In this episode, Alan and Cat talk to writer, aid worker, and sociologist Malka Older. They discuss new installments of The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti, developing characters over the course of multiple books, exploring different forms of governance, writing mysteries, neurodiversity, Sherlock Holmes, Global Voices, justice in fiction, and much more.

In this episode Alan reviews (books linked below):

• Cholorophilia by Christina Jurado, Translated by Sue Burke, published by Apex Books 2025
• Queen Bess: A Tudor Come to Save America by Maria Vetrano, published by Regalo Press 2024
• Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh, published by Titan Books 2024
• Luna by Allen Stroud published by Flame Tree Press 2024
• Jezero by Allen Stroud published by Flame Tree Press 2024

In this mash-up column, Paul Jessup, of Fear is the Fire That Lights the Heart, and our own Alan Bailey along with guests Maurice Broaddus, and Susan Kaye Quinn explore the differences and simularities between the genre of horror and the subgenre of Solarpunk and come to some very surprising conclusions. We discuss community, resiliance, Weird fiction, anger and anxiety as inspiration, libraries, and the creation of possibilities. Throughout the episode they reference the following article: Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Facism: https://ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/05/02/reading-weird-fiction-in-an-age-of-fascism/