Josh, Ralph and special guest Paul Mitchener voyage across Usula Le Guin’s classic fantasy Earthsea. Show Notes A Wizard Of Earthsea // The Tombs of Atuan // The Farthest Shore // Tehanu // plus other short fiction set in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Josh Fox, Ralph Lovegrove, Paul Mitchener Synopsis (the original trilogy) 00:40…Read more Episode 209: Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Mo, Liz, Ralph and special guest Paul Mitchener discuss Ursula Le Guin’s magnificent The Dispossessed. Show Notes The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin Paul Mitchener, Mo Holkar, Elizabeth Lovegrove, Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis 01:40 // “The Hobbit, basically” 05:50 // Remarks 09:35 // Paul’s game (Hot War) 15:00 // Mo’s game (hacking Rise and Fall)…Read more Episode 208: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ralph, Liz and Josh consider Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon, inter-party relationships, re-skinned D&D, expertise, god, and getting old. Show Notes Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed Josh Fox, Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis 00:35 // It’s D&D, isn’t it? 09:30 // Old Age 17:45 // Other modern fantasy 23:30…Read more Episode 207: Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

Ralph is joined by special guest Baz Stevens to discuss traction cities, airships and Municipal Darwinism in Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines. Show Notes Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve Ralph Lovegrove joined by Baz Stevens, one half of the Smart Party podcast Synopsis 02:15 // Comments 06:15 // Slipstream 23:30 // Baz’s RPG ideas 27:40 //…Read more Episode 206: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

In this short solo episode Ralph talks about millennial fears and isolation in Jan Mark’s Eclipse of the Century. Music credits “Cylinder Four“ from Cylinders by Chris Zabriskie chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive

Becky, Ralph and special guest Tod Foley discuss the bizarre, creeping horror in Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach series. Show Notes Annihilation (and sequels) by Jeff Vandermeer. Ralph Lovegrove with Becky Annison and Tod Foley Bronson Pinchot has a lovely voice 01:05 // Synopsis (and general conversation) 01:45 // RPG ideas start 07:40 // Man Against…Read more Episode 204: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Ralph and special guest Mathew Downward discuss consensus reality in Angela Carter’s The Inferal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. Show Notes The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter. Synopsis 01:05 // Comments begin 13:05 // Mage: The Ascension 18:30 // Psychosis RPG 26:35 // Social Contracts 29:55 // Everway 30:50 // RuneQuest…Read more Episode 203: The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter

In this episode Becky, Liz and Ralph split off and explore the many lives of The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper. Show Notes The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper Becky Annison, Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis 00:33 // Comments 05:30 // RPGs, shared characters and concluding the game 11:30 // Becky’s RPG 20:30 //…Read more Episode 202: The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper

In this episode Liz, Mo and Ralph dive into Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. This is the first of two episodes on Tepper, whose death in 2016 was pretty much overshadowed by more prominent celebs and/or politics. Show Notes Grass by Sheri S. Tepper Mo Holkar, Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis 00:30 // Comment…Read more Episode 2.01: Grass by Sheri S. Tepper

We pitch 7 books for future consideration. Show Notes Mo Holkar, Josh Fox, Elizabeth Lovegrove, Ralph Lovegrove The books: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut No Good Men Among The Living by Anand Gopal Factoring Humanity by Robert Sawyer The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen…Read more Xmas Episode 02: Our Picks