For those who might have been hoping our 2025 podcasts might get a little more focused and coherent, our apologies. Following up on several discussions on social media about how to learn about overlooked but deserving novels (mostly fantasy), we speculate on the factors that help a book or author gain and keep some sort of traction. Reprint programs like the Gollancz Masterworks or Tor Essentials might help, but we mention a handful of authors who have written wonderful work that is worth a fresh look, including Tanith Lee, Michael Bishop, Lisa Goldstein, Tim Powers, Michael Moorcock, Graham Joyce, and others. We also touch upon the notion of formula in SF and fantasy, and end with some of our current reading.
Hello! I’ve tried both here on the site and on apple podcasts, and when I try to listen to this episode I find it is instead episode 671 (which is a very entertaining listen). I’m wondering if it would be possible to fix that, because I am most curious about the answer to the question raised in the episode 670’s title. Thank you!
Hi Jax. I have no idea what happened. We’ve had some minor issues with the hosting of late. I’ve reposted the episode which, hopefully, should resolve the issue. Thank you for pointing it out to me.