Starship Alexandria – Details, episodes & analysis

For the third day of the 2025 Starship Alexandria advent calendar, Emma recommends an Australian TV show called Mr Inbetween.

If you'd like to support the show, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: Starseer's Ruin https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/hb-starseers-ruin-eng-2025

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com  

For the second day of the 2025 Starship Alexandria advent calendar, Adrian champions the television series Spaced.

If you'd like to support the show, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: Starseer's Ruin https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/hb-starseers-ruin-eng-2025

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk 

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For this very first episode of Starship Alexandria, Emma puts forward John Wyndham's classic SF novel The Kraken Wakes (1953) for Adrian to read and consider (published in the US as Out of the Deeps.) 

Other media mentions: 

The War of the Worlds, HG Wells  

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Aliens franchise, dir. Ridley Scott, James Cameron et al 

The Quatermass franchise, dir. Various, written by Nigel Kneale 

A Mission of Gravity, Hal Clements 

Blackgate Adventures in Fantasy blog https://www.blackgate.com/2020/07/16/these-two-books-are-not-the-same-john-wyndhams-the-kraken-wakes-and-out-of-the-deeps/ 

That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote, KJ Bishop 

Our next episode will look at: 

The Etched City, KJ Bishop (2004) 

Emma's music recommendation: 

Jennifer, by Everything Everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEIhJM-atiI&ab_channel=EverythingEverything 

Emma's upcoming book: The Vengeance https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-vengeance-emma-newman/7713374 

Adrian's most recent book: Shroud https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/shroud-adrian-tchaikovsky/7656869 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our first day of the 2025 Starship Alexandria advent calendar, Emma sings the praises of Star Trek: The Next Generation and explains why it's so special to her.

If you'd like to support the show, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: Starseer's Ruin https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/hb-starseers-ruin-eng-2025

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com

For our eighth episode of Starship Alexandria, Adrian puts forward the novel Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock, for Emma to consider. 

Our caveat from the episode: "If you have not read this book yet, go and read the book and then listen to this episode, because it really does benefit from not knowing what's going to happen." 

Other talking points: 

Pronunciation blues 

God bless Wikipedia 

Adrian shoehorns insects into absolutely everything 

Readability as an overlooked virtue 

Exploring the challenging female hero/love interest archetype 

Was it an homage? 

Sense of the numinous 

Cornwall is a State of Mind 

The internal document as narrative device 

Media Mentions: 

Diana Wynne Jones, author 

Split Worlds series of novels, Emma Newman 

Oppenheimer, movie dir. Christopher Nolan 

Our next regular episode will look at the movie Godzilla Minus One directed by Takashi Yamazaki. However, we are taking a different turn for December and, instead of a single large episode, we will have an Advent Calendar, with one short episode every day where Emma and Adrian will discuss their favourite TV series. Meanwhile, the patron's episode will be our Q&A session. 

Adrian's  music recommendation: Duran Duran's Ordinary World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqIACCH20JU&list=RDFqIACCH20JU&start_radio=1 

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: Starseer's Ruin https://www.warhammer.com/en-GB/shop/hb-starseers-ruin-eng-2025?srsltid=AfmBOor2S_A__evSPhVQRyFurB0Lf7CIMsVMoqxmB28ig0JRS8itagr0 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our seventh episode of Starship Alexandria, Emma puts forward the novel The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, for Adrian to consider. 

Other talking points: 

Wet Bulb Events 

Nonconformist plot structures 

The Doyenne of Climate Fiction 

The balance of hope and despair 

Asshole billionaires again 

National stereotypes in spec fic 

Adrian thinking he's being clever 

SFF as stealth literature for change 

Media Mentions: 

Saturation Point, novella by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Emma Newman 

The Windup Girl, novel by Paulo Bacigalupi 

The Remains of the Day, film dir. James Ivory 

Star Trek: The Next Generation, TV series 

Piranesi, novel by Susanna Clarke 

Our next episode will look at the novel Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. 

Emma's music recommendation: Borodin's String Quartet No.2 in D Major https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKsCxvT8e8Y&list=RDRKsCxvT8e8Y&start_radio=1 

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: The Hungry Gods https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-hungry-gods-adrian-tchaikovsky/7756963 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our sixth episode of Starship Alexandria, Adrian puts forward our first film, Battle Beyond the Stars directed by Roger Corman, for Emma to watch and consider. 

Other talking points: 

Idiolectic time units 

Suggestive spaceship design 

Doing the robot 

Caiman, of the Lambda Zone 

Doing a lot of spaceship on a small budget 

James Horner soundtracks 

The longevity of practical model work 

Writing to music 

Media Mentions: 

The Seven Samurai, film directed by Akira Kurosawa 

The Magnificent Seven, film directed by John Sturges 

Logan's Run, film directed by Michael Anderson 

The Waltons, TV series 

Pulp Fiction, film directed by Quentin Tarantino 

The A-Team, TV series 

Our next episode will look at The Ministry for the Future, the novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. 

Adrian's music recommendation: the soundtrack to the Skylanders computer game, by Lorne Balfe and Han Zimmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9Z9PCie0mo&list=PL046FFA1862CCE21C&ab_channel=SethisZurlo 

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance  

Adrian's most recent book: The Hungry Gods https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-hungry-gods-adrian-tchaikovsky/7756963 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our fifth episode of Starship Alexandra, Emma puts forward the short story collection The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury to read and consider. 

Other talking points: 

Stories specifically talked about: A Sound of Thunder, The Foghorn, The Golden Apples of the Sun (short story), The Garbage Collector, The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl, I See You Never, Sun and Shadow, The Wilderness, The Black and White Game,  

The butterfly effect (not the film) 

Poetic and commercial prose 

Lawsuits! 

History, repeating itself 

The prevalence of the nuclear apocalypse in fiction. 

Amazing Obstructive Asshole Stories! 

The Time Machine Factory Problem 

The prevalence of psychic powers in fiction 

Media Mentions: 

Star Trek: the Next Generation, TV series (specifically the episode 'The Survivors') 

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms film directed by Eugéne Lourié 

Pavane, novel by Keith Roberts 

Oppenheimer, film directed by Christopher Nolan 

Dune, novel by Frank Herbert 

Zen in the Art of Writing, book by Ray Bradbury 

Peter Pan, novel/play by JM Barrie 

The Police, band 

Our next episode will look at the film Battle Beyond the Stars directed by Roger Corman. 

Emma's music recommendation: the album Anticlines by Lucrecia Dalt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOL78nXzgCc&list=OLAK5uy_kirX77Moqz0sO1a2GqQ1D88fgsUvAzrS4&ab_channel=LucreciaDalt-Topic 

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance and also a short story in the 'Lesbians in Space' anthology published by Space Wizard press https://www.spacewizardsciencefantasy.com/book/lesbians-in-space-where-no-man-has-gone-before  

Adrian's most recent book: Bee Speaker https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bee-speaker-adrian-tchaikovsky/7741036?ean=9781035901456 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our fourth episode of Starship Alexandra, Adrian puts forward the graphic novels Top Ten volumes 1 and 2 by Moore, Ha and Cannon, for Emma to read and consider. 

Other talking points: 

• Police procedurals
• Graphic novel reading-fu
• Representation of minorities and prejudice
• The courage of our convictions (or lack of same) 

Media Mentions: 

Watchmen, graphic novel, Moore & Gibbons 

V for Vendetta, graphiv novel, Moore, Lloyd & Weare 

Hill Street Blues, TV series 

I Robot and related stories, Asimov 

ER, TV series 

The Boys, graphic novels, Ennis & Robertson (also TV series) 

Jess Nevins' annotations to Top Ten: https://enjolrasworld.com/Jess%20Nevins/Top%20Ten/Top%20Ten%20index.htm 

The Ballad of Halo Jones, graphic novels, Moore & Gibson 

Captain Britain, comics run by Moore & Davis 

Invincible, TV series and comic by Kirkman, Walker and Ottley 

Our next episode will look at the short story collection The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury. 

Adrian's music recommendation: "Lass Sie Gehen" by Seeed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAiMoUJwp7w&list=RDGAiMoUJwp7w&start_radio=1&ab_channel=Seeed 

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance and also a short story in the 'Lesbians in Space' anthology published by Space Wizard press https://www.spacewizardsciencefantasy.com/book/lesbians-in-space-where-no-man-has-gone-before  

Adrian's most recent book: Bee Speaker https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bee-speaker-adrian-tchaikovsky/7741036?ean=9781035901456 

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk  

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com 

For our third episode of Starship Alexandra, Emma puts forward Ursula K le Guin's fascinating SF novel The Lathe of Heaven for Adrian to read and consider. 

Other talking points: 

• Reality-bending in SF 

• Unusual power relationships 

• Tech billionaire problem solving 

• The perils of having superpowers 

• Inadvertent puns 

Media Mentions: 

The Fifth Element, film, dir. Luc Besson 

Eye in the Sky, novel, Phillip K Dick 

It's a Good Life, short story, Jerome Bixby 

Young Americans, film, dir. Danny Cannon 

Dancer in the Dark, film, dir. Lars von Trier 

Our next episode will look at: Top Ten volumes 1 and 2, graphic novels by Alan Moore, Gene Ha and Zander Cannon. 

Emma's music recommendation: Play Dead by Björk https://youtu.be/cw09VTTDRRo?si=WAaY0qeb7cC4OH12

Emma's latest book: The Vengeance https://geni.us/thevengeance 

Adrian's most recent book: Bee Speaker https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bee-speaker-adrian-tchaikovsky/7741036

Follow us at: 

Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk

Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com