What Mad Universe?!?

There's a world going on underground, but the nature of its inhabitants has been hotly debated since humans started telling stories around the campfire. One of the first modern writers to portray the world of goblins as we know them today is George MacDonald, author of The Princess and the Goblin, which we look at with this latest episode. Beware of long-limbed cats... [Adams Patreon]( https://pat...

In this episode, Philip looks at the Dr. Satan stories by Paul Ernst, which in many ways typify pulp of its era by hitting as many of the tropes as possible (including the idea of a villain taking center stage) while still being imaginative and fun. I never cared for that Doctor Satan... Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! [Adams Patreon]( https://patreon.com/phantasmictales...

We return once more to the dark and soulful world of Anne Rice with a look at another grouping of her novels including The Vampire Armand, which seems to be the last stretch of her classical vampire "continuity" before things get REALLY weird. Stay tuned, creatures of the night! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! [Adams Patreon]( https://patreon.com/phantasmictale...

Roll for initiative, listeners, because you're about to have an encounter with adventure! Yes, it's time to talk about the intersection of role-playing games, specifically the classic model Dungeons and Dragons, and literature, in the form of TSR's first big experiment in prose publishing, the Dragonlance trilogy. We're joined by guest Filbi Pott to talk about these surprisingly pivotal anchors of...

The Cthulhu Mythos, a concept that outlived (and was born after) the death of HP Lovecraft, is the subject of our latest episode--specifically Strange Eons, a loving tribute to Lovecraft's work by Robert Bloch, author of psycho and actual personal friend of Lovecraft's in his youth. Bloch's love for Lovecraft's work is beyond dispute, but at what point does playing in a deceased author's sandbox b...

As a wise man once said, we are all concerned about the future, because that is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives. Kim Stanley Robinson certainly is, and his magnum opus The Ministry For The Future tackles the biggest threat to the future: looming climate change, and the things that prevent us from tackling it (spoiler: it's capitalism). This near-future hard SF book takes a look a...

When times are dark and evil stalks the land, it means it's time for a knight in shining armour to ride to the rescue! What what happens when it's the 20th century and knights in armour are hard to come by? You build one, of course! The 1970s kid's adventure Sir MacHinery has a robot taking on the role of gallant saviour on a noble quest against the forces of darkness through a wacky misunderstand...

In which we bring our look at the works of Terry Pratchett to a close... *you see because Terry Pratchett famously utilizes footnotes for both jokes and to expand upon the lore. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! [Adams Patreon]( https://patreon.com/phantasmictales ) [Phils Patreon]( https://www.patreon.com/Spearhafoc ) [What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/pro...

Halloween is spooky season, and what's spookier than...THE DEVIL?!? Yes, Phil continues his journey through the interconnected universe of Anne Rice with a look at two of her most cosmic books, ones that eventually delve into theology and the problem of evil. A must-listen entry for Demon Lovers everywhere! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What...

The towering names of Weird Pulp Fiction: HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard and...Clark Ashton Smith, the perpetual Larry to their Curly and Moe, ever overshadowed by his two contemporaries a century later. But Smith, of course, deserves a look on his own merits. In this episode we're joined by our friend Will "Filbi" Staples to talk about Smith's cycle of medieval fantasy stories set in the...

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Well that's a grim title for a goofy episode...but it is part of our Discworld series, after all, and in particular it's our episode on the books Pratchett wrote about Death, the Grim Reaper, the End of Things. He's a nice guy when you get to know him, really! We're once again joined by James "Ing" English (Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/u3109397 ) to talk about the briiiiight siii...

Sometimes a bear is just a bear. And sometimes the bear is the avatar of the ineffable divine, serving as a sign that it's time to reconquer your lost empire. The trick is knowing which is which. We attempt to solve this conundrum in the latest WMU?!? on Richard Adams' Shardik, a fantasy novel--or is it? About a bear who is a god--or is he? So many questions. Can we at least know if he pees in the...

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The next in our new series on the supernatural universe of Anne Rice tackles the very strange Mayfair Witches series, where things get...uncomfortable. But hey--it is horror! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Univer...

The second episode we've done this season confirming a flat world is VERY different from Terry Pratchett, as we delve into the deserve-to-be-better known works of Tanith Lee, which are recently getting more attention for unfortunate reasons (she was a clear influence on a certain famed fantasy writer who's been accused of some troubling allegations, which we discuss in the episode). Lee's mythopoe...

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On this episode we confront another wildly unlikely Sci-Fi scenario: a fascist takeover of the United States! I mean, what a crazy idea! Author Sinclair Lewis knew it would never happen, that's why it's called It Can't Happen Here! But in these enlightened and stable times we live in, it's interesting to look back and see what people thought might happen on the eve of World War II. Come listen in...

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The second episode of the new season of What Mad Universe?!? is another return to Terry Pratchett's Discworld. We're once again joined by James Reilly-English to focus on Rhincewind, the wizards of Unseen University, and Pratchett's logically illogical metaphysics of the Discworld itself. Adams Patreon Philips Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe...

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What Mad Universe?!? has returned from the grave! In this episode, we look at one of the lynchpins of modern pop culture--the interconnected horny goth supernatural universe of Anne Rice, the world that launched a thousand ships and may be the origin point for a huge chunk of internet culture! And yes, Philip's going to read every single book and report back to us in another of our patented ongoin...

Once again we come to a great historical turning point, acolytes of adventure, with the arrival of our fourth season finale! We're once again discussing Terry Pratchett with our friend James "Ing" Reilly-English, and this time it's the "Industrial Revolution" books about how technological and cultural change comes to the Discworld. At the center of it all: Moist Von Lipwig, con...

Episode Notes Oh, for a simpler time, when men were men, women were women, and everyone had PTSD from World War One. We hearken back to that time with The Ship Of Ishtar, by A. Merritt, a pulp fantasy (exactly 100 years old this year!) that may have influenced the likes of Robert E. Howard and dabbles in philosophy and mythology, as well as revealing some weird dark subconscious strains in both th...

Who needs that Harry Potter jerk?!? Terry Pratchett dipped his toe into the "YA series about a kid learning magic" pool a few years later in his Discworld series about teen witch Tiffany Aching. We're joined once again by pal Ing to dissect this series, which includes Pratchett's final novel. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil&#x27...