For our March 2026 episode of Starship Alexandria – and the first our our new season – Emma puts forward the novel The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.
Other talking points:
The perils of returning to past reads
Difficult books to summarise
Cunning schemes for the perfect murder
Psychic earworms
Psychotherapy in science fiction
Particularly big warts
(not) the Time Machine Factory
Heroes and anti-heroes
The Poochy effect
Skeezy gender dynamics
Eugenics
Contradictory attitudes towards murder
Typographical games
Inadvisable titles
Media Mentions:
The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, novel by Douglas Adams
The Lathe of Heaven, novel by Ursula le Guin
The Simpsons TV series (twice!)
Gormenghast, series by Mervyn Peake
Babylon 5, TV series
Illuminati, card/board game
Star Trek: The Next Generation, TV series, particularly "Remember Me"
The Life of Chuck, movie dir. Mike Flanagan (based on the work of Stephen King)
Next month we look at the movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Emma's music recommendation: Punk Tactics by Joey Valance & Brae https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OklSZmIx9-o&list=RDOklSZmIx9-o&start_radio=1
Emma's latest writing is included in Creative Futures (Beyond and Within) https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/creative-futures-allen-stroud/7847161 which was recently shortlisted for a BSFA Award
Adrian's most recent book: Pretenders to the Throne of God https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pretenders-to-the-throne-of-god-adrian-tchaikovsky/7953437
If you'd like to support the show, and get an additional monthly patrons-only episode, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/c/starshipalexandria/home
You can buy our official t-shirts and mugs at https://starshipalexandria.teemill.com/
Follow us at:
Emma: @emmanewman@bsky.social and www.enewman.co.uk
Adrian: @aptshadow.bsky.social and www.adriantchaikovsky.com
