The Writer and the Critic

Episode 47: 'Satin Island' and 'Lament for the Afterlife'

Things gets a little highbrow on this episode of The Writer and the Critic, when your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond enthusiastically tackle Satin Island by Tom McCarthy [5:35] and Lament for the Afterlife by Lisa L. Hannett [59:45]. The words 'semiotic' and 'taxonomy' may appear with alarming regularity. Also, mosaic fiction, people. Let's make it a thing.



During the course of the discussion, mention is made of the following articles, reviews and books:

• "The Death of Writing" by Tom McCarthy
• "Technology and the Novel" by Tom McCarthy
• Review of Satin Island by Marc Mewshaw in The Atlantic
• Review of Lament for the Afterlife in Publishers Weekly
• The United Stories of America by Rolf Lunden
• Clade by James Bradley
• Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:47:45 for final remarks.

The next episode will air in February 2016 and will mark the shift to a more curatorial phase of the podcast. The books up for discussion will be Slade House by David Mitchell along with House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 46: 'Day Boy' and 'Viper Wine'

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, open with a brief preamble -- or perhaps a pre-ramble -- detailing some exciting new developments for next year. They then jump straight into a discussion of the two nominated books, Day Boy by Trent Jamieson [4:20] and Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre [49:10].



For those who want more vampire goodness, the full interview with Trent Jamieson on Fantasy Book Review is well worth a read!

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:28:40 for final remarks.

For the next episode, Kirstyn has chosen Lament for the Afterlife by Lisa L. Hannett while Ian is recommending Satin Island by Tom McCarthy. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 45: 'The Godless' and 'The Book of the Unnamed Midwife'

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, open with a discussion about gender, publishing and awards, focused around the following articles:

• "Books About Women Don't Win Big Awards" by Nicola Griffith (see also the follow-up post on this project)
• "Homme de Plume: What I Learned Sending My Novel Out Under a Male Name" by Catherine Nichols

They then move on to the two chosen books, The Godless by Ben Peek (31:55) and The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison (1:12:45).


The reviews, blogs and podcasts mentioned during the discussion can be found via the following links:

• Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature by Kij Johnson (podcast)
• "The Godless by Ben Peek" reviewed on Pornkitsch
• "Book Review: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison" by Ian Mond
• "Ending the World with Hope and Comfort" by Matthew Cheney

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:54:00 for final remarks.

For the next episode, Kirstyn has chosen Day Boy by Trent Jamieson while Ian is recommending Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 44: 'The King of Attolia' and 'Growing Rich'

[We regret to advise that there is some questionable audio for the first five minutes or so of this episode due to an unnoticed fault somewhere in the recording equipment. We sincerely apologise and ask that our lovely listeners persevere regardless. Thankfully, it doesn't last for long.]

This episode of The Writer and the Critic was recorded live at Continuum 11: Southern Skies -- the Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture convention. In keeping with tradition, the special guests on the podcast were the convention's Guests of Honour, Tansy Rayner Roberts and R.J. (Rebecca) Anderson, who each recommended a favourite novel to talk about.

After introductions and some entertaining banter concerning Doctor Who fan fic, chocolate-mousse-filled cronuts and secret author identity crises, the discussion moves on to the books. Rebecca's pick was The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (15:40) while Tansy chose Growing Rich by Fay Weldon (59:20).



Fans of Fay Weldon might also be interested to know that the 1992 mini-series of Growing Rich is available to view in full on YouTube. You're welcome.

If you'd skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, it's safe to come back at 1:31:30 for final remarks.

For the next episode, Kirstyn has chosen The Godless by Ben Peek while Ian is recommending The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

Episode 43: 'The Well' and 'Clade'

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, open with a short discussion of the Hugo Awards and other matters. Inevitably, there are puppies. Sorry. The discussion centres around the following websites and online articles:

• "Some comments on the Hugos and other SF awards" by Eric Flint
• Chaos Horizon by Brandon Kempner
• "Blogging For Rockets" and others posts on Not A Blog by George R. R. Martin
• File 770 by Mike Glyer

Thankfully, they then move on to talking about books! On the slab this time around are The Well by Elizabeth Jolley (18:50) and Clade by James Bradley. (57:50).

This obituary of Elizabeth Jolley in the New York Times as well as this interview with James Bradley in the Sydney Morning Herald are both mentioned.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers (or puppies), it's safe to tune back in at 1:46:40 for final remarks.

In June, The Writer and the Critic will be recorded live at Continuum 11: Southern Skies -- the Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture convention. As has become traditional, the special guests for the podcast will be the convention's Guests of Honour, Tansy Rayner Roberts and R.J. (Rebecca) Anderson, who will each be recommending a favourite book to talk about. Tansy has picked Growing Rich by Fay Weldon while Rebecca has chosen The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun! And if you'll be at Continuum 11, we'd love to see you in the audience!