Tag Archives: fantasy

Supercontext: The Moomins and the Great Flood

This 1945 children’s book by Tove Jansson began a publishing empire in Finland that is worth millions of dollars. We look at Jansson’s beloved allegory about a world where a family survives turmoil and everyone is accepted for who they are.

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Supercontext: Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin


This book attempts to redefine the novel by combining narrative with an imagined anthropological record. We discuss Le Guin’s background and mission, as well as larger questions about cultural misappropriation and utopianism.

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Additional Resources:

    • Le Guin, Urusula K. “On the Frontier,” in The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination, edited by Le Guin. Boston: Shambhala Press, 2004.

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Supercontext: Shadowland by Peter Straub


This fantasy/horror novel about prep school boys and magical authority came in the middle of the genre paperback boom. We talk about Straub’s concerns when writing it and how he walked the line between horror and “literature,” while responding to the market pressures on his publisher.

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Supercontext: The Final Programme by Michael Moorcock


This first part in the Jerry Cornelius saga is literary science-fiction that challenges the politics of its time through transgression. But we find eerie parallels to our current zeitgeist and wonder if Cornelius is the perfect device to question our thoughts about subversion and morality.

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Supercontext: Michael Shea (w/ guest Robert Lamb)


Michael Shea was a genre writer who combined fantasy, science fiction and horror into a unique blend of wonder and imagination. Together with our guest Robert Lamb (Stuff To Blow Your Mind), we discuss Shea’s writing style and legacy.

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Supercontext: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman


Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel about the comedy of Armageddon seems to be the very definition of “twee.” We try to unpack what that concept means and how it contributes to the authors’ humanist message.

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Supercontext: China Miéville’s Kraken


China Miéville’s novel Kraken is a meandering fantasy comedy full of political themes and a love for weird monsters. How does this author manage to weave together so many themes and genre into one book? And why does he think J.R.R. Tolkien is a “wen on the arse of fantasy”?
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Supercontext: The Hugo Awards


The 2015 Hugo Awards showed us what happens when science fiction/fantasy fandom turns on itself. A year later we look back at the arguments and manipulations of all the parties involved: Sad Puppies, Rabid Puppies and everyone else. Given how similar this controversy’s rhetoric is to the 2016 presidential election, should we look at cultural moments like this as predictors of larger issues in society?

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Supercontext: Game of Thrones, Season 6


In an unusually giddy, slaphappy episode, Charlie & Christian try to understand how Game of Thrones’ sixth season was made. When does an adaptation stop being an adaptation? What happens when it passes — and surpasses — its source material?

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