01:39)
- Windup (01:16)
Click here for more information and indexes.
Photo by Brandon Anderson on Flickr.
David and Perry talk about the books they've been reading lately, ranging in length from novellas to a nine-volume, almost million-word opus written entirely in the form of letters. And a rather damp theme emerges...
- World SF Convention and Hugos (04:24)
- Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson (05:35)
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (10:48)
- The Glass Hotel by Emily St.John Mandel (07:17)
- Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley (05:54)
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (00:01)
- The Greenwood Duology by Emily Tesh (07:35)
- Silver in the Wood (01:31)
- Drowned Country (04:15)
- The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison (25:16)
- Discussion with Lucy Sussex (20:36)
- Windup (00:55)
"Not Waving but Drowning" is the title of a poem by Stevie Smith, written in 1972.
Click here for more information and indexes.
Photo by Ayyub Yahaya from Pexels
Perry and David wind up their discussion of the best books they read in 2020 and roll on to talking about their best movies and television seen during the year.
- David's Top 10 books of 2020 (04:51)
- Daemon Voices by Philip Pullman
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- Truth by Peter Temple
- The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel
- How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
- Solaris by Stanisław Lem
- The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
- A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
- Perry's Top 10 books of 2020 (06:04)
- The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jnr
- Infinite Detail by Tim Maughan
- A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
- The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick
- Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
- Tango Briefing by Adam Hall
- The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John
- David's Top films of 2020 (04:18)
- Brazil
- 12 Monkeys
- Solaris (dir. Tarkovsky)
- Yesterday
- Time Bandits
- Perry's Top films of 2020 (06:33)
- Stalker
- The Old Guard
- Yesterday
- Sometimes Always Never
- Brazil
- David's Top TV of 2020 (06:08)
- Tales from the Loop (Mini-series)
- Upright (Mini-series)
- His Dark Materials (Season 1)
- The Expanse (Season 4)
- For All Mankind (Season 1)
- Perry's Top TV of 2020 (27:32)
- Food (03:00)
- Food Safari Fire
- Rick Stein’s Secret France
- Chef’s Table : BBQ
- Crime (07:39)
- Criminal : UK S01 and S02
- Trapped S01 and S02
- The Alienist S01
- Des
- Giri/Haji
- Horror (01:15)
- The Outsider
- Science Fiction (03:35)
- The Expanse S04
- The Umbrella Academy S02
- For All Mankind S01
- The Umbrella Academy S01
- Other (04:55)
- The Queen’s Gambit
- The Test
- Freeman
- Best 5 of the Year (05:51)
- The Queen’s Gambit
- The Expanse S04
- Criminal : UK S01 and S02
- The Test
- Trapped S01 and S02
- Food (03:00)
- Wind-up (02:08)
Click here for more info and indexes
Photo: public domain
David and Perry look back at the books they read during 2020 and pick their favourites in a variety of categories.
- David's reading during 2020 (03:59)
- Perry's reading during 2020 (08:58)
- David's Best SF read for the first time (04:19)
- Perry's Best SF read for the first time (06:31)
- David's Best SF read again (02:15)
- Perry's Best SF read again (03:25)
- David's Best Fantasy (03:04)
- Perry's Best Fantasy (04:09)
- David's Best Alternate History (02:27)
- Perry's Best Crime (05:46)
- David's Best Crime (04:39)
- Perry's Best Literary (06:25)
- David's Best Literary (09:08)
- Perry's Best Single Author Collections (05:20)
- David's Best Historical Fiction (02:26)
- Perry's Best Novellas (08:10)
- David's Best Children's Literature (02:57)
- Perry's Best Nonfiction (04:05)
- David's Best Nonfiction (02:55)
- Windup (01:34)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Photo by Ricardo Esquivel from Pexels
Perry and David discuss the fine art of tsundoku and then fire up the Hugo Time Machine yet again to return to the year of 1965, when Fritz Leiber's "The Wanderer" won Best Novel Hugo.
- Tsundoku (01:42)
- Hugo Time Machine~1965 (01:01:38)
- The Whole Man by John Brunner (07:26)
- Davy by Edgar Pangborn (08:47)
- The Planet Buyer by Cordwainer Smith (11:57)
- The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber (07:40)
- Other possible nominees (02:52)
- Short Fiction (00:58)
- Little Dog Gone by Robert F. Young (05:04)
- Always a Cop by Rick Raphael (04:59)
- Soldier, Ask Not by Gordon R. Dickson (05:47)
- Other possible nominees (03:54)
- Taking a break (02:09)
- Wind-up (01:04)
Click here for more information and indexes.
Photo from Pxhere.com.
David and Perry return to their love of crime, and discuss both newly released titles in the genre and some old classics.
- The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan (10:08)
- The Survivors by Jane Harper (08:40)
- A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carre (08:28)
- The Searcher by Tana French (15:05)
- Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (04:39)
- Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson (05:38)
- Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic (01:55)
- Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (02:16)
- Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (07:23)
- Windup (02:57)
Click here for more info and indexes.
Image from PXhere.com
Perry and David discuss their recent reading, ranging over a wide range of genres.
- Coronavirus state of play (02:53)
- Internet Archive looking for donations (01:43)
- World Fantasy Awards (02:04)
- Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (00:57)
- Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (00:23)
- Read After Burning by Maria Dahvana Headley (00:33)
- Crime Writers Association Awards (03:02)
- Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (02:38)
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (18:00)
- Interview with Susanna Clarke in The Guardian (00:13)
- Interview with Susanna Clarke in the Hindustani Times (02:24)
- Heatwave in Berlin by Dymphna Cusack (06:38)
- The Silence by Susan Allott (08:36)
- A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinkster (07:36)
- The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall (04:22)
- Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James (06:11)
- How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang (07:25)
- Wind-up (01:36)
Click here for more information and indexes.
Photo from PxHere
David and Perry visit the Eastern Block and discuss novels by Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers, and the films based on two of their books.
- Ebooks or paper books? (05:02)
- Going East (00:30)
- Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (20:00)
- Solaris (movie) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (12:20)
- Solaris (movie) directed by Steven Soderberg (14:15)
- Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (11:48)
- Stalker (movie) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (26:11)
- Windup (00:43)
Click here for more details and indexes
Image: still from Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. Used here for purposes of review, fair use copyright exemption.
Perry and David have fun talking about BIG objects in science fiction, from flying cities to spheres totally enclosing stars.
- Megastructures (06:36)
- Cities in Flight by James Blish (06:05)
- Feersum Endjinn by Ian M. Banks (04:32)
- Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (00:39)
- Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (00:23)
- The Web Between the Worlds by Charles Sheffield (03:28)
- Eon by Greg Bear (06:14)
- Marrow by Robert Reed (09:17)
- Pellucidar Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs (07:10)
- Dyson Spheres (01:50)
- Tabby Boyajian's Star (01:14)
- Star Classifications (01:36)
- Orbitsville by Bob Shaw (05:47)
- Other big objects in SF (10:19)
- Riverworld Series by Phillip Jose Farmer (02:15)
- Bowl of Heaven by Larry Niven & Greg Benford (01:32)
- Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner (02:11)
- Culture Series by Ian M. Banks (04:10)
- Windup (01:21)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by sergio souza from Pexels
David and Perry discuss the centenary of the coining of the word ‘robot’, the winner of the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and take the Hugo Time Machine whizzing back to the year 1964.
- R. U. R. by Karel Čapek (03:44)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award (03:09)
- The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (02:28)
- Hugo Time Machine~1964 (01:17:03)
- Glory Road by Robert Heinlein (02:59)
- Witch World by Andre Norton (06:35)
- Dune World by Frank Herbert (11:25)
- Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (08:09)
- Way Station by Clifford Simak (12:11)
- Voting results - Novels 1964 (02:06)
- Other possible novel nominees for 1964 (01:17)
- 1964 Short Fiction (00:24)
- Code Three by Rick Raphael (03:43)
- Savage Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs (04:40)
- A Rose for Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelazny (07:49)
- No Truce With Kings by Poul Anderson (05:26)
- Voting results - Short Fiction 1964 (01:28)
- Other possible short fiction nominees 1964 (01:43)
- Internet Archive, SF Database, etc. (02:29)
- Other Hugo Awards in 1964 (02:23)
- Wind-up (01:08)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo of toy robot by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels
Perry and David talk about novels which blur the boundaries between genres: literary novels with strong elements of fantasy or science fiction. We can call them "genre adjacent" fiction.
- Children of Men by P. D. James (00:23)
- Never Let Me Go & The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (00:52)
- Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan (04:34)
- A Superior Spectre by Angela Meyer (08:28)
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (07:36)
- The Animals in that Country by Laura Jean McKay (08:27)
- The Second Cure by Margaret Morgan (00:57)
- Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson (10:19)
- The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott (08:43)
- What the Wind Brings by Matthew Hughes (12:43)
- Interview with Matthew Hughes (21:09)
- What the Wind Brings (11:29)
- Vance Space novel (07:58)
- A God in Chains (01:12)
- Windup (01:44)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Emma Bauso from Pexels
David and Perry farewell John Bangsund, a stalwart of the Australian science fiction community; and look at three movies directed by Terry Gilliam: Time Bandits, Brazil and 12 Monkeys.
- Vale John Bangsund (09:12)
- Terry Gilliam (41:07)
- Time Bandits (11:26)
- Brazil (14:36)
- 12 Monkeys (09:26)
- La Jetée (04:24)
- Windup/Next Episode (02:00)
Click here for more details and indexes
Image: Jonathan Pryce in the movie Brazil. Photo reproduced here for purposes of review (fair use copyright exemption).
Perry and David return to a life of crime! Well, reading about crime, anyway. They discuss:
- Under the lockdown (01:41)
- Corrections (06:10)
- Kim Huett's articles on the history of the Hugo Awards.
- What we've been reading (01:14)
- The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (06:48)
- The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (00:25)
- The View from Chickweed's Window by Jack Vance (06:05)
- Beat Not the Bones by Charlotte Jay (08:14)
- An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire (05:52)
- The Ruin & The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan (13:29)
- Where the Dead Go by Sarah Bailey (06:54)
- Raven Black by Anne Cleeves (07:15)
- Truth by Peter Temple (08:35)
- Wind-up (00:16)
- Plans for next episodes (00:55)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo of Shetland by Neil Roger on Flickr
David and Perry discuss the ConNZealand convention and the 2020 Hugo Awards and then take the Hugo Time Machine back to the interesting year of 1963.
- A state of disaster (01:42)
- ConNZealand 2020 (12:55)
- 2020 Hugo Awards (10:20)
- Hugo Time Machine~1963 (01:15)
- Novels Hugos 1963 (36:27)
- Sword of Aldones by Marion Zimmer Bradley (07:39)
- Sylva by Vercours (07:54)
- Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper (06:28)
- Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi (01:59)
- A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke (07:57)
- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (02:42)
- Other possible novel nominees Hugos 1963 (01:42)
- Short Fiction Hugos 1963 (29:40)
- Myrrha by Gary Jenkins (04:42)
- Where is the Bird of Fire by Thomas Burnett Swann (03:32)
- When You Care, When You Love by Theodore Sturgeon (07:39)
- The Unholy Grail by Fritz Leiber (02:00)
- The Dragon Masters by Jack Vance (08:08)
- Other possible short fiction nominees Hugos 1963 (01:14)
- Other 1963 Hugos (02:19)
- Wind-up (00:48)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo of fox by Alex Andrews and photo of woman by Caio from Pexels.
Perry and David talk about what they've been watching lately and discuss:
- Coronavirus news (01:32)
- Ad Astra (09:33)
- Yesterday (09:13)
- The Mandalorian - Disney Plus (07:58)
- Tales from the Loop - Amazon (15:21)
- The Old Guard - Netflix (14:08)
- Graphic novels as source for movies (01:35)
- War of the Worlds - SBS/Canal Plus (01:37)
Click here for more details and indexes
Illustration from The Mandalorian is copyright Disney Corporation, used here for review purposes (fair use).
David and Perry talk about their recent reading, both good and bad; and special guest W. H. Chong talks about Ghost Species by James Bradley.
- Coping with the pandemic (01:20)
- Locus Awards (04:38)
- Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore (07:55)
- Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee (04:49)
- Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller (00:43)
- The Second Sleep by Robert Harris (03:30)
- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jnr (01:15)
- The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts (05:11)
- Wings Above the Diamantina by Arthur Upfield (05:43)
- Silver by Chris Hammer (11:53)
- Ghost Species by James Bradley (36:24)
- Discussion with W. H. Chong (33:09)
- Literature or SF? (02:05)
- Wind-up (01:27)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Akshar Dave from Pexels
Perry and David are joined by Dr. Lucy Sussex to talk about alternate history novels. In particular, they discuss those alternate timelines in which the Axis powers won the Second World War.
- COVID-19 Restrictions (00:26)
- How libraries are dealing with the pandemic (03:08)
- Restrictions at aged care facilities (00:52)
- Great time to catch up on books and TV (00:21)
- Alternate History fiction (02:33)
- Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore (00:07)
- Lord Darcy series by Randall Garrett (00:28)
- The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (00:11)
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinson Kowal (00:20)
- What if Hitler had won? (01:02:35)
- Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin (06:43)
- Small Change trilogy by Jo Walton (06:39)
- Among Others by Jo Walton (01:22)
- Dominion by C. J. Sansom (05:13)
- The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad (01:30)
- SS-GB by Len Deighton (06:48)
- Fatherland by Robert Harris (07:33)
- Bosch series by Michael Connelly (01:28)
- The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (07:10)
- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (17:08)
Click here for more details and indexes
Image from Pexels.com
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Brian Robert Middlemiss (20 July 1930 - 5 June 2020).
David and Perry talk about the shorter fiction nominees for the 2020 Hugo Awards, and then take the Hugo Time Machine back to 1962, when Stranger in a Strange Land won Best Novel.
- Dedication to Brian Middlemiss (03:26)
- Awards season (00:46)
- Nebula Awards (01:40)
- Locus Awards (02:10)
- Hugos 2020 Short Fiction (00:41)
- Hugo Voting Package (01:16)
- Novelettes (14:56)
- Away With the Wolves by Sarah Gailey (01:23)
- For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll (01:35)
- Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (02:09)
- The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker (01:58)
- The Archronology of Love by Caroline M. Yoachim (02:49)
- Omphalos by Ted Chiang (04:42)
- Short Stories (11:24)
- Blood Is Another Word for Hunger by Rivers Solomon (01:02)
- And Now His Lordship Is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas (01:49)
- As the Last I May Know by S.L. Huang (01:21)
- A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde (01:31)
- Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen (02:06)
- Do Not Look Back, My Lion by Alix E. Harrow (03:24)
- The Hugo Time Machine~1962 (01:01)
- Special awards (02:26)
- Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy~Donald Tuck (01:31)
- Novels (29:28)
- Second Ending by James White (03:32)
- Dark Universe by Daniel F. Galouye (04:06)
- Planet of the Damned by Harry Harrison (03:10)
- Time Is the Simplest Thing by Clifford D. Simak (05:16)
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (13:03)
- Short Fiction (12:06)
- Status Quo by Mack Reynolds (01:49)
- Lion Loose by James H. Schmitz (01:24)
- Scylla’s Daughter by Fritz Leiber (01:31)
- Monument by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (02:32)
- Hothouse series by Brian W. Aldiss (04:26)
- Other categories (02:12)
- Windup (01:20)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Bill Kasman on Flickr
Perry and David discuss the upcoming Hugo Awards, and David discusses with Rob Gerrand their mutual love of the work of Jack Vance.
- Hugo Award nominees 2020 (34:18)
- Fiction categories (01:24)
- Novel category (00:28)
- The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley (03:33)
- The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (04:26)
- Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (03:11)
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (03:43)
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (00:45)
- A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (00:48)
- Hugo Voting Package (00:31)
- The Deep by Rivers Solomon (01:01)
- To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (01:23)
- Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang (01:23)
- The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark (01:09)
- In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (01:10)
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (03:17)
- David's Reading (08:23)
- The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (04:04)
- Tom's Midnight Garden by Philipa Pearce (04:03)
- Interview with Rob Gerrand (35:02)
- About Jack Vance (01:37)
- Rob's introduction to Vance (00:27)
- Tschai tetralogy (00:37)
- Demon Princes novels (04:30)
- David's introduction to Vance (00:29)
- The Dragon Masters (01:31)
- Demon Princes series (02:37)
- Bad Ronald (00:16)
- The View from Chickweed's Window (02:08)
- Big Planet (01:05)
- Emphyrio (00:23)
- The Blue World (00:45)
- Lyonnesse (04:14)
- Vance Integral Edition (05:38)
- Ebooks based on the VIE (01:53)
- The Languages of Pao (01:44)
- Lyonnesse (01:21)
- Vance's Crime Novels (01:46)
- SF Writers and crime writing (00:16)
- Frederick Brown (00:19)
- Madball~Frederick Brown (00:15)
- Night of the Jabberwock~Frederick Brown (00:03)
- The Screaming Mimi~Frederick Brown (00:16)
- The Fabulous Clipjoint~Frederick Brown (00:13)
- Windup (02:41)
Click here for more details and indexes
Image based on the illustrations by Jack Gaughan to “The Dragon Masters” by Jack Vance, Galaxy August 1962.
David and Perry talk about science fiction on television, picking out a few favourites among a vast array of available material:
- The Expanse (Amazon Prime) (16:33)
- The Outsider (HBO/Foxtel) (07:40)
- For All Mankind (Apple TV+) (12:01)
- Star Trek: Picard (Amazon Prime) (30:55)
- Interview with Rose Mitchell and Andrew O'Rorke (26:37)
- Tales from the Loop (Amazon Prime) (02:12)
- Next episode (00:34)
- Wind-up (00:29)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Burak K from Pexels
Perry and David celebrate the first anniversary of this podcast by each talking about the best five books they've ever read.
- Our podcast anniversary (01:18)
- Tribute to Mervyn Binns (02:51)
- Choosing our five favourite books (00:33)
- Visited by the Suck Fairy (01:18)
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (12:47)
- The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (08:27)
- How we chose these books (02:00)
- The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (07:22)
- His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (08:19)
- The Tango Briefing by Adam Hall (09:20)
- The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett (09:06)
- Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond(07:13)
- The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough (06:38)
- The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles (09:29)
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (08:46)
- Honourable mentions (03:27)
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
David and Perry, together with special guests W. H. Chong and Paul Carr, talk about how they first started to become SF/Fantasy readers, and in Paul's case, how he got into the space industry.
- Coping with social distancing (01:38)
- New Zealand World SF Con goes virtual (02:25)
- Hugo Awards short list (02:07)
- How we became SF/Fantasy readers (00:40)
- Perry's introduction to the field (05:27)
- Secret Seven & Famous Five by Enid Blyton (00:35)
- Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting (00:24)
- Astounding/Analog magazine (03:44)
- David's introduction to the field (08:06)
- The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (01:04)
- The Story of the Amulet by Edith Nesbit (02:18)
- Cities in Flight by James Blish (00:55)
- Kings of Space by W. E. Johns (00:44)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs (00:39)
- The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke (00:20)
- Isaac Asimov (00:58)
- Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg (01:01)
- Our next episode (01:58)
- Interview with W. H. Chong (50:50)
- Interview with Paul Carr (24:13)
Click here for more details and indexes
In a special Crime episode Perry and David, with special guest Dr. Lucy Sussex, discuss:
- Social distancing
- Clarification
- Follow-up - Nebula Awards Voting
- Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox
- Hades, Eden, Fall by Candice Fox
- The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
- November Road by Lou Berney
- Peace by Garry Disher
- Books we're looking forward to
- The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
- Hugo nominated novellas and novels
- A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
- Our plans
Click here for more details and indexes
David and Perry discuss:
- The Coronavirus Epidemic
- How we rate books
- Touch~Claire North
- Hugo Awards for 2020
- A Memory Called Empire~Arkady Martine
- Infinite Detail~Tim Maughan
- The Wicked Girls~Alex Marwood
- The Mermaids Singing~Val McDermid
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January~Alix E. Harrow
- Daemon Voices~Philip Pullman
- Clockwork~Philip Pullman
- I Was a Rat~Philip Pullman
- Blue Moon~Lee Child
- Interview with Lucy Sussex
- The Arsonist~Cloe Hooper
- Kinglake-350~Adrian Hyland
- The Wasp and the Orchid~Danielle Clode
- Viv Albertine
- Patrick Parker's Progress~Mavis Cheek
- Farthing, Ha'Penny, Half a Crown~Jo Walton
- Swastika Night~Katharine Burdekin
- Generation Loss~Elizabeth Hand
- Peace~Gary Disher
- Interview with W. H. Chong
- Black Leopard, Red Wolf~Marlon James
- Red Moon~Kim Stanley Robinson
- Lanny~Max Porter
- Grief is a Thing With Feathers~Max Porter
- Best SF of the Year~Strahan
- Blackfish City~Sam J. Miller
- The Wandering Earth collection~Liu Cixin
- On the Beach~Neville Shute
- How to Write an Autobiographical Novel~Alexander Chee
- In the Garden of Beasts~Eric Larsen
- Agency~William Gibson
- The Rain Heron~Robbie Arnott
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
In this special episode, Perry and David speak to Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie and Carey
- Norstrilia Press Interview
- How Norstrilia Press got started
- Coming up with the name
- Philip K. Dick - Electric Shepherd
- Stanislaw Lem article sets off controversy
- The Altered I (workshop book)
- Rob Gerrand's involvement
- The View From the Edge
- Moon in the Ground by Keith Antill
- Other SF publishers in Australia
- Typesetting
- Sales and Distribution
- Roles of Carey, Bruce and Rob
- Dancing Dragons by Damien Broderick
- Transmutations
- Stellar Gauge - Dreaming Dragons - Roger Zelazny poems
- Academic studies of SF in the U.S.
- Dreaming Dragons
- Lavington Pugh by Jay Bland
- Getting Reviews
- The Plains by Gerald Murnane
- Dreamworks anthology
- An Unusual Angle by Greg Egan
- In the Heart or in the Head by George Turner
- Landscape with Landscape by Gerald Murnane
- Funding problems
- Down Deep scandal
- Looking back on it
- The role of Hyland House
- Wind-up
Click here for more details and indexes
Image: the logo of Norstrilia Press against a starry background (composite created by David Grigg).
David and Perry discuss 1961, an amazingly good year for science fiction:
- Hugo Time Machine (1961)
- Novel nominees
- Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
- The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
- Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon
- Deathworld by Harry Harrison
- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jnr
- Other books which might have been nominated
- Short Fiction nominees
- Need by Theodore Sturgeon
- The Lost Kafoozalum by Pauline Ashwell
- Open to Me, My Sister by Phillip Jose Farmer
- The Longest Voyage by Poul Anderson
- Other possible nominees
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
Perry and David discuss:
- Follow-ups
- What we've been reading
- Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
- The Lost City of Z by David Grand
- Nova Mob - Ian Mond's recommendations
- Infinite Detail by Tim Maughan
- Ordinary People by Sally Rooney
- Voices by Ursula Le Guin
- The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace
- Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
- The Shelflife of Zora Cross - Interview with Lucy Sussex
- Interstellar - the movie
- What we have planned
Click here for more details and indexes
Image from Interstellar movie poster. Copyright Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures. Used here for review purposes only (fair use).
David and Perry discuss:
- Best movies 2019 -- Perry
- Avengers - Infinity War
- Captain Marvel
- All Is True
- Knives Out
- John Wick Chapter 3
- Best Movies 2019 -- David
- Mortal Engines
- First Man
- Re-watched movies
- Best TV 2019 --Perry
- Game of Thrones
- For All Mankind
- Mr Mercedes
- Best TV -- David
- For All Mankind
- Morning Wars
- Good Omens
- The Boys
- Goliath
- Trying to keep up
- The Hugo Time Machine -- 1960
- Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
- Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine
- Short Fiction nominees
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- The Twilight Zone
- The Outsider by Stephen King
- Wind-up
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo of hailstones by Hornbeam Arts on Flickr.
Our longest episode yet! Perry and David discuss the Australian bushfire crisis and look back at the best books they read in 2019:
- Australian bushfire crisis
- Overview of 2019 reading -- David
- Overview of 2020 reading -- Perry
- SF & Fantasy -- David
- Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
- The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
- SF -- Perry
- Blackfish City
- Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Embers of War by Gareth Powell
- Honourable Mentions -- Perry
- Honourable Mentions -- David
- Fantasy -- Perry
- Summerlong by Peter S. Beagle
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- Fire And Blood by George R. R Martin
- Witchmark by C. L. Polk
- Literary Fiction -- David
- Standard Ebooks
- Tono-Bungay by H. G. Wells
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- Honourable Mentions -- David
- Literary Fiction -- Perry
- To the Islands by Randolph Stowe
- Possession by A. S. Byatt
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
- The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Plains by Gerald Murnane
- Honourable Mentions -- Perry
- Horror -- Perry
- Experimental Film by Gemma Files
- Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
- The Outsider by Stephen King
- Crime/Thriller -- David
- The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
- Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon
- Moskva by Jack Grimwood
- Crimson Lake and Redemption Point by Candice Fox
- Honourable Mentions -- David
- Crime -- Perry
- Sands of Windee by Arthur Upfield
- The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
- Kill Shot by Garry Disher
- The Lost Man by Jane Harper
- Redemption Point by Candice Fox
- Honourable Mentions -- Perry
- Best Thriller/Spy -- Perry
- Smiley's People by John Le Carre
- The Chain by Adrian McKinty
- Young Adult -- David
- The Secret Commonwealth by Phillip Pulman
- Fever Crumb trilogy by Phillip Reeve
- Young Adult -- Perry
- Gifts by Ursula K Le Guin
- Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
- Anthologies & Single-Author Collections -- Perry
- The Years Best Science Fiction : 33rd Annual Collection Edited by Gardner Dozois
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 2 Edited by Neil Clarke
- The Best SF&F of the Year: Volume Eleven Edited by Jonathan Stahan
- Short Fiction by H. G. Wells
- The Overneath by Peter S. Beagle
- The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
- The Custodians and Other Stories by Richard Cowper
- Novellas -- Perry
- Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
- Time Was by Ian Mcdonald
- Perihelion Summer by Greg Egan
- Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds
- Honourable Mentions -- Perry
- Non-Fiction -- David
- Blockbuster by Lucy Sussex
- Doing Justice by Preet Bharara
- South by Ernest Shackleton
- Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
- A Mind Unraveled by Kurt Eichenwald
- Honourable Mentions -- David
- Non Fiction -- Perry
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
- Sagaland by Kari Gislason and Richard Fidler
- Underland by Robert Macfarlane
- The Shelf Life of Zora Cross by Cathy Perkins
- Honourable Mentions -- Perry
- Best Overall -- David
- Best Overall -- Perry
- Looking forward to -- David
- Looking forward to -- Perry
- Food for the soul
- Wind-Up
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels
David and Perry discuss:
- Taking a break/Next Year
- The perils of Alternate History
- Alternate histories in general
- The Plot Against America
- Lord Darcy Books by Randall Garrett
- Recent Reading
- Witchmark
- The Sudden Appearance of Hope
- Hugo Time Machine 1959
- A Case of Conscience by James Blish
- Who? by Algis Budrys
- The Big Front Yard by Clifford Simak
- That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch
- The Man Who Murdered Mohammed by Alfred Bester
- Blade Runners
- Blade Runner - Original
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
- Tears in the Rain
- Fiery the angels fell
- Versions of the film
- Blade Runner 2049
- Arrival (the movie)
- Sicario
- Ryan Gosling
- First Man
- Wind-up
Click here for more details and indexes
Image by William Blake
Perry and David discuss:
- Intro
- The NBN
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
- Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
- Borderline by Mishell Baker
- Experimental Film by Gemma Files
- The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine
- Possession by A. S. Byatt
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
- The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
- The Boys (Amazon Prime)
- Watchmen (HBO/Foxtel)
- His Dark Materials (BBC/HBO)
- For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
- Hugo Time Machine 1958
- The Big Time by Fritz Leiber
- Other books in the genre in 1958
- Big Planet by Jack Vance
- Cosmic Puppets and Eye in the Sky by P.K.Dick
- Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
- The Deep Range by Arthur C. Clarke
- Door Into Summer and Citizen of the Galaxy by Heinlein
- The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle
- Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
- On the Beach by Neville Shute
- Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
- Or All the Seas With Oysters
- The Incredible Shrinking Man
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo by Aidan Roof from Pexels
David and Perry discuss:
- Intro
- Follow-up
- Making of the Hugo rocketships
- Naming of the Hugos
- Don't use us as a reference!
- Hugo Time Machine 1957
- Best Fan Magazine
- Why no fiction awards?
- What were the magazines publishing?
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- The Ridley Scott Alien Trilogy
- Blade Runner
- The Duelists
- Fire and Blood
- Are the Hugos a good guide to best SF?
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
- Station Eleven by Evelyn St.John Mandel
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
- Self-Published works
- Interview with Daniel Scott White
- DSW: Unfit Magazine, Unreal Magazine
- DSW: Platform Revolution
- Wind-up
Click here for more details and indexes
Perry and David talk about:
- Follow-up
- Listening to our own episodes
- Getting our facts wrong
- Perry's views on diversity in the SF field
- Do the awards truly indicate quality?
- Other awards in the field
- Interview with Lucy Sussex
- Discovering Mary Fortune
- Ellen Davitt
- 'Force and Fraud' - Australia's first murder mystery
- Mary Fortune's reputation
- Anticipates the police procedural
- Police looked down on
- French writer Émile Gaboriau
- Australian interest in true crime
- Wilkie Collins and 'The Moonstone'
- Fascination with Australian settings
- Mary Braddon
- Ellen Wood
- Marcus Clarke and 'His Natural Life'
- 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'
- 'Blockbuster'
- Fergus Hume
- Melbourne the centre of theatre
- Nailed colonial Victoria
- Unusual structure of the novel
- Victoria's Chinese detective
- Concept of The Great Detective
- Crime novels as commentary on society
- Marvellous Melbourne - only for some
- 'Blockbuster' story of a publishing phenomenon
- Frederick Trischler
- Print run of 5,000
- Hume sells copyright for £50
- Kicks off interest in crime fiction
- Interest in Australia
- Pirated in the United States
- Literature a dicey business
- Theatrical versions
- Hume goes to England
- Was Hume gay?
- Oscar Wilde
- Blackmail?
- Theosophy
- Spiritualism - Doyle, Houdini
- Hume's connections in England
- Haddon Chambers
- Lucy's further research
- Anne Perry
- Further research
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
Image: section of the cover of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume.
David and Perry discuss:
- Recent reading
- Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin
- Ian Tregillis
- The Milkweed Triptych by Ian Tregillis
- The Alchemy Wars by Ian Tregillis
- Something More Than Night by Ian Tregillis
- Binge reading
- The Hugo Time Machine 1956
- Double Star by Robert Heinlein
- Heinlein's sexual attitudes
- Other nominees
- Three to Conquer by Eric Frank Russell
- End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
- The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
- First woman to be nominated
- Exploration Team by Murray Leinster
- The Star by Arthur C. Clarke
- End As A World by F.L. Wallace
- Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith
- Astounding SF Magazine
- John W. Campbell Jnr
- Controversy over Award Naming
- Criticism by Jeanette Ng
- JWC Memorial Award
- World Fantasy Award
- James Tiptree Jnr Award
- Arthur C. Clarke Award
- Hugo Gernsback
- Perils of naming awards after people
- The Oscars
- 2019 Hugos
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
- For All Mankind
- Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
- If At First You Don't Succeed by Zen Cho
- A Witch's Guide to Escape by Alix E. Harrow
- Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers
- Archive of Our Own
- Into the Spider-Verse
- The Good Place
- Hugo Awards Website
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
Image is a composite based on photos from Pexels.com
Perry and David talk about:
- Perry's Return
- Hiking in Iceland
- Thanks to David and Carey
- Dublin Worldcon
- Worldcon Business Meeting
- Choice of next Worldcon site
- New Zealand Worldcon 2020
- Future Worldcon sites
- Convention experience
- Membership numbers
- Becoming a convention member
- Too many members
- Summing up the convention
- Connie Willis
- Oxford Time Travel Novels by Connie Willis
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
- To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
- Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
- Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis
- Passage by Connie Willis
- The Choke by Sophie Laguna
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- The Chain by Adrian McKinty
- Embers of War by Gareth Powell
- The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Click here for more details and indexes
Photo of broken phone from pexels.com.
A retrospective of Aussiecon in 1975
- David and Carey remember Aussiecon
- Organising the Hugos
- The Entire Awards Committee
- Who created the rocketships?
- Getting the bases made
- Paranoid about security
- Panel with Ursula Le Guin
- Videotaping the convention
- Australian Science Fiction Foundation
- Interview with Carey Handfield
- Role of Sheep in Science Fiction
- Ursula's GoH speech
- Interview with Perry Middlemiss
- Hearing about the convention
- Travelling from Adelaide
- Experience of the convention
- Life-changing event
- Legacy of Aussiecon
- Subsequent Australian Worldcons
- Interview with Leigh Edmonds
- First DUFF winner
- DUFF as promotion for '75
- What actually happened at Aussiecon?
- The notorious Wang Girls
- Before and after the con
- Hugo presentation interrupted by cricket scores
- Producing daily newsletter
- Room parties
- Talking to individuals
- An opportunity for fans in Australia
- Audio-visual trend in SF
- Changes nature of SF and fandom
- Aussiecon this little jewel
- Interview with Bruce Gillespie
- Suggestion by Andy Porter
- Foyster forms committee
- Main effort went into fanzines
- First female fans
- Merv Binns and MSFC
- Space Age Books
- Bidding at Torcon
- Travel to the US and UK
- Arrives in US in 1973
- Arrives in UK
- Meeting Bob Tucker
- Choice of Le Guin
- The Writer's Workshop
- Impact of AussieconClick here for more details and indexes
Photo of sheep by Michael Pearl at Pexels.com.
David Grigg and stand-in host Carey Handfield discuss:
- Carey and David's long association
- Getting into SF fandom
- David's fiction writing
- ASFR and John Bangsund
- Discovering a new world
- 1970 Australian National SF Convention
- Launch of the Australia in '75 bid
- Victoria Hotel venue
- The Nova Mob
- Carey as an organiser
- Monash University SF Association
- David as fanzine editor
- John Bangsund
- University of Melbourne SF Association
- 1975 Writer's Workshop
- Choice of Ursula Le Guin as GoH
- Idea of a Writer's Workshop
- Choosing the venue
- Getting the photocopier
- Publishing the Altered I
- 'Stabbed Alive' by Randall Flynn
- Ursula's challenges
- Two-word challenge
- Love Story challenge
- The Grongs
- Highlight of 1975
- Legacy
- Pip Maddern
- Altered I book
- The Fives
- Intro to Ursula's speech
- Ursula Le Guin's GoH speech
- Wind-up
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Image: the cover of "The Altered I" book about the Writer's Workshop, designed by Irene Pagram.
David and Perry talk to Robin Johnson about Aussiecon 1975, and discuss:
- Attending Conventions
- Career of going to SF cons
- Aussiecon
- How did Robin get involved?
- Coming to Australia
- Meeting Merv Binns
- Sydney Fandom
- Murumbeena convention 1969
- Syncon '70
- Starting the muttering about '75
- Attending Worldcon 1970 in Germany
- Garry Hoff
- Heidelberg
- Big push
- Help from the UK
- Becoming chairman
- Anti-fan movie
- Promotional matchboxes
- Moving through '72
- Winning the bid in '73
- A problem with Ursula
- Jerry Pournelle's demand
- Charter of Americans arrives
- Art Show crisis
- Slide Presentation panic
- Convention starts
- Don Tuck MIA
- Continuous state of panic
- Movie Program
- Amount of programming
- Costume Parade
- Evaluation
- Schools program re artwork
- Art Show
- Legacy
- Wrap-up
- Club houses for SF clubs
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Image of Melbourne by Bernard Spragg on Flickr.
Perry and David discuss:
- Introduction
- Perry's overseas trip
- Hugo Time Machine 1955
- They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley
- The Darfsteller by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
- Allamagoosa by Eric Frank Russell
- Kate Atkinson
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
- When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
- Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- John Le Carre's Karla trilogy
- The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre
- An Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre
- Smiley's People by John Le Carre
- Windup
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Image based on photo of sunset by Ali Arapoğlu from Pexels
David and Perry discuss:
- What are fanzines?
- Amateur Press Associations
-
John Bangsund and ANZAPA
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They also interview Bruce Gillespie, who talks about:
- Melton
- Bacchus Marsh
- Hears about fandom
- ASFR
- Invited to stay with Bangsund
- Meeting Harding, Turner, et al
- First convention, MSFC
- First 'fanzine' produced as schoolboy
- Duplicators
- Starting to produce fanzines
- ANZAPA
- Sent to Ararat
- First two issues of SFC
- Response from o/seas
- Critical reviews of SF outside academia
- John Foyster
- Resigning from teaching in Ararat
- Meets Gerald Murnane
- Acquires own duplicator
- Aussiecon
- 1977 extraordinary year
- How have things changed?
- Nostrilia Press
- IBM Composer
- Typesetting for Highland House & others
- Desktop publishing comes in
- Applying this to fanzines
- Modern challenges
- Bill Burns' Efanzine site
- Comeback of fanzines
- Will you continue?
- Awards
- Windup
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Perry and David discuss:
- Are you a serial or parallel reader?
- Hugo Time Machine 1954
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Telling by Ursula Le Guin
- A Case of Conscience by James Blish
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
- Chesley Bonestell
- Ex Machina
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Perry and David, and their guest Leigh Edmonds talk about:
- Perihelion Summer by Greg Egan
- Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
- The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
- Problem of walled gardens of content
- Geographical restrictions on content
- Interview with Leigh Edmonds
- Both past and future are unknowable
- England in the 17th Century
- Both SF and history written for the present
- History of Technology
- Tax office as example of technological change
- History of Australia as a struggle to overcome distance
- Science Fiction and history
- The reason to read SF
- History of SF fandom
- Period of radical change in Australia
- The sub-cultures of Melbourne
- The change in Australian culture
- SF floods into the country
- The Sydney Push
- Importance of letters and fanzines in early years
- Fundamental change due to computers
- Difficulty of publishing a fanzine
- Fanzine publishing before WWII
- Passing on technique
- Why the history of fandom needs to be written about
- Windup
Image copyright Netflix. Used here for purposes of review.
Click here for more details and indexes
Perry and David talk about:
- Hugo Short Fiction
- Hugo Time Machine 1953
- The Demolished Man
- Galaxy Magazine
- Hugo Novels
- Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
- Revanant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
- The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey
- Standard Ebooks
- Copyright
- Such is Life by Joseph Furphy
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- All is True movie
- Wind-up
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse image copyright Marvel and Sony Pictures Releasing. Illustration used for purposes of review.
Perry and David talk about:
- Introduction
- Hugo Season
- Hugo Nominees
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Australian Crime Fiction
- The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
- Bony Novels by Arthur Upfield
- Scrublands by Chris Hammer
- Moon - with Sam Rockwell
- Windup
Click here for more details and indexes
Welcome to our second episode! In this episode Perry Middlemiss and David Grigg talk about:
- Introduction
- Fixup
- David's introduction to reading
- SF Novellas
- Murderbot Series
- Binti Series
- Wayward Children Series
- The Power
- Generation Starships
- Passengers
- Aurora by KSR
- Book of the New Sun
- An Unkindness of Ghosts
- Mortal Engines
- Doing Justice
- Peak Geekdom
- Dark is Rising Series
- 50 years of SF Commentary
Click here for more details and indexes
This is the very first episode of Two Chairs Talking, in which David Grigg and Perry Middlemiss, both ex-chairmen of World Science Fiction Conventions talk about:
- Introduction
- Genres
- Australian Poetry
- How Do You Read So Many Books?
- Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
- Setting Quotas
- Records of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
- Nominations
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- Possession by A. S. Byatt
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