Leave It To The Prose

Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey Magic’s Pawn is the first book in The Last Herald-Mage Series written in 1989. Discussed this episode One of the first openly gay characters in science fiction/fantasy. Vanyel, the protagonist of the book is openly gay; but do to the marketing and era, you have to read the book in … Continue reading Ep077 – Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey →

House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende Part 2 Isaac and Reid continue their discussion of House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The second half of the book follows Esteban and his children, and grand child. The book follows the family conflicts and the military coup that occurs in the government. Discussed this Episode … Continue reading Ep076 – House of the Spirits Part 2 →

House of the Spirits Part 1 by Isabel Allende Isabel Allende’s debut novel, House of the Spirits, is a journey in magical realism. House of the Spirits follows four generations of the Trueba family against the backdrop of an unspecified South American country (Chile). In this first discussion of the story, Isaac and Reid dig … Continue reading Ep076 – House of the Spirits Part 1 by Isabel Allende →

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien Before Lord of the Rings there was The Hobbit. To many The Hobbit is the cornerstone work of fantasy writing, introducing readers to the high fantasy realm of Middle Earth. JRR Tolkien originally published The Hobbit in 1937 and ever since it has remained among the popular works of fantasy. … Continue reading Ep075 – The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien →

Dreadnought by April Daniels A modern superhero story. Dreadnought features Danny, our protagonist who gets the superhero mantel thrust upon her. But with the mantel came a body change. Danny physically become a woman, her ideal body. The story of Dreadnought follows Danny as she deals with the good and bad of not only having … Continue reading Ep074 – Dreadnought by April Daniels →

All Systems Red by Martha Wells Martha Wells is an accomplished author, active since 1993. All Systems Red is the first work in the Murderbot series, a series that follows Murderbot as they are the security unit on a seemingly harmless planet. Of course the planet is not as harmless as it was reported to … Continue reading Ep073 – All Systems Red by Martha Wells →

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones Mapping the Interior is a ghost story of loss. Published in 2017, Jones explores how the event of a death of a father cascades into a young adult story of finding a way through life. Isaac and Reid strongly recommend this story. Discussed this Episode Displaying and showing … Continue reading Ep072 Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones →

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro An expansion of the Arthurian Mythos, The Buried Giant follows an elderly couple as they begin to remember a past they had forgotten. Kazuo Ishiguro, a winner of the Booker Award, and author of such works as The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, explores a world … Continue reading Ep071 The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro →

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley What does the mass production of biology look like, and what are its consequences? These are the questions proposed in the 1931 book by Aldous Huxley: Brave New World. Episode Discusion: What were our first introductions to Dystopian Fiction? (The Giver, 1984, Harrison Bergeron – by Kurt Vonnegut) A … Continue reading Ep070 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley →

Short Stories of Izzy Wasserstein Izzy Wasserstein is a prolific new writer, writing and publishing over twenty-five short stories in the past four years! In this episode we discuss three short stories. Episode Discussion Dead at the Feet of a God – read it on Beneath Ceaseless Skies A story written in reverse chronological order. … Continue reading Ep069 Izzy Wasserstein Short Stories →