Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

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Stars and Swords is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration, analysis and celebration of genre fiction.

  1. Mort 3: Just Us

    8 May

    Mort 3: Just Us

    This week, we conclude our discussion of Terry Pratchett's Mort with thoughts on Pratchett's precision as a stylist, tick-tock structure, and how much of the theme is on the page. Is sentimentality a good thing? Is Mort effectively sidelined in the final conflict? How do we embrace subjectivity over objectivity? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: MortTerry PratchettAudiobooks (including the footnotes!)Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 7min
  2. Mort 2: What Should Be Will Be

    22 Apr

    Mort 2: What Should Be Will Be

    This week, we return to Terry Pratchett's Mort to discuss perspective, the dualities of life on the Disc, and what is really going on with Death. Do we believe that everything is predestined? Who gets to tell the story? Does Ysabelle sparkle in the sunlight? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: MortTerry PratchettAudiobooks (including the footnotes!)Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 12min
  3. Mort 1: The Uncommon Man

    2 Apr

    Mort 1: The Uncommon Man

    This week, we dive into the Discworld with our first discussion of Terry Pratchett's Mort. Are the rules as unbreakable as they seem to be? Are ideas as dangerous? How does Death blow smoke rings? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: MortTerry PratchettRhianna PratchettTerry Pratchett's Mort (BBC Radio 4)Audiobooks (including the footnotes!)Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 15min
  4. Neuromancer 3: It's The Punk

    19 Mar

    Neuromancer 3: It's The Punk

    This week, we return from an extended hiatus to offer a short conclusion to our unit on William Gibson's Neuromancer. How are Zion and Istanbul connected? Is Wintermute right about the power of hate? Is the punk more important than the cyber? Footnotes: NeuromancerWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson on BlueskyFollow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    20 min
  5. Neuromancer 2: No Imagination

    08/12/2025

    Neuromancer 2: No Imagination

    This week, we continue our unit on William Gibson's Neuromancer. Are there only a few pathways to juvenile rebellion? How does the industrial become the post-industrial? How does Gibson's understanding of artificial intelligence hold up in 2025? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: NeuromancerWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson on BlueskyFollow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 9min
  6. Neuromancer 1: But The Dreams Came On

    14/11/2025

    Neuromancer 1: But The Dreams Came On

    This week, we begin our unit on influential science fiction with the first part of William Gibson's novel Neuromancer. Where does cyberpunk come from? How does Gibson complicate the mind-body problem? How do we know what's cool? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: NeuromancerWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson on BlueskyFollow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 11min
  7. The Haunting Of Hill House 3: The Unreliable Narrator

    02/11/2025

    The Haunting Of Hill House 3: The Unreliable Narrator

    This week, we conclude our spooky-season unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. As Eleanor retreats from the story, how do we become aware of the perspective of the house itself? Is it possible to read Theodora as a villain? What, in the end, walks alone inside Hill House? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Footnotes: The Haunting Of Hill HouseThe Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson)The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman)Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 26min
  8. The Haunting Of Hill House 2: Come Home

    25/10/2025

    The Haunting Of Hill House 2: Come Home

    This week, we continue our thirteenth unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. What are the atomic units of identity, and how do they interact? How does the book operate with -- or without -- the queer subtext? Is there, at the most basic level, something supernatural about Hill House? To see the video version of this week's show, click here; to see the slides, click here! Next week, chapters six to nine of The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon on Thursday, October 30th at 9PM Central Time.  Footnotes: The Haunting Of Hill HouseThe Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson)The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman)Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    1hr 16min
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Stars and Swords is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration, analysis and celebration of genre fiction.

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