We’re closing out this strange year with a “big-picture” episode: editor & critic Dan Hartland is on to talk about trends and directions—or lack thereof—in recent speculative fiction. We talk about the interesting spread of books & awards this year, do some armchair speculating about genre shifts & their accompanying arguments, and have some very insider-baseball discussion of what gets reviewed (or not) and why. And, of course, Dan and Casella talk about their favorite reads from 2025. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Dan Hartland Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Critical Friends podcast Gautam Bhatia's The Sentence Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Award spread this year- see for instance SFADB Article on UK romantasy sales numbers Romantasy, LitRPG, Progression Fantasy, Baen Books Locus SFT= Speculative Fiction in Translation Strange Horizons issue on the NEA cuts and SFT Richard K. Morgan Orbus by Neal Asher Jenny Hamilton’s work at Reactor AO3= Archive Of Our Own When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift Metal from Heaven by August Clarke Niall Harrison’s review of Swift William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy Hugboxing vs Scab-Picking H.G. Wells Sylvia Park's Luminous Eva Meijer’s Sea Now, tr. Anne Thompson Melo The Booker Prize “Prestige TV in the Time of Climate Change” by Sarah Miller The Sopranos & Breaking Bad The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien Hannah Arendt & Baruch Spinoza John Wyndham & J.G. Ballard The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, tr. Sarah Moses Becky Chambers Colourfields by Paul Kincaid Margaret Killjoy's A Country of Ghosts The Expansion Project by Ben Pester The Goldsmiths Prize Olga Ravn's The Employees Jeff VanderMeer's Area X Ned Beauman BSFA short SF in translation award Translated Hugo Initiative Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, tr. Rahul Berry Isaac Fellman's Notes from a Regicide Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors Christopher Priest Debbie Urbanski's Portalmania Thomas Ha's Uncertain Sons Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others Leyna Krow's Sinkhole and Other Inexplicable Voids Ed Park's An Oral History of Atlantis Kelly Link, George Saunders, T.C. Boyle, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Elwin Cotman Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art, edited by Indrapramit Das Countess by Suzan Palumbo Annie Bot by Sierra Grier Erika Swyler's We Lived On The Horizon Adrian Tchaikovsky, Premee Mohamed Lincoln Michel's Metallic Realms Ed Park’s Same Bed Different Dreams

We’re tracking down the wellspring of “dark academia” in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, and plucking on threads that stretch out to current fantasy and science fiction literature, with reviewer Roseanna Pendlebury as our guide. Casella manages to throw some shade at Arrival, somehow, and also references Dumb & Dumber.   Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.   Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Roseanna Pendlebury Title: The Secret History Host: Jake Casella Brookins Music by Giselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork by Rob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Isaac Fellman’s Notes from a Regicide E.J. Swift’s When There Are Wolves Again Ned Beauman’s Venomous Lumpsucker  Rebecca Campbell's Arboreality Simon Roy's Griz Grobus & A Star Called The Sun Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon Tartt’s The Goldfinch Euripides’ The Bacchae Jane Alison's Meander Spiral Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative Roger Ebert's review of Roger Avary’s film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's The Rules of Attraction (which, we didn’t get into this in the episode, is sort of in the Expanded Secret History Universe) Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Sofia Samatar's The Practice The Horizon and the Chain R.F. Kuang's Katabasis & Babel Fellman's The Two Doctors Górski Marina & Sergei Dyachenko's Vita Nostra, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey Ceaușescu's bathroom Peter Farrelly’s film Dumb and Dumber Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" vs. Denis Villeneuve's film Arrival Becky Chamber’s To Be Taught if Fortunate Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch "All art is perfectly useless" C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces Samatar's A Stranger In Olondria and The Winged Histories Fellman's The Breath of the Sun Katherin Addison's The Goblin Emperor & sequels Dungeons & Dragons Roseanna’s Small Press Dispatch series at ARB Roseanna's blog Tolkien's Beowulf & The Tolkien Reader Lina Palera’s Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0*   *Note that ARB & AMOT are generally distributed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, but will match the CC of any incorporated material for particular posts/episodes.    

Academic, critic, and prolific podcaster Cameron Kunzelman joins for a far-ranging discussion about how climate fiction, science fiction, and personal and political connections to the environment intersect. Bonus hog sighting. Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books. Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon! Guest: Cameron Kunzelman Title: Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman Host:Jake Casella Brookins Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia Artwork byRob Patterson Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough Transcribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM Thompson References: Ranged Touch podcasts The World is Born From Zero & Everything is Permitted Sean McTiernan’s SFUltra (Sean was the guest for our Dreams of Amputation episode) From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell Steve Moore's Somnium Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism Christopher Brown's A Natural History of Empty Lots Bill Bryson Abigail Nussbaum Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall Michael Crichton Donna J. Haraway’s Staying With The Trouble Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future & Aurora (episode on the latter with Hilary Strang) Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, Seveneves, & Anathem Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven Nicholas Meyer’s film The Day After Nevil Shute's On the Beach Adam McKay’s film Don't Look Up Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects Trinitite Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Pat Cadigan “30-50 Feral Hogs” Clock of the Long Now Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass John Christopher’s The Death of Grass / No Blade of Grass Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa Describe World Flannery O'Connor Deep ecology Arne Næss Ted Kaczynski #NoDAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) Bruce Sterling's Islands in the Net Patrick Wright’s The Village That Died For England Centralia coal-seam fire in Pennsylvania Keiichiro Toyama’s Silent Hill & Christophe Gans’ film adaptation Cameron's Bluesky The Assassin's Creed franchise Immanuel Velikovsky Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods

Vampire scholar, science fiction studies editor, and ARB co-founder Sean Guynes joins to discuss Kostova’s 2005 historical vampire thriller. We both have fairly negative opinions of the book, but it did lead us to talk about what historical thrillers are (or are not) theorizing, vampire novels we like more, and much else besides.Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Sean GuynesTitle: The Historian by Elizabeth KostovaHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:David Linday’s Voyage to ArcturusSean's series on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy booksThomas Burnett SwannE.R. EddisonGibson's Bridge trilogyStephen Norrington’s film BladeBram Stoker's DraculaDan Brown’s The Da Vinci CodeR.F. Kuang’s KatabasisSarah Perry's Melmoth and our episode with Jon Greenaway about itIlana Masad’s “Holocaust Beach Reads”Machiavelli's The PrinceRadu Florescu & Raymond McNally's In Search of DraculaThe Turkey City LexiconAnne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, including Memnoch the DevilFred Saberhagen’s The Dracula TapeChelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germaine cycleE. Elias Merhige’s film Shadow of the VampireClaire Kohda's Woman, EatingIndrapramit Das's The DevourersStephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter HunterPeter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private PlaceEddison's the The Mezentian GateAnd be sure to check out Sean’s essay on The Historian!

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Eleanor McAdamTitle: Under The Eye Of The Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa YonedaHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Current Research in Science FictionVanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley TakemoriAnnie Bot by Sierra GreerEmily Tesh’s The Incandescent and Some Desperate GloryNiall Harrison’s Locus review of Under The Eye Of The Big BirdAdrian Tchaikovsky's Service ModelJ.G. BallardStephen Baxter's EvolutionWilliam Hope Hogdson's The Night LandX-MenIsaac Asimov's FoundationMargaret Atwood MaddAddam TrilogyKurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Cat's CradleErika Swyler's We Lived On The HorizonKazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun & Never Let Me GoAdrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Timothy MooreTitle: 60 Stories by Donald BarthelmeHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Timothy Moore’s I Will Teach You RetributionJoan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock & Peter Weir’s film adaptationMolly Templeton’s Bluesky request for Australian Gothic“Intermittent Anhedonia”Ethan Rutherford's North SunEvening House Books"The School"Close Reading for the 21st Century edited by Dan Sinykin & Johanna WinantAlduous Huxley’s Brave New World"The Lottery""Me and Miss Mandible""A Shower of Gold""Eugénie Grandet"Sidney Lumet’s Network"The Balloon""The Great Hug"We somehow completely failed to reference E.E. Cumming’s “In Just – spring” for balloon-man reasonsKeita Takahashi's Katamari DamacyUb Iwerk’s Balloon LandWill McMahon“A Manual for Sons”Barthelme’s The Dead FatherWes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic"The Policeman's Ball"Vercingetorix"The King of Jazz"Julio CortázarIshmael ReedKelly LinkEd ParkElwin CotmanNana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahAimee Bender's Girl in the Flammable SkirtGeorge SaundersGarielle LutzDalkey ArchivesSmall Beer PressZachary Gillan &  our Authority episode“Reading Weird Fiction in a Time of Fascism”Mircea Cărtărescu's Solenoid, translated by Sean CotterLiliana Costanzi’s You Glow in the DarkThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsEd Park's An Oral History of AtlantisBrian Evenson“Lonely Rolling Star” by Saki Kabata and Yoshihito Yano off the first Katamari gameBilly Bletcher as the Pincushion Man in Ub Iwerks’ Balloon Land, music by Carl Staling“You’re the Cream in My Coffee” recorded by Miff Mole and His Little Molers“Perdido Street Blues” by Louis Armstrong and Sydney BechetCharlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce”

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Ursula WhitcherTitle: Burning Bright by Melissa ScottHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:North Continent RibbonIndra Das’s The Last Dragoners of BowbazarFonda Lee's Green Bone books & game thereof w/ James Mendez HodesBruce Coville's Aliens Ate My Homework & Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon HatcherThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsScott’s Trouble And Her Friends & Astreiant series, most recently Point of HeartsC.S. Lewis's PerelandraMargaret Weis & Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance novelsDon Daglow’s Neverwinter NightsCommedia dell'arteThe Marvel Cinematic Universe franchiseLAN partiesC.J. Cherryh's Foreigner booksArkardy Martine's Teixcalaan booksIain M. Banks' Player of GamesNeal Stephenson's Snow CrashCameron Reed's Fortunate FallIain Softley’s HackersWilliam Gibson's Blue Ant trilogyCharlie Jane AndersBruce SterlingMichael Swanwick's Stations of the TideUrsula's website & Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Joy Sanchez-TaylorTitle: The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Author of ColorRoutledge Handbook of Co-FuturismsDispelling Fantasies: Author of Color Re-Imagine a GenreIbi Zoboi's SkinExamples of YA novels in verse from the Boston Public LibraryLiliana Colanzi You Glow in the Dark, translated by Chris AndrewsCenter for Fiction BrooklynPuppygateJemisin’s 2018 Hugo Acceptance SpeechSylvia Moreno Garcia, Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi VoJemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, The City We BecameTomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and BoneMoses Ose Utomi’s The Lies of the AjungoUrsula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”Octavia E. Butler’s Parable seriesThe Elder Scrolls games Morrowind & SkyrimJemisin on race in SkyrimMarlon James’ Black Leopard, Red WolfLatinx Visions Conference, Nov 3-7Marianna EnriquezAnanda Lima's CraftColson Whitehead, Amal El-MohtarNghi Vo's Singing Hills & The City In GlassJoy’s BlueskySuzan Palumbo, Zig Zag ClaybourneVICFAWorld Fantasy Convention

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Zachary GillanTitle: Authority by Jeff VanderMeerHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Zach’s Profane Illuminations column at ARBRobert AickmanBothayna Al-Essa’s The Book-Censor's Library, translated by Ranya Abdelrahman & Sawad HussainBohumil Hrabal’s Too Loud A Solitude, translated by Michael Henry HeimAnnihilation, Acceptance, and AbsolutionVanderMeer’s blogVanderMeer’s Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; FinchAnn & Jeff VanderMeer’s The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark StoriesMKUltraStanislaw Lem’s Solaris, translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox (from Jean-Michel Jasiensko’s French translation) and Bill Johnston (from the Polish)Boris & Arkady Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic, translated by Olena BormashenkoAndrei Tarkovsky's Solaris and StalkerAlex Garland's AnnihilationCormac McCarthy's The RoadKay Chronister's Desert CreaturesRoland Emmerich’s The Day After TomorrowDamon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta’s The LeftoversBruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s Batman: the Animated SeriesTimothy Morton’s Dark Ecology and other workVanderMeer’s Hummingbird SalamanderThomas Ha's Uncertain SonsJean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Host: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:World Science Fiction Convention in SeattleThe Hugo AwardsNorwesconKevin Black - Publications Division HeadCatherine Hardwicke's Twilight, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer"Full Moon" by the Black GhostsArticle about John Anderson’s Beachcomber Museum, with link to the short documentaryDr. Kaitlyn CasimoThe Allen InstituteBrandon O'Brien - Poet Laureate for the Seattle WorldconThe Speculative Poetry InitiativeInterstellar Flight PressThe Translated Hugo Initiative“Summit Sound” by the Jack Straw Cultural Center“Mole” by Elizabeth McQueen“What You have become” by Kate ClarkOlympia Coffee RoastingThe Mountain in the Sea by Ray NaylerAlien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky99% Invisible readalong of Robert Caro’s The Power BrokerHugos ThereHugo Girl!Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. CarrollAbigail NussbaumSFPoetry.orgStrange Horizons, Uncanny, Asimov’s, AnalogCalypso by Oliver K. Langmead

Guest: Karlo Yeager RodríguezTitle: Stone of Farewell by Tad WilliamsHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora, and our episode on itK.J. Parker's Making HistoryJared Diamonds’ Guns, Germs, and SteelDavid Eddings’ Belgeriad & MallorianMichael Whelan & Darrell K. SweetGeorge R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & FirePeter Beagle forward to The Lord of the RingsThe Clone Wars meme "The what?"ElfQuest by Wendy & Richard Pini et al.Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni novelsHidetaka Miyazaki & Yui Tanimura’s Elden RingT.H. WhiteBrandon SandersonRobert Jordan’s Wheel Of TimeH.P. Lovecraft’s The Mountains of Madness & The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"A Line of Ink, Stretching Back Like A Shadow"

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Featuring interviews with:Rae Borman @ ReaderconRiley @ Lovestruck BooksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Rae BormanNew England Finger DancersNaomi Novik’s ScholomanceBrandon Mull’s FablehavenKatherine Rundell’s Impossible CreaturesJames BlishJoanna Russ’s The Female ManBenjamin Rosenbaum & our episode on Fire LogicSunny Moraine & our episode on Pattern RecognitionBeneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, Strange HorizonsWill McMahonNEA grant cuts and translated SF: 3% Podcast, Adam Morgan’s LARB article, and Strange Horizon’s reviews & podcast on the subject.Eden Kupermintz & our episode on The SilmarillionThe Translated Hugo Initiative: translatedhugo.orgRenay's "That's a Nice Review You've Got There"Michael CiscoJon Stone’s The Monster At The End of This BookGeorge Howell & Broadsheet coffeeChip Pons's Winging it With YouSarah McLeanOmegaverse (do be careful where you look that up)The Ripped BodiceGrump & SunshineRead My Lips BostonHarvard Coop Bookstore, Trident, Purple CouchCandlewick PressIngram distributorsCat Sebastian's We Could Be So Good & Star ShippedRachel Reid's The Shots You TakeAdam Silvera Sarah J. MaasRebecca Yarros’s Fourth WingS.T. Gibson’s Evocation & AscencionRina Kent, Navessa AllenHeather Bartos’s QuickiesEmily Henry, Tessa Bailey, Sarah McLean, Kim SwizzEverina Maxwell’s Winter Orbit

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Abigail NussbaumTitle: Excession by Iain M. BanksHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:VectorLos Angeles Review of BooksThe GuardianStrange HorizonsLawyers, Guns & MoneyWarren ZevonAsking the Wrong QuestionsAbigail’s Track ChangesColourfields by Paul KincaidNina Allan’s Granite Silence and The Art of Space TravelEd Park’s An Oral History of AtlantisBanks’ Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, & The Player of GamesFully Automated Luxury Gay Space CommunismStar TrekJohn le CarréAndorTransmentation Transience by Darkly LemOutside Context Problems & Aggressive Hegemonizing SwarmsStanislaw LemKubrick/Clarke's 2001Paul Kincaid's biography of BanksMaurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things AreC.J. CherryhYudhanjaya Wijeratne's Salvager booksGreg EganAnn Leckie's Imperial RadchYoon Ha Lee's Machineries of EmpireBanks’ Look to WindwardAbigail's BlueskyKim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the FutureNed Beauman's Venomous LumpsuckerNeal Stephenson's Termination Shock

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Arkady MartineTitle: 40,000 in Gehenna by C.J. CherryhHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Vote in the Ignytes!Our episode with Archita MittraA Memory Called Empire, A Desolation Called Peace, Rose/House, "Three Faces of a Beheading"Mick Herron’s Slow HorsesPip Adams' AuditionAndré Alexis’s Other WorldsThomas Ha’s Uncertain SonsStephen Sondheim's AssassinsCherryh’s Cyteen, Downbelow Station, ForeignerWatsonian vs. Doylist readingsThe Faded Sun, Hunter of WorldsLeonard Cohen's "The Future"Theodore Sturgeon's "The Golden Helix"Internet Science Fiction Database (ISFDB)Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Rocannon's WorldJoanna Russ's The Female ManAnne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of PernSerpent's ReachAmal El-MohtarAnaïs Mitchell’s HadestownEmmanuel Levinas & Martin BuberOctavia E. Butler"Third Person Intense Internal"Jane Alison's Meander, Spiral, ExplodeElizabeth BearAnn Leckie, Tamsyn Muir, Jeff VanderMeerAncillary JusticeLois McMaster BujoldSeth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant & our episode on itMax Gladstone's Craft SequenceA Pattern LanguageDavid Brin, Vernor VingeArkady's BlueskyLouis Kahn4th Street FantasyViable ParadiseWisconWesley AndrewsThe BriarSK CoffeeBogart's DoughnutNortheast Tea HouseDreamHavenUncle Hugo’sDelany's The Jewel-Hinged Jaw and The Motion of Light in WaterCherryh's Wave Without A ShoreGreg Egan's PhoresisKathy Mar's "Forty Thousand in Gehenna" from the album "Finity's End and other Songs of the Station Trade"Wizards vs. Lesbians episode with Ann Leckie on C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: andré m. carringtonTitle: Death of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:andré’s Speculative Blackness, The Black Fantastic, and Audiofuturism (forthcoming)The Eaton ConferenceMalik Gaines & Alexandro Segade's cosmic opera Star Choir, based on the work of Octavia E. ButlerHanna Yanagahira's To ParadiseTochi Onyebuchi’s Harmattan SeasonGeorge R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and FireN.K. JemisinMichael Zapata’s The Lost Book of Adana MoreauTom Hanks’ That Thing You DoAndew Stanton’s Wall-EBecky Chambers' Monk & RobotOlaf StapledonKim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Futureandré's BlueskyAudio.futurism Instagram

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Roseanna PendleburyTitles: The 2025 Hugo Novel & Novella ListHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate Dollarhyde and John WM ThompsonReferences:Hugo Novella Finalists:The Brides of High Hill by Nghi VoThe Butcher of the Forest by Premee MohamedNavigational Entanglements by Aliette de BodardThe Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia SamatarThe Tusks of Extinction by Ray NaylerWhat Feasts at Night by T. KingfisherHugo Novel Finalists:Alien Clay by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyService Model by Adrian TchaikovskySomeone You Can Build a Nest In by John WiswellA Sorceress Comes to Call by T. KingfisherThe Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson BennettThe Clarke Award listPaul Kincaid’s CoulorfieldsRoseanna’s “A Path Through the Landscape” for A Reader of Else, plus Paul Kincaid’s “The Books That Made Me” for Through the dark labyrinthNnedi Okorafor’s BintiCasella’s idea of a Hugo for Best Translated WorkRenay's Hugo Spreadsheet of DoomAlex Jeffers’s A Mourning CoatLorraine Wilson’s Last to DrownThe Ursula K. Le Guin PrizeThe Ignyte AwardsPremee Mohamed’s The Siege of Burning GrassVajra Chandraskera’s RakesfallJared Pechaček’s The West PassageSeth Dickinson’s Exordia and The Traitor Baru CormorantEmet North’s In UniversesEden Robin’s Remember You Will DieScott Guild's PlasticAliya Whiteley's Three Eight OneT. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel booksMarie Brennan's A Natural History of DragonsRobert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities and Founders trilogiesAdrian Tchaikovsky’s House of Open WoundsGreg EganCharlie Stross's Neptune’s BroodZachary Gillan’s “Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism”Foz Meadow’s A Strange and Stubborn EnduranceRoseanna's review of Someone To Build A Nest InBrad Wright’s TravelersHelen MacDonald and Sin Blaché’s ProphetRoseanna’s Small Press Dispatch columnNerds of a Feather

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Maia Gil′AdíTitle: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael ZapataHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:Palgrave SFF: A New CanonThe Zombie ArchiveDoom Patterns: Latinx Speculations and the Aesthetics of ViolenceAugustina Bazterrica's Tender is the FleshFernanda Trias' Pink SlimeKazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me GoColson Whitehead's Zone OneToni Morrison's BelovedFernanda Melchor's Hurricane SeasonIndrapramit DasBrendan Shay Basham's Swim Home to the Vanished & Casella’s reviewMariana Enriquez's Our Share of NightFredric JamesonChicago Review of Books AwardsIlana Masad’s “Holocaust Beach Reads” for The Maris ReviewJason (Friday the 13th)Simón BolívarAugust Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, C.L. MooreMoebius/Jean GiraudAncient AliensBlake Crouch’s Dark Matter & adaptationStuds TerkelUS Occupation of the Dominican Republic, 1916Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoJonbar pointsAimee Pokwatka's Self-Portrait with NothingLavie Tidhar's The Circumference of the Earth & Unholy LandRob Nixon's Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the PoorSesshu Foster's Atomic AztecsMaia on Bluesky

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Sean McTiernanTitle: Dreams of Amputation by Gary J. ShipleyHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscribers: Kate DollarhydeReferences:The SFUltra podcastAlasdair Gray’s Lanark & Poor ThingsJames Joyce’s UlyssesFredric JamesonAbsolute DC comicsMichael Comeau’s HellbertaAlan Grant & John Wagner’s DoomlordRay Nayler’s Where the Axe is BuriedNeil Sharpson’s When The Sparrow FallsMichael Mann's BlackhatLater Die HardsTony Scott’s Enemy of the StateJean BaudrillardShipley’s Stratagem of the Corpse, Crypt(o)spasm, and Serial Killing: A Philosophical AnthologyDennis CooperBlake Butler’s “Sci-Fi Doesn’t Have to Be Dominated by Horny Bro Wizards” for ViceDarko SuvinManuela Draeger's Kree (and Antoine Volodine’s other work)Mark DanielewskiB.R. YeagerApocalypse PartyWilliam S. Burrough’s Naked LunchNeal StephensonDaniel DennettMemeticsPhilip K. Dick’s A Scanner DarklyJ.G. Ballard, M. John Harrison, John UpdikeBlake Butler’s Uxa.gov & the SFUltra episodeChristopher Priest’s “Hull 0, Scunthorpe 3”Brian Evenson, Pierre GuyotatHarrison's Nova SwingTad Williams' OtherlandDerek Raymond (Rober Cook)’s He Died With His Eyes OpenThomas Metzinger The Ego TunnelBernard Wolfe’s LimboEvenson’s Last Days / Brotherhood of MutilationWilliam Gibson, Bruce SterlingWarhammer 40kBallard's CrashCurt Siodmak’s Donovan's BrainMatt from BookpilledNick LandCCRU & Dark EnlightenmentBaudrillard’s The Transparency of Evil, Cool Memories, The Perfect CrimeMark Fisher, Kodwu Eshun, Kode9Fisher’s “Exiting the Vampire Castle”Andrea DworkinBrion GysinTravis Baldree's Legends and LattesWalter Hill's The DriverBrian CatlingIan SinclairSFUltra episodes on Lanark, Poor Things, and Catling

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Christian P. HainesTitles: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz Host: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughTranscriber: Kate DollarhydeReferences:Stephen King's The Shining and CarrieRafael Bernal’s His Name Was DeathMichel Nieva’s Dengue BoyDaryl Gregory’s When We Were RealAdrian Tchaikovsky’s Service Model, Christian’s review for ARBIo9Our Opinions Are CorrectHeinlein’s Starship TroopersChristian’s The Terraformers review for LARBNewitz’s AutonomousHeinlein’s Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling StonesArcherMilton FriedmanOrwell’s 1984Rand’s Atlas ShruggedJames S.A. Corey’s The ExpanseKim Stanley Robinson’s Mars TrilogyUrsula K. Le Guin’s The DispossessedIan McDonald’s New Moon trilogyFrank Herbert’s DuneSamuel R. Delany’s Babel-17Le Guin’s The Left Hand of DarknessJo Walton's Among Others and our episode on itHolly Jean Buck’s After Geoengineering"Engineering Swallows Up Politics"Neal Stephenson’s Termination ShockKSR’s AuroraMcKenzie Wark’s Molecular RedUlrich Haarbürste’s Roy Orbison Wrapped in ClingfilmStar Trek's “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”Spinoza’s idea of conatusWalter Kaufman's introduction to Martin Buber's I and ThouKant's Categorical ImperativeAbbot ElementaryDelany’s Trouble On TritonOctavia E. Butler’s Parable of the TalentsMarx’s CapitalJohn Brunner’s Stand on ZanzibarKohei Sato’s Slow Down: The Degrowth ManifestoKSR’s The Ministry for the Future, New York 2140Le Guin’s The Word for World is ForestGamers with GlassesFive Theses on Antifascist Game Criticism

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Credits:Guest: Marita ArvanitiTitle: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope MirrleesHost: Jake Casella BrookinsMusic by Giselle Gabrielle GarciaArtwork by Rob PattersonOpening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John BroughReferences:A Meal of Thorns and the Ancillary Review of Books are Hugo finalists! We are delighted and honored; a big congratulations to all the finalists.Dianna Wynne Jones, Greer Gilman, Elizabeth BearDianna Wynne Jones’ Fire and HemlockElizabeth Hand’s Mortal LovePamela Dean’s Tam LinTerri Windling & Ellen Datlow edited fairytale collectionsRobin Hobb’s Mad Ship Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin booksAmal El-Mohtar’s The River Has RootsRobert Jackson Bennett’s A Drop of CorruptionE.R. EddisonLaurie J. Marks’ Elemental Logic seriesKatherine Arden’s The Bear and the NightingaleEuripedes' The BacchaeFriedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of TragedyMichael Swanwick’s Hope in the MistJ.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit & The Lord of the RingsC.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically Prince CaspianRobert Luketic’s Legally BlondeEdgar Allen Poe, Julio Cortázar, Franz Kafka, H.P. LovecraftUrsula K. Le Guin’s The Farthest ShoreAnne Carson’s translation of BakkhaiChristina Rossetti’s Goblin MarketSusanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellFritz Lang’s MetropolisN.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand KingdomsSofia Samatar's Olondrian novelsSylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly WillowesNaomi Mitchison’s To the Chapel Perilous and Memoirs of a SpacewomanT.H. White, Tanith LeeEllen Kushner’s Thomas the RhymerJo Walton’s Among OthersKat Howard’s Roses and RotElizabeth Hand’s Waking the MoonTerri Windling’s The Wood WifeGuardian Article on romantasyCopyright romantasy caseSarah J. MaasJacqueline Carey Kushiel's DartNicholas Stuart Gray’s Seven SwansMarita’s Instagram