
A critical book club from the Ancillary Review of Books. Host Jake Casella Brookins invites writers, scholars, and critics to discuss thorny works of science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative genres.
| Publishes | Twice monthly | Episodes | 52 | Founded | 2 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | FictionScience FictionArtsBooks | |||

Brunner’s prescient classic about overpopulation: is it about overpopulation? Was it prescient? And, for that matter: what does it mean to be a classic? Reviewer and editor Dan Hartland joins to discuss these questions and more.
Podcasts, reviews, ... more
Science fiction readers love a mechanism, they love a bit of world-building and mystery-solving. Premee Mohamed joins us to discuss Gene Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus, a book that asks: what if a science fiction book intentionally avoided all of... more
A rain of corpses is falling from the sky, insectoid femme fatales are setting their compound eyes on our tender thoraxes, and our cattle drive across an expanse of nanotech goo is starting to go off the rails. So we ask ourselves: do we still have t... more
Stop explaining and start exploring: critic & reviewer Molly Templeton walks us through this gem of 1980s mass market fantasy, with many asides and theories on shifting patterns of publishing and reading patterns. Plus, we spill the beans on the most... more
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This is a great way to expand your understanding of the fiction landscape and lineages and get book recommendations, I’ve especially enjoyed learning about titles that are before my time.
The only thing keeping me from listening to all of these in a binge is the fact that I need to catch up and read many of the novels under discussion. Broad ranging, informative, and host and guests always care about the books, even the bad ones.
There aren’t many speculative fiction review podcasts so I was so excited to find this one. I like how guests have expertise in relation to episode’s title selection and I especially enjoy the titles chosen to discuss. There is a nice mix of newer and less recent titles.
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Apple Podcasts | #249 |
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A thoughtful, club-style exploration of speculative fiction and literary crossovers, featuring critical dives into science fiction, fantasy, and related genres. Episodes emphasize world-building, narrative structure, intertextuality, and the social and political dimensions of books, often through scholarly analysis, author perspectives, and editor/critic insights. Noteworthy are the mix of academics, editors, and novelists as guests, the willingness to tackle controversial topics (gender, race, sexuality, empire), and the focus on how form and context shape reception. Listeners can expect rigorous yet accessible conversations that illuminate less-charted works alongside canonical titles, with a strong emphasis on critical discussion, pedago... more
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A Meal of Thorns launched 2 years ago and published 52 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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Recent guests on A Meal of Thorns include:
1. Premee Mohamed
2. Gareth Watkins
3. Molly Templeton
4. Dr. Matthew Leggat
5. Abigail Nussbaum
6. Max Gladstone
7. Alexander Dickow
8. Liz Bourke
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