Geek Syndicate

he quarrelsome Northerners are joined by MOMBCAST stalwart James falling in behind the Eagle standard to dissect and consider the alternative histories of Rome and the Roman Empire. Inspired by the History of Rome podcast they march in a less than straight road through:

* The Punic Wars (including the alternate history 'Hannibal's Children)

* Roman history as a game of Total War* The Porous nature of Rome to people and ideas

* Why couldn't the Greeks get their act together?* School nativity plays and the Dallas and Dynasty appeal of the Julio-Claudians

* Agrippa the Immortal

* The fickle survival and destruction of Republics and Monarchies * Why not to let Commodus run & ruin your Empire.* The Marian reforms and the dangers of a professional miltiary (with thanks to Will Self.)* They debate irresistible nature of monotheism and Time-Travelling Popes* Mad Max and the fall of the West

* Julian the Apostate (Our hero, he's dreamy, titter yee not!)

The Romanitas Trilogy Timeline can be found here: http://www.romanitas.com/text/history.htm

The History of Rome podcast can be found here: http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/

We welcome comments and corrections (including audio files for our conclusion ep) to dissectingworlds(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk or tweet @dissectingwrlds.

Welcome to Episode 39 of Small Press Big Mouth, this the one where Stace and indeed Lee throw the usual format out of the window in a sad and desperate attempt to catch up on some reviews. That's right this is a review only episode! We cover such wonders as Porcelain and The Butterfly Gate, White Knuckle, Disconnected Vol 1, Sgt Mike Battle #17, Leroy and Popo, Robot Shorts and No More Heroes.

Geek to Geek with Monts and Nuge – David Montieth and Barry Nugent bring you their monthly slice of pop culture madness. No script, no preparation but a lot of fun and sass…always sass.

Topics covered

Our thoughts on Avengers Assemble.

What we think of the upcoming Green Arrow TV show.

What we're looking forward to reading and watching over the Summer.

Thoughts on the Eagle Awards and MCM Awards (this was recorded before we found out there still would be an Eagle Awards).

What DC can do to catch up to Marvel on the film front.

And much more.

In which we focus in a little on the latest books that we've plucked from the top of our bookstacks. In the absence of Mattie we are joined by 'The Grampus' a.k.a Matt Farr from Dissecting Worlds. He kicks things off with Adrian Tchaikovsky's insect-themed fantasy, the Shadows of the Apt. Clover follows this up with Juggernaut, an explosive zombie actioner by Adam Baker set in the Gulf conflict. Next up, Phil tells us about Stacia Kane's stylish and grungy urban fantasy, Unholy Ghosts. Dion then waxes lyrical about Jenny Nimmo's The Snow Spider, a beautiful children's fantasy with a tragic heart. Finally Matt gives us a flavour of the prolific but oft under-appreciated weird fiction writer Clark Ashton Smith. All of this is of course spiced with our usual blend of good humor and pettiness.Stay tuned also for Adam Baker's first recorded interview on Juggernaut, after the main programme.Feedback is always welcome. You can post comments here on GS, e-mail us at [email protected] or tweet us @scrollscast if you like.If you want to get personal you can send abuse to @phlambler or pedantic diatribes to @thegrampus. @Dion_Scrolls is more partial to flattery or sponsorship deals from major ice-cream producers. I'm just saying...Anyway, that's enough waffle. Keep reading.

Taking a break from Alternative Histories, The Dissecting Duo participate in the spirit of the Olympic summer with the first of four episodes looking at sports and games and all that healthy outdoors nonsense we both try and avoid

We start by looking at team sports and could hear such highlights as:

• The fine line between games and sports
• Star Trek Space Badmington Thingy and other made up sports
• Why can’t the Flash run in the Olympics?
• The challenges of technology, distance, and interplanetary environments.
• The changing faces of Cricket, Football and Rugby and the problems of prediction
• And much more….

So sit back, enjoy & disagree!

Feedback and discussion always welcome @Dissectingwrlds for the show and @clarkythecruel for Kehaar and @thegrampus for Matt

Join Amaechi and Ant as they bring you the (belated) forty-fourth episode of The Next Level, Geek Syndicate Network's gaming podcast.

This time, the guys look at the latest news, including the boom in Downloadable games, MMO justice and the possibility of spreading game blockbusters throughout the year.

Next, Ant talks about a couple of the demo's he's played recently (Dragon's Dogma and Sniper Elite V2) and Amaechi reviews The Walking Dead: Episode 1 from XBLA.

In which Susan Hill's chilling classical ghost story is shared, enthused over and examined by the Scrolls team. Clover hosts this special episode, ably assisted by Mattie & Phil and joined by the multi-talented Sarah Taylor, who has been a fan of the story (in all its forms) for many years. Whilst absent from the discussion, Dion provides a little atmosphere with selected readings from the text in the first half of the episode.With deference to the new film and the ever popular stage production, the second half of the episode examines alternative interpretations of the tale and the ways in which they both succeed and fail to capture the essence of Hill's creation. Along with a certain amount of squeeing. I'm naming no names.As ever with the Scrolls Book Group, spoilers abound, so we recommend that you read the book before you listen in.Preferably by candlelight.Alone...Feedback is always welcome. You can comment on this post, e-mail us at [email protected] or follow our Twitter feed @Scrollscast (for author retweets and news.)You can even follow our personal accounts @Dion_Scrolls and @Phlambler if you like.Our next Book Group episode will be in November. If you want to take part in the episode after that then please drop us a line to say what book you would choose, and why you love it so much. We look forward to hearing from you. Keep reading.

Geek to Geek – Episode 3

Welcome to Geek to Geek, the audio magazine dedicated to bringing the sass back to geekdom.

Contents

00:00:00 Geek to Geek with Monts and Nuge – David Montieth and Barry Nugent bring you their monthly slice of pop culture madness. No script, no preparation but a lot of fun and sass…always sass.

00:51:33 Promo: The Monster Hunters – A Three Part Audio Drama. Find out more here

00:52:58 Little Witch aka Amy of the Birds of Geek podcast has a quick chat with comic writer Gail Simone.

00:58:05 Montoya and SilverFox from Trailer Trash Two discuss the greatness that was 1982 for genre films.

01:16:22 Stacey Whittle from Small Press Big Mouth reviews the Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel series from Self Made Hero.

01:22:05 Barry and Ant from The Next Level review Mass Effect 3 (Spoiler Free)

01:39:13 After Hours with Dave and Barry – the guys close out the show in the Geek to Geek Studio bar.

Dissecting Worlds attempts to digest 30-odd years of global anarchy & its alternate history in the form of two world wars (but no world cup!)

A bumper episode including such tit-bits as:

• Germany's strong right hook
• Reds, Whites & anarchist also rans
• The Czech Legion & Belgian Armoured Cars Siberian tours
• Other Versailles
• A Very British Civil War
• German Mediterranean holidays
• Halifax for PM!
• Submarines are alive with sound of music
• Losing Moscow (yes they do eventually get to the Russian front!)
• America's separate wars
• The heavyweight issue of alternative holocausts
• When Matt says 1929 Committee he means 1922!

A Very British Civil War 1938 forum

here: http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showforum=4

(& Kehaar's VBCW 38 efforts war gaming http://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/category/vbcw-1938/ & roleplaying www.alfiesantics.wordpress.com

So sit back, enjoy & disagree!

Feedback and discussion always welcome @Dissectingwrlds for the show, and @clarkythecruel for Kehaar and @thegrampus for Matt.