Leave It To The Prose

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan Promise of Blood is the first book of the Powder Mage Trilogy, a work of Gunpowder fantasy where guns coexist with magic. The story follows the events which occur immediately after a successful coup by the military leader Tamas. The book is an amalgam of mystery, adventure, and political … Continue reading Ep068 Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan →

The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power; The Two Bullet War; and Cratered by Karen Osborne Episode Discussion The Two Bullet War. A beautifully written work that made Reid question the purpose of novels if perfection can be obtained in a short story? A story of three scenes: a death and setup; the story of lovers; … Continue reading Ep067 Karen Osborne Short Stories →

The Unbroken by CL Clark CL Clark’s debut novel dives into the theme of military occupation and identity. The story follow two characters: Touraine the soldier and Luca the ruler. Touraine will do anything to protect her fellow soliders, the Sands, which immediately means to rise through the ranks and become a leader of the … Continue reading Ep066 The Unbroken by CL Clark →

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey Isaac and Reid dig into the legendary world of Pern. Dragonflight put Anne McCaffrey on the radar of science fiction and fantasy, and introduced the world to Pern. Made up of four stories – the first of two which were published previously as separate short stories – Dragonflight is a story … Continue reading Ep065 Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey →

Short Stories by Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born Candian speculative fiction author of the unreal. Hopkinson is the 2021 Damon Knight Grandmaster awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and the 1999 Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly the Campbell award). The Glass Bottle Trick Link to the … Continue reading Ep064 Nalo Hopkinson →

The Poppy War by RF Kuang Winner of the Astounding Award for Best New Author, RF Kuang’s debut novel, The Poppy War, is a story of realistic war and the horrors humans can inflict on one another. Link to RF Kuang’s Lecture: “The Poppy War in Context: Asian American Speculative Fiction” (Oct 28 2020)   … Continue reading Ep063 The Poppy War →

Usman T Malik: The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family and The Wandering City Usman T Malik is an award winning author, and among other awards is a winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction. In this episode Isaac and The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family A modern myth. The … Continue reading Ep062 Usman T Malik →

Morning Star by Pierce Brown Reid and Isaac complete the first Next Chapter series with the third installment in the Red Rising Saga, and the conclusion of the original trilogy. Red Rising by Pierce Brown Discussion Golden Son by Pierce Brown Discussion In This Episode Trilogy Structure – Act One: the development of the world … Continue reading The Next Chapter Ep003 Morning Star by Pierce Brown →

Fantasy Magazine Issue 63 Fantasy Magazine ran regularly from 2005 to 2011, and sporadically from 2011 to 2020. Now Fantasy Magazine has returned as of November 2020 under the editors of Arley Sorg and Christie Yant. Fantasy Magazine is a monthly publication featuring short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and non fiction interviews and essays. In … Continue reading Ep061 Fantasy Magazine Issue 63 →

Leave it to the Prose – The Next Chapter: Golden Son by Pierce Brown Episode 2 of our first Next Chapter arc we dive into the middle book of the original Red Rising Trilogy: Golden Son by Pierce Brown. The story continues Darrow’s story as he embarks in his ambitious goal of overthrowing the oppressive … Continue reading The Next Chapter Ep002 Golden Son by Pierce Brown →