Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

This week, we conclude our discussion of Terry Pratchett's Mort with thoughts on Pratchett's precision as a stylist, tick-tock structure, and how much of the theme is on the page. Is sentimentality a good thing? Is Mort effectively sidelined in the final conflict? How do we embrace subjectivity over objectivity?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• Mort
• Terry Pratchett
• Audiobooks (including the footnotes!)

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To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we return to Terry Pratchett's Mort to discuss perspective, the dualities of life on the Disc, and what is really going on with Death. Do we believe that everything is predestined? Who gets to tell the story? Does Ysabelle sparkle in the sunlight?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• Mort
• Terry Pratchett
• Audiobooks (including the footnotes!)

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we dive into the Discworld with our first discussion of Terry Pratchett's Mort. Are the rules as unbreakable as they seem to be? Are ideas as dangerous? How does Death blow smoke rings?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• Mort
• Terry Pratchett
• Rhianna Pratchett
• Terry Pratchett's Mort (BBC Radio 4)
• Audiobooks (including the footnotes!)

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we return from an extended hiatus to offer a short conclusion to our unit on William Gibson's Neuromancer. How are Zion and Istanbul connected? Is Wintermute right about the power of hate? Is the punk more important than the cyber?

Footnotes:

• Neuromancer
• William Gibson
• William Gibson on Bluesky

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we continue our unit on William Gibson's Neuromancer. Are there only a few pathways to juvenile rebellion? How does the industrial become the post-industrial? How does Gibson's understanding of artificial intelligence hold up in 2025?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• Neuromancer
• William Gibson
• William Gibson on Bluesky

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we begin our unit on influential science fiction with the first part of William Gibson's novel Neuromancer. Where does cyberpunk come from? How does Gibson complicate the mind-body problem? How do we know what's cool?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• Neuromancer
• William Gibson
• William Gibson on Bluesky

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we conclude our spooky-season unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. As Eleanor retreats from the story, how do we become aware of the perspective of the house itself? Is it possible to read Theodora as a villain? What, in the end, walks alone inside Hill House?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Footnotes:

• The Haunting Of Hill House
• The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson)
• The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman)

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we continue our thirteenth unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. What are the atomic units of identity, and how do they interact? How does the book operate with -- or without -- the queer subtext? Is there, at the most basic level, something supernatural about Hill House?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, chapters six to nine of The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon on Thursday, October 30th at 9PM Central Time. 

Footnotes:

• The Haunting Of Hill House
• The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson)
• The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman)

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we begin our thirteenth unit with an introduction to The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. How does Jackson's biography help us to understand the themes of this book? How do we understand Hill House in the gothic tradition? Is this the best first paragraph any book ever?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, chapters two to five of The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon on Thursday, October 23rd at 9PM Central Time. 

Footnotes:

• The Haunting Of Hill House
• The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson)
• The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman)

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support! 

This week, we conclude our unit on David Sodergren's The Haar. Where did cozy fiction come from? Is the satire effective? How do we understand Muriel's faith and final decision?

To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we begin Shirley Jackson's The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon on Thursday, October 16th at 9PM Central Time. 

Footnotes:

• The Haar
• You've Been Trumped (2011)
• Trump International Golf Links, Scotland
• Haggis Wildlife Foundation

Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!