A Meal of Thorns
@mealofthorns.bsky.social
2.4K followers 120 following 110 posts
A speculative book club, where critics, writers, and scholars join us to talk about thorny, interesting titles. A podcast from the Ancillary Review of Books. https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/amealofthorns/
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danhartland.bsky.social
In which @casella.bsky.social and I both discuss novels of two halves, and in which Nileena Sunil and @yarntheory.bsky.social both sing the praises of @indrapramitdas.bsky.social.

This would be impressive co-working with @mealofthorns.bsky.social had we done any actual co-working.
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jsuttonmorse.me
Seriously @danhartland.bsky.social and @casella.bsky.social … Critical Friends from @strangehorizons.bsky.social and also @mealofthorns.bsky.social on the same day? Y’all gotta space these SFF criticism podcasts …
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yarntheory.bsky.social
Come talk to us about Burning Bright, whether my take on the tiny ending mystery makes sense, and why cyberpunk/space opera fusions are best!
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older.bsky.social
It's true, I have a podcast!! In which I chat with friends who work on fascinating stuff related to disasters (expansive definition). Check it out: issues.org/category/the...
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guynes.bsky.social
I've finished my essay on Kostova's THE HISTORIAN, complete with discussion of dark academia, her conservative, apolitical view of history and violence, and, of course, vampires.

The 11k-word essay will be released in November to coincide with my @mealofthorns.bsky.social episode on the novel.
guynes.bsky.social
Alright , finished my (6th) reread of Kostova's The Historian and ended with over 7k words of notes. Now to write the essay on why I think this is a pretty bad novel, a worse vampire novel, and an even worse novel about history -- basically, it's bad at what it wants to be (about).
guynes.bsky.social
Not even halfway through my reread of The Historian and I've already got nearly 4k words of notes. This reread is really challenging me -- I genuinely no longer know what I think about this novel and I vacillate wildly between "man, this sucks" and "ok, I'm enjoying this again."
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jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social
When it rains it pours! An excerpt of Ch 2 of Dispelling Fantasies, "Blood Magic is not Always Black Magic," is available in the journal Foundation's newest issue: www.sf-foundation.org/sf-foundatio...
SF Foundation Latest Issue | SF Foundation Org
www.sf-foundation.org
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amalelmohtar.com
I'm so moved by Rob Maslen's long, deep reading of THE RIVER HAS ROOTS. Pleased to be read through Rosemary Jackson, who "famously described fantasy itself as a kind of engine driven by desire", & I love insights like "Every aspect of El-Mohtar’s story looks two ways." Many thanks.
Amal El-Mohtar, The River Has Roots (2025)
[Warning: this post contains spoilers, and is best read after you’ve read the book!] Amal El-Mohtar’s first solo novella is a work of fantasy, a fairy tale with supernatural beings and magic …
thecityoflostbooks.glasgow.ac.uk
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guynes.bsky.social
Not even halfway through my reread of The Historian and I've already got nearly 4k words of notes. This reread is really challenging me -- I genuinely no longer know what I think about this novel and I vacillate wildly between "man, this sucks" and "ok, I'm enjoying this again."
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aaronmfking.bsky.social
When I don't have any new podcasts to listen to, I go back to my favorite episodes of SFUltra. Here's my top 5:
- Electric Forest by Tanith Lee: allunits.libsyn.com/sfultra-3-el...
- We Who Are About To by Joanna Russ: allunits.libsyn.com/sfultra-9-we...
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therisingtithes.bsky.social
We are in the final moments of voting for the Rhysling and Elgin Awards! If you're a member of the SFPA, don't forget to cast your ballots!
sfpoetry.bsky.social
It's the FINAL voting weekend for both the Rhysling and Elgin awards, SFPA members!

Voting closes at the end of the day on Sept. 15th.

Voting links have been re-sent as an official missive, but do reach out to an exec if you need the links again.

We hope you've enjoyed reading ✨ and please vote 💜
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octothorpecast.bsky.social
Octothorpe 143 is slightly late! We welcome Alison back to the podcast and read a bumper mailbag before getting into discussion of @seattlein2025.org, @laworldcon.bsky.social, and @montrealworldcon27.bsky.social. Our artwork is by Atom! Listen here: octothorpe.podbean.com/e/143-a-majo...
An abstract, geometric figure stands, their torso through a panel which has various trailing wires. There is a radio or walkie talkie on the floor and a textured background which is also geometric. The words “Octothorpe 143” appear at the top, “Walt Willis” appear at the right, and “Inside Coverage” appear at the bottom.
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ztul.bsky.social
I think it's really funny that Cameron asked this question, gets as far as one answer that technically predates the example we're discussing, and we call it a day
rangedtouch.bsky.social
The cabaret is leaving town--SHELVED BY GENRE today discusses the last book of V FOR VENDETTA, in which everything sort of wraps up, and we wonder which debonair antiheroes might be our next object of fixation: rangedtouch.com/2025/09/12/v...
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older.bsky.social
So pleased to share the incredible conversations of this upcoming podcast, talking to friends who work on topics like the intersection of food systems & climate; the takeover of Afghanistan; gender inequality; and how all of these fit into our understanding of disasters~ I hope you enjoy listening
Not Now, But Soon
Malka Older challenges our typical stories about disasters, and explains what they can teach us about society and building better futures.
issues.org
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megapolisomancy.bsky.social
Whitby-maxing, everybody’s doing it, he’s the weird guy for our times. Whose job is it to fire him?!?
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printrunpodcast.bsky.social
someone asked for our take on these posts so I (Erik) will give one
mealofthorns.bsky.social
possibly final Episode 32 preview:
casella.bsky.social
all book twos, people, that's where the juice is. intros and conclusions are for the weak-minded
wmhenrymorris.com
pondering creating a youtube channel that's just a series of videos titled "update on the future of this channel"

or maybe a podcast that's a series of anniversary Q&A episodes

or an epic fantasy series that's just all book twos
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nochorus.bsky.social
Over the years, I've been told it's tough to keep track of all the podcast stuff I've done. I used to joke that even a brief summary would take like 3000 words. I finally wrote said post and can definitively say I was wrong. It actually took 5000 words. Read them here www.patreon.com/posts/where-...
Where to find me talking | SFULTRA
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