The secret society trope in speculative fiction draws its inspiration from both historical and current real life counterparts. While on the surface these societies may be harmless or even benevolent, the route agenda of a secret society is always power - whether that's power to live in accordance with personal beliefs or power used for far less altruistic reasons. Potentially, this makes your average shadowy organisation somewhat dangerous and provide rich fodder for the the writers imagination. But why is this trope so widely used in fantasy and sci-fi? How does the reality compare to the fantasy? And what makes secret societies so unnerving? This week the dragons take a look beyond the secret handshake. On the slab - Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, The Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Episode 257: Peacekeepers to Punishers - The Police Force in Speculative Fiction
Episode 256: Assembling the Skeleton - Showing, Telling and Cutting Out Scenes in Speculative Fiction
Episode 255: The Trials and Triumphs of 2020
Episode 254: Blood on the Snow - The Darker Christmas Stories
Episode 253: The Good Neighbours - Festive Faeries and Winter Elves
Episode 252: Why is There Never a Happy Ending? - and Other Questions Writers Get Asked
Episode 251 To Queer or not to Queer - Including LGBTQ+ Characters in Speculative Fiction
Episode 250: The Usual Suspects - Cast Calling for your Novel
Episode 249 - The Goddess' Chariot - Myths and Folktales of the Moon
Episode 248: All the Feels - Emotion and Characterisation in Speculative Fiction
Episode 247: Sweet, Awkward and Tongue-tied - The Unromantic Hero in Speculative Fiction
Episode 246 - Casting Long Shadows - How Horror Influences Other Genres
Episode 245: Old Gods & Ancient Stones - What Folk Horror has to say to a Modern Audience
Ep 244 - Of Fates and Phantoms - The Anatomy of the Ghost Story
Episode 243: The Mother of Science Fiction - The Life of Mary Shelley
Episode 242 - Chairs, Dolls & Diamonds - Cursed Objects in Fact and Fiction
Episode 241 - Vampires, Incubae and Goblin Kings - The Daemon Lover in Myth and Speculative Fiction
Episode 240: Paging Dr Love - What the Romance Genre can Teach Us about Writing
Episode 239: Unpopular Opinion Time (part 2) - The Dragon's Hot Takes on Speculative Issues
Episode 238: Unpopular Opinion Time (part 1) - The Dragons' Hot Takes on Speculative Issues
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