The Fantasy Inn Podcast

Travis interviews author R.F. Kuang about The Burning God , the final novel in The Poppy War trilogy from Harper Voyager. The series reimagines the Second Sino-Japanese War set in a fantasy analogue of the Song Dynasty following a protagonist who parallels Mao Zedong's rise to power. Rebecca and Travis discuss her conflicted emotions at saying goodbye to the Poppy War series, revisit her powerful...

Travis interviews author Yoon Ha Lee about Phoenix Extravagant , his latest novel from Solaris Books. This standalone story follows a nonbinary painter as they team up with a pacifist mecha dragon against an evil empire, and it takes place in a magical version of Korea during the Japanese occupation. Yoon and Travis discuss Yoon's experience with watercolor and animation, the important role of art...

Travis interviews fantasy author Alix E. Harrow about The Once and Future Witches , her latest novel from Redhook. This standalone story follows three sisters whose fight to bring back witchcraft parallels the women's suffrage movement. Alix and Travis discuss the power of stories, her unique method for crafting memorable prose, and weaving witchcraft into an alternative history. About Alix E. Har...

Travis interviews fantasy author P. Djèlí Clark about Ring Shout , his newest novella from Tordotcom. It follows three Black women in the 1920s as they fight the literal demons within the Ku Klux Klan, and blends fantasy, horror, and historical fiction. Djèlí and Travis revisit his blog post on diversity in the Wheel of Time TV show , discuss the founding of FIYAH Literary Magazine, and talk about...

It's time for our first bonus episode! We've been promising to release one as soon as we reach $25 on Patreon, and we finally hit it! Thank you so much for helping to make this happen, we really could not do this without you. This is an extra episode in addition to our weekly releases... after all, it's a bonus! For a while now, we've been asking podcast guests to share a couple of books that they...

Travis interviews fantasy author C.L. Polk about their latest novel, The Midnight Bargain . It's a standalone fantasy of manners story from Erewhon Books about a woman who must choose between love and magic, set in a world where women are forbidden from practicing the art of summoning and binding magical spirits. Cee and Travis talk about adding emotional churn to your writing, the big gorgeous dr...

Travis interviews fantasy author Andrea Stewart about her latest novel, The Bone Shard Daughter . It's the first book in a new epic fantasy series from Orbit Books, set in an archipelago empire where the islands are slowly sinking and the reclusive emperor controls his subjects through his twisted bone shard constructs. Andrea and Travis talk about treating magic like computer programming, what sh...

Travis interviews science fiction author Karen Osborne about her debut novel, Architects of Memory . It's the first book in the new cinematic space opera from Tor Books, set in a universe where corporations have replaced governments and humanity finds themselves at war with a truly alien species. Karen and Travis talk about her experience playing the most sci-fi of all musical instruments, what he...

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you enjoy reading fantasy books. You may also like talking about fantasy books... or at least listening to others talk about them. This week, Calvin Park (from Under a Pile of Books ) and David Walters (from Authors on a Podcast Talking Books ) stopped by the Fantasy Inn to talk about how they talk about books. How exactly does one write a review? An...

The Fantasy Inn is rather fond of fantasy books... it's in the name. But when and why do we read outside the fantasy genre? After all, there are so many truly incredible books out there. Please note that our reading skews toward fantasy, so this is not an episode that extensively explores other genres. Instead, we examine our reading habits, the appeal of other genres, and why we sometimes find it...

This week’s topic is speculative fiction titles. As in, the actual names of fantasy and science fiction books. What makes a book title jump out at us when browsing spines at the store… or lately, listings at the online bookseller of our choice? And what separates the good, the bad, and the boring? Let's talk about fantasy book titles. The fantasy book title generator featured in this episode was c...

Travis interviews fantasy author Django Wexler about his latest novel, Ashes of the Sun . It follows two siblings on opposite sides of a magical war, kicking off the Burningblade and Silvereye series from Orbit Books. Django and Travis discuss the art of receiving critique, the dubious ethics of training young children to become Jedi, and how to design a fantasy world to fit the story you want to...

Travis interviews science fiction author Linden A. Lewis about their debut novel, The First Sister . Out today from Skybound Books, The First Sister is an epic space opera often compared to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Linden and Travis discuss the time Linden ended up as an extra on The Walking Dead, consulting an astrophysicist to get the "science" part...

The fantasy subreddit at fantasy.reddit.com is one of the largest—if not the largest—online speculative fiction communities in the world. It recently surpassed one million subscribers and provides a place for readers, writers, and fans of all speculative media to gather and discuss the genre they love. Joining us today are three of the r/Fantasy moderators: Lisa (/u/lrich1024) Megan (/u/Megan_Dawn...

Travis interviews podcaster Cole Burkhardt about their science fiction audio drama, Null/Void . The story follows a young woman and her friends as they defend their small town from a family of ruthless billionaires who wish to exploit and destroy it. Cole and Travis discuss the power of audio fiction, practical advice for aspiring voice actors and sound designers, and the importance of representat...

Travis interviews editor Jonathan Strahan about his latest fantasy anthology, The Book of Dragons . It collects stories of dragons from all over the world, written by some of the most renowned modern science fiction and fantasy writers. Jonathan and Travis discuss some of his favorite short stories, how novice and veteran readers can approach discovering short fiction, and of course, dragons. Jona...

Travis interviews science fiction and fantasy author Kate Elliott about her latest book, Unconquerable Sun . The book kicks off the space opera series The Sun Chronicles from Tor Books, and is pitched as gender swapped Alexander the Great in space. Kate and Travis discuss the Hawaiian Islands method of writing, how to approach the world-building of new cultures, and the history of Alexander the Gr...

One of the great things about being a speculative fiction fan in the last couple of decades is the ability to discuss any book, game, movie, etc. you can possibly imagine online. Social media lets us have the geeky conversations online that we may not be able to have in other areas of our lives. So, how do we usually use bookish social media as fans? What type of content do we want to see from wri...

Travis interviews fantasy author S.A. Chakraborty about concluding her debut trilogy with The Empire of Gold , the final novel in the Daevabad series. The books center around a young con artist named Nahri who is thrust into a world full of djinn, political turmoil, and magic. Travis and Shannon discuss the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the books, how historical accounts often read like angry Yel...

Travis interviews fantasy author K.A. Doore about concluding her debut trilogy with The Unconquered City , the final novel in The Chronicles of Ghadid series. Her books are all about queer assassins saving the day, and so far hold the record for the most undead camels in any book we've read. Travis and Kai discuss the pros and cons of switching your keyboard layout to avoid wrist strain, some less...

Mood reading and book slumps are two topics that come up often in the book community. Sometimes it's hard to stick to a reading schedule and we read whatever strikes our fancy. Other times it's hard to read at all. And of course, mood reading and book slumps can be hard to separate. Books Mentioned: Finna by Nino Cipri Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan (translated by Ken...

Travis interviews fantasy author Rowenna Miller about concluding her debut trilogy with Rule, the final novel in The Unraveled Kingdom historical fantasy series. The two of them discuss mail delivery chickens, the delightful niche geekdom that is living history, and the effects of neutrality in the face of oppression. Rowenna Miller, a self-professed nerd from the Midwest, is the author of fantasy...

There's something wonderful about animal companions in fantasy, magical or not. We'd love to do a deep dive into why these friendly critters capture our hearts, the various types of animals usually found in fantasy stories, and examining how the fantasy genre's relationship with animals has evolved over the decades. Unfortunately, this is not that episode. If you've ever been captivated by the maj...

Travis interviews fantasy author Lindsay Smith about her latest project, Marvel's Black Widow: Bad Blood series from Serial Box. Lindsay Smith is the co-lead of a team of writers bringing the Russian super-spy into a serialized story that releases new episodes each week. Travis and Lindsay talk about how her experience as a Russian cybersecurity analyst applies to her writing, the joys of working...

Travis interviews science fiction and fantasy author Martha Wells about her latest novel, Network Effect . It's the first full-length novel in the Murderbot Diaries and releases today from Tor.com . The two of them talk about the challenges of writing nonhuman characters, amazing books they wish more people were reading, and what the future holds in store for Murderbot. Check out the full virtual...