Episodes
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Highlight 15: Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Monday Jan 24, 2022
This fortnight we’re discussing “Assassin's Apprentice” by Robin Hobb. This is the first book in "The Farseer Trilogy" which is itself part of the "Realm of the Elderlings", a connected set of several trilogies.
- TITLE: Assassin's Apprentice
- AUTHOR: Robin Hobb
- PUBLISHER: Voyager
- YEAR: 1995
- LENGTH: 460 pages
- AGE: Adult
- GENRE: Fantasy
- RECOMMENDED: Highly
Book TW for cursing, pregnancy, ableism, sexism, misogyny, bullying (graphic), physical abuse (graphic), emotional abuse (graphic), alcohol, alcoholism, excrement, drug use, miscarriage (backstory), rape (not depicted), child abuse, blood (graphic), violence (graphic), medical content (graphic), animal death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, child death, death.
Topic 1: Patience - Betrayal. Begins at (1:35), CW for infidelity, betrayal, parental death, death.
Topic 2: Burrich - Child Abuse. Begins at (11:20), CW for abuse, animal death.
Topic 3: Galen - Emotional Abuse. Begins at (22:15), CW for suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt.
Promo for Screen Snark; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (30:15).
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This episode briefly discusses fictional depictions of suicide. If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you may be able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country in this directory provided by OpenCounseling.
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You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Highlight 14: Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Monday Jan 10, 2022
This fortnight we’re discussing “IRON WIDOW” by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is book one of a planned series.
Wu Zetian wants to assassinate her sister's murderer, but finds herself in a string of mech battles working alongside Li Shimin, the strongest pilot in Huaxia. Told in Third Person with Single POV.
- TITLE: Iron Widow
- AUTHOR: Xiran Jay Zhao
- PUBLISHER: Penguin Teen
- YEAR: 2021
- LENGTH: 400 pages
- AGE: Young Adult
- GENRE: Science Fiction
- RECOMMENDED: Highly
Book TW for grief, misogyny (graphic), sexual content, alcohol, alcoholism (graphic), medical content, injury description, pregnancy (backstory), blood (graphic), vomit, suicidal thoughts, domestic abuse, child abuse, violence (graphic), torture (graphic), murder (graphic), parental death (backstory), major character death (graphic), death (graphic).
Topic 1: Forced Alcoholism. Begins at (1:35), CW for alcoholism, torture, death.
Topic 2: Death Machine. Begins at (10:00), CW for sexism, misogyny, death.
Topic 3: Invasion. Begins at (21:15), CW for death.
Promo for RMC vs CG; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (31:25).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.
To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.
For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.
You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.
Friday Jan 07, 2022
Interview 8: Seanan McGuire, Part 1 of 2
Friday Jan 07, 2022
Friday Jan 07, 2022
Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Seanan McGuire discussing several of her books, "Into The Drowning Deep", "Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day", "Middlegame", the Toby Daye series, and the Incryptid series. Other works mentioned include Newsflesh (series), Ghost Roads (series), "Rolling in the Deep", and Parasitology (series). Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. This interview was recorded several months prior to the 2021 Hugo Awards.
Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.
- Intro (0:00)
- Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:20)
- Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (3:00)
- What parts of your identities do you notice making appearances in your writing more than you intended? What parts of your identities do you notice seeping into your work unintentionally? (6:20)
- What is your approach to incorporating visible queerness in your work? (10:05)
- How does setting influence queerness in your stories? (12:40)
- What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (16:25)
- Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references or do you tend to write cultures that hide disabilities and all that they entail? (22:00)
- When building your characters’ identities, what aspects did you intentionally include? (25:00)
- Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (26:20)
--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---
- What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (29:57)
- Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (31:46)
- Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (32:49)
- Where can our audience find you? (36:15)
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Check out Seanan's website for more about her writing. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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At each link you can find Robin's written reviews of Seanan's work under her own name, her writings as Mira Grant, and as A. Deborah Baker.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.