Dirty clothes, grayed-out color palettes, and terrible things happening unrelentingly to everyone: that's the stereotype of grimdark. But in this episode, Anna Smith Spark joins us to explore what that term really means, from interrogating ideas of heroism and villainy to unraveling toxic masculinity and examining the consequences of supposedly noble choices.
Transcript for Episode 63 (Thank you, beloved scribes!)
Our Guest: Anna Smith Spark lives in London, UK. She loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. Anna has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org.uk. Previous jobs include petty bureaucrat, English teacher and fetish model.
Anna's favourite authors and key influences are R. Scott Bakker, Steve Erikson, M. John Harrison, Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart and Mary Renault. She spent several years as an obsessive D&D player. She can often be spotted at sff conventions wearing very unusual shoes.
Episode 109: Seer-iously: Religion, Prophecy, Politics and Tradition, ft. APARNA VERMA
Episode 108: The Myth, The Legend, The Cultural Impacts, ft. EHIGBOR OKOSUN
Episode 107: Livin’ on a Prayer: Religion, Worldview, and the Individual
Episode 106: Lighten Up: Making your World a Little Grin-Dark, ft. M.J. KUHN
Episode 105: We’re Going on an Adventure!
Episode 104: Riffing on the Real World, ft. KAT HOWARD
Episode 103: Worldbuilding - It Builds Character, ft. KRITIKA H. RAO
Episode 102: Side Dishes and Second Helpings: Serving Up Some Food Culture, ft CHANA PORTER
Episode 101: All About the Zhuzh
Episode 100: The Game is Afoot! ft. CATE OSBORN, ANDREW NOME, and SHARANG BISWAS
Episode 99: Connect the Dots
Episode 98: Mysterious Worlds, ft. ANDREA STEWART
Episode 97: Perfect Pairing - Intersectionality and Worldbuilding, ft SUYI DAVIES OKUNGBOWA
Episode 96: The Big Blue World: Oceanic Worldbuilding, ft DARCIE LITTLE BADGER
Episode 95: Building and Bending Gender, ft. G.R. MACALLISTER
Episode 94: Natural and Supernatural Disasters
Episode 93: Queries and Quandaries
Episode 92: Ringing in the New Year
Episode 91: Making the Incredible Credible, ft. CHARLAINE HARRIS
Episode 90: The Editor’s Take ft. BRIT HVIDE
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