Strange Horizons

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Aisha and Dan discuss a recent essay [https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2023/12/31/an-anti-defense-of-science-fiction/] by Jake Casella Brookins that appeared in the Ancillary Review of Books. "The vaunted prophylactic prophecy of science fiction—the ability to prevent an undesirable future by loudly predicting it—has consistently proven false," argues Brookins, and so Aisha and Dan ask themselves: what good, and bad, might SF do? And when we find a piece of good criticism such as this essay, how can it help us think better about its questions?

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Aisha and Dan talk to critic and poet Catherine Rockwood about her new chapbook, And We Are Far From Shore , a set of poems about the television show Our Flag Means Death. Catherine reviewed the show [http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/our-flag-means-death-season-one/] for Strange Horizons less than a year ago, and discusses how reviewing and criticism feed into creative practice. There are also, of course, pirates. The transcript of this episode can be found at the Strange Horizons website.

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, the critic and reviewer Paul Kincaid joins Aisha and Dan to discuss how and why critics persevere in their work, what changes about it as the platforms and delivery mechanisms that surround criticism shift, and the challenges that face those writers who seek to collect or look back on their previous work. He also discusses A Traveller In Time [https://www.lunapresspublishing.com/post/a-traveller-in-time-the-critical-practice-of-maureen-kincaid-speller-edited-by-nina-allan], the forthcoming volume of reviews and essays by Maureen Kincaid Speller.

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, Aisha and Dan discuss what happens when books make you work. How does a reader know whether to persevere with a book when at first they're not sure of it? How can we decide if a book really isn't working on its own terms—or whether we're missing something and need to pay closer attention? And how can a critical reader check their own expectations to assess a text fairly? Expect discussion of Susannah Clarke, Yuri Herrera, Christopher Priest, Catherynne Valente, and more. A transcript of this episode is available in the June 19th, 2023 issue of Strange Horizons.

In this episode of Critical Friends, the Strange Horizons SFF criticism podcast, we air an interview with the reviewer, editor, and critic Niall Harrison which Dan conducted at Conversation, the 2023 UK Eastercon, at which Niall was a Guest of Honour. Through a series of books from various parts of his life, Niall talks about how he began reading SF, why he started reviewing it ... and where criticism might or should go in the future. Niall Harrison is author of All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays (Briardene Books, 2023). Eastercon 2024 will be Levitation, hosted in Telford; Eastercon 2025 will be Reconnect, to be held in Belfast.