Breakfast in the Ruins
Friends old and new join me in Derry and Toms roof gardens to discuss the work and influence of prolific British fantasist Michael Moorcock, as well as other bits of 60s and 70s genre fiction that came to me via my Grandad in the 80s and informed my world view. Books, music, role-playing games, wrestling in Featherstone Library and many other digressions await.
Episodes
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
QUATERMASS
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Andrew Nette returns to Derry and Toms as we continue to muse over some formative telly, novelisations and other stuff but on this occasion to talk about Nigel Kneale's enduring and iconic character Professor Bernard Quatermass (and a load of other digressions, naturally, including brief musings on a favourite mercenary war flick). We roam around the original Hammer films, the impact of Quatermass on the zeitgeist and, most specifically, the 1979 serial and its novelisation by Nigel Kneale himself.
HUFFITY-PUFFITY PUFF!!!
Check out Quatermass III on Bandcamp
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
ALIEN: When IPs collide (Colony Wars and Cold Forges)
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
In our continued deliberations about tackling Michael Moorcock's Doctor Who novel The Coming of the Terraphiles, several questions about the pitfalls of writing for established IPs have arisen, and a pressing one is:
What happens when Trumpton and British politics intrude upon the Alien universe?
We investigated so you don't have to, so join Miles Reid-Lobatto (writer and co-host of the Casual Trek Podcast) and SF Starship artist and designer Ian Stead AKA Biomassart as we look at what makes the Alien IP tick and how some recent books have tackled it. Mainly Alien: Colony War. But also Alien: The Cold Forge. Which we probably should have talked about more, because it's great.
You can read my 2012 feature on Alien 3 here (just don't start any more flame wars you Colonial Marines fans you).
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
The Weird of the White Wolf
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Loz returns to Derry & Toms to talk about the remaining tales we haven't covered that complete Michael Moorcock's The Weird of the White Wolf.
Elric tests some early chat-up lines in While the Gods Laugh, Moonglum finally shows up in The Singing Citadel and Loz bares all (though not his nipple) in a grievance-filled tirade against neopolitan ice cream.
JOIN US!
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
New Edges For Old Heroes w/ Oliver Brackenbury
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Oliver Brackenbury returns to Derry & Toms to talk about the next phase of his excellent mag New Edge Sword and Sorcery. Moorcock talk, uncovering and unleashing a golden age hero anew and copious amounts of caffeine and lemsip dominate.
JOIN US.
Be sure to check out the Backerkit link for New Edge Sword and Sorcery issues 3 and 4 and Oliver's podcast So I'm Writing a Novel...
The conversation about The Dreaming City and The Folk of the Forest is on Youtube
Also check out Dan Charnley's podcast, Dan Rambles and the Preston Speculative Fiction Group's interview with MM
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Options (Robert Sheckley)
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Derek AKA Imrryr returns to Derry and Toms to talk about fellow New Yorker Robert Sheckley, the late master of SF satire and absurdist parables, and his rather unusual and wigged-out 1975 opus... Options.
Spoiler... it's out there... AND I LOVE IT!
All of the Imrryr catalogue is available via Bandcamp, including merch, and when I get the links for the upcoming physical releases I'll add them here.
Monday Jan 29, 2024
The Time of the Hawklords
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
So it turns out there's a 'Britain is Fucked' novel about Hawkwind tonning around in a van fighting ghosts and squares with guns that shoot their music AND that happens to feature Moorcock as a tertiary character with a saucy house computer.
WHO KNEW???
Well, some of you did obviously... but I didn't until my mate Yarks sent me a copy for my birthday a few years ago. It turns out that I was dimly aware of author Michael Butterworth at the time as I'd had some of his Space 1999 novelisations on my shelf for f'n years without realising that he was one of the dudes behind Savoy Books and appears to be a really cool cat.
So who better to drop by Derry and Toms to talk about it than Joe Banks, author of Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age of Paranoia?
Nobody. Nobody better.
JOIN US!
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Snowcastles - A (Belated) One-Shit Book for Xmas
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Wednesday Jan 10, 2024
Clarky the Cruel returns to Derry and Toms to revive the One-Shit Book (books that could potentially be read on one visit to the throne) format as we look at SNOWCASTLES by Duncan McGeary.
We consider wizard contracting standards, when barbarians aren't barbarians and just what the hell is under Greylock's fur...? We don't read the sequel but we do wonder why those people look like they're out of a 1970s public information film for children.
Check out Clarky's blog for updates on his various gaming and reading activities, as well as an end-of-year review and his plans for 2024. Visit the Duncan McGeary webpage for details of his more recent novels and short stories and his author's blog.
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Birthday Special 2023 - w/ Joe Monti of Saga Press
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
In this Birthday Special double-bill of salutations, Joe Monti (editorial Director at SAGA Press) drops by D&Ts to engage in day-drinking, Moorcock talk and chew the fat about editing amazing fantasy and various other bits n' bobs. Also, Joe gets Crabs.
Then Phil and Loz join me for a serious* roundtable. Whilst we drink mucky booze and engage in a hastily and lazily bashed together but closely contested Moorcock-related quiz, Phil disses my gourd, Loz dumps on steampunk and a particularly challenging beer punches us in the temple (thanks Ash).
*not that serious
Quiz Beer slate:
· Gravity Well – Photonic Molecules Pale Ale 4.6%
· Overtone Brewing Co King of Feasts Pale Ale 4%
· Twilight Pilgrim Pumpkin Spice Latte Stout 5.0%
· Emperor’s Brewery Kessel Run Peanut Butter Jelly Imperial Stout/Porter 13.1%
· Brasserie de Noir Bere Speciale cuvee exceptionale Rhum finish 5.5%
· Snake Bite in a can from Aldi the name of which I think I may have suppressed because it was just that ‘orrible
Michael Moorcock chorus/refrain is from The Dewey Decibel System by BlöödHag
Breakfast in the Ruins
It had been a few years since I tried anything new hobby-wise and particularly anything t’interweb related beyond twitter and generally using it for all of the general reasons we use it (gifs, cat pics, buying things I don’t need etc).
However in recent years, whilst doing lengthy commutes, I found that podcasts had moved on somewhat from the type I’d been exposed to previously, with less of the ‘yuck yuck’ interactions between podcast hosts that felt the need to be artificially heightened, and more of a naturalistic and joyous approach to a specific subject matter that drew me in to feel part of the conversation.
Combined with this new found interest I’ve been needing a hobby and outlet for my creative energies, such that they are.
A few years back, for similar reasons, I started a blog (mentallicohullic.com), where I was able to have a good rant, but also link to the online articles I’d written for thequietus.com. I didn’t really keep that up with any regularity though, so it fell by the wayside, although it is still live.
Anyway, it struck me a while later that a sudden upsurge in interest amongst my friends in fantasy fiction, and particularly Michael Moorcock, had generated a number of conversations that I really enjoyed participating in. We were also having particular discussions about how to best model Moorcock in a table top role playing game. One night I started typing up some thoughts regarding my approach to it and, reading it back, it was written in a conversational style and for a split second the idea of a podcast themed around Michael Moorcock’s books and other associated art seemed appealing. A few sherries later I’d ordered a USB audio hub and a condenser microphone and the next day recorded a five minute podcast introduction as a proof of concept. I shared it with some like-minded friends and, following feedback, decided to give it a whirl.
Michael Moorcock as a subject seemed the natural choice, for reasons that may become apparent during the introductory episode. As you'll see as the show progresses, there's a reason why I call it 'Moorcock flavoured'.