Everett Book Club

048- Venus is a Man's World, by William Tenn, 1951

Wherein a man named Butt wants to get married.

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in the New Bahamas, and this week discussing the 1951 short story, "Venus is a Man's World", by William Tenn. This one's kinda sexist AF, but mostly it's just 1950's playful sexism- you know, the kind that's terrible, just like all the others. We don't spend much time ranting about it though. Mostly I (Ruiz) tell the story and Marguerite reacts- you know, just like every episode.

Also, DOWN WITH BOWL CUTS!

047 - Basic Right, by Eric Frank Russell, 1958

Wherein the Earth is taken over by fluffy green aliens!

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Herpes Beach, Florida, discussing the 1958 short story, "Basic Right" by Eric Frank Russell. You know, there's an ancient Raidan idiom (back on Raidan Homeworld that is, (which definitely isn't located in Sigma Octantis), that says, "Go thou and paint the long fence, Jayfat, for I am reclining within the hammock and I am very comfortable." And with these words, Ruiz Tremello fell in love with this short story, which definitely deserved an extra hundred pages at least- honestly, the 6-year span could spin off dozens of sub-plots full of intrigue and... Whoops, spoilers.

Ruiz & Marguerite have been fairing alright during These Current Troubles, and they apologize for the lack of podcasts. Summer is to blame, along with extra time outdoors, and extra time reading that could have instead been spent podcasting. Whoops.

046- The Night of the Storm, by Dean R. Koontz, 1974

Wherein 4 robot best friends go on an adventure!

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are still being topical by social distancing from inside Fidel Castro's Panic Palace in Kyoto, Cuba- and this episode they're discussing Dean R. Koontz's 1974 short story, "The Night of the Storm". To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that this story takes place in the same universe as another story we've covered in the past, so astute listeners may pick up on the fact much sooner than Marguerite does.

Also, special thanks to Dean R. Koontz for his writing, voluminous and entertaining as it is! Extra special thanks to Fair Use for allowing us to make this podcast. <3

045- The Best Policy, by Randall Garrett, 1957

Wherein Thagobar Verf meets first contact with Humanity

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Kyoto, Cuba, staying safe inside Fidel Castro's old Panic Palace. Between the Relics on the shelves and the episodes of Coronation Street on VHS, they also find time to discuss Randall Garrett's 1957 short story, "The Best Policy". Featuring one human and a diverse cast of Prawn-like Aliens, this short story has humor, action, intrigue, and adventure! Also, it's based on a true story that hasn't happened yet, according to a blog I found on the internet.

Stay safe out there.

044- The Wall Around The World, by Theodore Cogswell, 1953

Wherein a boy attends a school of magic and yearns to fly over a wall...

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Consternation, Venezuela, and are discussing the 1953 short story, "The Wall Around the World" by Theodore Cogswell.

This is a story that stuck with Ruiz for a few years now- there was something charming about the [REDACTED] at the final reveal at the end. Also, he likes Pocket Universe stories. <3

043- The Gualcophone, by Alan Nelson, 1952

Wherein a mutant creates a new musical instrument!

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Vancouver, Columbia, at a 9-star restort in the Andes Mountains, following a misadventure where they definitely didn't locate the Oak Island Treasure! Back for the Season 3 Premiere, Ruiz & Marguerite are discussing Alan Nelson's 1952 short story, "The Gualcophone", about a mutant who creates a new musical instrument. Alan Nelson has been featured on the podcast before, for Episode 35, "Soap Opera"- and Ruiz loves the personality of his stories, of which he's (apparently) only ever written 8. We'll work on collecting his remaining 6 stories in future episodes, to bring some attention to this unknown but talented author.

042- Part 2- Chateau d'If, by Jack Vance, 1950

Wherein Roland Mario learns how to live an adventure: Of Revenge!

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Zejuatenejo (sp?), California- and concluding their discussion of Jack Vance's 1950 novella, "Chateau d'If". In part one, [SPOILERS] so now Roland Mario has to embrace his adventure! And he does so, with a single goal: REVENGE!

This one's fun: I especially enjoyed the revenge.

Everett Book Club is on our post-season hiatus, returning with Season 3 on March 1st!

BUY OUR MERCH! IT DOESN'T EXIST YET! BOOTLEG IT AND THEN SEND US A PITTANCE!

041- Part 1- Chateau d'If, by Jack Vance, 1950

Wherein Roland Mario seeks adventure!

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in [REDACTED], California, on a mission to destroy The Bezos Robot Army! Oh, and it's also the Season Finale PART ONE, so they're also discussing PART ONE of Jack Vance's 1950 novella, "Chateau d'If".

This one's a lot of fun- a protagonist with the implausible name of Roland Mario lives in a future Earth in a era of plenty, and since there's apparently no adventure left, he's listless and seeking the solution to a mystery! ...A mystery that will basically get resolved at the end of Part 1.

I forgot to have Marguerite describe the cover, whoops. This one's taken from "The Narrow Land", a short story collection very much worth reading. I'll have Marguerite describe this cover for PART TWO.

040- The Bright Illusion, by C.L. Moore, 1934

Wherein a man falls in love with an alien babe?

This week on the podcast, Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in the middle of British Columbia, Canada, discussing "The Bright Illusion" by C.L. Moore, from 1934. This one is something special, because C.L. Moore is an amazing author who's very ahead of her time. Honestly, this one surprised us both with its themes and surprise plot-points.

For a picture of the cover, please consult episode 36, "The New Accelerator". I was going to re-upload it, but decided to turn it into the world’s worst scavenger hunt.

C.L. Moore was famously married author Henry Kuttner, who you can hear about in Episode 003, "Time Locker"- and next season, we're going to do a story that they wrote together! <3

039- Nine-Finger Jack, by Anthony Boucher, 1952

Wherein a Man marries his ninth Wife and nobody is suspicious.

Ruiz Tremello & Marguerite are in Acapulco, Yukon Territories, discussing the 1952 short story, "Nine-Finger Jack", by Anthony Boucher!

This one is something special: and not just because it's short enough that Ruiz can read the whole thing verbatim. No, it's special because of reasons that shouldn't be revealed here, because of spoilers.

Honestly though, I'm very interested in reading more of Anthony Boucher's works, even if he did mostly write mysteries- and I'm not much of a fan of mysteries. I don't know why, but I never guess Who Did The Crime, even when I'm watching Law & Order, or NCIS or whatever- if we're ten minutes from the end of the episode and you ask me, "who's the killer?" I'll probably just name all the suspects and not provide any salient insight whatsoever.

Maybe it's something awry with my brain, kind of like how I'm terrible at remembering jokes?