Fiction Fans

Your hosts are joined by Chris Panatier to talk about his novel Stringers. They discuss writing by the seat of your pants, bug facts, and and how Patton is probably the best friend in all of fiction. This episode also features a Words are Weird segment about Guush, the grossest word for intergalactic currency around. Find more from Chris here! https://twitter.com/ChrisJPanatier Thanks to the follo...

Your hosts are joined by the wonderful K. R. R. Lockhaven to take another step on their journey to the center of the Discworld to discuss Men At Arms, the fifteenth novel in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Of course, they have to mention the Vimes Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness. Lilly fangirls a little bit over Angua, and the team attends the Humor of Pratchett Appreciation Hour (even thou...

For this special 25th of May episode of Fiction Fans, your hosts discuss Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (and the Glorious Revolution). One of them even reread the book! They talk about rebel cops, economic inequality, and the inherent nonsense of time travel (and how it fits surprisingly well into the overall nonsense of Discworld). Thanks to the following musicians for the use of their songs: - A...

Your hosts once again welcome author Andrew Cartmel on to the podcast to discuss Attack and Decay, the latest book in his Vinyl Detective cozy crime series. Follow the Vinyl Detective to Sweden where he gets embroiled in a mystery involving metal bands, local charity shops, and a crime novelist. As expected, Sara once again talks about all the mouth-watering food in the novel. They also talk about...

In this episode, your hosts discuss the lyrical, lovely, looney novel Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney. There’s a lot of talk about bones (understandable when the book features a necromancer as the main character). The conversation ranges from abusive family dynamics to discovering excellent found family. This week’s Words Are Weird pits two equally legitimate sources against each other –...

Your hosts are joined by Khan Wong to talk about his novel, The Circus Infinite. There’s a certain amount of gushing over the ace representation in the book as well as the relationships in general, platonic and otherwise. They talk about Khan’s circus background, whether he’s a pantser or a plotter (spoiler: he’s both), and the ways that consent is used and misused in the wider world of The Circus...

In this episode, your hosts talk about Anthracite, a humorous Welsh cyberpunk (setting vs genre? You decide!) novel by Matt Thomas. They consider the pros and cons of an unreliable first person narrator, and discuss the slow-burn character arc of the main character Kevin. They also present a hybrid Pet Peeve Words Are Weird about infantile food words. Thanks to the following musicians for the use...

Your hosts are joined by Andrew DeYoung to talk about his apocalyptic novel The Temps. The conversation includes “What Do You Do With A BA In English” (yes your hosts are singing this as they write this description) and cautious optimism. They cover zombie inspirations, how offices don’t need help to seem like a dystopian hellscape, and how Millennials are apparently The Worst™. They also spring a...

Your hosts discuss the 14th (out of 41) Discworld novel, Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. They both praise and criticize all of the witches, and introduce their new subpodcast, BACEd (relationship advice that is always summed up as “just fucking talk to each other”). They also wonder why Pratchett hyphenates “orang-utan” and discover the world of hyphen decay. Thanks to the following musicians...

Your hosts speak with Ada Hoffman (author of The Outside) and R.B. Lemberg (author of The Four Profound Weaves) about their work. They talk about queerness and neurodivergence in fiction, how their educational backgrounds intersects with their writing, and the books and stories that inspired their work. R.B. also discusses translating Ukrainian war poetry in response to the ongoing war, which you...

Your hosts are joined by Krystle Matar, author of Legacy of the Brightwash, to discuss Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. They speculate about Carey's influence on The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and talk a lot about consent issues in SFF and flipping genre tropes. As per usual, Sara and Lilly vehemently disagree on just about everything. Krystle suggests a Words Are Weird pulled fro...

Your hosts talk about Small Gods, arguably the best Discworld novel. They also discuss malicious gods, fake gods, and redeemed gods. If you aren’t interested in Discworld as a series, you should still read this book. Pratchett also suggests a great “Words Are Weird” segment about diction, and the type of boss who says “enter.” Thanks to the following musicians for the use of their songs: - Amarià...

Your hosts are joined by Ciel Pierlot to discuss her debut novel, Bluebird. They all agree that the tagline, "lesbian gunslingers in space" is Very Good. They discuss fanfiction, naming characters, and how much they want more Rig and Ginka content. They also make a not so brief stop in the Pet Peeve Corner to talk about one of Ciel's Pet Peeves. You can find Ciel here: https://twitt...

Your hosts are joined by book bloggers Haadiya and Ayah from Her Bookish Obsession blog to talk about Marissa Meyer’s latest entry into the fairytale retelling genre, Gilded. They discuss fairytale and mythological retellings across multiple mediums (aka: Lilly does shoehorn in The Witcher. PSA: Everyone should read Ella Enchanted). They talk a lot about insta-love and its use in this novel, and t...

Your hosts read “Azura Ghost” by Essa Hansen, the sequel to “Nophek Gloss” (ep 26). They discuss time skips and character progression and the wide spectrum of trash villains to anti heroes to sinister “heroes.” They also go over their thoughts on the “Rings of Power” (Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings show) trailer. They are… unimpressed. In a brief Words are Weird segment, autocorrect strikes a...

Your hosts talk with Xueting Ni, editor and translator of Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction. This collection of short stories features a diverse selection of authors and themes bringing the best of Chinese Science-Fiction to the English speaking world. We discussed her selection process, translating genre fiction, and how much we appreciated her notes after each story. You can f...

Your hosts discuss Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, the first book in his Rivers of London series. They talk about detective genre tropes and pose an awful lot of questions – some even get answered! Lilly complains about Jeeves and Wooster sauce in this week’s Words are Weird. Thanks to the following musicians for the use of their songs: - Amarià for the use of “Sérénade à Notre Dame de Paris” -...

Your hosts revisit the classic A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and discuss how surprising it can be rereading a book in a different stage of life. Apparently Arthur Dent is only 30? We don’t don’t actually bring that up in the episode but Lilly is pretty sure he was middle aged when she read it in high school. Sara also brings up an atrocious example of tags on AO3 in this wee...

Your hosts spoke with Dani Finn, author of the Maer Cycle and the Weirdwater Confluence, about writing their sword-free fantasy novel The Living Waters. The conversation covered rafting adventures, the virtues of varied relationship arcs, and the inherent issues with evil races in fantasy.  Dan also brought their own Words Are Weird to the podcasting table You can find Dan on twitter at https://tw...

Your hosts continue their Journey to the Center of the Discworld with a discussion of Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett. They talk about how much they love Greebo the cat, and the exploration of the witch archetypes and how they interact with fairytales. This episode also contains a Words Are Weird coming to you straight from Terry Pratchett. Thanks to the following musicians for the use of their...

Your hosts had the incredible opportunity to interview Andi Ewington and Rhianna Pratchett about their recent project, Campaigns and Companions. They discuss the joys and tribulations of our furry friends, especially when they knock dice off the table. Tune in for animal hijinks, D&D, Tabletop Roleplaying Games in general, and yes, a little bit of Terry Pratchett. Find our guests online: https...

Your hosts talk about their 2021 Year in Review, and their plans for 2022. Then they discuss Nophek Gloss, by Essa Hansen, and how even though the main character made bad decisions that frustrated them, ultimately it makes for a compelling story that they enjoyed. En is the best, and Threi is the definition of a trash villain (so obviously Sara’s a fan). Finally, we have a Words Are Weird about th...

We put 3 book lovers in a (virtual) room and told them to talk about books they enjoyed reading in 2021 with absolutely zero parameters. What could possibly go wrong? This episode was recorded directly after our "What We’re Excited to Read in 2022" collab in December, so things are a little out of date and a lot wacky. Sara would like to add “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers...

In this ostensibly Christmas episode, your hosts talk about The Muppet Christmas Carol. Unsurprisingly, Lilly is the big muppet fan and Sara is more…not. For some reason, they bring up Christmas a hell of a lot. There’s also a short Wheel of Time TV Show Check-In and a discussion about how portmanteaus are weird words. Listen to our discussion with OWWR Pod about the Wheel of Time TV Series . We&a...

Your hosts welcome back Andrew Cartmel to talk about Low Action, the fifth book in his Vinyl Detective series. They ask hard-hitting questions like “in the recipe on pg 292, do you cook the mushrooms before adding them to the pasta?” They also discuss some of his mystery novel inspirations and other things more relevant to the plot than mushrooms. Sara gets very excited by the possibility of a spi...