Pig-bombs, priests in daisy dukes, dressing down the Theocrat of Pan Tang and getting torn apart by dogs are just some of the highlights as I’m joined in D&Ts once again by Steve Round to talk Stormbringer gaming and this time he’s brought the whole damn party.
The wandering beer table returns and, as a reward to the gang, we debut an all-new lazily assembled table of rubbish demon-bound quest goodies.
So join Steve, Chloe, Sara, Roddy, Jay, Richie and Ceirun as we board the Merciful Servant and reflect on what it takes to save the Young Kingdoms from the overbearing and stagnant forces of Law!
Content warning: The Void campaign is Moorcockian and therefore spicy. And Steve tries a smoked beer. Horrific!
You can find the full write-ups of The Void campaign and more on Steve’s blog – Cruising For a Musing
Miles is back to carry on our deep dive into Mike’s Who/Multiverse mash-up and also talk about Ncuti’s first run, the Timeless Child arc, writing Who fiction, engaged Tom vs couldn’t give two shits Tom and loads of other stuff no doubt.
Join us!
And be sure to check out the Casual Trek Podcast too.
Allister Thompson returns to Derry and Toms as we hurtle back to 1918 and brave the cold waters of the Atlantic to take a look at The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, subject of Michael Moorcock’s sole filmed movie script (along with James Cawthron of course).
Expect discussions about mysterious island tropes, personal propensities to cannibalism, dodgy theories of race and C Thomas Howell!
Allister’s latest release (at time of posting this at least) is Apocalypse Man by Khan Tengri and it includes a nice Moorcockian track too.
PS Here’s that Patrick Tilley designed cover I mentioned…
Power up your voxcaster, recite a litany of protection and light a lho stick as beer lover, wargamer and death metal LEGEND Karl Willetts braves the Immaterium to warp over to Derry and Toms and discuss Memoriam, becoming the vocalist in Bolt Thrower, Warhammer and his three rules of beer…
Memoriam’s latest release is Rise to Power and it and their back catalogue is available at all good stockists.
I also wistfully recall my first exposure to Bolt Thrower with the epic and massive game changer for British metal… Realm of Chaos
Phil and I have embarked upon our winter retreat, on this occasion to the incredibly picturesque harbour town of Barmouth.
Yes, Barmouth. The scene of Guy N Smith’s terror double-bill of Night of the Crabs and its subsequent sidequel, Crabs Moon. Now I’m not saying we decided to commit a whole week of our annual leave allocations to visiting the site of a brace of 70s horror novels, but we may well have committed a whole week of our annual leave allocations to visiting the site of a brace of 70s horror novels.
It was a good choice though.
I’m not going to knock Smith’s literary credentials for a second, but he didn’t really sell Barmouth’s qualities. It’s a really beautiful bit of coast and the key landmarks do not disappoint, with Arthog Bridge being a particularly impressive piece of Victorian engineering. That was obviously wasted on that down-in-the-mouth train driver but not on us.
Amusingly, our digs are in Llanaber – the very site of Professor Cliff Davenport’s boarding house (and scene of his alarmingly immediate bond with Pat). We’re going all in for the authentic experience. Shell Beach awaits.
Amongst our holiday reading we have the final instalment in the Cliff Davenport triptych, CRABS ON THE RAMPAGE. Sadly it isn’t set in Barmouth, but, weirdly, it does feature some of our older holiday stomping grounds up in the highlands of Scotland that we are very familiar with.
Anyway, enough of my holiday snaps.
It’s suddenly February and 2023 is already feeling productive. We’re keeping up a decent pace with the show, I have two more in the can undergoing editing, and Phil and I will hopefully record our thoughts on The Phoenix in Obsidian AKA The Silver Warriors very soon. This month I’m scheduled to revisit the NEL story with Andrew Nette and Dave will be back to pick up the Hawkmoon saga with The Sword of the Dawn.
To add to that, if you missed it, I popped up on the Appendix N Book Club and that was a fine time all round.
In a addition to that, we passed a couple of Podbean milestones in January too…
…and I have to say Podbean, you could put a bit more effort in with your badges.
Still, it’s always good to note progress. Long may it continue. And thanks to all of you for supporting us and making it happen.
That’s all for now though, I have to go down Barmouth beach in search of crevices (I remain unconvinced).
So go steady out there and we’ll catch up again soon… On t’moonbeam roads.
It’s a steely cold and foggy day up in the hills of Bradford, which I’m fine with. It beats cold, wet and muddy and I do find the crispness and crunchiness underfoot weirdly energising. I’ll just listen out for the creak of massive wheels and remain vigilant regarding strange, distorted shapes in the fog and we should be fine.
I had a lovely delivery from Christos AKA Fortress of the Pearl – psychedelic black metal dungeon synth from Greece – timely as I’m in the middle of editing the second part of our deep dive into Moorcock’s The Fortress of the Pearl! Loz and I indulged in some appropriately funky beers along the way, but two ended up being a stretch too far for the evening. Well, technically only one for me but Loz rolled snake eyes on the resistance table so his final brace are going out to a lucky patron – Paul Hillary, they’ll be winging their way to you shortly. Exactly how lucky you are will be for you to judge.
A couple of nights ago I hopped on a call with our friend and collaborator N Λ Ṇ D to talk about a variety of things, not least of which was the second album based upon volume II of the adventures of Gerard Arthur Connelly, my old roleplaying alter-ego from the olden days. As with his first, this is an album suffused with the smells and colours of our own meandering Moonbeam dreams. We’ve nailed down the running order and album art and that should see the light of day very soon. As ever, N Λ Ṇ D’s compositions are inspiring to me and have already provided high-calorie fodder for my imagination as I continue drafting and fleshing out volume III.
The latest edition of Jim Kirkland’s newsletter Pursuit of the Pale Prince is in inboxes right about now. This issue has news about a pending blu ray release of The Final Programme, a Silver Warriors skate deck c/o Frazetta Girls, the latest Centipede Press release and more. Get on that subscription list.
In a week or so the Appendix N Podcast will release their 133rd episode featuring an all new guest. Me! It’s very exciting to be asked to drop in to other talking shops and this was the third time, having previously appeared on Rob Aka Menion’s Confessions of a Wee Tim’rous Bushi and Ralph Lovegrove’s Fictoplasm. I had a great time despite being far too ignorant of the intricacies of D&D. I’ll boost that when it drops.
And finally…
Tash has settled in to her new country pile in Gloucestershire. She messaged me last night to suggest a date for our next, long past due appointment at Derry & Toms when we will finally take a look at Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber. More on that soon.
Take care friends, the Moonbeam Roads are slippery right now, and see you again soon.
Simon Perrins joins me in Derry and Toms to discuss Moorcock, art, comics, Tolkien, TV adaptations, role-playing games, tortured poet musicians we adored in our youths and generally go totally fugazi.
Simon is the man behind our banner art, logo, Gerard Arthur Connelly portraits and pretty much our entire visual identity. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store.
Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden.
Imagery and stuff we discuss along the way:
White Dwarf #57
Thrud and Eric of Boneymaloney – Carl Critchlow
Fighting Fantasy Book 9 – Caverns of the Snow Witch
Imagine Magazine January 1985 – Cover by Rodney Matthews
The Nomad of Time – Grafton Edition – Cover by Melvyn
The Tolkien Bestiary – David Day – Illustration of The Fall of Numenor by Ian Miller
Me and the Monkey – Chronicles of the Monkey God Vol. I
Andy Darby joins me in virtual Derry and Toms to talk his tales of the Monkey God, Moorcock, and lots of other stuff including reminiscences about Johnny Seven, Lion annuals, Commando comics, Mme. Blavatsky, My First Two Thousand Years and tripping in Amsterdam.
You can pick up Vol I and The Paddington Incident now and Vol II releases on 5th November. There are QR codes with the illustrations in Vol 2 and The Paddington Incident that link to audio sections narrated by Andy, and you can connect with him on Goodreads.
Brayna’s Creed, the second track from the upcoming Journal Vol II is available via N Λ Ṇ D
This episode is played out by the title track from The Dreaming City III by Immryr. At the time of recording (and at the time we released The Black Corridor) this was the latest release from Imrryr but, characteristically, there is another available for pre-order already. Check out One Flesh, One End.
Andy’s reading recommendations:
C J Cherryh: Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth, Exile’s Gate
Madeline Miller: Circe, The Song of Achilles,
Pat Barker: The Silence of the Girls, Natalie Haynes: A Thousand Ships,
Conn Iggulden: Conqueror series (these are just fucking epic!)
Tim Willocks: The Religion (awesome!), The Twelve Children of Paris (awesome 2!)
Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London series
Jonathan L Howard: Johannes Cabal series
Catherynne M. Valente: Deathless
Kim Newman: Anno Dracula
Karl Edward Wagner: Kane series
Chris Carlsen: Berserker series
Stewart Gordon Suaine and the Crow God
Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory, The Bridge Walking on Glass,
Clive Barker: Weave World
Our banner art and logo is by Simon Perrins. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store. Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden.
Breakfast in the Ruins Podcast 