Marvel's Eternals has an incredible cast of beautiful people, interesting characters and a plot that... err... well... is trying to do a lot of things. Did departing from the Marvel Formula result in a 'too much, too soon' approach? Terry dives deep into what makes for a good build of scale in superhero movies and explores how Eternals holds up. And once you've listened to what I have to say, continue the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/vzCGm5a Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

Terry Talks Fiction

TTF44 - Marvel's Eternals: Why Context Matters in Storytelling

Murder; intergalactic super spies; space station crime syndicates; military coups; an apocalyptic global pandemic and a sweet little old lady you DON'T want to cross - John Appel's debut sci-fi novel has it all. Can the book juggle all these elements and more, or is it just too much to keep in the air? Find out in my review of 'Assassin's Orbit'. And once you've listened to what I have to say, continue the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/vzCGm5a  Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library. 

TTF43 - Review of 'Assassin's Orbit' by John Appel

Marvel's 'What If' is well and truly out - and the statute of limitations on Spoilers is about up, right? Join me as I break down what I loved about each episode and where I felt the series fell short of it's overall potential. And yes, fear not - there is indeed a Douglas Adams reference for Episode #42 Terry's talking is only the beginning of the conversation! Continue it over at the Talking Fiction Discord Server (https://discord.gg/MkmgZGx) Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF42 - What If... We Talked About The Marvel Multiverse?

Sliding in much later than this was recorded because my time scheduling is GARBAGE while lockdown is on - today we're talking about one of my favourite books of the year: 'The 22 Murders of Madison May' by Max Barry! In this very special episode of Terry Talks Fiction, I'm joined by my regular partner-in-crime on my other podcast (The Science, Sex and Sorcery [S3] podcast), the inimitable Belinda Missen. If you're the multidimensional variant of yourself that's itching to read this incredible book you can get a copy here - trust me, you won't regret it. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF41 - The 22 Murders of Madison May

Murder-poet extraordinaire Anthony O'Connor joins us for some bloody grouse mouth-gear about dystopias, the Aussie Spirit, why we all love a little battler, and the world he crafted in his mellifluous debut novel 'Straya'. I did a review of the book in a previous podcast (TTF38), and you can grab your own copy of 'Straya' here or here. For more great content from Anthony, including live readings of the novel itself (once you hear the Noble and Poetic 'Strayan' language spoken, you'll never go back) you can check out his website and Facebook Page. And once you've checked that out, you can continue the conversation over on the Talking Fiction Discord Server! I'll be on there a bit over the coming weeks as I finish pulling together the final edits for my second Short Story Collection, Tales of Magic and Miasma, and very keen to have a chat about Straya, the 22 Murders of Madison May, or anything that you're watching/reading/gaming at the moment! Talk soon, Terry.

TTF40—Interview with 'Straya' author, Anthony O'Connor

The world's in tatters, so it's time to get tatted and go punch some demons! With the imminent release of Peter V Brett's new series set 15 years after the end of his best-selling Demon Cycle, it's time to take a retrospective look over the best and worst parts of the series to date! But this is just the start of the conversation - you can reach out to me on Twitter, Facebook or Discord and get chatting about the series and what you hope to see next for Jardir, Leesha, Renna and their kids. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF39—The Demon Cycle Series

It's the future, and things are right bloody farked, mate. Muties and junkies roam the suburbs of New Sydney that have subsided into the downlow, and if anything happens to the NanoCorp-run drones that are shading the cits from deadly rays of ozone-free sunlight, then we're all gonna cark it. Lucky for Franga; mutie, aspiring murder-poet and all-round top bloke, that doesn't seem likely to happen. And there certainly couldn't be anything worse than that to worry about... right?  Today we're talking about 'Straya' by Anthony O'Connor — possibly one of the most lyrical debut novels I've ever read. Certainly the one with the most creative (and frequent) use of the word 'Cunce'. Bloody grouse. If you're looking to snatch a copy of this paperyback, you can find it in all good digital bookshops. Like this one! Or this one! And once you've read it, hop along to the Talking Fiction Discord Server and tell us what you thought. Talk soon! Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF38—'Straya' by Anthony O'Connor

Get ready to dip your hands in molten gold and armour yourself with your own immortal blood - we're looking at Namina Forna's powerfully feminist YA novel 'The Gilded Ones'. Will this story of *literally* smashing the patriarchy be worth your time? Or should it be subjected to its Final Death?  Once you've heard what I have to say on it, hop along to the Talking Fiction Discord server to have your say too! I'd love to continue the conversation with you :-) And if you'd like to hear the chat I had about this book with Harper Collins (HQ) romance novelist Belinda Missen, you can find the 'Science, Sex and Sorcery' (S3) podcast here. We take it in turns each episode to recommend an SFF or Romance book to each other, then read and review it. We also tend to have some WILDLY diverging opinions on our books, so it's always a fun time! The Gilded Ones episode should be out in about a week from TTF37's release date :-) Talk soon! Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF37—The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Try to keep a hold of your eyeballs (and don't take the train) while you're listening to my review of Amazon TV's comic-to-screen adaptation of Image Comics' 'Invincible!' What did you think of this dark look at the horror of having someone with unchecked—and uncheckable—power living among us? Hop on over to the Talking Fiction Discord server and continue the conversation! Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF36—This review is INVINCIBLE!

Plug yourself into the OASIS, players, and hop aboard your flying DeLorean so we can save Frodo from the Purple Rain on Prince's BattleRock Planet—we're reviewing Ernest Cline's sequel to the blockbuster novel and movie 'Ready Player One'! And watch out, because if you die in the podcast, you... well, podcasts ain't exactly Matrix Rules—but the new and improved OASIS 2.0 sure is. Even with better immersion and a whole new (almost entirely absent) antagonist, is it still too Same Same (but different) to the first book? Once you've heard what the podcast has to say, you can continue the conversation on the Talking Fiction Discord Server or Twitter! Talk soon. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library. 

TTF35—Ready, Player Two?

If you're a fan of Hollow Knight or Metroidvanias in general, then hit us up on the Discord server and we can talk about the knight, contextual exploration of a ruined kingdom, whether the Radiance could technically count as The Mummy's Curse, and we can all whinge together about the wait for Silksong. And if you've never tried one, like I hadn't, then let us know if this has excited you to try it out! (after all, it's free to play if you have XBox GamePass) And if you get a moment to leave a rating/comment for the podcast on iTunes, then that would also be appreciated! Every little bit helps!! Talk soon. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF34—Feeling Hollow

Why does this Aussie care so much about who hefts the red, white and blue shield? And what is it about the Disney+ Marvel series 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' that MADE me care like never before? Grab on to your frenemies and find out in my review of the series. If you're as rearing to talk about the series, then hit us up on the Discord server and we can talk about how EXtRA Zemo is, how unsurprising and very comic-book Sharon ended up being, and Sam's Speech (you know the one). I can't wait to chat! And if you get a moment to rate/comment on iTunes, then that would also be appreciated! Every little bit helps!! Talk soon. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF33—Why do I care about Captain America?

It took a while, but we got there! Coming straight out of the gate after the school holidays (who knew having three kids in the house all day would be so exhausting *and* noisy!?) with a no-spoilers review of Brandon Sanderson's latest puppy-killer*, 'Rhythm of War'. This is one that I REALLY want to sink into spoilers on, so if you're into that then hit us up on the Discord server and we can go into it AT LENGTH, lol. Especially that ending. Holy gee, that ending. And if you get a moment to rate/comment on iTunes, then that would also be appreciated! Every little bit helps!! Talk soon. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library. *Sanderson commonly refers to his books as 'puppy-' or 'chihuahua-killers' because he recognises his books are SO DAMN BIG** that you definitely wouldn't want to accidentally drop one on a small dog... **In one of his podcasts, he also mentioned the only reason the Stormlight Archive book 'Oathbringer' was edited down to the final length it was, was because if it had any more pages then the machines at the printers would have been physically incapable of actually producing it, so this is definitely a pattern of behaviour, seriously, please, Brandon, I have other things I need to do.

TTF32—Review: Brandon Sanderson's 'Rhythm of War'

You've heard us talking it up, now see what all the fuss was about! You can grab your copy of 'Fractured', here. And you can find Shay and all of her relevant links at www.shaysiegel.com And while you're in a clicking mood, head on over to Terry Talks Fiction and continue the conversation on the Discord Server and the Facebook Page! Talk again soon :-)

TTF31—Interview with Author Shay Siegel

Minister White, the smirking, climate-denying politician who delights in turning back refugee boats and frequently interrupts this intelligent woman to brush her concerns off without a second thought, is totally not based on anybody in Australian politics today (so please don't sue me). But if you want to chat about it, you can hit up the Talking Fiction Discord Server, or head over to the Terry Talks Fiction Facebook Page!  And if you're interested in signing up to the email list (it's free, by the way), you can get a copy of this story sent to you in PDF and ePub format, along with the reflection on how the story was built (and the problems I ran into while making it - not all solved, as you might have noticed). And finally, if you liked the story (or the podcast in general) please consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes so the podcast audience can continue to grow! Appreciate it heaps :-) Talk soon. Intro/outro music for this episode is 'Elevators Need Rock Too' by Spence, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library.

TTF30—'The Day The Numbers Went Away' Audiobook

Terry is a writer and lover of fiction in all its forms. Find original fiction and reviews at www.terrytalksfiction.com and articles on fiction in webcomics at www.digitalstrips.com

hubhopper

Terry Talks Fiction

hubhopper