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12-29-11: The Agony Column Live, October 8, 2011

Steven R.Boyett and Josh Mohr; Click image for audio link.

Steven R. Boyett and Josh Mohr

One of the best aspects of putting together the Agony Column Live shows is the cross-talk between writers who have not met, but are very well-suited to one another. This was particularly the case with Josh Mohr and Steven R. Boyett, though they might at first seem to be work in very different styles.

Mohr is a sort of hyper-realist; his work is scathing, uncompromising, hilarious and uncomfortable. 'The Termite Parade' and now 'Damascus' are part of an informal trilogy, and every time he reads he brings a great passion and a fantastic vision to his books. When you hear Josh read live, you can feel the intensity of the words, and you get the feeling that it would sound that way even if he were reading a grocery list. Of course if he were reading a grocery list, it would certainly be the most distressing, upsetting and memorable grocery list that ever went in your ears. To be honest, I hope he writes one soon.

Steven R. Boyett writes some of the best speculative fiction you will be privileged to read. His latest, 'Mortality Bridge' is ... well, I'm not going to say any more about, because his reading says it better. Steven and Josh are both performers, and the readings really knock the ball out of the park.

But real joy here is when they start talking to one another; as it happens, in spite of what I might have thought would be the differences, the similarities between their work are quite amazing. You can hear their conversation by following this link to the MP3 audio file.




12-28-11: A 2011 Interview with David Goyer and Michael Cassutt

Click either image for audio link.

"Our approach was: 'OK, what happens next?'"

Having spoken with David Goyer and Michael Cassut on the phone about their superb collaboration, 'Heaven's Shadow,' I managed the improbable; to speak to the two of them in person. It was, as are all in-person interviews, a revelation. And that's appropriate, given the subject of their novel.

Putting these two men in the same room is something of a feat. The energy they bring is palpable, and at time verges on dangerous. It's certainly infectious, and I'm trysting that reader who missed out on the first phone interview and on the initial release of this novel will run, not walk to give it a good look. 'Heaven's Shadow' is an outstanding piece of science fiction. It's exciting and grittily realistic, but also has the right proportion of awe.

You can hear how the collaboration works when you hear them dig into the questions and conversation we had. Cassutt and Goyer each bring their own unique talents to the work, but they also do something that makes it more; their collaboration is seamless and synthetic. Together, they manage to do something that neither of them could do alone. Their own work is superb; 'Heaven's Shadow,' however, is a very different kind of superb. From conversations with astronauts to conversations with alien intelligences, 'Heaven's Shadow,' shows the mark of each writer as if they were by one writer.

Readers who are looking for a great debut, or simply a great classic science fiction reading experience need look no farther. Listeners who want to hear how it all started, or simply be entertained by two writers who know books and movies inside out, can start their journey by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



12-27-11 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 24: Robert K. Massie, 'Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'
Click image for audio link.

Here's the twenty-fourth episode of my new series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The twenty-fourth episode is a look at Robert K. Massie and his new book, 'Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'.

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Episode 24: Robert K. Massie, 'Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'




12-26-11: A 2011 Interview With Jonathan Lethem

Click image for audio link.

"I'm amazed to be taken so seriously as I am."

—Jonathan Lethem

An interview about 'The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.' with Jonathan Lethem is, for this book reviewer, something between therapy and a session with one of those gurus you see in cartoons sitting on a mountaintop, dispensing the wisdom of the ancients.

Informative, but a bit on the intimidating side, seeing as to how you're talking to a gentleman paid highly and handsomely, who is actually asked to review books by the world's premiere editors and publications. You can find them in 'The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.'

It helped then, that I've spoken with Lethem before, and that the thesis of his book, the sweet surprise center, is an argument that I tend to agree with and have been seen bandied about for the last few years now. It's the cornerstone of what makes the Internet so powerful.

I suppose, and I realize this as I type up this interview, that my ten-year stint working for the world premiere manufacturer of electronic samplers might have some part in this as well. And ten years before that, I was walking around with a Sony recording Walkman, taping car-radio snippets to run over primitive synthesizer sequences; I mean like, forty notes, which was the max you could get in a Sequential Circuits Pro One. Remix culture is part and parcel of my background.

Of course, Lethem is a friendly easy guy to talk to, and the upshot is, we had a hell of a good time, which you can hear and cut and paste and do all the good things with you wish under the CC license, by following this link to the MP3 Audio file.


New to the Agony Column

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Erik Larson : "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

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