Ep 24: Look into my eyes with Russell Smith

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-2htmj-1251199

Russell’s book: The Demon Headmaster by Gillian Cross

Ali’s book: Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Catherine Butler wrote a paper about mind control in children’s literature and you can read it here

Russell and I talk about the new series of The Demon Headmaster. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer.

Information about the 1990s series can be found here

There is a second Amari book on the way.

I like the look of this and I saw this on Twitter

Follow Russell at @RASmithPSL, and his blog at https://projectshadowlondon.com/

Advertisement

Ep 23 Sweet Polly Oliver goes Over The Hills: Sharpe and Monstrous Regiment

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zn5gc-123fac0

Spoilers for Monstrous Regiment in this episode! 

Please note that some women who went to war disguised as men lived as men for the rest of their lives (such as James Barry) while others returned to living as women after their service. Sergeant Jackrum may be considered the former; he may have considered himself a trans man, if such terms were available to him in Discworld.

Alistair’s choice: Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

Ali’s choice: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

During the discussion, Alistair and I talked about the representation of women by both novels: while there are no women viewpoint characters in Sharpe’s Eagle they are there. It’s incredible to me that women were so close to the front line in the peninsula wars, and in such a variety of roles. As I mentioned in the podcast, Phoebe Hessel’s gravestone is still (just about) legible in the graveyard of St Nicholas of Myrna, Brighton, which is just down the hill from where I live. You can find out more about the “Stepney Amazon” here.

See Alistair’s wonderful kickstarter for dyslexia-friendly books for adults, including Sharpe’s Skirmish by Bernard Cornwell!

Thank you Alistair! Follow Books on the Hill on Twitter: @Booksonthehill

Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails and Jack Sadler-Johnson

Sweet Polly Oliver goes Over The Hills: Sharpe and Monstrous Regiment

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zn5gc-123fac0

Spoilers for Monstrous Regiment in this episode! 

Please note that some women who went to war disguised as men lived as men for the rest of their lives (such as James Barry) while others returned to living as women after their service. Sergeant Jackrum may be considered the former; he may have considered himself a trans man, if such terms were available to him in Discworld.

Alistair’s choice: Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

Ali’s choice: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

During the discussion, Alistair and I talked about the representation of women by both novels: while there are no women viewpoint characters in Sharpe’s Eagle they are there. It’s incredible to me that women were so close to the front line in the peninsula wars, and in such a variety of roles. As I mentioned in the podcast, Phoebe Hessel’s gravestone is still (just about) legible in the graveyard of St Nicholas of Myrna, Brighton, which is just down the hill from where I live. You can find out more about the “Stepney Amazon” here.

See Alistair’s wonderful kickstarter for dyslexia-friendly books for adults, including Sharpe’s Skirmish by Bernard Cornwell!

Thank you Alistair! Follow Books on the Hill on Twitter: @Booksonthehill

Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails and Jack Sadler-Johnson

Ep 22: I’m just a teenage necromancer, baby

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-9c3f6-1222877

I recorded this episode after having Covid, which affected my asthma. Apologies for the audible wheezing.

 

Scott’s choice: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

Ali’s choice: Sabriel by Garth Nix

Buy from your local bookseller, such as Bert’s Books in Swindon!

The awful adaptation of A Wizard of Earthsea: Legend of Earthsea and a much better one: Tales from Earthsea

Vetch is indeed a plant.

HP Lovecraft Band’s song Country Boy and Bleeker Street

Scott mentions the Caryl Churchill play Vinegar Tom

Tim Curry narrates the audiobook of Sabriel

Authors that Scott mentions reading to his son:

• Vashti Hardy
• G. Leonard
• Jakob Wegelius

We also talk about Chris Riddell’s Goth Girl discussed by my dad and me on episode 16, and L.D Lapinski’s Strangeworlds Travel Agency, discussed with Phil Dyson in episode 2. The final book in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency is now published- The Secrets of the Stormforest.

Find Scott on Twitter: @stumpyduck77 and on Instagram @doggerelg

Episode 21: Fantasy Book Swap Live!!! at Reclamation 2022, with Tasha Suri

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-e25kh-1207e69

Shownotes

Recorded at Reclamation 2022, the British Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan convention. Join us next year with Conversation 2023!

With guest Tasha Suri

Tasha’s pick: Alanna, The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Ali’s pick: Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve

Follow Tasha on Twitter and Instagram

Many thanks to everyone who got up before 10:30am on Bank Holiday Monday to be at the recording! And thanks to you for listening.

 

Deploy Emergency Podcast

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-rps8k-11f20ad

A very short emergency podcast due to life, the pandemic and the general state of things that have disrupted my recording schedule. How rude.

This episode is inspired by Octothorpe’s episode 54, Embrace the Sweat, where in discussion about Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education Alison suggested that it was the first book to challenge the classism of the Harry Potter series. I disagree!

You can find out more about Jonathan Stroud here. I think he’s a fantastic author. The first of the Bartimaeus books is The Amulet of Samarkand . We meet Kitty Jones and the Resistance in The Golem’s Eye and the final novel of the original trilogy is Ptolemy’s Gate.

The next scheduled recording is live on Easter Monday at EasterCon, Reclamation 2022, with Tasha Suri as guest. We will be discussing Tamora Pierce’s Alanna: The First Adventure and Philip Reeve’s Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep. Please come along if you’re there, and send questions via @fantasyswap or fantasybookswap@gmail.com

Ep 19: Fairytale retellings and socialist fantasy with Ali Williams

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-3r999-11d7107

Warning: there is mild swearing in this episode, and a lot of cackling. 

Ali Williams’s book: Beauty by Robin McKinley

Ali Baker’s book: Magyk by Angie Sage

Robin McKinley’s website here

Angie Sage’s website here

This is Laurie Pink, Angie Sage’s child, who is an artist: https://mobile.twitter.com/lauriepink    

Ali Williams’s website: https://www.aliwilliams.org/ where you can find links to her lectures, Romancing the Discourse, her editing and writing. You can find the booklist for her paranormal romance lecture here.

You can follow Ali on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok @claficionado

Ali’s paranormal romance novel, Forged in Flames, is published later this year. You can see the gorgeous cover here

Thanks to Ali for being an emergency stand-in guest!

Ep 18: Going Underground Joan Aiken’s Is and Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-u3h44-11c3e3b

Aisha’s book: Is by Joan Aiken

Ali’s book: A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

You can find out about all of Joan Aiken’s books here and follow her daughter, Lizza on Twitter.

Aisha mentions The Harp of Fishbones, The Kingdom under the Sea and A Necklace of Raindrops with Jan Pienkowski’s illustrations, such as these ones

You can hear LeVar Burton reading ‘Furry Night’ from The People in the Castle here

Frances Hardinge’s website, Facebook fan page and Twitter

Ali’s editions here and Aisha’s

Dr Aishwarya Subramanian’s staff profile on Strange Horizons. You can follow her on Twitter.

Strange Horizons Critical Friends podcast with Aisha, Maureen Kinkaid Speller and Dan Hartland discussing Science Fiction criticism.

The news from Ukraine is terrible. If you’re looking for a bookish charity to support, you might like to try PEN International, which supports authors. Those in Ukraine critical of Russian politics will be in particular need.

Of Wolves and Birds with Damien Hine

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ujjr4-11b585d

Damien’s choice: Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Ali’s choice: Asha and the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan wrote about the inspiration she got from a trip to India here

You can find Damien Hine on Twitter here and Facebook. The audiobook of  Out of Atlas can be bought here. Damien will be at the British SFF convention, EasterCon. You can buy membership here, but do it soon as prices will be rising at the end of the month.

Fantasy Book Swap is Hugo-eligible! If you’re a member of Discon 3 or Chicon 8 you can add the podcast to the longlist. Help more people read fantastic British children’s fantasy fiction!

Thanks as always to Steve Vapour-Trails for production assistance, and Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.

Spooky Old Houses and Ghostly Mouses

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-fap3s-11a613e

This episode has a very special guest… my dad, Michael Baker, who was 84 yesterday. You can see him wearing his favourite hat here. This photo was taken last May, on my sister Kate’s belated 50^th birthday. It was absolutely freezing!

During the podcast I mention John Masefield’s poem Sea Fever. You can read it here. I just found this poem, The Ship and Her Makers,  which seems closer to his prose, somehow.

The sketch Chris Riddell gave me is here and look at the shiny!

My dad is a published author! His book, The Mountain and the Summer Stars, was published the year I was born. Dad continued to write stories for my sisters and me, and Father Christmas left us some brilliant letters thanking us for the mince pies, sherry and glass of whisky that we left out for him.

Fantasy Book Swap is Hugo eligible! If you’re a member or supporting member of Chicon 8, this year’s WorldCon, and you enjoy the podcast, please do consider a nomination for the long list.