In this much-too-long-delayed episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we revisit stories from Cordwainer Smith’s The Rediscovery of Man, with especial focus on “Alpha Ralpha Boulevard”. More importantly, we discuss these stories with senior SF critic

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 18): Season 2 Re-Cap

Sep 25th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we revisit Season 2. There’s general consensus that our podcasts on Jagannath and Distances are among our favorites ever, and that there’s still a lot of value found in some of the older science fiction

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 17): Ken Liu and Vandana Singh

Sep 11th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle two short pieces from contemporary authors on our mathematical theme. We start out talking about Ken Liu’s “Single-Bit Error” and then we wind up raving about Vandana Singh’s novella Distances.

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 16b): Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith

Aug 13th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle two more short stories from The Rediscovery of Man, the complete collection of the short fiction of Cordwainer Smith from NESFA Press. We wound up finding so much to say about Smith’s stories t

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 16a): Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith

Jul 24th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle two short stories from The Rediscovery of Man, the complete collection of the short fiction of Cordwainer Smith from NESFA Press. We wound up finding so much to say about Smith’s stories that w

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 15) — “Flatland” by Edwin Abbott and “Shadow Postulates” by Yoon Ha Lee

Jul 11th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle Flatland (1884) by Edwin A. Abbott and “The Shadow Postulates” from Yoon Ha Lee’s debut collection, Conservation of Shadows. In one fell swoop we cover some of the most recent fiction yet (2008

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 14): NAPIER’S BONES by Derryl Murphy

Jun 26th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle Napier’s Bones by Derryl Murphy. Murphy introduces some fascinating ideas, but undercuts them with info-dumping and a muddled ending. Dom has the ability to see and control numbers. After runni

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 13): “Shadow of the Torturer” by Gene Wolfe

Jun 12th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, the first volume of the Book of the New Sun quartet, published in 1980. This is the first-person narrative of Severian, a lowly apprentice torturer blessed

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 12a) – “Till We Have Faces” by C. S. Lewis

May 31st, 2013

After our previous episode discussing Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, the last novel written by C. S. Lewis, we decided that we needed a little more expertise than we were able to bring to bear. To that end, we’ve invited Beth Potterveld, a

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 12): “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis

Mar 20th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, the last novel written by C. S. Lewis, published in 1956. At once more human and more mythic than his Perelandra trilogy, Lewis’s short novel of love, faith,

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 11): “Star Maker” by Olaf Stapledon

Mar 6th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we tackle Star Maker, the 1939 classic by Olaf Stapledon. One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most rem

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 10): Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck

Feb 20th, 2013

In this episode of SF Crossing the Gulf, we enthuse about Jagannath, the award-winning collection from Karin Tidbeck. We highly recommend this collection, an exemplar of the New Weird (although we never use that term in the podcast). Fantasy, f

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 09): Children of God

Feb 6th, 2013

Welcome back for Season 2, Part 1 of SF Crossing the Gulf! Here’s our notional reading list for the coming season: Children of God, Mary Doria Russell Jagannath, Karin Tidbeck Starmaker, Olaf Stapledon Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis Shadow of

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 08): Season 1 Wrap Up

Nov 1st, 2012

In this episode, we (fondly, sadly) wrap up the first season of SF Crossing the Gulf. We reflect on what we’ve read so far, with discussions of POV, hard sf, immigrant tales, and international vs. slipstream fiction. While we’ve enjoyed this im

SF Crossing the Gulf (Episode 07): Discussion of Curdella Forbes’s “Ghosts”

Oct 17th, 2012

In this episode we discuss Ghosts, a family drama set in the near future by Jamaican author Curdella Forbes. We talk about unreliable narrators, culture, symbolism, and snails. Links: Curdella Forbes on Facebook Karen Burnham on Twitter Karen

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