Halloween is spooky season, and what's spookier than...THE DEVIL?!? Yes, Phil continues his journey through the interconnected universe of Anne Rice with a look at two of her most cosmic books, ones that eventually delve into theology and the problem of evil. A must-listen entry for Demon Lovers everywhere! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Johann Sebastian Bach (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
The towering names of Weird Pulp Fiction: HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard and...Clark Ashton Smith, the perpetual Larry to their Curly and Moe, ever overshadowed by his two contemporaries a century later. But Smith, of course, deserves a look on his own merits. In this episode we're joined by our friend Will "Filbi" Staples to talk about Smith's cycle of medieval fantasy stories set in the "witch-haunted" country of Averoigne. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: ["The Medieval Banquet" by Shane Ivers] (https://www.silvermansound.com/free-music/the-medieval-banquet) (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Well that's a grim title for a goofy episode...but it is part of our Discworld series, after all, and in particular it's our episode on the books Pratchett wrote about Death, the Grim Reaper, the End of Things. He's a nice guy when you get to know him, really! We're once again joined by James "Ing" English (Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/u3109397 ) to talk about the briiiiight siiiide of death (whistles) Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Sometimes a bear is just a bear. And sometimes the bear is the avatar of the ineffable divine, serving as a sign that it's time to reconquer your lost empire. The trick is knowing which is which. We attempt to solve this conundrum in the latest WMU?!? on Richard Adams' Shardik, a fantasy novel--or is it? About a bear who is a god--or is he? So many questions. Can we at least know if he pees in the woods? Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: "The Pines of Rome" by Arturo Toscanini (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
The next in our new series on the supernatural universe of Anne Rice tackles the very strange Mayfair Witches series, where things get...uncomfortable. But hey--it is horror! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "Dance Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
The second episode we've done this season confirming a flat world is VERY different from Terry Pratchett, as we delve into the deserve-to-be-better known works of Tanith Lee, which are recently getting more attention for unfortunate reasons (she was a clear influence on a certain famed fantasy writer who's been accused of some troubling allegations, which we discuss in the episode). Lee's mythopoetic fables recall Lord Dunsany and form a fascinating mosaic centered around a devil...for whom you might emerge with a bit of sympathy? Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Additional music: "Arabian Nightfall" by Doug Maxwell Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
On this episode we confront another wildly unlikely Sci-Fi scenario: a fascist takeover of the United States! I mean, what a crazy idea! Author Sinclair Lewis knew it would never happen, that's why it's called It Can't Happen Here! But in these enlightened and stable times we live in, it's interesting to look back and see what people thought might happen on the eve of World War II. Come listen in before it's placed on the list of morally abhorrent materials and rightfully banned by our Glorious Leader! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "War And Peace" by Jamie Evans (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Adams Patreon Philips Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
The second episode of the new season of What Mad Universe?!? is another return to Terry Pratchett's Discworld. We're once again joined by James Reilly-English to focus on Rhincewind, the wizards of Unseen University, and Pratchett's logically illogical metaphysics of the Discworld itself. Adams Patreon Philips Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky Philips Bluesky Adams Bluesky What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
What Mad Universe?!? has returned from the grave! In this episode, we look at one of the lynchpins of modern pop culture--the interconnected horny goth supernatural universe of Anne Rice, the world that launched a thousand ships and may be the origin point for a huge chunk of internet culture! And yes, Philip's going to read every single book and report back to us in another of our patented ongoing multi-part serieses! In this one, we look at the foundational books, Interview With The Vampire and its direct sequels, in the shadow of the current, acclaimed TV adaptation. Do they suck? Well, yes, but in a good way, or a bad way? Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2025 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Once again we come to a great historical turning point, acolytes of adventure, with the arrival of our fourth season finale! We're once again discussing Terry Pratchett with our friend James "Ing" Reilly-English, and this time it's the "Industrial Revolution" books about how technological and cultural change comes to the Discworld. At the center of it all: Moist Von Lipwig, con artist turned renaissance man, the guy who's destined to be a historical figure whether he wants to be or not. And with this epic discussion we will leave you once more for a few months, but please take care of yourselves, and remember: the future is what you make it... Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: [Saloon Rag by Jason Shaw] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=2GdNTygRbM4) Used under a [Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adams Patreon Phils Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philips Bluesky Philips Twitter Adams Bluesky Adams Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed
Episode Notes Oh, for a simpler time, when men were men, women were women, and everyone had PTSD from World War One. We hearken back to that time with The Ship Of Ishtar, by A. Merritt, a pulp fantasy (exactly 100 years old this year!) that may have influenced the likes of Robert E. Howard and dabbles in philosophy and mythology, as well as revealing some weird dark subconscious strains in both the author and American society in the 1920s. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: Desert City" by Kevin MacLeod (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Who needs that Harry Potter jerk?!? Terry Pratchett dipped his toe into the "YA series about a kid learning magic" pool a few years later in his Discworld series about teen witch Tiffany Aching. We're joined once again by pal Ing to dissect this series, which includes Pratchett's final novel. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Pulp genre fiction has produced some monumental successes (from a financial POV), and today we're tackling probably the second-biggest after Stephen King: Michael Crichton. His career as a novelist of the Campbell "hard Sci-fi" school got started in properly in 1969 with the first novel released under his real name, The Andromeda Strain. We look at this particular book and the movie that adapted it in the latest episode, and examine when "hard SF" becomes a gloss over...something else. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: Cinematic Atmosphere Score 2 by Musictown (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Episode Notes Historical adventures with swashbuckling, alternate identities, and criminals with a heart of gold seem to have been inescapable in early 20th century pulp, and Georgette Heyer's "The Masqueraders" is a fine example of the form. This one adds another common trope: cross-dressing! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: Franz Schubert's Piano Trio In E Flat (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
We've talked before about how plainly world events have informed the subtext (and sometimes the regular-text) of classic SF, and The Moon Maid, a late-career offering from Edgar Rice Burroughs, proves that in spades. The politics that engulfed the world in the mid-1920s are on full display here in this seemingly escapist pulp fantasy, in which thinly-disguised Moon Communists invade America. Choose your side, citizen! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "The Planets: Mars" by Gustav Holst (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Continuing from last week's theme of "advanced mutants walk amongst us", we're looking at an entirely different take on a similar premise, one that's entirely more sympathetic to the supposedly non-human subjects. In Wilmar Shiras' "Children of the Atom", the super-intelligent kids are more benign...mostly. Though the perils of raising kids who might someday conquer the world comes with its own pitfalls. Is the answer psychology and superior educational practices? The future will tell... Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Additional Music: "Sacred Church Organ" by Jay Man, Our Music Box Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License. Adam's Patreon Philip's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed
They're everywhere! They're better than you! They can tinker with your brain! They'll inherit the Earth! And trying to stop them makes you into a monster! It's a common assortment of tropes from SF, with a subtext touching on everything from a Freudian fear of your children to even darker, frequently racist conspiracy theories. Slan, by A. E. Van Vogt, seems to be ground zero for popularizing these ideas in Science Fiction, and today we're diving into it, so listen before it's mysteriously deleted from the timeline... CW: Anti-Semitism, sexual assault, statutory rape and inappropriate relationships with minors, incest, mind control, and headgames. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional Music: "Lost in Space" by Jupiter Wave (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.
Sometimes you just want to take a break from it all and find solace in some booze...and more importantly, good company. Of course, it doesn't help if your watering hole is constantly being invaded by aliens, vampires, talking dogs, and fairies...or does it? It certainly keeps things interesting. Spider Robinson's long-running Callahan's Place series, starting with Callahan's Crosstime Saloon in 1977, posits such a bar, and turns it into the kind of place you'd probably love to visit, even if you're not a raging Sci-Fi nerd. Come on in, friend, first drink's on the house! Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.