The Writer and the Critic

Episode 9: 'Eclipse 4' and 'The Hunger Games' (plus 'World War Z')

This month on The Writer and the Critic, your hosts Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond navigate their way to the cosy, cat-populated abode of their special guest, Melbourne author Cameron Rogers. They talk about the troublesome life of Cam's (second) debut novel, The Music of Razors, and what he's been doing with himself since its publication, and move on to discuss a variety of topics ranging from from karma collectives to the reasons why sometimes you really do need to turn down a three-book contract. There is also wine and gingerbread men. Angry gingerbread men. Cam has recommended World War Z by Max Brooks for his book this month which results in a lively debate about zombies, cultural authenticity and gender disparity. Kirstyn made a spreadsheet -- no, really, it's far more engaging than it sounds! For those wanting to skip ahead and avoid spoilers, discussion about World War Z begins at 30:50 and ends around 56:00. Attention is then turned to the official podcast books: Eclipse 4 edited by Jonathan Strahan -- selected by Ian -- and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Kirstyn's choice. (For those playing at home, the actress who has been cast as Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of The Hunger Games is Jennifer Lawrence; Kirstyn regrets her mental blank during recording and hopes this saves you all from yelling Jennifer's name at your iPods or iPod-like devices when it comes up.) There are many, many plot spoilers so if you want to skip ahead, discussion of Eclipse begins at 56:00, while Hunger Games starts around 1:30:10. Check back in at the 01:47:50 for some possibly amusing final remarks and apologies to Cat Sparks for failing to respond to her feedback yet again. Next episode, Cat, that's a promise! Next month's Writer and the Critic is a Hugo Awards special. The awards will be announced on 20 August at Renovation, so Ian and Kirstyn will be reading and discussing two books from the final ballot: Dervish House by Ian McDonald and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. Two other nominated works have been previously discussed on this podcast: Feed by Mira Grant in Episode 2 and Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis in Episode 7. (The fifth Hugo nominated book is Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold, but Ian and Kirstyn have decided not to discuss this as it is part of the Vorkosigan saga with which they have not been keeping up. Listener feedback and opinions from those who have read Cryoburn, however, will be most welcome!) Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 8: 'Full Dark, No Stars' and 'Among Others' (plus 'Embassytown')

This month The Writer and the Critic comes to you as a LIVE record from Continuum 7 -- Melbourne's own speculative fiction and pop culture convention -- with the incomparable Catherynne M. Valente as special guest podcaster. Ian, Kirstyn and Cat discuss the problems and politics involved when writers review the work of friends and the need for honesty in online opinion. Cat talks about the popular and critical response to her own work, why sad pandas make everyone else sad as well, and why she is currently taking a break from writing negative reviews on her blog. Rose Fox's recent article about the necessity for candour in reviews is also briefly mentioned. (photo: Art Bébé Promotions) The first two books up for discussion are Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King (recommended by Kirstyn) and Among Others by Jo Walton (Ian's pick). This review of Among Others is pointed as being one Jo Walton herself particularly likes, whereas these two became the subject of reader vitriol over at her LiveJournal -- an incident which Cat, Ian and Kirstyn talk about at length in regards to the writing of memoir and authorial responses to critics. For those wishing to avoid spoilers and skip ahead, discussion of Full Dark, No Stars begins at 19:00, while Among Others starts around 40:50. The trio then turn their attention to the newly released Embassytown by China Mieville -- selected by Cat -- which Ian and Kirstyn possibly manage to make sound a little more boring than it actually is. You don't need a degree in linguistic theory, honest! (China himself has provided a far better summary of the book.) The discussion of Embassytown, including a rather heated debate between Ian and Kirstyn about post-colonialism, begins at 1:07:40. Check back in at the 1:35:00 mark for some (very brief) final remarks. Next month The Writer and the Critic will feature Melbourne author Cameron Rogers, who has chosen World War Z by Max Brooks for Ian and Kirstyn to read. Ian's recommended book will be a short story collection, Eclipse 4 edited by Jonathan Strahan, while Kirstyn's pick is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 7: 'The Resurrectionist' and 'Oryx and Crake' (plus 'Blackout/All Clear')

This month's episode of The Writer and the Critic sees your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, discuss the results of the recently announced Ditmar and Tin Duck Awards and dissect the almost inevitable Great Ditmar Controversy of 2011 that exploded onto the interwebs soon afterwards. For those interested in reading further, Kirstyn has blogged about the issue here and here. The books up for discussion on the podcast this month are The Resurrectionst by Jack O'Connell (chosen by Ian ) and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (recommended by Kirstyn ). Ian mentions a review by Andrew Wheeler when speaking about the O'Connell novel and Kirstyn vaguely remembers this online argument while arguing an Atwood tangent of her own. For those wishing to avoid spoilers and skip ahead, discussion of The Resurrectionist begins at 30:00, while Oryx and Crake starts around 47:00.

They then turn their attention to a book which was recommended by one of their lovely listeners -- Tansy Rayner Roberts. Or maybe two books. Or possibly one book which has had a run-in with a guillotine: Black Out and All Clear by Connie Willis. Ian steals his best lines quotes extensively from this review by his new Bestest Twitter Friend, Jonathan McCalmont. Ian also gets very, very frustrated and swears quite a bit. The discussion of Blackout / All Clear begins at 1:09:09

Check back in at the 1:27:15 mark for some listener feedback and final remarks. Next month The Writer and the Critic will hit the road once again to record their first episode live in front of an actual audience at Continuum 7 in Melbourne! Their very special guest will be the brilliant and awe-inspiring, Catherynne M. Valente, who has picked Embassytown by China Mieville for Ian and Kirstyn to read. Ian's recommended book for June will be Among Others by Jo Walton, while Kirstyn has chosen Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Interim: The SwanCon36 MegaPodcast

And now for something completely different ... SwanCon36 was held over the Easter Weekend (21- 25 April 2011) and a whole bunch of Australian podcasters were in attendance. What better excuse do you need to record a special live MegaPodcast? Join Jonathan Strahan from Coode Street, Helen Merrick from Pangalactic Interwebs, Alex Pierce from Galactic Suburbia, and The Writer and the Critic's own Kirstyn McDermott to hear all about the books and films you should be reading and watching. Yes, should. And if you listen carefully you can even hear Ian Mond wailing and gnashing his teeth back in Melbourne. He really doesn't like being left out of things. Okay, sure. It's not all that different.

Episode 6: 'The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' and 'Liar' (plus 'Above/Below')

The Writer and the Critic elects to stay at home and rest its feet this month as your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, give you a rundown on the recently announced ballots for the Ditmar and Chronos Awards. Ian grabs a shovel ad promptly digs himself a Ditmar-shaped hole. Kirstyn highlights the emergence of the podcast as a dominant form of "fan publication" on both ballots.They then discuss gender bias in The Periodic Table of Storytelling (which is based on the TV Tropes wiki) -- not to mention gender bias on Ian's hoodie! -- as well as a related blog post by Ann Leckie. Ian laments the likely closure of Salon Futura but hopes Wizard's Tower Press (and its fine online book store) will continue. Kirstyn still refuses to buy an iPad. Above/Below by Stephanie Campisi and Ben Peek is a listener-recommended title which is comprised of two linked novellas published as a single "flip-style" book.There are very few spoilers in this review but if you haven't read the book and wish to skip ahead, the discussion begins at 39:30 and ends around 54:15.

The official podcast books are The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (chosen by Ian) and Liar by Justine Larbalestier (recommended by Kirstyn). Be warned: both these discussions contains MASSIVE SPOILERS!! They begin at 54:15 for Oscar Wao and 1:20:20 for Liar. If you haven't already read the books, you may want to come back later when you have. Especially when it coms to Liar. Kirstyn and Ian are very serious about that. Look how sternly their fingers are wagging!

To hear a final wrap-up, brief mention of feedback, and some very exciting podcasty news, listen in from 1:39:00. For the next episode, Ian has chosen The Resurrectionst by Jack O'Connell while Kirstyn has picked Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. In addition, they will be discussing the new split-novel/duology, Black Out and All Clear by Connie Willis, which was recommended by a listener. Whew, that's a whole bunch of words to get through! *** The Writer and the Critic adopts a book club approach to its discussion and will assume its listeners have either read the books in question or don't care if they find out that it was all but a dream in the end. There will almost certainly be spoilers, so you are encouraged to read the chosen titles ahead of time. It'll be much more fun that way and Ian and Kirstyn won't get near as many death threats! ***