Three Hoarsemen

The dreaded Holiday season, with its attendant joys and anxieties, seems to fall upon us earlier with each advancing year. Once again we hear the fretful murmurs that Science Fiction and Fantasy fans are notoriously difficult to buy presents for. Fear not, for the venerable John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson have compiled hefty lists of fiction, non-fiction, art, and other sundry morsels suitable as gifts (or wish list items). Behold treasures, from the sublime to obscure, fit to sate the desires of nerds, fans, and aficionados of the fantastic, as well as the more adventurous mundanes. Also: a remembrance of Doris Lessing, Fred gives his report from HonorCon, and the gentlemen chime in on the culture they have been consuming. As an extra holiday treat, not all the culture consumed is genre related!

It is an allegorical tale of interstellar adventure, a quest that is part Moby Dick and part revolutionary act. It is about confluence, archetypes, obsession, seeking the future, and the creative process itself. It is the story that marked the transition from Delany’s more straightforward genre explorations to the maturation of his career when he returned to the field with Dhalgren. It is the book that critic Algis Budrys said “…right now, as of this book…not as of some future book or some accumulated body of work, [Delany] is the best science-fiction writer in the world, at a time when competition for that status is intense.” In this installment of The Three Hoarsemen, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson discuss Nova by Samuel R. Delany, including their first encounter with the book, how subsequent readings have altered their views, and the continuing strength of the story after four and a half decades.

As Summer is relegated to the vaults of imperfect memory, the occasionally venerable John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson pull their cloaks tight against the mounting Autumn chill. Listen as they gather around the flame, pass the jug and Ibuprofen, and speak of a road trip through the American South, LoneStarCon, revisiting reviews of old, reading with one’s daughter, the books that sustain them, and other mortal matters.

And so, having proven their mettle in the harsh environs of podcastery, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson were cast out from the shelter of the venerable SF Signal Podcast, armed only with wit, canes, and beta blockers, to forge their own path. Here they discussed the utility and relevance of awards, the return of the dreaded online SF books list, how no reading plan survives contact with the enemy, and the culture they have recently consumed.

And so it was that, during the brutal heatwave of July 2013, Fred Kiesche, John Stevens, and Jeff Patterson did re-convene to swelter and bemoan the state of things. Thrill as they endure cicadas and noisy fans! Listen to them discuss Readercon, the irrelevance of poorly-researched reviews, comic books, noir, specious definitions of the “canon,” and other sundry subjects. It’s like visiting three cranky uncles in a run down retirement home… (Originally SF Signal Podcast Episode 198)

In the long and storied history of the SF Signal Podcast, never had the powers-that-be deigned it safe to allow John H. Stevens, Fred Kiesche, and Jeff Patterson to appear on the same panel discussion. “It would be like crossing the streams,” they said. “Violent weather would sweep the land, and cicadas emerge from the depths!” Ah, well… In this inaugural episode of The Three Hoarsemen we discuss Iain M. Banks, how our book format preferences dictate our reading (and buying) habits, and recommend some books and stories we’ve recently enjoyed. (Originally SF Signal Podcast Episode 193)