Each month we choose a speculative fiction book, read it, and talk about the ideas & themes it explores.
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 26, 2019
Tuesday Mar 26, 2019
Matt, Nate, & Adrian have a long, rollicking conversation about Semiosis, by Sue Burke (https://amzn.to/2JGYm6C). We all really loved the book, but also have a lot of criticism of it, and we get really in-depth on what it all means to us.
The only other books we really mention are Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski and Dark Eden by Chris Beckett. Look for our 8.1 & 8.2 episode numbers for discussion on CoT, and look out for our episodes on Dark Eden next month!
In addition, if you want to go deeper on how ecologies aren't stable and why thinking so leads to bad utopias, the 2nd episode in the documentary All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace will be right up your alley. You might also enjoy the book Seeing Like A State by James C. Scott.
Finally, big thanks to Nate for suggesting this book and talking to us about it for over 3 hours over these two episodes. Find his videogame on Steam Early Access by searching Ectolibrium. Also thanks to Nate's wife, Amanda, for the artwork this month, she's at @@amandalamandala on Instagram.
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Mar 19, 2019
Tuesday Mar 19, 2019
This is an ongoing series we do every few months, going over some of the pop culture stuff we've liked recently. Some of it is SF adjacent, some of it isn't, but it's all good and enjoyable!
Matt's things:
- Terrace House (Japanese reality TV, available on Netflix)
- Thunder Bay (true crime podcast)
- Universal Beings by Makaya McCraven (jazz album: check out Natalie Weiner's review)
Adrian's things:
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild (video game: check out Austin Walker's review)
- Blank Check with Griffin & David (movie podcast)
- One Dapper Street (men's fashion youtube channel)
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
If you like stories about Alaska, then this is the episode for you! Author, game developer, and Adrian's childhood friend Nate Spence is this month's guest, discussing the ecological survival SF novel Semiosis by Sue Burke (https://amzn.to/2TceBgh). In the novel, a small group of humans tries to colonize what seems like a wilderness planet. The novel follows their survival & evolution of their society over generations.
In this episode, we talk a lot about growing up in wilderness areas and what it's like. What's a pushki? What did Nate's dad teach him in lieu of tying his shoes? Where did Matt bleed from on his Alaska hiking trip and why? How can Adrian possibly defend hitting an owl with his car? What search terms about Alaska do we not suggest you image search? We can't promise we answer these questions, but we'll sure talk about them.
We'll also go over the usual book facts, while trying hard not to spoil what is an interesting, different, and so far very fun to read book!
Also, thanks to Amanda Hart, Nate's wife, for supplying our cover artwork this month! Check out her instagram, @amandalamandala.
Resources mentioned (go to spectology.com if the links don't show up in your podcatcher):
* Nate's most recent game, Ectolibrium, on Steam Early Access
* Ectolibrium discounted in the IndieGala Bundle (not pay what you want tho)
* Dark Eden Trilogy by Chris Beckett
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
* The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin
* Embassytown by China Miéville
* Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel
* Article about the Russian Orthodox Old Believers in Alaska
* Correction: Alaska is the 8th least white state, but has the highest percentage of indigenous people of any state
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
Short description today, have a cold and just trying to get this episode out. May edit it later.
Many thanks to Mendez for coming and discussing Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson with us. Check out his website for his RPG projects, really cool stuff. https://jamesmendezhodes.com
Resources mentioned: Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh, Black Preppers by Bim Adwunmi, Interaction Ritual Chains by Randall Collins, & the review of IRC by Xavier Marquez. If links aren't showing up your podcatcher, go to spectology.com for them.
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Feb 12, 2019
Tuesday Feb 12, 2019
Join us for a fun & punchy look back at Spectology's first year in books. Matt & Adrian discuss the favorite books we read in 2018, some of our favorite episodes to record, and just generally have a good time while reflecting on what a wonderful year we had together & with you all.
Major thanks goes out to everyone who has helped us so far! Our guests in 2018: Tobias, Britt, Max, Ellie, Kevin, & Charlotte. Dubby J & Noah Bradley for providing music & art to us. Seth for hosting me on his podcast. And of course anyone who has told a friend, submitted us to reddit, tweeted about us, or just listened to some of our episodes. We're so lucky to have such awesome listeners, and we're looking forward to reading another dozen books in 2019! We've got a great list of books and authors coming up this year, I can't wait to share them all.
As always, you can find us at @spectologypod on twitter, or email us at spectologypod@gmail.com. We'd love to hear your favorite moments of our from 2018!
Tuesday Feb 05, 2019
Tuesday Feb 05, 2019
This month on Spectology, we're reading Brown Girl in the Ring (https://amzn.to/2G9dqqZ) by Nalo Hopkinson, a classic of Caribbean SF & Fantasy. A young mother must outwit a warlord in post-apocalyptic Toronto in order to save her community, but to do so she'll need the help of that community & its gods.
Adrian & Matt are joined by Mendez Hodes (https://jamesmendezhodes.com), a writer & cultural consultant who works on RPGs and education curricula, who has an academic background is in African Religions. Together, they discuss how African religions found their way to the Americas through the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the details of that religious practice, how to respectfully think & talk about race & non-Western religions, and why rap is the ideal translated form for the ancient Homeric epics. We also talk about science fiction books!
Some of the books & resources mentioned in this episode:
* Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (read the book, it's great!)
* Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
* Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clarke
* The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
* Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler
* Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
And some nonfiction resources to learn more about Western African religions in the Americas:
* Our episode with Tobias Buckell discussing Caribbean SF in depth.
* Flash of the Spirit by Robert Ferris Thompson
* The Serpent & the Rainbow by Wade Davis
* Black Magic by Yvonne Chireau
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Jan 29, 2019
Tuesday Jan 29, 2019
This week Adrian & Matt have finished this month's novel (Ten Billion Days & 100 Billion Nights) and have a whole lot to say about it! We talk about entropy, death, religion, and more. I'd write more but I'm tired so you'll just have to listen.
Some critical reviews of the novel we liked & mentioned:
* Strange Horizons (http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/the-strange-horizons-book-club-ten-billion-days-and-one-hundred-billion-nights/)
* Complete Review (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/trscifi/mitsuser.htm)
* Two Dudes in an Attic (https://twodudesff.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/10-billion-days-100-billion-nights/)
Anime worth checking out:
* Akira
* Ghost in the Shell
* Princess Mononoke
* The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
* Neon Genesis Evangelion
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Jan 15, 2019
Tuesday Jan 15, 2019
Adrian & Matt are joined by Seth Heasley of the Hugos There & Take Me to Your Reader podcasts to talk about our favorite SF movie adaptations. We each take turns picking one of our favorites, then talk about it as a group.
Which movies do we pick? What kinds of adaptations are our favorites? Which movies do we think are actually better than the book? You'll have to listen to find out.
Make sure to check out Seth's podcasts. A good place to start is his & Adrian's conversation on The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin on Hugos There (https://hugospodcast.com).
---
Did we leave out any of your favorite movies? Think our picks were terrible? Think one of us clearly won? We'd love to hear from you!
Chat with us on twitter at @spectologypod, send us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Tuesday Jan 08, 2019
Tuesday Jan 08, 2019
Happy New Year! Matt & Adrian are back to talk about one of Matt's picks. Ten Billion Days & 100 Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse (https://amzn.to/2Vw3CM8) is a classic of Japanese science fiction which was just recently (2011) translated and published in English. It tells an epic story that begins at the beginning of the universe and ends at its end.
This episode, Adrian & Matt discuss Japanese science fiction in various media, how Japanese & Anglo SF influenced each other, and how disasters can create communities amongst those who live through them.
Books & movies mentioned include (links help support Spectology):
* Ten Billion Days & 100 Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse
* Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
* Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
* The works of David Mitchell
* The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
* L'incal by Jodorowksi & Moebius
* Neon Genesis Evangelion
* Akira
Some links for further reading:
* Japanese SF: http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/japan
* Top 10 SF novels of all time: https://www.sfwa.org/2011/09/top-ten-japan-all-time-best-sf-novels/
* Haikasoru (Mitsuse's publisher): http://www.haikasoru.com
* Tale of the Bamboo Cutter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter
* Eight Dog Chronicles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansō_Satomi_Hakkenden
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Sunday Dec 23, 2018
Sunday Dec 23, 2018
Happy holidays to all you spectologists! In our final episode of 2018, Adrian & Charlotte complete their discussion of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award-winning novel Rupetta by NA Sulway (https://amzn.to/2SjgX8r). This wonderful, overlooked novel has us both ruminating about our time in university, trying to dig into the meaning of a mechanical heart, and discussing how the prose & the story reinforced each other.
Please excuse the sniffles, Adrian was a bit sick & tried to edit them all out, although I'm sure I missed a few.
Charlotte can be found online at:
* @tambourine on twitter
* her DreamWidth blog: https://alwaysalready.dreamwidth.org
* she recently won The White Review Poetry Prize, for poems including "bangable dudes in history"
And books we mentioned include:
* Rupetta by NA Sulway
* Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
* Gnomon by Nick Harkaway
* The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie (pre-order)
---
Spectology will be back in 2019 with new books, more guests, and lots of great #content!
Until then, we'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.