Any SFF reader will recognise a sword as an archetypal object with a myriad types of symbolism even before you get into it's designated uses. Swords with names, swords with magical powers, swords used to perform great and terrible deeds are rife in mythology all over the world. This week the dragons take a look at this elegant and deadly weapon, following a trail through history, various martial styles, folklore and finally into how blades have been used in speculative fiction. On the slab this week The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman, Star Wars, Excalibur, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 140: Parody, Farce and Exaggeration - Satire in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 139: That is Illogical - Murderous, Wacky and Wise-cracking AI in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 138: Streetwalkers, Courtesans and Companions - The World's Oldest Profession in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 137: This Year's God - The Human Need for Archetypes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 136: Remus Werewolf McWerewolf Lupin - The Importance of Character Names in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Ep 135: Grimalkin, Mogget and Mr Kindly - Cats in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 134: Love Ladies Lost! Revisiting Arthurian Legend
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 133: Every Hero Needs a Sam - The Unlikely Best Friend in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 132: Stranger than Fiction - the Weird and Wonderful World of Writing
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 131: Hobbit Holes, Burrows and Secret Lairs - the Concept of Home in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 130: Masked Marauders - Double Lives and Secret Identities in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 129: Marrying in Haste - Young Love in YA Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 128: Neat Little Monsters - The Animal Companion in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 127: Crime & Culpability - Should Characters get what they Really Deserve
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 126: The Slow Death of Literature - What Readers Really Want
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 125: From a Certain Point of View - Multiple POVs, Dual Timelines and Reader Sympathies in Speculative Fiction.
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 124: Visitations and Forebodings - How Nightmares are used in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 123: From the Deep - Mystery, Suspense and Sea Monsters in Historical Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 122: Baby Doom - The Stork Visits in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 121: If We Were Villains - What Shakespeare has to say to a Modern Audience
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