In episode 376 of the Functional Nerds Podcast, Patrick Hester and John Anealio welcome Grim Dark Fantasy author Anna Smith Spark! Her Empires of Dust trilogy began with the David Gemmell Awards shortlisted The Court of Broken Knives, and continues with the newly released The Tower of Living and Dying.

About Anna Smith Spark: Anna lives in London, UK. She loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. Anna has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org. Previous jobs include petty bureaucrat, English teacher and fetish model.

Anna’s favourite authors and key influences are R. Scott Bakker, Steve Erikson, M. John Harrison, Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart and Mary Renault. She spent several years as an obsessive D&D player. She can often be spotted at sff conventions wearing very unusual shoes.

This week’s picks:

* Anna Smith Spark: The Last Kingdom

* The La Vuelta a Espana 2018 Bike Race

* John: Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists by Kay Larson

* Patrick: It’s Tough Being Cobra These Days by Carrie Vaughn

Links:

* Anna Smith Spark on Twitter

* John Anealio on Twitter

* Patrick Hester on Twitter

* The Functional Nerds Patreon Page

* Patrick’s Book: Into the Fire (available everywhere)

© 2018 Patrick Hester and John Anealio

This podcast contains original music by John Anealio.