China Miéville, author of Perdido Street Station and The City & The City, joins us to discuss Dungeons & Dragons, international relations, and his recent science fiction novel Embassytown.
Art by Vincent Chong.
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy is hosted by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley.
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This episode includes:
Part 1: Interview with China Miéville (1:49)
Topics covered: Embassytown, science fiction and scientific rigor, influences on Embassytown, Dungeons & Dragons, looking back on Bas-Lag, the current state of steampunk, China's new tattoo, political uprisings, Marxism, book covers, Could They Beat Up China Miéville?, "Covehithe"
Part 2: Dave and John Discuss China Miéville and the New Weird (35:02)
Topics covered: Encountering China Miéville, Perdido Street Station, obscure words, The Scar, beyond Bas-Lag, refrigerator men, Cthulhu, the New Weird, The New Weird anthology edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, the Cthulhu of literary genres, Steph Swainston quitting writing, the influence of the New Weird, The Scar in virtual reality, copyright issues, Miéville film adaptations
Thanks for listening!
John Joseph Adams is an anthologist, a writer, and a geek. He is the bestselling editor of the anthologies Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations, The Way of the Wizard, and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Forthcoming anthologies include Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom (Simon & Schuster, 2012), Armored (Baen, 2012), and The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination (Tor, 2012). He is a 2011 Hugo Award-nominee for Best Editor (Short Form), his books have been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, and he has been called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble.com. He is also the editor of Lightspeed Magazine and Fantasy Magazine. Find him on Twitter @johnjosephadams.
David Barr Kirtley has published fiction in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, Lightspeed,Intergalactic Medicine Show, On Spec, and Cicada, and in anthologies such as New Voices in Science Fiction,Fantasy: The Best of the Year, and The Dragon Done It. Recently he's contributed stories to several of John's anthologies, including The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, and The Way of the Wizard. He's attended numerous writing workshops, including Clarion, Odyssey, Viable Paradise, James Gunn's Center for the Study of Science Fiction, and Orson Scott Card's Writers Bootcamp, and he holds an MFA in screenwriting and fiction from the University of Southern California. He also teaches regularly at Alpha, a Pittsburgh-area science fiction workshop for young writers. He lives in New York.
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