David R. Grigg's Blog

Download this episode

David and Perry discuss the nominees in the Novelette category for this year’s Hugo Awards, and go on to talk about their other recent reading.

Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award (03:15)Davitt Award shortlist (02:58)Hugo Award Novelette Nominees (36:18)The Pill by Meg Elison (05:03)Helicopter Story by Isabell Fall (06:43)Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt (03:10)The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (05:56)Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (08:29)Monster by Naomi Kritzer (06:03)What we’ve been reading (30:33)The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (07:23)Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (07:48)Foundation by Isaac Asimov (07:20)The End of the Day by Claire North (07:16)Windup (01:00)

Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels.

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Download this episode

Perry and David discuss recent award shortlists and then go on to talk about television shows they have recently watched.

Awards Season (14:14)Ned Kelly Awards (03:52)World Fantasy Awards (03:58)The Age Book of the Year Award (03:00)Booker Prize (02:52)What we’ve been watching on television (43:41)Absentia (05:59)Mare of Easttown (08:17)Broadchurch (06:35)Loki (06:52)Hanna (08:46)The Falcoln and the Winter Soldier (06:50)Windup (02:14)

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Download this episode

David and Perry discuss the nominees for Best Novella at this year’s Hugo Awards, then talk about some more recent reading.

Miles Franklin Award Winner: The Labyrinth (02:22)International Thriller Award: Blacktop Wasteland (00:27)Steel Dagger Award: When She Was Good (01:02)Hugo Award Novella nominees (33:08)Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (03:47)Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark (06:33)Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (03:43)Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (07:28)Finna by Nina Cipri (04:30)The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (07:28)What else we’ve been reading (24:20)Slough House by Mick Herron (06:06)Helgoland by Carlo Rovelli (05:58)The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva (06:24)Say You’re Sorry by Michael Robotham (05:47)Windup (00:40)

Photo by Scott Webb from Pexels

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

We couldn’t record on Monday this week, so Episode 57 should be out tomorrow (Wednesday 21 July 2021).

Download this episode

Perry and David nominate their best reads in the year so far and then go on to discuss their recent reading, ranging from children’s books to a strange novel by a Japanese author.

Locus Awards (03:25)Arthur C. Clarke Award (01:37)Other Awards (01:03)David’s top 5 books of the year so far (02:51)Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson (00:56)The Women in Black by Madeleine St John (00:10)The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (00:13)Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (00:08)Lavengro / Romany Rye by George Borrow (00:25)Perry’s top 5 books of the year so far (04:11)Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin (01:24)Dune by Frank Herbert (00:54)The Yield by Tara Jane Winch (00:11)First Love by Ivan Turgenev (00:51)The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (00:17)Emails and Tweets of Comment (01:57)Why You Should Read Children’s Books by Katherine Rundell (04:32)The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman (06:08)The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (07:15)Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (07:08)The Labyrinth by Amanda Lowrey (06:26)Lavengro, Romany Rye by George Borrow (06:08)Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolfe (05:46)Windup (01:11)Locus Award Winners 2021Network Effect by Martha Wells (00:07)The City We Became by N. K. Jemison (00:15)Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (00:10)Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (00:07)Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (00:14)The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan (00:07)The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu (00:28)Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlistThe Infinite by Patience Agbabi (00:04)The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimene (00:03)Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (00:04)Edge of Heaven by R.B. Kelly (00:03)Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes (00:04)The Animals in that Country by Laura Jean McKay (00:58)

Illustration: rooftops of Paris.

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Download this episode

David and Perry return to their life of crime and discuss several excellent crime novels by Australian authors and others. They jointly discuss “The Chase”, the latest novel by Candice Fox.

Hugo Voting Packet (02:42)Miles Franklin Award shortlist (03:00)ALS Gold Medal (02:36)The Dragon Man by Garry Disher (07:51) The Wife and the Widow by Christian White (08:32) Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher (09:02) Later by Stephen King (06:56)The Chase by Candice Fox (10:18)Windup (01:26)

Image from pxhere.com

Miles Franklin Award shortlistThe Inland Sea by Madeleine WattsAmnesty by Aravind AdigaLucky’s by Andrew PipposThe Labyrinth by Amanda LohreyThe Rain Heron by Robbie ArnottAt the Edge of the Solid World by Daniel David WoodALS Gold Medal shortlistThe Rain Heron by Robbie ArnottCadaver Dog by Luke BestThe Animals in That Country by Laura Jean MacKayThe Adversary by Ronnie ScottSong of the Crocodile by Nardi SimpsonThroat by Ellen Van Neerven

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

I come to visit the afflicted spirits
Here in the prison. Do me the common right
To let me see them, and to make me know
The nature of their crimes, that I may minister
To them accordingly.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Act 2, Scene 3

Download this episode

Perry and David discuss science fiction fandom and their introduction to it via amateur magazine publishing. Perry interviews Rose Mitchell, the Fan Guest of Honour at CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon.

Nebula Awards 2021 (07:01)Best Novel: Network Effect by Martha Wells (00:46)Best Novella: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (00:59)Best Novelette: “Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (00:19)Best Short Story: “Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (01:19)Best Game Writing: Hades by Greg Kasavin (00:12)Ray Bradbury Award: The Good Place (00:25)Andre Norton Award: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (00:58)Fanzines and Fandom (00:29)What is a fanzine? (03:02)Changes in terminology and technology (00:57)Amateur Press Associations (00:19)ANZAPA (01:26)Wanting to be a writer (00:38)How apas work (03:43)General distribution fanzines (01:53)Why publish a genzine? (01:07)Visual design of fanzines (01:10)Including illustrations (03:07)Email and the Internet (04:02)Changed the dynamic (03:04)Ego scanning (01:56)Access to old material (02:51)Running conventions (01:49)Younger people and fanzines (03:24)Using up our creative energy (04:13)Interview with Rose Mitchell (44:58)Getting in to SF (04:53)Becoming involved with organising (02:09)Attending conventions (04:41)Things started to change (00:22)Melbourne SF Club (00:39)Getting involved with Worldcon 1999 (01:16)Appointed as Treasurer of convention (02:46)Did the 1999 Worldcon change your ideas of fandom? (01:46)After 1999 (01:31)Running national and smaller conventions (01:44)Chairing national conventions (00:29)Attending overseas conventions (01:24)Chair of the 2010 Worldcon (02:38)After 2010 (03:15)New Zealand Worldcon bid (02:44)Fan Guest of Honour (07:22)What does the future hold? (00:12)Australian Science Fiction Foundation (00:14)Fully retired (03:51)Windup (01:29)

Illustration: a selection of Australian fanzines.

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Download this episode

David and Perry discuss recent awards in the Horror genre; Perry talks about a recent Australian novel, a podcast, and some fantasy novellas; and David talks about fascinating non-fiction books he’s recently enjoyed.

The horror, the horror… (05:53)The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (00:37)Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (00:33)The Invisible Man (screenplay) (00:40)Werewolf novel by John Steinbeck (03:12)Non-fiction (01:17)Deep Sea and Foreign Going by Rose George (07:11)The Yield by Tara June Winch (08:02)The Shape of Sound by Fiona Murphy (09:37)Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks (00:24)Sideways podcast by Matthew Syed (10:55)Extraterrestial by Avi Loeb (08:51)Nghi Vo novellas (06:46)The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (03:00)When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (02:56)Liftoff by Eric Berger (09:13)Windup (01:22)

Photo of dragon by Eva Elijas from Pexels. Rocket launch image courtesy of SpaceX.

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Download this episode

Perry and David take the Hugo Time Machine on an expedition to the year 1966, the year when Dune won the Hugo Best Novel award as well as the Nebula Best Novel award.

The Big Jab (01:48)2021 Locus Awards shortlists (04:11)Hugo Time Machine 1966 (01:20:06)Worldcon in 1966 (01:08)First Nebula Awards (02:50)Marque and Reprisal by Poul Anderson (08:36)Stardock by Fritz Leiber (04:59)The Day of the Great Shout by Phillip Jose Farmer (07:55)The Doors of his Face by Roger Zelazny (05:56)“Repent Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellision (06:21)Comparison with Nebulas (05:05)The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (04:15)The Squares of the City by John Brunner (06:05)Skylark DuQuesne by E. E. Smith (03:59)Dune by Frank Herbert (09:58)And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny (08:01)Other possible nominees (04:37)Windup (01:01)

Image created by smithytomy – www.freepik.com

Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

Sorry, running late this time around for various reasons. The next episode of the podcast should be released by the end of Wednesday 12 May 2021.