Three Hoarsemen

John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson decided to get away from the Dog Days of August in the northeast United States and amble down to Australia* for some winter weather. While there they met up with Alisa Krasnostein, wearer of many hats (Ph.D. candidate, publisher with Twelfth Planet Press, podcaster with Galactic Suburbia). They discuss education, the doctoral process, publishing, podcasting, and (through a lucky coincidence) get into an extended discussion of James Tiptree, Jr. and the upcoming 100th birthday tribute book. By the end of the episode everybody has spent money and changed their reading plans going forward. More Tiptree! Why aren’t we celebrating the anniversary with more events? *No Hoarsemen actually went to Australia.

As the New Horizons probe hurtles past Pluto in the dark beyond, a con-crud-stricken John E. O. Stevens regales Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson with his adventures at Readercon. Then attentions turn to special guest Hoarsewoman Stina Leicht (on book release day, no less) to talk about her new novel Cold Iron. The discussion includes forty years of Dhalgren, writing protocols, book budgets, historical baggage, the bookstore landscape, eels, and our relationship with violence. As always, The Hoarsemen recount the books, comics, podcasts, and television that have occupied their free time.

It’s hard to believe it has been nearly a year since The Three Hoarsemen met in meatspace in a hidden sanitarium in upstate New York shortly after John Stevens received his cybernetic upgrades. For this episode, your hosts battle the gremlins of scheduling and meet in cyberspace along the same line of longitude but at differing latitudes. With Jeff Patterson melting from the insides in the south, Fred Kiesche battling conga line dancing viruses in the middle and John Stevens working his way through the stacks in the north we take pause… …and bring you our nearly most epic episode to date (at least in terms of sheer running time or time that it took John to pause to take a breath). You want rambling? You got rambling! From a breakdown of the works nominated in nearly all the categories of this year’s Hugo’s covered by John Stevens we segue to a discussion about reading and self-education by Fred Kiesche. Jeff Patterson attempts to unravel the tangled mysteries of Marvel’s Secret Wars. We conclude with our usual (snicker) brief look at what culture we have consumed since our last episode (as usual, The Hoarsemen are not to be held responsible for any damage to your wallet!). Imagine how long the episode would have been if we had had our scheduled guest! Not to worry, she or he will be on in the future and we’re lining up many more folks to browbeatóerrróconverse with into next year!

As the heat builds, and clouds of pollen choke the skies, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson find themselves of a mood to stare at the pretty pictures gracing the jackets and e-files of books and ponder how they came to be. To that end they have hobbled across the simmering landscape to seek out Irene Gallo, art director at Tor Books and Tor.com, to enlighten them on the process. The discussion encompasses the relationship between book and cover, deadlines, fan feedback, and the aesthetics of different decades. Will we ever see embossed covers come back? And what does it take for a cover to impress John? Irene also talks about her participation in the Illustration Master Class, and everyone recounts the culture they have recently consumed.

As the cruelest month of April toys with us, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson huddle in their fortress made of long boxes to talk about COMICS! With Summer approaching, superhero movies are ramping up, DC and Marvel roll out their massive crossovers, and the wind smells of reboots. The Hoarsemen discuss their experiences with reading comics digitally, the rise of SF/F indie books, and the titles currently delivering the goods. Fred continues his deep dive into generations-worth of continuity and encounters the conundrum of Jean Grey! Duplicitous rogue women appear in long-lived SF properties! And will there ever be a DRM-free collection in our lifetime? As always, there is an accounting of Culture Consumed.

As spring emerges, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson shed their well-worn thermals and discuss the vast and treacherous landscape of anthologies. It is a subject that encompasses themed volumes, shared worlds, and literary approaches, from the experimental volumes of the 1970s, through the subject-specific collections of Ace and Daw, to the copious riches that have become available readers in the past decade. What makes an anthology work? Which ones hold special places? And have they stood the test of time? The discussion then turns, as always, to culture consumed.

As the bleak winter pummels us with ice and illness, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson muster the strength and lucidity to write February off as a loss and trudge forward in search of the mythical Springtime. First, they discuss the death of Leonard Nimoy, and his impact on SF and Fandom. Then they turn to the subject of Thomas M. Disch, whose works broke genre conventions on an almost industrial scale. The gentlemen recall their introductions to the author’s work (including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry), and his legacy in SF. There follows a litany of culture consumed, and some talk about whooshing doors, online shrieking, and myopic definitions of “fan.”

As January’s icy grip tightens, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson find sanctuary in the thrilling days of yesteryear. This time out they have procured the services of Jamie Todd Rubin to act as their guide for their voyage back in time to the Golden Age! Generally defined as the period between 1939 and 1950, the Golden Age was dominated by John W. Campbell’s editorship at Astounding. It was when Science Fiction acquired a degree of depth and characterization through the works of Isaac Asimov, Lester Del Rey, C.L. Moore, L. Sprague De Camp, Leigh Brackett, A. E. Van Vogt, Robert Heinlein, Jack Vance, and Clifford Simak. Jamie talks about reading those issues of Astounding and what he learned about SF and fandom, then and now. Also discussed are Jamie’s latest Analog column, plotting-vs-pantsing, and pre-internet flame wars. And the Hoarsemen start the year with a MASSIVE list of books, comics, and TV consumed.

As the year’s end approaches, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson tempt the fates by doing a THIRD episode for the month. Joining them is the man who was the unintentional catalyst for this podcast, Patrick Hester. They pause in their assorted biscotti, chili, and laundry activities to take on the topic of wish lists, their usefulness, and what is currently on them. Then the discussion turns to all things comics. It’s really nerdy.

John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson gather for the SECOND episode of December! This time out they are joined by Karen Burnham to talk about William Hope Hodgson’s classic The House on the Borderland. Topics include the novel’s unique storytelling, possible interpretations, and where it falls in the spectrum of SF/F. Fred has posted a companion piece to this episode on his blog as an introduction to both Hodgson and the book. And even though we discussed our recent genre culture consumed in last week’s episode, we still manage to have more to talk about.