Breakfast in the Ruins

The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight - an Uncosy Catastrophe

Graham returns to Derry and Toms to pick up the chat regarding another Uncosy Catastrophe, on this occasion recommended by listener Paul Miles... 1985's The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight, a book that somehow passed us by despite being firmly in our wheelhouse.
Exploding landlords, extremely poor mission personnel choices, sweaty liaisons and deeply unfortunate children await in this tale of an England overwhelmed by scientifically boosted mycelium.

The Sword of the Dawn Book Two

Dave returns to Derry & Toms to pick up our thread with The Sword of the Dawn Book Two, the third instalment in Michael Moorcock's epic The History of the Runestaff.
Hawkmoon gets some swish togs but seems to have a real blind spot when it comes to fighting pirates. Meanwhile, D'Averc is... sort of there?
Don your wafters and JOIN US!
(and check out  SÖNUS on bandcamp)

GOR Blimey!!!

Miles of the Casual Trek Podcast returns to Derry & Toms as we turn flagellant and cast our eyes over the first in John Norman's GOR series (and the Cannon movie adaptation as a Brucey Bonus).
Publishers disdain it, booksellers sneer at it and the literary establishment would rather just not talk about it. But the GOR series still has a habit of popping up in the second-hand bookshops we frequent, because there are still millions of 'em kicking about probably. And there's even a Gorean subculture in Darlington!!!
But which side are we on?
The establishment (and at least one butcher in Darlington)?
Or
The other people that think it's saucy and cooooool?
LISTEN AND FIND OUT!
Spoiler: In the end... we're just with Oliver Reed.
 
CW: This podcast contains discussions about themes of sexual exploitation and slavery that are shot through the Gor novels.

Tales From Strange Cupboards - Moorcock and RPGs Part VI

For our latest exploration of multiversal gaming, friends of the show Dave and Steve bring games mastering knowledge and expertise to Derry and Toms (as well as a couple of afternoon libations of course).
Whilst we consider whether Stormbringer is the Moorcockian RPG to rule them all, we also yak about the lineage of the Stormbringer RPG (see terribly boring powerpoint slide below), gaming as shit-kickers, when games get too meta, cat character sheets, how to nail the dream realms, playing games in Littlewoods cafe, and memories of Oyster Stout (all bad).
You can catch up with Dave and Steve's gaming escapades at:
tentacledwhisperer.wordpress.com
and
cruisingforamusing36190591.wordpress.com
Also, I refer to Ted's Stormbringer modifications in the intro to this show and you can read his latest thoughts on the games application of Sorcerers and Summoning over on the Tomb of Tedankhamen.
 
 

Black Swords & Storyboards - a Conversation with Goran Gligović

Goran Gligović stopped by Derry and Toms to discuss his art and influences, as well as his work on the recently kickstarted Black Sword Hack: Ultimate Chaos Edition, a Moorcock-influenced roleplaying game from The Merry Mushmen 
We rove around the joint and, for possibly the first time, Excalibur gets a mention on Breakfast in the Ruins... how it took so long I honestly can't say. We also do a prize draw for some lucky Patron Demons!
Check out Goran's Patreon and his InPrnt store.

The Queen of the Swords Book One

Simon returns to D&Ts to look at the first part of the second volume of the adventures of Corum, Prince in the Scarlet Robe and tell us all about his new(ish) podcast Can I Pod With Madness (available wherever you consume your pods).
Beer mistakes and dodgy audio can't dampen our enthusiasm for some fantastic world-building and the first true appearance of everyone's (well ours anyway) favourite companion/hat/cat combination.
JOIN US!

The Fortress of the Pearl Part Three

Loz returns to Derry & Toms to brave the final gate (and the depredations of the beer slate) as we conclude our re-read of Michael Moorcock's 1989 Elric novel The Fortress of the Pearl.
Expect revisionism (both textual and personal), rose-tinted reflections on the dole, a beer challenge best described as cyclopean and some RPG-focused grumbling as we complete our re-evaluation of a novel we haven't read in over 30 years and fail to pronounce simple English words.
JOIN US!

The Final Programme Phase IV - The Last Days of Man on Earth

We're back in Derry and Toms in the company of Joe Banks to take a look at Robert Fuest's 1973 film take on Moorcock's The Final Programme (AKA The Last Days of Man on Earth).
As is traditional we roam around, but mostly we evaluate The Final Programme as both an adaptation and as a work that stands (or falls) on its own merits, and Joe has a startling take on that ending that I'd never considered. And we talk about some other stuff. 
JOIN US!

New English Library - Bikermania

Andrew Nette returns to Derry & Toms to look at the legendary UK publisher of horror, science fiction and alarmingly violent but sociologically savvy pulps -New English Library. NEL looms large on my shelves but I've never delved into their bikersploitation output... UNTIL NOW!
Rum content ahead as we talk about the publisher, the key players behind some of their more exploitative output, and two similar yet very different biker novels from the early 70s:
Angels From Hell by Mick Norman
and
The Devil's Rider by Alex R Stuart
We also refer to Andrew's groovy book of essays Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, And Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980. Check it out and head on down the rabbit hole...

The War of the Worlds

Allister Thompson, musician and author of The Music of the Spheres, is back in Derry & Toms to talk about the scientific romance and hardcore disco prog phenomenon that is... The War of the Worlds.
We look at our entry points into WOTW fandom, the original 1897 classic by HG Wells, a number of adaptations and spin-offs, and the one adaptation that looms large over all the others (the Jeff Wayne album, obviously).