For our October 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Matthew Lopes and Clayton Cowles for Emma's consideration.

Other talking points:

The craft of framing devices

Nested narrators

Tellings, retellings; narrative and meta-narrative

Killing people is not cricket

Badass butlers

Just 100% appreciation for the art

Equal Opportunities objectification

The apparent taboo of just making things up

Civilization vs Barbarity

Unspoken histories

The "Ninth Art" (French term for comics, not the "Tenth Muse" as I said in the podcast)

Media Mentions:

The Conan stories by Robert E Howard

Wuthering Heights novel by Emily Bronte

The Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The fantasy art of Boris Vallejo

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

Star Wars movie dir. George Lucas

Fargo TV series

Next month we look at the film Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler.

This month's patron episode is our live discussion of Event Horizon from Octocon in Cork.

Adrian's music recommendation: Musik ist keine Lösung by Alligatoah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNdcr7Uu7Jc&list=RDwNdcr7Uu7Jc&index=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is Engines of Reason https://bookshop.org/p/books/engines-of-reason-elder-race-book-ii-adrian-tchaikovsky/b69799af416d2980

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our September 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner for Adrian's consideration.

Other talking points:

Unspoiler warnings

Deniable wizbiz

Period writing styles

The straitjacket of expectations

Burning Bedfordshire

Lit and genre

Media Mentions:

Memoirs of a Survivor, novel by Doris Lessing (and our patrons-only discussion)

Writers referred to in general: Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Mervyn Peake, Jerome K Jerome, PG Wodehouse

Next month we look at the graphic novel Helen of Wyndhorn by King, Evely, Lopes and Cowles

This month's patron episode is the novel A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

Emma's music recommendation: Washing Machine Heart by Mitski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vjkh-acmTE&list=RD3vjkh-acmTE&start_radio=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is Engines of Reason https://bookshop.org/p/books/engines-of-reason-elder-race-book-ii-adrian-tchaikovsky/b69799af416d2980

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our August 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Adrian puts forward the book Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe for Emma's consideration.

Other talking points:

All Greek to Emma

Surprise spider nomenclature

Werewolves? There wolves

Necromancy LinkedIn

Reading and re-reading Wolfe

Unreliable narrators and narration perspective

The past as a foreign country

Memory and amnesia in fiction

Wolfe and descriptive style

The hero as werewolf

Audiobook narrator voice choices

Media Mentions:

You can find Re-reading Wolfe on your usual podcast platforms. I will also note other Wolfe-flavoured podcast resources, Alzabo Soup, The Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast and a large chunk of Shelved by Genre, if you have a thirst for some deep dives into his work (none have done Soldier yet to my knowledge)

The Shadow of the Torturer, The Book of the New Sun series and the wider Solar Cycle novels of Gene Wolfe

Piranesi, novel by Susanna Clarke (and see our prior coverage of that)

A Game of Thrones novel by GRR Martin / TV series

The Green Knight movie dir. David Lowery (and see our patreon episode on that)

Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series, specifically the episode 'Darmok'

Next month we look at the novel Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

This month's patron episode is the indie film The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising

Adrian's music recommendation: The Sad God by Gorillaz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQE0FnpfqQo&list=RDfQE0FnpfqQo&start_radio=1 , also the entire album The Mountain and in particular this animated sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRulNQsuYQ&list=RDucRulNQsuYQ&start_radio=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is Green City Wars https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/green-city-wars-adrian-tchaikovsky/686e574129a9b37f?ean=9781035045723

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our July 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria Emma puts forward the book Do you Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh for Adrian's consideration.

We talk about spoilers in this, and despite my initial lukewarm thoughts about spoilers for this book, there are definitely some moments that are better raw, so do take this as a note that there's something to be gained by reading ahead of the 'cast.

Other talking points:

The Science of Spoilers

British alt space history

When you call your spaceship "Damocles"

Everyone Hates Harry

Orlando Boom (sorry)

The 2012 Olympics and national pride

The brutal logistics of being in space

Authorial treatment of the moral quandary

Super-elite child training academies

Competitive personalities, the pros and cons

YA or not YA

Balancing multiple character arcs

Mysticism and an ambivalent attitude to woo

Coral and reef building

Media Mentions:

2012 Olympics opening ceremony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rI

Planetfall, novel by Emma Newman

The Expert System's Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky (I promise we only flag our own stuff here when it's genuinely relevant!)

Aurora, novel by Kim Stanley Robinson (not named but this is the one I mentioned)

'The Cold Equations', short story by Tom Godwin

The Martian, novel by Andy Weir

Philosophers in Space podcast https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/philosophers-in-space/4068539 (or wherever you get your podcasts from)

Star Trek various TV series

Next month we look at Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe

This month's patron episode is Look to Windward by Iain M Banks

Emma's music recommendation: Taking What's Not Yours by TV Girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox5ENW0CeAU&list=RDOx5ENW0CeAU&start_radio=1

Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award

Adrian's most recent book is the graphic novel Salvation's Child https://www.amazon.co.uk/Final-Architecture-Salvations-Comixology-Originals-ebook/dp/B0FH2KR8LH

If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/

Follow us at:

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com