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. 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).
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.
That’s a rhetorical question really as I’ve long since come to the realisation that as we gradually return to our natural state of sludge and atoms time just speeds up at a frankly ridiculous rate. It’s a shame too as (as ever) all I want to do is produce more episodes and talk to more people about the things I’m into. Only this morning in fact, I clocked the book cover above (another marvellous 70s thriller photo cover) on social media and immediately regretted not having the time to dip into the copious shelves/piles of similarly adorned paperbacks and run a side podcast diving into the world of Panther Crime novels, the wild array of Pan and Mayflower wonders, and further into NEL pulp exploitation books (which we have of course touched on with Andrew Nette). I’m sure Andrew would agree that there is probably an entire podcast just covering photo covers featuring women with guns (photo c/o his twitter feed).
But… no time…
So I’ll be sticking with the main roster of content for BITR, the next of which will be Moorcock/Butterworth/Hawkwind cross-over/mash-up The Time of the Hawklords in the company of Hawkwind: Days of the Underground author Joe Banks, returning to Derry & Toms for the third time. That will be out in a few days.
Over the coming weeks, we have some other things in the pipeline in the form of:
a bit of Sheckley from Pops’s shelves that’s been on my mind for over 30 years w/Derek AKA Imrryr
the return of Andrew Nette to talk about Quatermass (for reasons that will become apparent)
Part two of The Pheonix in Obsidian w/ Phil
a long overdue second look at Conan in some shape or form with Dave AKA SÖNUS
MM’s obscure political chapbook w/ a variety of guests (possibly in multiple parts)
The Land That Time Forgot (in its various forms) with Allister Thompson AKA The Gateless Gate (and we’ll probably talk about The War of the Worlds again at some point)
…and some other stuff I’ve talked about with various interlocuters that we just haven’t managed to get in the diary yet including Loz, Hussein, Tash and Miles. The latter is something Miles and I have been mulling over for a while related to the perils of writing spin-offs for established IPs. MM has form for this of course… more on that when we decide how to tackle it.
Meanwhile, Andy Darby pinged me a link to a decent article on Esquire titled The Death of the Multiverse, ostensibly an observation on why ‘multiverse stories’ are getting tiring and a little bit passé for mainstream audiences thanks to Marvel and co but it delves deep into the philosophical dimensions of that type of storytelling and MM gets some coverage too. Well worth a read, particularly the bit about the actual origins of the term ‘multiverse’.
Now, I must take my leave to eat crisps, listen to the howling gales and hope our wheely bins are still local.
For now I’ll sign off with another Pulpcurry special, so wherever you are pards… take care, stay safe and be SUPER.
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).
Simon Perrins (artist, graphic designer and co-host of Can I Pod With Madness) returns to D&Ts so we can finally conclude our re-read of the second Corum adventure, The Queen of the Swords.
Between wading gods, crackles from beyond the veil and other interventions from the old gods of chaos, we managed to get through books two and three of this adventure intact. So join us for small talk about Moorcock, fighting fantasy books, Loz’s Lovecraft formula and our favourite close-harmony choir of chaos oddballs…
The artist whose name we couldn’t remember, responsible for the Berkley edition covers as above, is David McCall Johnston.
Simon is, of course, the geezer behind the visual identity of BITR too. Find him on Instagram and check out his store.
Also, have a look at Karmanal of Zert by Blaze Atoms – Here’s some info from their bandcamp page (sadly I can’t find any evidence of their “Swords & Space Wizards” demo – if you know of it… LET ME KNOW):
“This is an instrumental, almost completely mixed preview of the version of “Karmanal of Zert” that will appear on the upcoming “Swords & Space Wizards” demo in early May 2016. This recording is completely unadvertised and uploaded solely so Michael Moorcock himself can hear it. So if you found it, good job. 🙂
lyrics
all music conceived, composed and arranged by Aaron DiDonato
all guitar, bass, and drums performed and recorded by Aaron DiDonato
lyrics (when vocals are added) adapted from the chapter “The Frozen Army” in the book “The Queen of the Swords” by Michael Moorcock (1971)
Looming in the distance Over the valley now, come the hopping things Bouncing, several-legged creatures Multiversal nomads, indestructible beings
Knowing not of mortality Pledging no allegiance to Law or Chaos Knowing not true existence Having no souls
The Karmanal of Zert are coming The Karmanal of Zert, yeah, are coming for you The Karmanal of Zert are coming
Here they come – look up and see
They lope down the slopes of the hills Seeking the Champion Eternal they’ve been sent to kill – to kill Altering the fates of untold civilizations On untold planes of existence – parallel dimensions of the Earth
Massive fangs clash, huge eyes roll Many tentacles lash, fighting for Cosmic control Doing the bidding of the Chaos Lords While in another time and plane they are fighting for Law
Fighting for no purpose, no sought-after end Fighting indifferent to consequence
The Karmanal of Zert always sing before they feast – always The Karmanal of Zert always sing before they feast – hear them sing
Maim Slay Feast
The Queen of the Chaos Swords’ laughter fills the sky
Maim Slay Feast
The Queen of the Chaos Swords’ laughter fills the sky As the Eternal Champion prepares to die
Prepare to die
Hear the Karmanal of Zert sing Hear them, hear them (repeat)
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
Andy Darby shakes off the Monkey for an evening and drops by D and Ts to take a look at one of Moorcock’s 60s SF tales, The Fireclown (later retitled The Winds of Limbo but I’m sticking with the original title for vaguely defined reasons related to being old and finnicky).
Strap in for a political thriller laced with astute observations on the natures of media and personality politics, the odd sprinkling of futurism and some oddly prescient sort-of predictions.
A quick update this time whilst I’m waiting for some processing to complete on the latest pod (and listening to the newly remastered Hawkwind platter, Sonic Attack on the trusty Sound Burger as I type).
In the Patron Poll for the subject of our Halloween Special it looks like James Herbert’s Domain has an unassailable lead, leaving me kicking myself as it’s about twice the length of all the others. It is a page-turner though and last year we introduced a new sort of precedent when, following The Fog’s triumph in the poll, we did The Devils of D-Day anyway. So currently The Cats by Nick Sharman is in final place so maybe we’ll do that later in the year. It looks mercifully short. Probably a one-shit book in fact.
Either way, I’ll leave the poll up for another week or so, should there be any late gambits that drastically alter the field.
On the skinny book front, I’ve had another suggestion fly in from left of field and a one-shit book suggestion at that…
Snowcastles by Duncan McGeary. It looks gloriously rubbish. Therefore it has made the to-do list. Which is growing longer by the week.
Right, processing is complete. Back to editing. There was a time when a monthly episode was the norm but this year we’ve had a more productive spell, reaching close to two per month at times. I don’t want to let that slip too much so I intend to have this latest show out in the next day or four. Furthermore, despite recent developments in the realms of real life (and thanks for the lovely messages on that front by the way, they were highly appreciated), this is a passion project that is going to continue until I stop enjoying it. Or you do. Or both.
Hawkmoon defends Castle Brass by Rodney Matthews 1976
Dave returns to Derry & Toms to pick up our thread with The Sword of the Dawn Book Two, the third instalment in Michael Moorcock’s epic The History of the Runestaff.
Hawkmoon gets some swish togs but seems to have a real blind spot when it comes to fighting pirates. Meanwhile, D’Averc is… sort of there?
Breakfast in the Ruins 