Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction


Latest Episodes

The Silmarillion 4: Arda Marred
January 31, 2025

This week, we continue our unit on The Silmarillion and discuss the Days Before Days, time and space (and calendars and maps), and the paradox of free will.

Pop Quiz: The Valaquenta
January 26, 2025

In this special bonus episode, test your knowledge of the Valar and the Maiar, the relationships between them, and a few other things besides!

The Silmarillion 3: Acquainted With Grief
January 24, 2025

This week, we continue our unit on The Silmarillion and discuss the Valaquenta, spheres of authority, intertexting already and The Diagram.

The Silmarillion 2: Void And Flame
January 18, 2025

This week, we continue our unit on The Silmarillion and discuss the Ainulindal, aesthetics and philosophy, the subcreative process and the Secret Origins of Melkor.

The Silmarillion 1: From The Shores Of Faery
January 11, 2025

This week, we begin our unit on J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumous work of mythology and history, and discuss reading strategies, layers of narrative and the creative impulse.

Prince Caspian 3: Making Good On Macbeth
January 02, 2025

This week, we overcome treachery to win the war in chapters ten to fifteen of C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian and discuss the Narnian timeline, fear as an alienating force, and the worst of Susan.

Prince Caspian 2: The Return of the King(s and Queens)
December 28, 2024

This week, we assemble our forces and call for help in chapters five to ten of C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian and discuss the medieval perspective on past and future, the oracular power of centaurs, and t

Prince Caspian 1: Do You Remember?
December 20, 2024

This week, we return to Narnia with the first five chapters of C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian and discuss politics and persecution, fairytale and fantasy, and Edmund's 2024 slang.

Dracula 8: And Also With Blood
December 12, 2024

This week, we conclude our horror unit and our discussion of Bram Stoker's Dracula with logical fallacies and the limits of rationality, Dracula as a feminist text and Bram Stoker's Best Joke.

Dracula 7: The Bloofer Lady
December 06, 2024

This week, we continue our unit on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and discuss the overlooked Van Helsing, the second death of Lucy Westenra, and the compilation of the novel by the characters in the