Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

Neuromancer 2: No Imagination

This week, we continue our unit on William Gibson's Neuromancer. Are there only a few pathways to juvenile rebellion? How does the industrial become the post-industrial? How does Gibson's understanding of artificial intelligence hold up in 2025? To see the video version of this week's show, click here [https://youtu.be/FKUj07tO3KI]; to see the slides, click here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YFGxs5ZjwL4gE-inx2n8qYi9KMWbBFde/view?usp=sharing]! Footnotes: * Neuromancer [https://bookshop.org/p/books/neuromancer-william-gibson/f6206cf90635c8e6?ean=9780441007462&next=t] * William Gibson [https://williamgibsonbooks.com/] * William Gibson on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/greatdismal.bsky.social] Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@StarsAndSwordsPod], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/starsandswords.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/starsandswordspod]. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord [http://patreon.com/nextword] and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/nextword]

Neuromancer 1: But The Dreams Came On

This week, we begin our unit on influential science fiction with the first part of William Gibson's novel Neuromancer. Where does cyberpunk come from? How does Gibson complicate the mind-body problem? How do we know what's cool? To see the video version of this week's show, click here [https://youtu.be/IN6rCw2r6r8]; to see the slides, click here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BxI5Ej73tRDu1Xcb1p54ogxM2xo23aS2/view?usp=sharing]! Footnotes: * Neuromancer [https://bookshop.org/p/books/neuromancer-william-gibson/f6206cf90635c8e6?ean=9780441007462&next=t] * William Gibson [https://williamgibsonbooks.com/] * William Gibson on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/greatdismal.bsky.social] Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@StarsAndSwordsPod], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/starsandswords.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/starsandswordspod]. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord [http://patreon.com/nextword] and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/nextword]

The Haunting Of Hill House 3: The Unreliable Narrator

This week, we conclude our spooky-season unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. As Eleanor retreats from the story, how do we become aware of the perspective of the house itself? Is it possible to read Theodora as a villain? What, in the end, walks alone inside Hill House? To see the video version of this week's show, click here [https://www.youtube.com/@starsandswordspod]; to see the slides, click here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fr3gzMSJHhMFYQGP995IvWc0_aCc1TAz/view?usp=sharing]! Footnotes: * The Haunting Of Hill House [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-haunting-of-hill-house-shirley-jackson/d3f77587df094189] * The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lottery-and-other-stories-shirley-jackson/be336b0050926da3] * The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-letters-of-shirley-jackson-shirley-jackson/3e3bd585d7ab9eeb?ean=9780593134658] Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@StarsAndSwordsPod], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/starsandswords.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/starsandswordspod]. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord [http://patreon.com/nextword] and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/nextword]

The Haunting Of Hill House 2: Come Home

This week, we continue our thirteenth unit on The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. What are the atomic units of identity, and how do they interact? How does the book operate with -- or without -- the queer subtext? Is there, at the most basic level, something supernatural about Hill House? To see the video version of this week's show, click here [https://youtu.be/JIkWOlBnxqI]; to see the slides, click here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OyHU1XT3tlrJzrGPYXXjO8Z2_o500u4J/view?usp=sharing]! Next week, chapters six to nine of The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon [http://patreon.com/nextword]on Thursday, October 30th at 9PM Central Time.  Footnotes: * The Haunting Of Hill House [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-haunting-of-hill-house-shirley-jackson/d3f77587df094189] * The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lottery-and-other-stories-shirley-jackson/be336b0050926da3] * The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-letters-of-shirley-jackson-shirley-jackson/3e3bd585d7ab9eeb?ean=9780593134658] Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@StarsAndSwordsPod], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/starsandswords.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/starsandswordspod]. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord [http://patreon.com/nextword] and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/nextword]

The Haunting Of Hill House 1: Swallowed By A Monster

This week, we begin our thirteenth unit with an introduction to The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. How does Jackson's biography help us to understand the themes of this book? How do we understand Hill House in the gothic tradition? Is this the best first paragraph any book ever? To see the video version of this week's show, click here [https://youtu.be/TYOqbWsNV-8]; to see the slides, click here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V-mxrrjK9qsiYZviqROvuT8vCZ01T1hx/view?usp=sharing]! Next week, chapters two to five of The Haunting Of Hill House, live on Patreon [http://patreon.com/nextword]on Thursday, October 23rd at 9PM Central Time.  Footnotes: * The Haunting Of Hill House [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-haunting-of-hill-house-shirley-jackson/d3f77587df094189] * The Lottery And Other Stories (Shirley Jackson) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lottery-and-other-stories-shirley-jackson/be336b0050926da3] * The Letters of Shirley Jackson (Laurence Jackson Hyman) [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-letters-of-shirley-jackson-shirley-jackson/3e3bd585d7ab9eeb?ean=9780593134658] Follow Stars And Swords on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@StarsAndSwordsPod], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/starsandswords.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/starsandswordspod]. To join me for the live broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord [http://patreon.com/nextword] and pledge your support!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/nextword]