Get more from Starship Alexandria on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $3/month. Hello and welcome to the Starship Alexandria podcast,…

For our October 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Matthew Lopes and Clayton Cowles for Emma’s consideration.  Other talking points:  The craft of framing devices Nested narrators  Tellings, retellings; narrative and meta-narrative  Killing people is not cricket  Badass butlers  Just 100% appreciation for the art  Equal Opportunities objectification  The apparent taboo of just making things up  Civilization vs Barbarity  Unspoken histories  The “Ninth Art” (French term for comics, not the “Tenth Muse” as I said in the podcast)    Media Mentions:  The Conan stories by Robert E Howard  Wuthering Heights novel by Emily Bronte  The Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs  The fantasy art of Boris Vallejo  Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde novel by Robert Louis Stevenson  Star Wars movie dir. George Lucas  Fargo TV series    Next month we look at the film Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler. This month’s patron episode is our live discussion of Event Horizon from Octocon in Cork.  Adrian’s music recommendation: Musik ist keine Lösung by Alligatoah   Emma’s latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award  Adrian’s most recent book is Engines of Reason   If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at   You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at   Follow us at:  Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and   Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and

The Dungeons & Dragons team and Studio X (Magic: The Gathering; Duel Masters) are forming a union! We are joining the ranks of United Wizards of the Coast - CWA (UWOTC-CWA) and following in the fo...

The official adaptation of the international bestselling multi-award-winning ALL SYSTEMS RED, part of The Murderbot Diaries series.

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For our September 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner for Adrian’s consideration.  Other talking points:  Unspoiler warnings  Deniable wizbiz  Period writing styles  The straitjacket of expectations  Burning Bedfordshire  Lit and genre    Media Mentions:  Memoirs of a Survivor, novel by Doris Lessing (and our patrons-only discussion)  Writers referred to in general: Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Mervyn Peake, Jerome K Jerome, PG Wodehouse  Next month we look at the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by King, Evely, Lopes and Cowles  This month’s patron episode is the novel A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge  Emma’s music recommendation: Washing Machine Heart by Mitski   Emma’s latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award  Adrian’s most recent book is Engines of Reason   If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at   You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at     Follow us at:  Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and   Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and  

My Review: We’ve seen this story before - or at least we think we have. Scion of wealthy English family decides to take his American girlfriend home to the moldering family pile for a reunion. He’s a bit embarrassed about the staid, fusty traditions his family insists on, but he either loves her enough to let her see where he came from - or is scared enough of his family to need backup to get through the ordeal. Or, most likely, a bit of both. The vast, sprawling mansion, complete with gargoyles watching over everything and seemingly everyone, may not be moldering, but it certainly is a stately family pile.

Get more from Starship Alexandria on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $3/month. Hello and welcome to the Starship Alexandria podcast,…

For our September 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner for Adrian’s consideration.  Other talking points:  Unspoiler warnings  Deniable wizbiz  Period writing styles  The straitjacket of expectations  Burning Bedfordshire  Lit and genre    Media Mentions:  Memoirs of a Survivor, novel by Doris Lessing (and our patrons-only discussion)  Writers referred to in general: Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Mervyn Peake, Jerome K Jerome, PG Wodehouse  Next month we look at the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by King, Evely, Lopes and Cowles  This month’s patron episode is the novel A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge  Emma’s music recommendation: Washing Machine Heart by Mitski   Emma’s latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award  Adrian’s most recent book is Engines of Reason   If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at   You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at     Follow us at:  Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and   Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and  

Sci fi dystopias are often, paradoxically, hopeful: they show oppressive systems, but they also show resistance. Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky picks out five titles that deserve more…