Be The Serpent

Episode 12: Yes, It Goes On and On, My Friends

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're talking about our favorite long-form stories -- epic fantasy, extremely long podcasts, and the slowest of slowburn fanfics.

What We’re Reading:

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Hild by Nicola Griffith
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

 

Other Stuff We Mentioned:

The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
Speechless
The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Magician sequence by Raymond Feist
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovich
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
War and Peace by Tolstoy
Natasha Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
“Freeport” by Maldror_Chant
Critical Role
The Adventure Zone
The Simpsons
Sacrifices arc by Lightning on the Wave
Twisting the Hellmouth, a Buffy fanfic archive
Mike Carey’s Lucifer
Game of Thrones
Yuri!!! On Ice
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
The Down to Agincourt series by seperis
Supernatural
Repossession by Lazuli.Kat
Embers by Vathara
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky
Prince of the Dark Kingdom by Mizuni-sama
Severitus fics
Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen
Catch Your Breath by Lang Noi
Iryo-nin Kasa by Vaengir
Fate/Stay Night fanfic
Fallen by Confusedknight
The Kushiel’s Dart series by Jacqueline Carey
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson
Nirvana in Fire
Captive Prince
Charles Dickens
Friends
The Simpsons
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Gundam Wing

Transcription:

The transcript for this episode is available here. Hail the scribes: Sara, Magali, and Neharika!

Episode 11: It's All About the Money, Money, Money

On this episode of Be The Serpent, we're discussing economics-- no wait! Come back! It's going to be fun! Money in fantasy settings, alternative currencies, worldbuilding... All the stuff you like! Our tentpoles this week are  The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson, the movie In Time, and the fanfic “Freeport” by Maldoror_Chant.

(And if you haven't yet checked out the podcast's official Discord chat, you're missing out!)

What We’re Reading:

The Henchmen of Zenda by KJ Charles
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

 

Other Stuff We Mentioned:

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Skies of Wonder, Skies of Danger, an anthology (including a short story by Macey)
Viable Paradise (a SFF writer’s workshop)
Aphra Behn
The History of Money by Jack Weatherford
Saikaku Ihara
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins
The economics of slow-burn coffee shop AUs
Hopepunk
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker
Australian vs. American currency differences
The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett (esp. Making Money)
The Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone
“Harry Potter and the Natural 20” by Sir Poley
Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
The Silk Road
Tamagotchis
Oversized tourist attractions for children to climb on in/around Queensland, Australia
18th century French people getting extra freaky to avoid pregnancy
England’s Wool Act of 1699
God’s Own Country

Transcription:

The transcript for this episode is available here. Thank you to our loyal scribes: Magali, Neharika, and Sara!

Episode 10: Extravaganza

On this special episode, we're not talking about a theme -- we're answering a cornucopia of amazing questions from our darling listeners! It's the one you've all been waiting for! It's the extravaganza!

And, as announced in the episode, our lovely scribes have launched a Discord chat for fans of the show! Check it out here! 

What We’re Reading:

Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Space Opera by Cat Valente
Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger

 

Other Stuff We Mentioned:

Daemons
Sorting Hat Chats
Jake Peralta (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Jack Harkness (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
Mei Changsu (Nirvana in Fire)
Ocean’s Thirteen
Julius Caesar’s sexuality
Alexander Hamilton
Freya’s Hamilton fic “Interlude (Rise Up)”
Julie d’Aubigny
Josephine Baker
Australian bush fires
The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
Ninefox Gambit and Raven Strategem by Yoon Ha Lee
Ursula Vernon / T. Kingfisher
The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett (esp. the City Watch, Tiffany Aching and Moist Von Lipwig books)
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Xena: Warrior Princess
Fanfic tropes such as: Identity porn, MPreg/Pregnancy fic, Kidfic, Sick!fic, Slow-burn Romance, Competence porn, political complicated fic
Embers a fanfic in the Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Kate Elliott
Leverage
Farscape
EA RPGs specifically Dragon Age and Mass Effect
Alex’s obsession with the Dorian/Iron Bull listing on AO3
The Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
The Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron
The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings
The Acorna series by Anne McCaffrey
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw and her podcast Overinvested
Alien
Star Trek
Naruto
"Dreaming of Sunshine" by Silver Queen
Freya’s Naruto fanfic
"Solfege" by Fahye (Freya)
Elliot Schafer from In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Be the Serpent Discord Chat
"Freeport" by Maldoror_Chant (one of the tentpoles for episode 11!)

Transcript:

Click here to view the transcript of the show. Thank you to our scribes: Sara, Neharika, and Magali for their work! 

Episode 9: Like Rome, But With Lasers

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're discussing space empires! We talk a little bit about the history of empires, writerly tips for constructing an empire, and the problems of imperialism. The tentpoles this week are: Ancillary Justice (and the rest of the Imperial Radch trilogy) by Ann Leckie, Star Wars, and The Course of Honour by Avoliot

What We’re Reading:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
“Maggie Fitzgerald and the Saltwater Drip” by antistar_e

 

Other Stuff We Mentioned:

Farscape
Saga
Killjoys
Tithe by Holly Black
White Cat by Holly Black
Spider-Woman/The White Widow/the Spider-Gwen series
4th Street Fantasy Convention
Katamari Damacy
Game of Thrones
The Little Prince
The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Sun Chronicles (forthcoming) by Kate Elliott
Jupiter Ascending
Ninefox Gambit and the others in the The Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee
Terraforming
Star Trek
Eurovision (esp. Verka Serduchka, the Buroanovskiye Babushki, and sparkles)

 

Transcription:

The transcript for this episode is available here. Thanks as always to the scribes, Magali, Neharika, and Sarah, for their help!

Episode 8: Once More, With Feelings!

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're discussing "Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property" by Helenish, Think of England by KJ Charles, and the television show Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, as well as a full buffet of romance tropes. And we're joined by a guest, the lovely Amanda Jean from The Hopeless Romantic podcast!!

 

Things we mentioned:

Think of England by KJ Charles
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property by Helenish
The Hopeless Romantic with Amanda Jean and Austin Chant
Eurovision
Douglas Adams
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell, Candy Tan
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
"Think Once, Think Twice" by Fahye (Freya)
Bear by Marian Engel
Captive Prince (again) by CS Pacat
Sherlock
Yuri!!! On Ice
"Victor Effing Nikiforov" by shysweetthing
"i know my madness" by astoryaboutwar
Piper Vaughn’s Portland Pack Chronicles
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
Isobelle Carmody

What we’re reading:

Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho
The Tea Master And The Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente

Transcription: 

This episode was transcribed by the amazing Sara, Neharika, and Magali! Find the transcription here.

Episode 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells the Story

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're talking about historiography, propaganda, narrative control, Macey's misspent youth as a frozen meat salesperson, and some excellent pieces of fiction: "Written by the Victors" by Speranza, the Broadway show Hamilton, and The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin.

 

Things We Mentioned:

"Written by the Victors" by Speranza
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The House of Niccolò series by Dorothy Dunnett
Person of Interest fanfic 
A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
Ars Atlantiadae by multiple creators (usernames found in the link)
Podfic of Written by the Victors by multiple readers (usernames found in the link)
Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film by eleveninches, Febricant, hellotailor, M_Leigh, neenya, tigrrmilk
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
"Interlude (Rise Up)" by Fahye
Mark Oshiro reading "Interlude (Rise Up)"
Podfic of "Interlude (Rise Up)" by various narrators
Black Sails
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
The Newsflesh Series by Mira Grant
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

 

What We’re Reading:

The Lymond Chronicles (specifically The Ringed Castle and Checkmate) by Dorothy Dunnett
The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang
Still too much Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfic

 

Transcription:

The transcript of this episode is available here. Thanks as always to Sara, Neharika, and Magali!

Episode 6: Cross Your Stars and Hope to Bi

On this episode of Be The Serpent, we're talking about bisexuals in fiction. And because this is us, we have to come up with a taxonomy for them. So join us as we debate the merits and charms of the Chaos Disaster, the Sad Floppy Disaster, the Punch-You-in-the-Face Disaster, and the Terrifying, Competent Force of Nature Not-A-Disaster. The tentpoles this week are: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Mackenzi Lee), The World That You Need series (Dira Sudis), and In Other Lands (Sarah Rees Brennan). 

Things we mentioned:

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The World That You Need series by Dira Sudis
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Person of Interest (again)
Astolat (again)
Captive Prince by CS Pacat (always)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Hannibal
A Deeper Season by lightgetsin and sahiya
Killjoys
Grey’s Anatomy
Captain Jack Harkness of Doctor Who and Torchwood fame
Revenge
The Count of Monte Cristo
Nirvana in Fire
Julie d’Aubigny, historical Disaster Bisexual

What we’re reading:

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (and the Vorkosigan Saga more broadly)
The Covert Captain by Jeannelle M. Ferreira
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by Phenderson Djèlí Clark
Mr. Try Again by A. Merc Rustad
Too much Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfic.

Transcription:

The transcript of this episode is available here. Thanks to Sara, Neharika, and Magali for their work! 

Episode 5: O Captain, My Captain

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're talking about The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Jupiter Ascending, and "Dangerous if Unbound" by Astolat -- what do these have in common? Fealty relationships!

 

Other things we mentioned:

Disney princesses
Noblebright & the hieros gamos (again)
A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Jupiter Ascending
"Dangerous if Unbound" by Astolat
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
The Empire Trilogy by Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist
Self-insert fanfiction
Courtly love
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Anastasia (and the stage musical)
Person of Interest
Kings
Single Use Weapon by Freya
Mathematical theory aka witchcraft
Ninefox Gambit and A Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee
Atomic Blonde
Merlin
Star Trek TOS and the Star Trek reboot films

 

What we’re reading lately:

Reflections: On the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones
An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles
Our own books (because edits)

 

Transcription:

The transcription of the episode is available here. Thanks as always to Sara, Neharika, and Magali for their work!

Episode 4: The Bastard's Lying to You!

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're talking about LIAR by Justine Larbalestier, Yuri!! On Ice, "The Women Men Don't See" by James Tiptree Jr, and the joys and delights of unreliable narrators. 

Things we mentioned:

Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers
Liar (Justine Larbalestier)
Yuri!!! On Ice (2016)
"The Women Men Don’t See" (James Tiptree Jr.)
Kingsman (2014)
The Captive Prince series (C. S. Pacat)
Alex’s debut book, A Conspiracy of Truths (forthcoming, Fall 2018)
The Italians (John Hooper)
The Handmaiden (2016)
Fingersmith (Sarah Waters)
Why street magicians are the worst people alive
The Queen’s Thief series (Megan Whalen Turner)
Lots more fanfiction
"Written by the Victors” (Speranza)
“The Way of the Apartment Manager” (Elizabeth Culmer) (The Naruto fic Macey mentioned)

 

What we’re reading lately:

Lotus Blue (Cat Sparks)
The Belles (Dhonielle Clayton)
A novel-length Yuri!!! On Ice Fanfiction
Even more Person of Interest Fanfiction

Transcription:

The transcript is available here.
As always, thank you so much to Neharika, Magali, and Sara for transcribing the episode! 

Episode 3: Apocalypse Sometime, Maybe Next Tuesday

On this episode of Be the Serpent, we're talking about The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison, the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, "Sailor's Delight" by jinjurly, and what we'd do in the event of an apocalypse.

Things we mentioned:

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (Meg Ellison)
Star Wars
Mad Max: Fury Road
"Sailor's Delight" 
Broken Earth trilogy (N. K. Jemisin)
School’s Out Forever
Lord of the Flies
In the End (Alexandra Rowland)
"Solfege" (Freya Marske)
“The Day it Fell Apart” (Leslie Fish)
Natural Disasters

What we’re reading lately:

Frederica (Georgette Heyer)
Lotus Blue (Cat Sparks)
The Belles (Dhonielle Clayton)
A lot of Person of Interest fanfiction.

Transcription

The transcription of this episode is available here! Thanks to Magali, Neharika, and Sara for their amazing work this week!