The Writer and the Critic

I always look forward to each episode of The Writer and The Critic even when I haven’t read the books. Kirstyn and Mondy really get into the nitty gritty of the books they discuss and are not afraid to tell us what they really thought. The banter is always amusing and the critiques are insightful. The podcast has made me pick up quite a few books I might otherwise never have read and I’ve never regretted it. Highly recommended!

Genuine critiques, and the fighting for air banter is always entertaining. But I'm giving this podcast five stars on the strength of Mondy's 'We Want Five Star Ratings (Boom! Boom!)' song alone - beautiful and soulful.

Probably the top speculative fiction podcast in Australia at the moment. Great on air comraderie between the hosts and insightful commentary on the books they cover

This is one of my favourite podcasts, partly because the presenters are around my age (OK a couple of years younger) and seem to have some similar sensibilities (similar sensibilities, but not necessarily the same tastes in actual reading material which makes things more interesting). The banter is very light hearted and I've had a few laugh out loud moments (a bit embarrassing when you are walking along the street on the way to work). It is long (usually between one and a half and two hours) but only comes out monthly, so is very manageable. This podcast is aware of the kind of gender/culture issues that are discussed on things like Galactic Suburbia (another excellent podcast well worth checking out) without being as consumed by them, which leads to a balance that I quite like. The format of the podcast is appealing. The presenters each recommend a book to the other (and if there is a guest, the guest also recommends one), and after going through news and other idle gossip they review each of the novels, discuss themes and basically seem to have a good time. The books are usually speculative fiction, although sometimes they look at books that aren't necessarily genre but have a "genre feel" (still not sure about that concept but I'm willing to let it slide - yes, the podcast is that good!). They are based out of Melbourne, Australia so the podcast has an Australian flavour, but it will be of interest if you don't happen to live down under. They spoil the books they read, so if they are looking at a novel that you still want to read it might be worth checking the show notes where they kindly give time cues for the various stages of the podcast (i.e. you can see at what time they start and finish talking about a particular book). To paraphrase, significantly alter and then horribly butcher the words of Douglas Adams - this podcast is usually interesting, often informative and outstanding for the times when it is both.