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 204: Books we're looking forward to, or the shopping list episode
Episode 203: Alisa Krasnostein, Sean Williams and the State of Australian SF
Episode 202: Nina Allan, Paul Kincaid and the State of British Science Fiction
Episode 201: Moving on...
Episode 200: Robinson, Silverberg, Walton and Loncon!
Episode 199: Loncon, Hugos and the future of SF
Episode 198: John Clute, science fiction and Loncon
Episode 197: Readercon, the World Fantasy Awards and more
Episode 196: Bill Shafer and Subterranean Press
Episode 195: Joe Monti and Saga Press
Episode 194: Daniel Keyes and Questions from the audience
Episode 193: Academic Exercises, genre and pants
Episode 192: Anne Leckie, gender and Ancillary Justice
Episode 191: Jeff VanderMeer and the Southern Reach
Episode 190: James Bradley, science fiction, awards and more
Episode 189: Joe Abercrombie, Half a King and dark fantasy
Episode 188: Mary Rickert and The Memory Garden
Episode 187: On the perception of SF today and some rambling
Episode 186: Hugo Awards 2014 with John DeNardo and Tansy Rayner Roberts repost
Episode 185: Heinlein, Awards and such
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