The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

After some news and reviews we get into our discussion of the current book club selection, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This seems to be a book that has divided opinions, and a few listeners found it difficult to get into, but there are a lot of interesting themes to discuss which we dive into. With feedback and comments from listeners we get into the meat of what the book is about and then announce our next book club selection.

For those who have not read The Handmaid's Tale, but do not want it spoiled for them and want to take part in the next round of our book club, jump to time stamp 1h-18m-51s where we announce the new selection which is Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky. So towards the end of January, which gives people about seven weeks, we will be talking about the new book and Adrian has very kindly agreed to come on the show for an interview and to answer questions from our listeners. So, pick up a copy, send us your comments, questions for Adrian and join the book club.

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Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

Welcome to our post British International Comics Show (BICS) episode where we start off with a review of the show, what we enjoyed and some of the familiar and new faces we met. We then get into some news and reviews about the latest comics, movie news, new TV projects from JJ Abrams and the future of Dollhouse.

After that we discuss our book club selection and the current work of fiction is Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. We discuss what we thought of the book and we also have comments from listeners who sent us their feedback on the book. We announce the next book club selection which we will discussing in a couple of months time.

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Steve is keeping England safe whilst Scott is touring planet Caprica, but they triumph over the timezone differences to re-unite for this episode. After some news and reviews the rest of the episode focuses on the CBO book club where we talk about 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. Part philosophy, part supernatural thriller and part love-letter to smalltown America. At the end of the episode we reveal our new book club title, a classic from the 1960s.

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This episode we start with an extended news and reviews where we look at all the TV that's come to an end, what's been renewed for another season, and what new TV shows interest us. There is a lot of new cop, medical and legal dramas starting up, none of which we talk about as they don't interest us! We focus on the interesting genre stuff and sift the wheat from the chaff.

After that it's our second book club selection and this episode we're talking about Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a significant sci-fi book published in the 1950s. We talk about its relevance today, how eerily accurate it is, and why we think it is such an important book. We also have feedback and input from listeners and then we announce what the next Book Club selection will be.

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The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

In this episode we start with some news and reviews, talking over some recent comics and the end of one of our favourite shows, BattleStar Galactica. It's a spoiler free review as I hadn't seen it at the time.

Our main feature is an interview with Chris Staros the Publisher of Top Shelf Productions, and until recently the President of the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund. We talk about some of the great graphic novels Top Shelf have put out in the past, what he has coming up this year including the third graphic novel in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series - Century, his convention schedule, working for the CBLDF, and working with Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie on Lost Girls.

Finally, one episode late, we finish off with our first Book Club selection - The Winter King. Scott and Steve talk in depth about the story, the characters, the mythology and history of the book and how the author Bernard Cornwell weaves fact and fiction together. We have feedback from members of our forum and at the end of our discussion an audio review from Heath Holland, a friend and co-host of Geek Brunch. We also announce what our next selection will be for the Book Club.

This episode is a big one, but we'll be back next week as usual with another one.

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