Episode 10 - A Sword of Bronze and Ashes

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)

For our September 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner for Adrian's consideration.

For our August 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the book Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe for Emma's consideration. Other talking points: All Greek to Emma Surprise spider nomenclature Werewolves? There wolves Necromancy LinkedIn Reading and re-reading Wolfe Unreliable narrators and narration perspective The past as a foreign country Memory and amnesia in fiction Wolfe and descriptive style The hero as werewolf Audiobook narrator voice choices Media Mentions: You can find Re-reading Wolfe on your usual podcast platforms. I will also note other Wolfe-flavoured podcast resources, Alzabo Soup, The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast and a large chunk of Shelved by Genre, if you have a thirst for some deep dives into his work (none have done Soldier yet to my knowledge) The Shadow of the Torturer, The Book of the New Sun series and the wider Solar Cycle novels of Gene Wolfe Piranesi, novel by Susanna Clarke (and see our prior coverage of that) A Game of Thrones novel by GRR Martin / TV series The Green Knight movie dir. David Lowery (and see our patreon episode on that) Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series, specifically the episode 'Darmok' Next month we look at the novel Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner This month's patron episode is the indie film The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising Adrian's music recommendation: The Sad God by Gorillaz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQE0FnpfqQo&list=RDfQE0FnpfqQo&start_radio=1 , also the entire album The Mountain and in particular this animated sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRulNQsuYQ&list=RDucRulNQsuYQ&start_radio=1

For our July 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Do you Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh for Adrian's consideration. We talk about spoilers in this, and despite my initial lukewarm thoughts about spoilers for this book, there are definitely some moments that are better raw, so do take this as a note that there's something to be gained by reading ahead of the 'cast. Other talking points: The Science of Spoilers British alt space history When you call your spaceship "Damocles" Everyone Hates Harry Orlando Boom (sorry) The 2012 Olympics and national pride The brutal logistics of being in space Authorial treatment of the moral quandary Super-elite child training academies Competitive personalities, the pros and cons YA or not YA Balancing multiple character arcs Mysticism and an ambivalent attitude to woo Coral and reef building

For our June 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the book Piranesi by Susanna Clarke for Emma's consideration.