This week, we begin our unit on J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumous work of mythology and history, and discuss reading strategies, layers of narrative and the creative impulse. Is the Professor the best letter writer in history? Did Christopher Tolkien really intend this book to be definitive? How is Middle-Earth different from Star Trek?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we dive into the text with the first part of The Silmarillion, the Ainulindalë, live on YouTube on Thursday, January 16th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we overcome treachery to win the war in chapters ten to fifteen of C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian and discuss the Narnian timeline, fear as an alienating force, and the worst of Susan. Why is Aslan larger now? Could Nikabrik and his allies resurrect the White Witch? Is evil always self-defeating?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we begin our discussion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion with an introductory lecture, live on YouTube on Thursday, January 9th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we assemble our forces and call for help in chapters five to ten of C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian and discuss the medieval perspective on past and future, the oracular power of centaurs, and the difference between beasts. What is represented by each of Caspian’s companions? Who raised Aslan’s How? How did Edmund learn so much 21st century slang?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we conclude our unit on Prince Caspian with chapters ten through fifteen, live on YouTube on Thursday, January 2nd at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we return to Narnia with the first five chapters of C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian and discuss politics and persecution, fairytale and fantasy, and Edmund’s 2024 slang. How has Narnia changed, both as a place and as a story? What is the turning point between fairy tale and fantasy? Where did Peter’s sword get its name?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our unit on Prince Caspian with chapters six through ten, live on YouTube on Thursday, December 26th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we conclude our horror unit and our discussion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with logical fallacies and the limits of rationality, Dracula as a feminist text and Bram Stoker’s Best Joke. How does the tone change in the last act of the novel? How do we contrast Lucy and Mina? What does Van Helsing have to say to the Author’s Note?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we begin our unit on Prince Caspian with chapters one through five, live on YouTube on Thursday, December 19th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our unit on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula and discuss the overlooked Van Helsing, the second death of Lucy Westenra, and the compilation of the novel by the characters in the novel. What is the significance of the gold crucifix on Lucy’s lips? What restores Jonathan Harker’s sanity? How did the reporter for the Gazette get to the word “Bloofer“?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we finish the book, live on YouTube on Thursday, December 12th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our unit on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula and discuss Dracula’s character sheet, how much wolves are better than dogs, and the fate of Lucy Westenra. What will it take for Seward to connect the dots? What is the spectrum from the noble-man to the commoner? Who really poisons the sherry?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we cover chapters thirteen through nineteen, live on YouTube on Thursday, December 5th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our unit on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula and discuss the wreck of the Demeter, the limits of Dracula’s power, and the insidious assault on Lucy Westenra. What really happens aboard the ship from Varna? How is mysticism seeping into our rational view of the world? Has our attention to the timeline finally paid off?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we cover chapters eleven through fourteen, live on YouTube on Tuesday November 26th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we overcome ill fortune to continue our unit on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. How do we listen to intuition in an age of rationality? Does the supporting cast describe the boundaries of (acceptable) Victorian society? Is work the universal cure?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we cover chapters seven through twelve, live on YouTube on Monday November 18th, 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our unit on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. What are we to make of a man who lays his own table? How does the Count turn the tools of the Victorian world against English society? Does a queer reading of Dracula falter on the threshold of the gender binary?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we cover the first seven chapters of the book, live on YouTube on Monday November 11th, 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

To join me for the live YouTube 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!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens.

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.