In this special holiday episode Dave, Tim and Ralph talk about Jack Vance’s exceptional fantasy trilogy Lyonesse. Show Notes The Lyonesse Trilogy by Jack Vance Ralph Lovegrove with special guests Dave Morris and Tim Harford Synopsis 00:45 // The RPG Bit 28:33 // Skulduggery and The Dying Earth 29:12 // Dragon Warriors 34:56 // Pendragon…Read more Xmas Episode 01: Lyonesse by Jack Vance

The second part of our season finale looks at the fictional Ruritania of Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda, the Ruritanian Romance, and fictional or liminal countries such as Interzone and Annexia in Cronenburg’s The Naked Lunch and the Upside Down of Stranger Things. (this recording was recorded in three bits which is why the…Read more Episode 13pt2: The Prisoner of Zenda

We’ve split our “season finale” into two separate episodes, the first of which is a bit of an experiment — it’s quite short and a solo recording which I did a while ago. But, it’s thematically linked to the next episode, which will follow shortly. Ralph muses over the liminal fantasy genre and M. John…Read more Episode 13pt1: The Course of the Heart by M. John Harrison

It’s National World Short Story Novel Mustache Reading Writing Knitting Month, so we’re doing more short stories — this time from Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury and Cory Doctorow. Also, Rod Steiger, Charlie Brooker and the Sandman! Show Notes The Evening, The Morning and The Night by Octavia Butler, curated in the Sisters of the Revolution…Read more Episode 12: More Short Stories

This episode Liz and Ralph recommend short stories to each other: The Matter of Seggri by Ursula Le Guin, and Coppola’s Dracula by Kim Newman. Show Notes The Matter of Seggri from The Birthday of the World by Ursula Le Guin Coppola’s Dracula by Kim Newman which you can read online here. Elizabeth Lovegrove and…Read more Episode 11: The Matter of Seggri and Coppola’s Dracula

This episode Mo and Ralph drift around Christopher Priest’s Dream Archipelago. Show Notes The Affirmation, The Dream Archipelago, The Islanders and The Adjacent are novels and short stories by Christopher Priest Speaking: Mo Holkar and Ralph Lovegrove The Affirmation 01:00 // The Dream Archipelago 03:00 // The Equatorial Moment 05:05 // The Islanders 05:40 //…Read more Episode 10: The Dream Archipelago by Christopher Priest

A near-future Johannesburg where the urban sprawl mixes with Southern African legend in a post-cyberpunk detective novel. Show Notes Zoo City by Lauren Beukes Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove 00:39 Synopsis // 04:35 Fake academic papers and His Dark Materials // 06:00 Penny Miller’s Myths and Legends of Southern Africa // 11:15 Games here //…Read more Episode 09: Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

This episode Liz and Becky discuss Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld and talk about pack mentality Show Notes The Women of the Otherworld (series) by Kelly Armstrong Elizabeth Lovegrove and Becky Annison with Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis starts at 00:40, RPGs at 16:05 Games Bite Me! by Becky Annison is a Powered by the Apocalypse…Read more Episode 08: Women of the Otherworld by Kelly Armstrong

Ralph and Becky spend an extra-long episode dissecting Roger Zelazny’s Amber, and consider different systems for running an Amberite game Show Notes The Amber series by Roger Zelazny Ralph Lovegrove and Becky Annison Synopsis 00:15 // World-building 8:10 // RPGs start with Amber Diceless at 19:10 // Lords of Gossamer and Shadow 24:50 // Hillfolk…Read more Episode 07: Roger Zelazny’s Amber

This episode Josh and Ralph dip into Moorcock’s Multiverse! Show Notes Elric of Melnibone and The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock Ralph Lovegrove and Josh Fox Elric of Melnibone synopsis 00:50 // Eternal Champion synopsis 04:00 // Themes 10:10 // Stormbringer RPG and others 23:30 // Dungeon Crawl Classics 28:30 // Sorcerer 30:00 // Sorcerer…Read more Episode 06: Elric of Melnibone and The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock