Leave It To The Prose

Dawn by Octavia Butler Octavia Butler is a legend! In this episode we specifically dive into Dawn, the first book in the Xenogenesis book. Dawn is a story of first contact and discusses the liberty over one’s own body. The book despite being originally published in 1987 feels very relevant as themes of consent and … Continue reading Ep051 Dawn →

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The monumental work of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, often believed to be the first work of science fiction. In this episode we discuss the 1813 version. Victor Frankenstein studies natural philosophy and dabbles in alternative methods that culminates in Frankenstein’s creation of the fiend. The fiend runs away, learns, grows and … Continue reading Ep050 Frankenstein →

The Specialist’s Hat by Kelly Link Happy October! To celebrate the spooky month of October we are discussing the ghost story The Specialist’s Hat by Kelly Link. Kelly Link is an award winning author known for genre-combination and magical realism. The Specialist’s Hat contains horror, fantasy, suspense, and realism exemplifying Kelly Link’s style. Find Kelly … Continue reading Ep049 The Specialist’s Hat by Kelly Link →

The Parts that Make Us Monsters and Aunt Dissy’s Policy Dream Book Sheree Renee Thomas is perhaps best known for two anthologies (Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones), but in addition to being an award winning editor Thomas has written many works of fiction, … Continue reading Ep048 Sheree Renee Thomas →

Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James What makes a work of art transform a genre? Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James re-defines the prose standards found within genre fantasy. In this episode of Leave It To The Prose, Isaac and Reid discuss this highly forward-thinking, revolutionary, difficult, and complicated work Black Leopard, Red Wolf.   … Continue reading Ep047 Black Leopard, Red Wolf →

Fred the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes In this episode Isaac and Reid discuss “The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant” by Drew Hayes, a collection of short stories where we meet Fred, a vampire who maintained all of his normal, boring, human characteristics. Fred meets a vast cast of characters … Continue reading Ep046 Fred the Vampire Accountant →

Kamanti’s Child and Through the Veil by Jenniffer Marie Brissett Jenniffer Marie Brissett is a Manhattan author and winner of the 2014 Philip K. Dick Special Citation Award and finalist for the Locus Award. Brissett’s work has been published in many magazines since 2009, and has an upcoming book, Destroyer of Light, set to be … Continue reading Ep 045 Jennifer Marie Brissett →

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern In The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern the battle of two types of magic play out against the backdrop of a mysterious circus. We meet the main characters, their motivations, and the plethora of circus acts who will be caught in the middle of the battle for superior magic … Continue reading Ep044 The Night Circus →

2020 Hugo Award Nominees for Short Story Award season for science fiction and fantasy is in full swing. Earlier this year the Nebula and Locus award winners were announced, but in early August the Hugo Awards will be given out. In this episode of Leave It To The Prose, Isaac and Reid discuss the current … Continue reading Ep043 Hugo Nominees →

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Originally a collection of radio plays, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is Douglas Adams’s adaptation of these audio stories into a novel format and its subsequent sequels. The Hitchhiker’s Guide follows Arthur Dent as he becomes a hitchhiker in the galaxy. Through Arthur we meet a … Continue reading Ep042 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy →