Spectology: The Science Fiction Book Club Podcast

Matt, Nate, & Adrian have a long, rollicking conversation about Semiosis, by Sue Burke (https://amzn.to/2JGYm6C). We all really loved the book, but also have a lot of criticism of it, and we get really in-depth on what it all means to us. 

The only other books we really mention are Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski and Dark Eden by Chris Beckett. Look for our 8.1 & 8.2 episode numbers for discussion on CoT, and look out for our episodes on Dark Eden next month!

In addition, if you want to go deeper on how ecologies aren't stable and why thinking so leads to bad utopias, the 2nd episode in the documentary All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace will be right up your alley. You might also enjoy the book Seeing Like A State by James C. Scott.

Finally, big thanks to Nate for suggesting this book and talking to us about it for over 3 hours over these two episodes. Find his videogame on Steam Early Access by searching Ectolibrium. Also thanks to Nate's wife, Amanda, for the artwork this month, she's at @@amandalamandala on Instagram.

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We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at mailbox@spectology.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.

And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.

This is an ongoing series we do every few months, going over some of the pop culture stuff we've liked recently. Some of it is SF adjacent, some of it isn't, but it's all good and enjoyable!

Matt's things: 

- Terrace House (Japanese reality TV, available on Netflix) 

- Thunder Bay (true crime podcast)

- Universal Beings by Makaya McCraven (jazz album: check out Natalie Weiner's review)

Adrian's things:

- Zelda: Breath of the Wild (video game: check out Austin Walker's review)

- Blank Check with Griffin & David (movie podcast)

- One Dapper Street (men's fashion youtube channel)

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We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at mailbox@spectology.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.

And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.

If you like stories about Alaska, then this is the episode for you! Author, game developer, and Adrian's childhood friend Nate Spence is this month's guest, discussing the ecological survival SF novel Semiosis by Sue Burke (https://amzn.to/2TceBgh). In the novel, a small group of humans tries to colonize what seems like a wilderness planet. The novel follows their survival & evolution of their society over generations.

In this episode, we talk a lot about growing up in wilderness areas and what it's like. What's a pushki? What did Nate's dad teach him in lieu of tying his shoes? Where did Matt bleed from on his Alaska hiking trip and why? How can Adrian possibly defend hitting an owl with his car? What search terms about Alaska do we not suggest you image search? We can't promise we answer these questions, but we'll sure talk about them. 

We'll also go over the usual book facts, while trying hard not to spoil what is an interesting, different, and so far very fun to read book!

Also, thanks to Amanda Hart, Nate's wife, for supplying our cover artwork this month! Check out her instagram, @amandalamandala.

Resources mentioned (go to spectology.com if the links don't show up in your podcatcher):

* Nate's most recent game, Ectolibrium, on Steam Early Access 
* Ectolibrium discounted in the IndieGala Bundle (not pay what you want tho)
* Dark Eden Trilogy by Chris Beckett 
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
* The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin 
* Embassytown by China Miéville
* Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel 
* Article about the Russian Orthodox Old Believers in Alaska 
* Correction: Alaska is the 8th least white state, but has the highest percentage of indigenous people of any state

---

We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at mailbox@spectology.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.

And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.