Episodes

Episode 65: Autonomous by Annalee Newitz 05.08.2019 37:28

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz Show Notes Synopsis 02:19 // Themes 06:51 // activism // corporate totalitarianism // biotech // Roleplaying 19:11 // corporate dystopia // cyberprep // PbtA and Urban Shadows (storms/fronts) // the contract // dual advancement tracks // … Continue reading →

Episode 64: Until the End of the World, Strange Days 11.07.2019 22:37

This episode I’m revisiting two charming 90s near-future films: Wim Wender’s Until the End of the World, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days. Show Notes Until the End of the World 01:17 // Strange Days 06:26 // Themes 10:49 // Brain … Continue reading →

Episode 63: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 24.06.2019 45:01

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson Show Notes Plot and Setting 00:55 // Themes and Images 08:12 // Retrofuturism 09:05 // Baseline 09:24 // Analog 10:14 // Cyberpunk 1984 11:10 // The Gibson Continuum 13:32 // 1.cyberspace 13:54 // 2.corporate governance … Continue reading →

Episode 62: Interview with Tod Foley 15.06.2019 1:16:00

Fractopia Interview with Tod Foley, leader of this is Fractopia and editor of Ubiquicity, author of Day Trippers RPG and Cyberspace. Show Notes Sample topics, in approximate order: What is Fractopia? Hierarchical vs. Anarchistic Frameworks (Day-trippers vs The Strange) Daytrippers, … Continue reading →

Episode 61: King in Yellow coda 08.06.2019 29:49

This is a companion to and additional content that didn’t make into Episode 60. The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers Show Notes Plot and Setting 01:56 // Themes and Images 07:10 (False Documents, vectors, Tommy Westphall, Dollhouse, Snow … Continue reading →

Episode 60: The King in Yellow with Scott Dorward 29.05.2019 1:13:31

The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers With Scott Dorward from the Good Friends of Jackson Elias! Visit their site for their ongoing series on the King in Yellow. Show Notes defining cosmic horror 04:30 // gothic horror 07:50 … Continue reading →

Episode 59: Time Trap by Nicholas Fisk 14.05.2019 29:40

Time Trap by Nicholas Fisk Show Notes Synopsis 01:37 // Themes 07:00 (time travel by hypnosis, portal fantasy, dystopian authority, tangled timelines, consensus reality) // Games 16:42 (generation ships, competing timelines, Sapphire and Steel, Event Horizon, Microscope, A Penny For … Continue reading →

Episode 58: Imajica part 3 07.05.2019 49:27

Imajica by Clive Barker (chapters 43-62, approx 450 of 1100 pages) Show Notes Synopsis 00:40 // Themes 12:05 // Wonderlands of Flesh and Blood by Christian Daumann 12:15 // Metaphors for the body 13:41 // The Patriarchal God 14:44 // … Continue reading →

Episode 57: Imajica part 2 01.05.2019 50:38

Imajica by Clive Barker (chapters 18-42, approx 500 of 1100 pages) Show Notes Synopsis 00:35 // Themes 13:25 // What is Portal Fantasy? 13:52 // The sub-genre (self-contained, relative to our world, superstructures, identity, travellers, geography) 17:25// Dopplegangers 26:00 // … Continue reading →

Episode 56: Imajica by Clive Barker pt1 24.04.2019 42:38

This is the first in a series of 3 episodes discussing Imajica by Clive Barker, covering chapters 1-17. Show Notes Synopsis 04:45 // Themes 16:39 in which I rant about 1e vs 2e Vampire the Masquerade, plus some waffle about … Continue reading →

Episode 55: Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard 08.04.2019 34:29

Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard Show Notes Synopsis 01:15 // Themes 15:15 (three act structures, crossing boundaries, Futureworld and cultists) // Games 23:11 (Lag, spheres of comfort, trusting NPCs) Music Credits Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp … Continue reading →

Episode 54: The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith 21.03.2019 51:10

The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith Show Notes Synopsis 02:48 // Themes 19:01 // Spheres // Speed of communication // Emotional and factual communication // RPG 25:58 // Dramasystem // Malandros // Lag // Next 49:34 // Cocaine Nights … Continue reading →

Episode 53: Big Planet by Jack Vance 06.02.2019 19:26

Big Planet by Jack Vance Show Notes Synopsis 01:05 // Themes 04:25 // Big Planet is Big 04:27 // Kaiju and Cthulhu 05:56 // Superstition 06:48 // Expanding consciousness 08:48 // And then there were none 10:01 // Games 10:12 … Continue reading →

Fictoplasm episode 52: The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll 22.01.2019 16:41

The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll Show Notes High and low fantasy definitions 01:03 // Synopsis 02:32 // A digression 04:05 // Synopsis resumed 05:05 // Themes and roleplaying 10:43 // Pale Assassins, Hope and Nabokov 12:16 Pale Assassins … Continue reading →

Episode 51: fiction within fiction, part 1 (The Magicians, When the Dark is Gone) 30.07.2018 45:31

This is the first of a series looking at secondary worlds that exist as known fiction inside a primary, fictional world. In this episode Ralph tackles Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, and talks to Becky Annison about her game When the … Continue reading →

404: Under the Skin by Michael Faber 05.07.2018 23:08

This is our 50th episode! Not doing anything special, just sipping a gin and talking about Michael Faber’s Under the Skin. Show Notes Under the Skin by Michael Faber Under the Skin (film) directed by Jonathan Glazer Synopsis 00:56 Themes … Continue reading →

4.03: The Last Policeman, Hard Sun, The Three Body Problem 22.05.2018 14:27

Ralph briefly discusses three pre-apocalyptic novels, with the conclusion that all that matters is how much time you’ve got left. Show Notes Three works of fiction 01:00 The Last Policeman by Ben Winters 01:30 Hard Sun 03:40 The Three Body … Continue reading →

Episode 4.02: Excession by Iain M. Banks 13.05.2018 56:49

Rhi and Paul join Ralph to talk about Iain M. Banks’ Excession and The Culture. Post-scarcity, intelligent starships, body modification and first contact. Show Notes Excession (and other Culture novels) by Iain M. Banks Rhiannon Lassiter, Paul Mitchener and Ralph … Continue reading →

Episode 4.01: what we’re reading, new year 2018 09.05.2018 54:04

Rhi, Josh and Ralph talk about books they’re reading, and other things. (I know, it’s not January, it’s May) Show Notes Rhi has been reading What Makes This Book So Great? by Jo Walton and Heriot by Margaret Mahy, and … Continue reading →

Episode 4.00 Annihilation Redux 21.04.2018 28:56

Ralph talks about running Cthulhu Dark: Annihilation at Concrete Cow, the differences between Jeff Vandermeer’s book and Alex Garland’s film, and managing player expectations in one-shots and beyond. Show Notes Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer // Annihilation by Alex Garland Planning … Continue reading →

Episode 310: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 31.12.2017 36:28

For our second seasonal episode Ralph and Liz discuss Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising as part of the worldwide #thedarkisreading hashtag. Show Notes The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper Elizabeth Lovegrove and Ralph Lovegrove Synopsis 00:35 Themes 10:50 … Continue reading →

Episode 309: The Box of Delights by John Masefield 24.12.2017 43:34

Just in time for Christmas, Ralph and Liz discuss the book and TV series of the children’s fantasy The Box of Delights by John Masefield. Show Notes The Box of Delights by John Masefield Adapted for the BBC by Alan … Continue reading →

Episode 308: return to the Southern Reach 21.12.2017 15:25

Ralph briefly returns to Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. Show Notes The Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance) by Jeff Vandermeer. Annihilation episode recap 01:05 Authority 04:35 Acceptance 08:40 RPG bit (Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhu Dark and Lovecraftesque) 11:45 Music … Continue reading →

Episode 307: Fictoplasm at Dragonmeet 11.12.2017 50:58

Liz, Becky, Paul and Josh discuss turning your favourite fiction into RPGs at the Dragonmeet panel on December 2nd 2017 Show notes “Turning your favourite fiction into roleplaying games” Dragonmeet, London, Saturday 2nd December 2017 Elizabeth Lovegrove, Paul Mitchener, Josh … Continue reading →

Episode 306: The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander 03.12.2017 1:06:01

Ralph and Tim discuss Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain, a more manageable Middle Earth, the power of recurring characters and emotional growth. Show Notes The Chronicles of Prydain (The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Lyr, Taran Wanderer, The … Continue reading →