Welcome to the third episode of The Coode Street Roundtable. The Roundtable is a monthly podcast from Coode Street Productions where panelists James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Jonathan Strahan, joined by occasional special guests, discuss a new or recently released science fiction or fantasy novel.
Patricia A. McKillip’s KingfisherThis month Tiptree Award winning writer Nike Sulway and Coode Street co-host Gary K. Wolfe join Jonathan and Ian to discuss Kingfisher, the latest novel from World Fantasy Award and Mythopoeic Award winner Patricia A. McKillip. It’s a lyrical, funny, and sometimes challenging novel about family and destiny described by its publisher as follows:
In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic.
Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. “Look for us,” they tell Pierce, “if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”
Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden’s court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father’s destructive love for King Arden’s queen, and Heloise’s decision to raise her younger son alone.
As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce’s heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce’s; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father’s kingdom.
Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it...
If you're keen to avoid spoilers, we recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. If you don't already have a copy, Kingfisher can be ordered from:
We encourage all of our listeners to leave comments here and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible.
Next monthThe Coode Street Roundtable will return at the end of April with a discussion of Paul McAuley's Into Everywhere (his second Jackaroo novel).
Episode 244: Renay, Nina Allan & the Weight of Fannish History
Episode 243: Michael Swanwick and his two rogues
Episode 242: Time runs out for the Hugos and more
Episode 241: Samuel R. Delany
Episode 240: Karin Tidbeck, Cheryl Morgan and Archipelacon
Episode 239: Archipelacon, World Fantasy and more
Episode 238: Kim Stanley Robinson and Aurora
Episode 237: On Nebulas and more
Episode 236: On books to look for
Episode 235: Elizabeth Hand and Building the Mystery
Episode 234: On World Fantasy Awards, Life Achievement and other rambles
Episode 233: Paolo Bacigalupi and The Water Knife
Episode 232: On canon formation (again)
Episode 231: Ian Mond, James Bradley and the 2015 Hugo Novel Shortlist
Episode 230: K J Parker and the history of a writer
Episode 229: On books, history, awards and such
Episode 228: John Scalzi and Alisa Krasnostein
Episode 227: Ken Liu, Joe Monti and The Grace of Kings
Episode 226: Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Signal to Noise
Episode 225: Biancotti, Lanagan, Westerfeld and Zeroes
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