Hit the road, jack, and don't you come back no more no more no MORE NO MORE

Okay, serenades aside, this week as you're preparing to undergo your own road trips and holiday journeys, we're back with a deep dive into the various manifestations of road trips in science fiction and fantasy. We ask all of the important questions, like: journey or destination--how do they relate? What separates a "road trip" from a standard "journey narrative"? What does a poem by Margaret Atwood have to do with ANY of this craziness? And why do we love road trip narratives as a whole, and why do we love some specific stories ... specifically?

Some of the many texts we interrogate include: David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas," JRRT's "Lord of the Rings," Brian K. Vaughan's greater body of comic work, Catherynne Valente’s "Space Opera" and its inspiration, Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide," Richard Powers' "The Overstory," Jacqueline Carey's "Starless," Seanan McGuire's "Ghost Roads" series, the film "Mad Max: Fury Road" and ... yes, a whole lot more. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh (the FIRST RECORDED STORY, WHAT) gets some brief, and laughing love.

You can find our back episodes on YouTube. Our Twitter handle is @imaginary_pod, our website www.imaginaries.net, and our email [email protected]. If you would like to help support our work, you can do so at www.ko-fi.com/imaginaries. And don't forget to vote on on our "What Should We Read Next?" lists on Goodreads! See our Twitter for more information on that.

Thanks for listening!