Sweeping pandemics turn up often in fantasy and sci-fi, whether they form part of the back drop or the main thrust of the plot. There is something about a plague that captures the imagination and short cuts our survival circuits in a way that other natural disasters - Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic eruptions - just doesn't touch. So what is it about a good pandemic that grips us? From post apocalyptic fiction discussing the dual nature of morality, such as Stephen King's The Stand or Kirkman, Moore and Adlard's The Walking Dead, to epic fantasy looking at the creation of anti heroes, such as Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series or Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis, a deadly plague hits our deepest fears where other acts of god just don't reach. This week the dragons take a tour through pandemics in speculative fiction, starting with the history and epidemiology of The Black Death and The Great Plague in Europe, following the scars that exist on our racial memories even today and following the trail to its conclusion in SFF. A wild ride and not for the squeamish!
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 33: Not so Charming - Male Stereotypes in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 32: Escape to the Country - of Editing and Writing Weekends
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 31: The Devil in the Details - Lucifer on Modern Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 30: Bucky Barnes to the Winter Soldier - the Evolution of the Side-kick
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 29: The Frankenstein Complex - Why is 'Fan Fiction' such a dirty word?
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 28: Gobblefunk and Glyphs - creating words in Children's Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 27: Harnessing Demons - How Writers use their own faults and insecurities in Writing
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 26: A Touch of Faust - Changing Goals on your Protagonist and when this works
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 25: Death and All His Friends - Themes of Death, Dying and Grief in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 24: Cognoggins and Clockwork - What makes good Steampunk?
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 23: Genius Loci - Writing Real World Places in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 22: Once More Around the Sun - Celebrating Terrible Birthdays in Speculative Fictio
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 21: Down with the Empire - exploring political themes in YA Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 20: Clash of the Titans - Superheroes vs Superheroes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 19: Was that REALLY necessary? The overuse of Sexual Violence in Speculative Media
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 18: Oh not another Zombie Movie - the Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Living Dead
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 17: Magnus Bane to Jack Harkness - LGBTQA+ Representation and Diversity in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 16: Rattling Bones and Poltergeists - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Ghost Stories
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 15: Moustache Twirling 101 - the Mechanics of writing a Villain
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 14: Main Mission - Gaming Narrative, the Future of Storytelling
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