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Advent day 24: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Music
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // instagram // youtube
111.24: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
literature
111.3: White Fang by Jack London
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Advent calendar day 3: White Fang by Jack London. Animals, their gods and gods’ laws.
Music
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // instagram // youtube
111.1: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
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On day 1 of the advent calendar I ramble about The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
magical realism // hooks // nested stories // metamorphosis // Nephilim RPG
Music
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // instagram // youtube
99: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (patron’s choice)
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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Intro 00:06 // Synopsis 01:16 // Remarks 08:39 (unreliable narrators, how to host a murder mystery, closed worlds, the dead) // Media 25:19 (The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again, plus games, video games)
Patreon
Support this podcast on The Fictoplasm Patreon!
Music Credits
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // instagram // youtube
Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear and “Another version of you” from Thoughtless
78: Von Bek by Michael Moorcock (Tale of the Eternal Champion vol 1)
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Von Bek by Michael Moorcock
Millenium edition, 1992 HB ISBN 1 85798 023 9
Show Notes
Intro 00:07 // Preface to this edition 02:30 // Summaries 05:17 (The Warhound and the World’s Pain, the City in the Autumn Stars, the Pleasure Gardens of Filipe Saggitarius) // Favorite bits 15:01 (Demon in the Sphere at Bakinax, The Eagle in the Sword, Antichrist Ritual, Arrival in the City // Mirenburg as Viriconium 22:24 // Von Bek in sequence 24:40
Music Credits
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive
Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear // “Another version of you” from Thoughtless
Episode 69: Viriconium by M. John Harrison (cities series pt 1)
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Viriconium by M. John Harrison
Show Notes
Synopsis 03:47 // Act 1 (Viriconium Knights, The Pastel City, Lords of Misrule) 04:13 // Act 2 (Strange Great Sins, A Storm Of Wings, The Dancer and the Dance, The Luck in the Head, The Lamia and Lord Cromis) 09:47 // Act 3 (In Viriconium, A Young Man’s Journey To Viriconium) 19:19 // Themes 26:54 // Artists 26:55 // Symbols and foreshadowing 29:25 // Time and “mutant future” 31:48 // The City (Glory, Thief: Dark Project) 34:49 // Roleplaying 40:24 // OSR and Appendix N (Sorcerer and Sword, DCC, Plot Points podcast, etc.) 40:25 // City building tools (Corpathium, City Accelerated) 56:07
Links
Links to resources I mentioned in this episode:
- Appendix N and Runequest posts on the Fictoplasm blog
- Sorcerer and Sword by Ron Edwards
- Plot Points episode 136 (Appendix N panel at Garycon 2019)
- C L Moore episode on Fictoplasm
- Great Clomping Feet
- Corpathium
- City Accelerated
Music Credits
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive
Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear // “Fly inverted past a Jenny” from Stunt Island // “Another version of you” from Thoughtless
Episode 55: Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard
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Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard
Show Notes
Synopsis 01:15 // Themes 15:15 (three act structures, crossing boundaries, Futureworld and cultists) // Games 23:11 (Lag, spheres of comfort, trusting NPCs)
Music Credits
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive
Samples: “Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear // “Another Version Of You” from Thoughtless
Episode 54: The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith
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The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith
Show Notes
Synopsis 02:48 // Themes 19:01 // Spheres // Speed of communication // Emotional and factual communication // RPG 25:58 // Dramasystem // Malandros // Lag // Next 49:34 // Cocaine Nights
Music Credits
Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive
Samples: “Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear // “Another Version Of You” from Thoughtless
404: Under the Skin by Michael Faber
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This is our 50th episode! Not doing anything special, just sipping a gin and talking about Michael Faber’s Under the Skin.
Show Notes
Under the Skin by Michael Faber Under the Skin (film) directed by Jonathan Glazer
- Synopsis 00:56
- Themes 05:22
- Ben Hopkins and The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz
- Displacement
- Isolation
- Corporate Greed
- Duality of location
- Limited numbers
- Film adaptation 12:05
- RPG bit 16:08
- The Farm by Jared Sorensen
- Ribbon Drive by Avery Alder
- Investigative games
Music Credits
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie
Episode 303: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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We discuss Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Content warning: themes of abuse, rape and infertility.
Show Notes
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Becky Annison, Elizabeth Lovegrove, Ralph Lovegrove
- Synopsis 2:00
- Themes 13:50
- Children of Men (PD James)
- Apocalypse: scarcity
- Dystopia: control of information
- RPG bit 32:45
- Rise and Fall
- The Academics
Music Credits
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie
Episode 211: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
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Special guest Tom McGrenery joins Mo and Ralph to discuss Ruritanian Romance, fictional places and the fine art of bullshitting in Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire.
Show Notes
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Mo Holkar and special guest Tom McGrenery, with Ralph Lovegrove
The Ruritanian Romance 01:00 // Synopsis 02:10 // Linear vs Nonsequential reading, and other comments 08:10 // The RPG Bit — Mo 12:20 // Microscope, Kaliedoscope, Endoscope 13:00 // Tom’s Bit 18:15 // Historical RPGs (and the fear of getting them wrong) 19:30 // Ruritania in Delta Green 19:45 // Imaginary Places 20:30 // The Shab Al-Hiri Roach 23:40 // Ralph’s Bit 24:55 // When the Dark is Gone (trauma from imaginary places) 25:35 // Planetary 9: Planet Fiction 26:15 // It Follows 27:05 // Ralph’s spy game (Pale Assassins) 28:35 // Last words 31:00
Music credits
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie
Episode 210: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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Liz, Becky and Ralph discuss Jane Austen’s Regency romance and satire Pride and Prejudice.
Show Notes
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Becky Annison and Elizabeth Lovegrove with Ralph Lovegrove
Synopsis 00:40 // Comments 03:50 // the BBC version 05:10 // Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 07:40 // The Penguin special clothbound edition 08:40 // balls 10:20 // teh Establishment suks 13:50 // Kitty the Aircaptain 16:20 // The RPG Bit — Liz’s Game (Sagas of the Derbyshirelanders) 18:10 // Court Whispers (Stiainin Jackson — under playtest) 19:10 // Monsterhearts 19:40 // Anti-Establishment PCs (that would be all of them) 25:15 // Inferno and Inc. 26:05 // social proximity and introductions 27:15 // Becky’s Game 31:00 // Breaking the Ice 31:20 // Nomic 33:20 // TOWIE 36:10 // like Archipelago? 36:25 // sh.t games for vampires 38:35 // changing rules mid-scenario 39:35 // Dogs In The Vineyard (and Human Resources) 41:20 // Final Remarks 44:10
Music credits
“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie
“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie