Episode 662: Rambling to the end of the year

As we gear up for the inevitable year-in-review discussions, and the annual semi-hiatus between the fall and spring convention sessions (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), we return to our familiar questions of canon and influence, noting that while some books seem to drop out of the discussion within months of being published, others,like Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, continue to generate responses despite controversy.  From that, we not-quite-seamlessly segue into a discussion of Harlan Ellison and J. Michael Straczynski’s The Last Dangerous Visions and the problems in presenting stories over 50 years old together with brand-new tales, finally chatting about what makes you want to recommend a book to a friend.  Along with way, we mention several interesting writers, including Emily Tesh, Wole Talabi, and Kate Heartfield.