Realms Unknown

Host Alice Fraser and James Colley bring you episode 14 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations!It's a mushroom / plant life / flora core / sentient forest special!Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our showsSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber thebuglepodcast.com/donateHelp your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series below.Episode 14In this week's sci fi and fantasy/real world crossover news, is there life on distant planet K2-18B, and are dire wolves making a comeback?James has been enjoying The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges, while Alice has been dipping a toe into Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson.In this week's Trope on a Rope section, the forced 'here's six months earlier' flashbacks are annoying James and Alice really wishes that people would just wear appropriate headwear in the desert.Kurt Vonnegut's use of misogyny tarnishes James' otherwise love of the author, along with fatness being used as shorthand for evil of some sort.For all of the books mentioned in the sub genre deep dive this week, please see the lists below!Hosts' booksAlice Fraser - A Passion for PassionJames Colley - The Next Big ThingWhat have you been into?The Blade Itself - Joe AbercrombieLabyrinths - Jorge Luis BorgesMushroom Blues - Adrian M. GibsonSub-genre deep dive: plant life / flora coreThe Day of the Triffids - John WyndhamWar of the Worlds - HG WellsFILM Little Shop of HorrorsHyperion - Dan SimmonsTV Farscape‘Amnesty’ from Bloodchild and Other Stories - Octavia ButlerTV/GAME The Last of UsThe Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson BennettTV Seeds of Doom - Dr Who episodeBlue Moon Rising - Simon R GreenGAME BotanicaGAME Strange HorticultureGAME Caves of QudGAME Hollow Knight🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!🦋 Find us on Bluesky!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and James Colley.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Alice Fraser, and Tom Neenan bring you episode 13 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations!Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-surveyAll episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series below.Episode 13In this week's news, Alice makes international front pages after she decides not to take a trip the US, Nanowrimo is cancelled (the organisation, not the event) and we may soon see more quality sci-fi from China.Tom has recently been enjoying the start of season two of The Last of Us, while Alice has been distracting herself from real-life dystopian futures by dipping back into the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.Tom's trope on a rope for this week is the oil pit fire scene, used way too often, while Alice's is the antisocial heroine.In Mines of Urgh, Tom is looking for positive representations of limb difference, given that it's commonly used as a signifier for evil.And listener Jen convinces Tom so convincingly to read The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness, that he orders the book during the podcast record!For all of the books mentioned in the romance in sci -fi sub genre deep dive this week, please see the lists below!What have you been into?TV - The Last of UsTemeraire series - Naomi NovikConvince MeThe Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick NessSub-genre deep dive: admin/bureaucracy TV Star TrekThe Craft Sequence - Max GladstoneFILM Terry Gilliam - BrazilVorkosigan Saga series - Lois McMaster BujoldFILM Alien RomulusTV Dr Who episodes The Sunmakers / Paradise TowersHitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas AdamsGAME Papers PleaseGAME Return of the Obra DinnFILM Shin GodzillaTyrant Philosophers series - Adrian TchaikovskyLandover series - Terry BrooksThe Traitor Baru Cormorant series - Seth DickinsonDagger and Coin series - Daniel AbrahamTerry PratchettFILM Amazing GraceMines of UrghStar WarsGood Omens🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!🦋 Find us on Bluesky!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Alice Fraser, and romance critic Jen Prokop from the Fated Mates podcast (space episode), bring you episode 12 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations!Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-surveyAll episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series below.Episode 12In this week's news, rumours abound that Meryl Streep could be cast as Aslan in Greta Gerwig's forthcoming Narnia films, and Alice and Jen discuss Simon & Schuster's rebrand and 'Simon Maverick' audiobook imprint. Jen has recently been enjoying mafia romance such as The Kings of Italy series by Mila Finelli and the Perfectly Imperfect series by Neva Altaj. Alice's trope on a rope for this week is people being granted immortality and being pissed about it, while Jen takes issue with fake dating. In Mines of Urgh, Alice has a problem with her beloved The Dragonriders of Pern and then Jen sees how the heteronormative style of books of a past era, such as Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward show us how far gender and sex have come in recent years. For all of the books mentioned in the romance in sci -fi sub genre deep dive this week, please see the lists below! What have you been into?The Kings of Italy series - Mila FinelliPerfectly Imperfect series - Neva AltajThese Summer Storms - Sarah MacLeanRomance in sci-fiShards of Honor / Barrayar / A Civil Campaign - Lois McMaster BujoldFiasco - Constance Fay (read Jen's article here)Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn MuirThe Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey NiffeneggerThis is How You Lose the Time War - Max GladstoneThe Space Between Worlds - Micaiah JohnsonWinter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell Ringworld - Larry NivenSex Criminals - Matt Fraction and Chip ZdarskyDragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey The Kushiel’s series - Jacqueline Carey Aurora Blazing - Jessie Mihalik 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Jen Prokop.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-surveyHosts Alice Fraser and James Colley bring you episode 11 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations!All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series at the bottom of these show notes.Episode 11In this week's news, Edgar Wright has finished filming his remake of The Running Man, while set images from The Odyssey, starring Zendaya and Tom Holland have been released.James has been enjoying The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Alice has been reading The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone, and they both loved Hyperion by Dan Simmons.In this week's Trope on a Rope section, James wonders if anyone has seen the 'Filbert report on Liberia'? and Alice notices all of the noir detectives getting the shit beaten out of them.The 'Convince Me' section sees listener Joyce Ketterer give the big pitch to the Tiffany Aching series of books by Terry Pratchett.And take a plunge in the deep dive sub-genre submarine, as James and Alice rattle off all manner of evil corporations in the worlds of film, games and books.NewsFILMSThe Running ManThe OdysseyWhat have you been into of late?BOOKSMinistry of Time - Kaliane BradleyMax Gladstone - The Craft SequenceHyperion - Dan SimmonsConvince MeTerry Pratchett - Tiffany Aching seriesTerry Pratchett - The Amazing Maurice and his Educated RodentsFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions - Edwin Abbott AbbottSub genre submarine - Evil corporationsTV FuturamaFILMThe Fifth ElementTank GirlAlienJudge DreddBOOKSThursday Next series - Jasper FfordeMurderbot series - Martha WellsHit - Delilah S DawsonGAMESPortalFallout🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and James Colley.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan bring you episode 10 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations.All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeEpisode 10In this week's news, we look at the cinema release of Snow White, Wheel of Time on Amazon, and The Electric State on Netflix - starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.Hear why Tom is enjoying re-reading Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, what he thought of the film Opus, and what drew Alice to reading The Unorthodox Chronicles by James J Butcher.In this week's Trope on a Rope section you can hear the various examples of a 'special little boy' and why Tom has issue with it, and Alice discusses the trope of being able to sense someone walking into a busy room.Take a plunge in the deep dive sub-genre submarine, as Tom and Alice totally recall the various memory modification based books, films, TV shows and games.And Tom opens up an interesting conversation about the representation of little people on screen.NewsFILMSSnow White - cinemasThe Electric State - NetflixTVWheel of Time - AmazonWhat have you been into of late?BOOKSKlara and the Sun - Kazuo IshiguroThe Unorthodox Chronicles - James J ButcherFILMOpusTrope on a ropeTV Daredevil - Disney+Sub genre submarine - Memory modificationFILMS Bourne IdentityTotal RecallThe PrestigeCompanionTVDollhouseSeveranceAltered CarbonThe Shining Girls - Apple TVDr Who episode Mawdryn UndeadBOOKSWe Can Remember It For You Wholesale - Philip K DickThe Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis StevensonAncillary Justice - Ann LeckieReasons to be Cheerful - Greg EganThe Shining Girls - Lauren BeukesMemory - Lois McMaster BujoldGAME Soma🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alice Fraser and Henry Fraser bring you episode 9 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations.All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeEpisode 9In this week's news, Terry Brooks is to retire from writing the Shannara series books, with Delilah S. Dawson taking over as the new author, Sarah J. Maas’ publisher launches new sci fi and fantasy imprint, Bloomsbury Archer, and Naruto has become the most watched anime on Netflix. Henry has been enjoying Miles Cameron, with the Cold Iron trilogy and Artefact Space duology coming highly recommended. But the real big recommendation this week - from both Henry and Alice - is for everyone to marvel at the incredible archery skills of Lars Anderson on YouTube. Post-apocalypse (specifically post-technological and post-AI-collapse) fiction books are the focus of the sub-genre submarine deep dive - with a whole library full of examples and recommendations to explore - see the affiliate store. There are also games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and story-based fitness apps like Zombies Run and The Walk to explore. We also have Trope on a Rope, with Henry questioning the 'blood brothers' hand cuts, and Alice's trope gripe is female protagonists supposedly not reading the really quite obvious signs from their admirers. TVShannara ChroniclesNarutoBlue Eye SamuraiYOUTUBELars Anderson: A new level of archery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG-ly9tQGk&GAMESHorizon Zero DawnZombies Run - story based running appThe Walk - story based fitness appBOOKSWHAT ARE YOU INTO OF LATE?Miles Cameron - Cold Iron trilogy (Masters and Mages)Miles Cameron - Artefact Space duologyPOST-APOCALYPSE/POST-TECHNOLOGICAL/POST-AI-COLLAPSEDune - Frank HerbertShattered Sea trilogy - Joe AbercrombieA Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M Miller JrSun Eater series - Christopher RuocchioAnathem - Neal StephensonElder Race - Adrian TchaikovskyBee Speaker - Adrian TchaikovskyThe Hungry Gods - Adrian TchaikovskyCold Fire trilogy - CS FriedmanCONVINCE MESum: Tales from the Afterlife by David Eagleman (sent in by Thomas Craven)🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Henry Fraser.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan bring you episode 8 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations.All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeEpisode 8In this week's news, as Paapa Essiedu has been cast as Snape in the new TV adaptation of Harry Potter, Alice and Tom discuss the racial considerations of the casting and how this might play out within the characterisation. Also, Bong Joon-ho's new film Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson intrigues them both, as does it being a Warner Bros production.Metaphysical libraries are the focus of the sub-genre deep dive this week - with a whole library full of examples and recommendations to explore - see the affiliate store.We also have Trope on a Rope, with certain commonly-used phrases the source of ire this week. And find out which significant public figure popping up in Iron Man 2, Star Trek Discovery, The Simpsons and Rick and Morty makes Tom uneasy.FILMSMickey 17TimestalkerTVHarry Potter (HBO)Dr Who - Silence in the Library + Forest of the Dead episodesGAMESThe Last of Us Part IIBOOKSThe Library of Babel - Jorge Luis BorgesUnseen Academicals - Terry PratchettThe Library at Mount Char - Scott HawkinsThursday Next series - Jasper FfordeThe Book that Wouldn’t Burn - Mark LawrenceHollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow - Jessica TownsendGolden Enclaves - Naomi NovikService Model - Adrian TchaikovskySnow Crash - Neal Stephenson🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner, Ped Hunter and Laura Turner. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings. Info: www.thebuglepodcast.com/donate Hosts Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner bring you the second of two child-friendly World Book Day (UK) episodes of Realms Unknown this week, with today's focusing on children's fantasy and science fiction books for ages 12-17 years old. Part 1, which looked at books for 0-12 years old, is available in your podcast feed and on YouTube. Before diving into the many great books in this episode, Chris and Alice recommend some music with a sci-fi/fantasy twist, with Janelle Monáe's 2010 album The ArchAndroid being enjoyed at the family dinner table for Chris, and Alice enjoying the storytelling of LayLow's TRINITY album, released in 2020.In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Alice brings the use of parental neglect to the table, preferring the loving and engaged parenting in books like The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, while Chris bemoans beings magically being able to just learn a language at a speed unfamiliar to a Duolingo user like himself.Chris and Alice then enthuse over a number of fantasy and sci-fi books that shaped them as teenagers, which you can find listed below and can buy in our Bookshop affiliate store, which supports your local bookshops.Age 12-17 booksLoving and engaged parentsThe Golden Enclaves - Naomi NovikSibling adventuresMagic Faraway Tree - Enid BlytonThe Dark is Rising - Susan CooperNarnia series - CS LewisGillian Rubinstein - Space DemonsThe Storm Keeper’s Island - Catherine DoyleWhy teenagers should read fantasyPhillip Pullman - His Dark MaterialsPhillip Pullman - The Ruby in the SmokePhillip Pullman - The Book of DustSabriel series - Garth NixLioness series - Tamora PierceTerry Pratchett - MortTerry Pratchett - EricGalax-Arena - Gillian RubinsteinShort storiesDangerous Women - George R R Martin & Gardner DozoisMore to exploreEnder's Game - Orson Scott CardDune - Frank Herbert🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings. Info: www.thebuglepodcast.com/donate Hosts Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner bring you two child-friendly World Book Day (UK) episodes of Realms Unknown this week, focusing on children's books from 0-10 years old.The second episode, looking at books for older children, will be out on Thursday 6 March!In the regular news section, they touch on Doctor Who and Pokémon Go while detouring down memory lane, recalling He-Man, Thundercats and The Trap Door.Chris is pleasantly surprised to be enjoying the Amazon series The Rings of Power, having not taken to The Hobbit off-shoots of Lord of the Rings. While Alice is enjoying the gentle calm of toddler books such as Kuma-Kuma Chan by Kazue Takahashi and Grug by Ted Prior.In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Alice wonders where tropes of boys being ballerinas, or girls wanting to play soccer are still relevant in a more inclusive age.Chris and Alice recommend a number of books they've enjoyed both as children and as parents, which you can find listed below and can buy in our Bookshop affiliate store. Bookshop supports the local and independent book stores in your area.Age 0-5 booksThe Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith KerrNot Now Bernard - David McKeeI Want My Hat Back - Jon KlassenThe Gruffalo, Zog, The Smeds and the Smoos - Julia DonaldsonCautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire BellocMeg and Mog - Helen Nicholl and Jan PienkowskiAge 5-8 booksIsadora Moon and Mirabelle series - Harriet MuncasterAge 8-10 booksThe Phantom Tollbooth - Norton JusterThe 13 Clocks - James ThurberThe Stormkeeper’s Island - Catherine DoyleAlso, don’t miss our recommendations for what to do, watch, or read this week. Tune in for a packed episode full of insightful discussions, book and TV recommendations, and much more!🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 5 of Realms Unknown, hosts Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan leap into the latest news in pop culture and fantasy! Hear what's coming up from Guy Gavriel Kay, Jim Butcher, Game of Thrones, Mila Jovovich, and ACOTAR.They take a deep dive into this week's sub-genre of steampunk, making recommendations from film, books and games such as Mortal Engines, Cinder Spires, Bioshock Infinite, Howl's Moving Castle, and more.In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Tom explains the much-used prop of an epic city final battle featuring a column of light or energy, while Alice is baffled by sexy fights in films.Also, don’t miss our recommendations for what to do, watch, or read this week. Tune in for a packed episode full of insightful discussions, book and TV recommendations, and much more! Buy the books we cover in this episode in our affiliate store.🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you!Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.