It's the feast day of Lupercalia (or St Valentine's Day if you prefer), and the dragons thought the time was ripe to talk about heartbreak, break ups and couples who just can't get together in speculative fiction. You are welcome! On a more edifying note, break ups and the scuppering of a romantic subplot in fantasy and scifi can be a great way to through up obstacles in a main plot or even nudge it in a new direction. This week the dragons take a look at what works and what doesn't when you're writing heartbreak. Under the microscope this week A Court of Thorns and Roses by S J Maas, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Beka Cooper series by Tamora Pearce and many more. Delay your romantic dinner plans and join us for an epic discussion of break up tropes and challenges.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 121: If We Were Villains - What Shakespeare has to say to a Modern Audience
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 120: Bards, Troubadours and Skalds - The Musician Archetype in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 119: Love Conquers All - Power Couples who destroyed the Story
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 118: You Fancy Me Mad - Renfield, Lear & Ophelia: Madness in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 117: Dinosaurs and Mega Cryptids - Man-made Monsters in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 116: Cliches are Cliche for a Reason - Why Tropes aren't bad, but Some Tropes need to Die
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 115: Clothes Make the Man - Cross-dressing in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 114: Queer Eye for the Straight Story - Reading Speculative Fiction through a Queer Filter
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 113: Decoy Ducks & Red Herrings - Sayings, Urban Legends and Aphorisms
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 112: Spies, Traitors & Turncoats - Informants in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 111: Larger than Life - The Fictional World of Giants
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 110: Saying What You Really Mean - The Importance of Theme in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 109: Into the East - Fantasy Settings Tolkien Never Used
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 108: It Must be the Weather - How Nature Reflects Art in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 107: The Balance of Power - Sexism and Sexual Harassment in the Publishing Industry
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 106: Kali-ma, Inanna & Anath - The Creator-Destroyer in Myth and Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 105: The Book Hangover - Fictional Worlds that won't Let You Go
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 104: Bones, Boyd and Cottle - The Physician Archetype in Speculative fICTION
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 103: Best Served Cold - Revenge Arcs in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 102: Squibs and Mundanes - Representation of Disability in Speculative Fiction
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
The War of the Worlds
Anne of Avonlea
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends