Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

In this brief bonus episode, we set the stage for Katharine Kerr’s 1986 Celtic fantasy Daggerspell with some discussion of the fantasy landscape in the ’80s, and the pronunciation of the Deverrian language. Next week, we get underway with the prologue and the first two chapters! Footnotes: Daggerspell Katharine Kerr Ruth Urquhart To support the podcast, join the conversation on Discord and get acc...

In this episode, we discuss Parts Six and Seven of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue . How do we navigate so many late reveals? What comes next for Addie? If this book is a fairytale, what kind of fairytale is it?  Next week, we begin our fourth book: Katherine Kerr’s Daggerspell .  Unanswered Questions: Is the thirty year/forty year contradiction simply a mistake? Is The Last Word a...

In this episode, we discuss Parts Four and Five of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue . Does Addie really explain it all? Do we have the perfect fan-casting for Henry? What kind of deal did Beethoven make, anyway?  Next week, we conclude our reading with Parts Six and Seven. Unanswered Questions: Is Luc connected with all the storms we’ve seen? How do we resolve the questions of conse...

In this episode, we discuss Part Three of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , get deep into the text, discuss red flags on first dates, wonder about drives Addie back to Villon, and consider again the dreams that feed defiance. Next week, we continue our reading with Parts Four and Five. Unanswered Questions: How deliberate is the overlapping of art and dreams in Addie’s experience?...

In this episode, we discuss Part Two of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , delve deeper into the fairy tale, consider capitalism and the origins of modern France, and talk about our love triangle.  Next week, we continue our reading with Part Three. Unanswered Questions: How is Addie reborn after her near-death experience (in terms of proximity if not mortality) in Paris? Is Henry’s...

In this episode, we discuss Part One of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , discuss its genre and its style, defend the flexibility of third-person present-tense narration, and start to follow breadcrumbs into the past.  Next week, we continue our reading with Part Two. Unanswered Questions: Who or what is the darkness with whom Addie makes her pact? If ideas and art and belief are t...

In this episode, we discuss the last three chapters of Terry Miles’ Rabbits , discuss how it sticks the landing, question authority, and finally figure out what happened with K.  Next week, we begin our reading of VE Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , and discuss part one.  Unanswered Questions: Is Scarpio trustworthy? Is Worricker’s AI real? If so, how does it manipulate the players of...

In this episode, we discuss chapters thirty to forty-one of Terry Miles’ Rabbits , consider the fin de siècle pastiche of American culture, muse on the nature of the hollow protagonist, and touch on the genius of Italo Calvino.  Next week, we end the book with chapters forty-two to forty-five. Unanswered Questions: Is Rabbits a second-generation pastiche on pre-Millennial American culture? To what...

In this episode, we discuss chapters seventeen to twenty-nine of Terry Miles’ Rabbits . This week, we consider K’s role as a narrator and as a protagonist, discuss not one but two possible explanations of what is (metaphysically) going on with Rabbits, flip the script with Chloe, lament the loss of a cinematic classic, and close out the second act.  Next week, we continue with chapters thirty to f...

In this episode, we discuss chapters four to sixteen of Terry Miles’ Rabbits . This week, we dive into the murky waters of creepypasta, break down the brilliant narrative trick that makes Rabbits work, remember Frodo atop Amon Hen, make a list of everything that is not everything that is not Rabbits, figure out the surprising timeline and K’s age, and celebrate the ancient, arcane magnificence of...

In this episode, we discuss chapters one to three of Terry Miles’ Rabbits . This week, we begin our discussion of Rabbits by discussing second-person storytelling, the interaction of games and stories, truth and meaning, and how to navigate our mysterious narrator.  Next week, we continue with chapters four to sixteen. Unanswered Questions: What is Rabbits? How is the game is played and the purpos...

In this episode, we discuss C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , chapters fifteen to seventeen. This week, we end our discussion of the first Narnia book with thoughts on the deep magic, the influence of Jupiter, and the power of things which aren’t real. Next week, we begin our second unit with everything up to the beginning of chapter four of Terry Miles’ Rabbits . Unanswered Quest...

In this episode, we discuss C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , chapters eleven to fourteen. This week, we approach the end of the novel with thoughts on essentialism, on Aslan’s role within and without the text, and the very masculine nature of Lucy’s healing cordial. Unanswered Questions: Is Aslan an authorial figure in the text? What is the nature of the deeper magic, and what is...

In this episode, we discuss C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , chapters six to ten. This week, we continue our journey through Narnia — albeit more slowly than we had intended! How do we feel about Lumps of Delight? When I say “we”, am I invoking the majestic plural? How do the Pevensie children match up with the X-Men? Unanswered Questions: What is the role and consequence of prop...

In this episode, we discuss C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , chapters one to five. Welcome to Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction! In this episode, we delve into the history of C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece, introduce Foucault’s author-function, and contrast Tumnus and the White Witch, the classic and the modern, three kinds of toast and Turkish delight. Unanswered Questions: Wh...

Welcome to Stars & Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction. In this brief introduction, I’ll explain a little about what I’m going to do with this podcast. The first episode, discussing the first five chapters of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe , will be available on Sunday! Stars & Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a part of Next Word. It is written and produced by Alastair St...