Realms Unknown

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  • 5.0 (14)
  • BOOKS
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Fantasy, Sci Fi and speculative fiction, observed through the comedic lens of The Bugle. Become a Bugle subscriber to enjoy this show ad free and help us thrive. Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-survey Expect reviews and supernova level hot takes on literature, gaming, films, TV, board games, and anywhere else you can experience space ships, clones and beautiful elves with massive weapons. A podcast from The Bugle. Hosted by Alice Fraser and friends. Also available as a video podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3D AGO

    Romance in sci-fi // Fantasy // Narnia

    Host Alice Fraser, and romance critic Jen Prokop from the Fated Mates podcast (space episode), bring you episode 12 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations! Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-survey All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series below. Episode 12 In this week's news, rumours abound that Meryl Streep could be cast as Aslan in Greta Gerwig's forthcoming Narnia films, and Alice and Jen discuss Simon & Schuster's rebrand and 'Simon Maverick' audiobook imprint. Jen has recently been enjoying mafia romance such as The Kings of Italy series by Mila Finelli and the Perfectly Imperfect series by Neva Altaj. Alice's trope on a rope for this week is people being granted immortality and being pissed about it, while Jen takes issue with fake dating. In Mines of Urgh, Alice has a problem with her beloved The Dragonriders of Pern and then Jen sees how the heteronormative style of books of a past era, such as Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward show us how far gender and sex have come in recent years. For all of the books mentioned in the romance in sci -fi sub genre deep dive this week, please see the lists below! What have you been into? The Kings of Italy series - Mila Finelli Perfectly Imperfect series - Neva Altaj These Summer Storms - Sarah MacLean Romance in sci-fi Shards of Honor / Barrayar / A Civil Campaign - Lois McMaster Bujold Fiasco - Constance Fay (read Jen's article here) Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger This is How You Lose the Time War - Max Gladstone The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson Winter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell Ringworld - Larry Niven Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey The Kushiel’s series - Jacqueline Carey Aurora Blazing - Jessie Mihalik 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Jen Prokop. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min

  2. APR 1

    The Running Man // Hyperion // Evil corporations

    Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-survey Hosts Alice Fraser and James Colley bring you episode 11 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations! All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate storeExplore the list of all books, games, films and TV series at the bottom of these show notes. Episode 11 In this week's news, Edgar Wright has finished filming his remake of The Running Man, while set images from The Odyssey, starring Zendaya and Tom Holland have been released. James has been enjoying The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Alice has been reading The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone, and they both loved Hyperion by Dan Simmons. In this week's Trope on a Rope section, James wonders if anyone has seen the 'Filbert report on Liberia'? and Alice notices all of the noir detectives getting the shit beaten out of them. The 'Convince Me' section sees listener Joyce Ketterer give the big pitch to the Tiffany Aching series of books by Terry Pratchett. And take a plunge in the deep dive sub-genre submarine, as James and Alice rattle off all manner of evil corporations in the worlds of film, games and books. News FILMS The Running Man The Odyssey What have you been into of late? BOOKS Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley Max Gladstone - The Craft Sequence Hyperion - Dan Simmons Convince Me Terry Pratchett - Tiffany Aching series Terry Pratchett - The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions - Edwin Abbott Abbott Sub genre submarine - Evil corporations TV Futurama FILM The Fifth Element Tank Girl Alien Judge Dredd BOOKS Thursday Next series - Jasper Fforde Murderbot series - Martha Wells Hit - Delilah S Dawson GAMES Portal Fallout 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and James Colley. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min

  3. MAR 26

    Memory modification // Klara and the Sun // Little people

    Hosts Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan bring you episode 10 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations. All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store Episode 10 In this week's news, we look at the cinema release of Snow White, Wheel of Time on Amazon, and The Electric State on Netflix - starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. Hear why Tom is enjoying re-reading Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, what he thought of the film Opus, and what drew Alice to reading The Unorthodox Chronicles by James J Butcher. In this week's Trope on a Rope section you can hear the various examples of a 'special little boy' and why Tom has issue with it, and Alice discusses the trope of being able to sense someone walking into a busy room. Take a plunge in the deep dive sub-genre submarine, as Tom and Alice totally recall the various memory modification based books, films, TV shows and games. And Tom opens up an interesting conversation about the representation of little people on screen. News FILMS Snow White - cinemas The Electric State - Netflix TV Wheel of Time - Amazon What have you been into of late? BOOKS Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro The Unorthodox Chronicles - James J Butcher FILM Opus Trope on a rope TV Daredevil - Disney+ Sub genre submarine - Memory modification FILMS Bourne Identity Total Recall The Prestige Companion TV Dollhouse Severance Altered Carbon The Shining Girls - Apple TV Dr Who episode Mawdryn Undead BOOKS We Can Remember It For You Wholesale - Philip K Dick The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie Reasons to be Cheerful - Greg Egan The Shining Girls - Lauren Beukes Memory - Lois McMaster Bujold GAME Soma 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min

  4. MAR 19

    Post-technology // Miles Cameron // Lars Anderson archery

    Hosts Alice Fraser and Henry Fraser bring you episode 9 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations. All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store Episode 9 In this week's news, Terry Brooks is to retire from writing the Shannara series books, with Delilah S. Dawson taking over as the new author, Sarah J. Maas’ publisher launches new sci fi and fantasy imprint, Bloomsbury Archer, and Naruto has become the most watched anime on Netflix. Henry has been enjoying Miles Cameron, with the Cold Iron trilogy and Artefact Space duology coming highly recommended. But the real big recommendation this week - from both Henry and Alice - is for everyone to marvel at the incredible archery skills of Lars Anderson on YouTube. Post-apocalypse (specifically post-technological and post-AI-collapse) fiction books are the focus of the sub-genre submarine deep dive - with a whole library full of examples and recommendations to explore - see the affiliate store. There are also games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and story-based fitness apps like Zombies Run and The Walk to explore. We also have Trope on a Rope, with Henry questioning the 'blood brothers' hand cuts, and Alice's trope gripe is female protagonists supposedly not reading the really quite obvious signs from their admirers. TV Shannara Chronicles Naruto Blue Eye Samurai YOUTUBE Lars Anderson: A new level of archery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG-ly9tQGk& GAMES Horizon Zero Dawn Zombies Run - story based running app The Walk - story based fitness app BOOKS WHAT ARE YOU INTO OF LATE? Miles Cameron - Cold Iron trilogy (Masters and Mages) Miles Cameron - Artefact Space duology POST-APOCALYPSE/POST-TECHNOLOGICAL/POST-AI-COLLAPSE Dune - Frank Herbert Shattered Sea trilogy - Joe Abercrombie A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M Miller Jr Sun Eater series - Christopher Ruocchio Anathem - Neal Stephenson Elder Race - Adrian Tchaikovsky Bee Speaker - Adrian Tchaikovsky The Hungry Gods - Adrian Tchaikovsky Cold Fire trilogy - CS Friedman CONVINCE ME Sum: Tales from the Afterlife by David Eagleman (sent in by Thomas Craven) 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Henry Fraser. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min

  5. MAR 12

    Metaphysical libraries // Mickey 17 // Timestalker

    Hosts Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan bring you episode 8 of Realms Unknown with all the latest genre fiction based news and recommendations. All episodes are available in your podcast feed and on our YouTube channelSupport Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings! thebuglepodcast.com/donateYou can support your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store Episode 8 In this week's news, as Paapa Essiedu has been cast as Snape in the new TV adaptation of Harry Potter, Alice and Tom discuss the racial considerations of the casting and how this might play out within the characterisation. Also, Bong Joon-ho's new film Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson intrigues them both, as does it being a Warner Bros production. Metaphysical libraries are the focus of the sub-genre deep dive this week - with a whole library full of examples and recommendations to explore - see the affiliate store. We also have Trope on a Rope, with certain commonly-used phrases the source of ire this week. And find out which significant public figure popping up in Iron Man 2, Star Trek Discovery, The Simpsons and Rick and Morty makes Tom uneasy. FILMS Mickey 17 Timestalker TV Harry Potter (HBO) Dr Who - Silence in the Library + Forest of the Dead episodes GAMES The Last of Us Part II BOOKS The Library of Babel - Jorge Luis Borges Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins Thursday Next series - Jasper Fforde The Book that Wouldn’t Burn - Mark Lawrence Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik Service Model - Adrian Tchaikovsky Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner, Ped Hunter and Laura Turner. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    46 min

  6. MAR 6

    World Book Day special - part 2

    Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings. Info: www.thebuglepodcast.com/donate  Hosts Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner bring you the second of two child-friendly World Book Day (UK) episodes of Realms Unknown this week, with today's focusing on children's fantasy and science fiction books for ages 12-17 years old. Part 1, which looked at books for 0-12 years old, is available in your podcast feed and on YouTube.  Before diving into the many great books in this episode, Chris and Alice recommend some music with a sci-fi/fantasy twist, with Janelle Monáe's 2010 album The ArchAndroid being enjoyed at the family dinner table for Chris, and Alice enjoying the storytelling of LayLow's TRINITY album, released in 2020. In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Alice brings the use of parental neglect to the table, preferring the loving and engaged parenting in books like The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, while Chris bemoans beings magically being able to just learn a language at a speed unfamiliar to a Duolingo user like himself. Chris and Alice then enthuse over a number of fantasy and sci-fi books that shaped them as teenagers, which you can find listed below and can buy in our Bookshop affiliate store, which supports your local bookshops. Age 12-17 books Loving and engaged parents The Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik Sibling adventures Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper Narnia series - CS Lewis Gillian Rubinstein - Space Demons The Storm Keeper’s Island - Catherine Doyle Why teenagers should read fantasy Phillip Pullman - His Dark Materials Phillip Pullman - The Ruby in the Smoke Phillip Pullman - The Book of Dust Sabriel series - Garth Nix Lioness series - Tamora Pierce Terry Pratchett - Mort Terry Pratchett - Eric Galax-Arena - Gillian Rubinstein Short stories Dangerous Women - George R R Martin & Gardner Dozois More to explore Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Dune - Frank Herbert 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    38 min

  7. MAR 6 • TEAM BUGLER ONLY

    World Book Day special - part 2

    Hosts Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner bring you the second of two child-friendly World Book Day (UK) episodes of Realms Unknown this week, with today's focusing on children's fantasy and science fiction books for ages 12-17 years old. Part 1, which looked at books for 0-12 years old, is available in your podcast feed and on YouTube. Before diving into the many great books in this episode, Chris and Alice recommend some music with a sci-fi/fantasy twist, with Janelle Monáe's 2010 album The ArchAndroid being enjoyed at the family dinner table for Chris, and Alice enjoying the storytelling of LayLow's TRINITY album, released in 2020. In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Alice brings the use of parental neglect to the table, preferring the loving and engaged parenting in books like The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, while Chris bemoans beings magically being able to just learn a language at a speed unfamiliar to a Duolingo user like himself. Chris and Alice then enthuse over a number of fantasy and sci-fi books that shaped them as teenagers, which you can find listed below and can buy in our Bookshop affiliate store, which supports your local bookshops. Age 12-17 books Loving and engaged parents The Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik Sibling adventures Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper Narnia series - CS Lewis Gillian Rubinstein - Space Demons The Storm Keeper’s Island - Catherine Doyle Why teenagers should read fantasy Phillip Pullman - His Dark Materials Phillip Pullman - The Ruby in the Smoke Phillip Pullman - The Book of Dust Sabriel series - Garth Nix Lioness series - Tamora Pierce Terry Pratchett - Mort Terry Pratchett - Eric Galax-Arena - Gillian Rubinstein Short stories Dangerous Women - George R R Martin & Gardner Dozois More to explore Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Dune - Frank Herbert 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more!

    38 min

  8. MAR 5

    World Book Day special - part 1

    Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber. We offer extra shows, merch and warm fluffy feelings. Info: www.thebuglepodcast.com/donate  Hosts Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner bring you two child-friendly World Book Day (UK) episodes of Realms Unknown this week, focusing on children's books from 0-10 years old. The second episode, looking at books for older children, will be out on Thursday 6 March! In the regular news section, they touch on Doctor Who and Pokémon Go while detouring down memory lane, recalling He-Man, Thundercats and The Trap Door. Chris is pleasantly surprised to be enjoying the Amazon series The Rings of Power, having not taken to The Hobbit off-shoots of Lord of the Rings. While Alice is enjoying the gentle calm of toddler books such as Kuma-Kuma Chan by Kazue Takahashi and Grug by Ted Prior. In this episode’s Trope on a Rope, Alice wonders where tropes of boys being ballerinas, or girls wanting to play soccer are still relevant in a more inclusive age. Chris and Alice recommend a number of books they've enjoyed both as children and as parents, which you can find listed below and can buy in our Bookshop affiliate store. Bookshop supports the local and independent book stores in your area. Age 0-5 books The Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith Kerr Not Now Bernard - David McKee I Want My Hat Back - Jon Klassen The Gruffalo, Zog, The Smeds and the Smoos - Julia Donaldson Cautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire Belloc Meg and Mog - Helen Nicholl and Jan Pienkowski Age 5-8 books Isadora Moon and Mirabelle series - Harriet Muncaster Age 8-10 books The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster The 13 Clocks - James Thurber The Stormkeeper’s Island - Catherine Doyle Also, don’t miss our recommendations for what to do, watch, or read this week. Tune in for a packed episode full of insightful discussions, book and TV recommendations, and much more! 🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts or recommendations! We’d love to hear from you! Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Chris Skinner. 📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com 🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    46 min
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Fantasy, Sci Fi and speculative fiction, observed through the comedic lens of The Bugle. Become a Bugle subscriber to enjoy this show ad free and help us thrive. Please take our listener survey so we can do even better: http://bit.ly/realmsunknown-survey Expect reviews and supernova level hot takes on literature, gaming, films, TV, board games, and anywhere else you can experience space ships, clones and beautiful elves with massive weapons. A podcast from The Bugle. Hosted by Alice Fraser and friends. Also available as a video podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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