Brodacious Book Club

Welcome back to the deeply engrossing world of The Poppy War! Join us as we pick up with the sequel to 2018's breakout fantasy hit, and reconnect with Rin and the country of Nikan. Here we follow as she ends up part of a revolutionary movement towards democracy (maybe), and draw comparisons to some of the real-life inspiration from the story, the Chinese Civil War.

Note: we recommend listening to our episode covering The Poppy War first!

CW for non-graphic references to war crimes, genocide, rape, cannibalism

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Happy Hallowe'en! Join us for a creepy recap of T Kingfisher's 2019 horror novel, The Twisted Ones, which follows freelance editor Mouse's absolutely completely normal attempt to clean out her grandmother's old house. This week, we discuss some classic horror tropes, including but not limited to, the mystery of the spooky deer.

CW for references to forced birth, gruesome depictions of animals

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Happy October! Welcome to the first of our Hallowe'en spooky episodes, featuring Caitlin Starling's nail-biting science fiction horror, The Luminous Dead. What is truly the most dangerous thing that lies in the caves? Is it the Tunnellers, the monsters who crawl through the caverns, the unknown fungus, or perhaps our protagonist's duplicitous employer? Or maybe ghosts??? Tune in and find out!

Also, the protagonist's name is definitely pronounced with a soft "g". Entirely Erin's bad on that one.

CW for claustrophobic situations, slight references to gore and amputation, manipulation/gaslighting

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to the matrix. Er, not that matrix. Join us and special guest author and podcaster Evan May as we attempt to make sense of William Gibson's incredibly influential, incredibly complicated science fiction novel. Ever wanted to understand the origins of the cyberpunk genre, and many of your favourite sci-fi tropes? Tune in to hear us discuss artificial intelligence, space Kardashians, and street samurai.

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

And we're back! Join us for the epic conclusion to Tehlor Kay Mejia's revolution-soaked duology. Will our heroes succeed and overthrow the oppressive government? Will they manage to grapple with the question of how far is too far, or will they get subsumed by bad actors (and questionable plot decisions)?

Also, apologies if the audio quality is a bit below the normal standards this week! Turns out this book might be a little cursed.

CW for gun violence, references to revolution and modern politics

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Viva la revolución! What happens when you combine a school rivalry turned romantic, a system of political oppression, and a revolution that might be going too far? Join us this week as we discuss Tehlor Kay Mejia's at-times uncomfortably realistic dystopian fantasy, We Set The Dark On Fire, and only mention Billy Joel, like, once.

CW for mentions of riots, protests, and gun violence

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is not a Narnia podcast. No, really, we promise. Even if we do get sidetracked by Narnia at least three times. Instead, this week we're diving into Seanan McGuire's award-winning novella, Every Heart A Doorway. Join us as we explore the fascinating fantasy worlds McGuire has created, and discuss themes of freedom, belonging, and what it means to have a queer sensibility.

CW for references to gore, mentions of misgendering

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Will Murderbot and friends be able to take down the shady corporation that has been pursuing them? Will it manage to gain personhood and acceptance from those around it? Will we finish recording before our brains melt out of our ears due to the extreme heatwave? Listen to us talk about the third and fourth Murderbot novellas (Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy), and find out!

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Robots and space travel and philosophy, oh my! This week, we look at the first two novellas in Martha Wells' The Murderbot Diaries series, All Systems Red and Artificial Condition. Join us for a discussion about humanity, anxiety, and the future of bad soap operas.

Intro:
Pump Sting by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4251-pump-sting
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro:
Iron Bacon by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3925-iron-bacon
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This week we're bringing you an exciting tale that has been likened to a "fantasy Godfather."Join us as we dive into Fonda Lee's action-packed world of magic gangsters, complicated family dynamics, and honour - and, finally, maybe, get some closure for a discussion opened about two months ago on a previous episode! 

CW brief mentions of sexual abuse, violence

Also, apologies for no music this week - there were technical difficulties!