Patrick James and Abigail RuaneThe International Relations of Middle-Earth: Learning from the Lord of the Rings

University of Michigan Press, 2012

by Dan Nexon on June 6, 2013

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Patrick James is the Dornsife Dean’s Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. A self-described intellectual “fox,” James works on a wide variety of subjects in the study of world politics. But one of his latest books, co-authored with Abigail E. Ruane, breaks even his eclectic mold. The International Relations of Middle-Earth: Learning from the Lord of the Rings (University of Michigan Press, 2012), sheds light on both international-relations theory and Tolkein’s epic fantasy by bringing the two subjects together. Fans, students, and scholars alike will find much of interest — and much to argue about.

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R.S. BelcherSix-Gun Tarot

February 4, 2013

R.S. Belcher‘s first book, Six-Gun Tarot (Tor, 2013), has receive widespread praise in the online reviewing community. It tells the fantasy-western-horror story of a Nevada town, called Golgotha, that is home to an unusual assortment of men and women, spirits and angels, and Lovecraftian waiting to unleash havoc upon the world. Throughout the book, Belcher [...]

Interview with R.S. Belcher [ 58:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Ramez NaamNexus

January 18, 2013

Ramez Naam is a computer scientist who lives in the pacific northwest. His debut novel, Nexus (Angry Robot, 2012), has received an impressive level of positive buzz, including an endorsement from one of our past interview subjects, Alistair Reynolds. Although this is his first work of fiction, Naam is no stranger to writing. His previous [...]

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Felix GilmanThe Rise of Ransom City

January 8, 2013

I first learned about Felix Gilman‘s work from the influential academic blog Crooked Timber. I proceeded to read Thunderer, Gears of the City, and Half-Made World and found myself impressed by Gilman’s distinctive settings, themes, and voice. It should surprise no one, in my view, that Thunderer received a nomination for the 2009 Locus Award [...]

Interview with Felix Gilman [ 1:11:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Michael GordinThe Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe

December 19, 2012

When I agreed to host New Books and Science Fiction and Fantasy there were a number of authors I hoped to interview, including Michael Gordin. This might come as a surprise to listeners, because Michael is neither a science-fiction nor a fantasy author. He is, rather, a prominent historian of science at Princeton University. But [...]

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Alastair ReynoldsBlue Remembered Earth

October 31, 2012

Blue Remembered Earth (Gollantz, 2012) takes place roughly 150 years in the future. Climate change, as well as the political and economic rise of Africa, have transformed the planet. Humanity is colonizing the solar system. Geoffrey Akinya, grandson of a visionary businesswoman, cares most about his scientific work with elephants. His sister, Sunday, pursues the [...]

Interview with Alastair Reynolds [ 1:12:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Madeline AshbyvN: The First Machine Dynasty

October 19, 2012

Amy Peterson is a five-year old self-replicating android who lives with her synthetic mother and human “father.” Her struggles might be that of any super-intelligent youngster whose body and mind mark her as different than her schoolmates, but then her grandmother, Portia, appears at her kindergarten graduation and attacks her mother. Amy’s intervention leads to [...]

Interview with Madeline Ashby [ 39:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Meagan SpoonerSkylark

October 3, 2012

Lark Ainsley lives within a near-hermetically sealed city located in a world scarred and depleted my magical wars. The Architects, who oversee the City, maintain it by harvesting the non-renewable magical energy found in each of the city’s inhabitants. But something goes wrong on Lark’s “Harvest Day,” and she soon finds herself on a quest [...]

Interview with Meagan Spooner [ 45:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D.B. JacksonThieftaker

September 19, 2012

“D.B. Jackson” is David B. Coe’s pen name for his new historical-fantasy series, The Thieftaker Chronicles. Thieftaker (Tor Books, 2012) centers on Ethan Kaille, a private detective and conjurer, as he investigates a murder in colonial Boston. David, who received a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Stanford University before embarking on a career as a novelist, [...]

Interview with D.B. Jackson [ 55:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Ken MacLeodThe Night Sessions

September 5, 2012

I met Ken MacLeod when we participated in a sequence of “Science Fiction and International Orders” panels at the London School of Economics in the winter of 2011. Ken is an important figure in his own right, as well as someone who has contributed a great deal to the Speculative-Ficiton community through, among other things, [...]

Interview with Ken MacLeod [ 1:01:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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