Scraping across the line on the last day of the month, this episode of The Writer and the Critic sees your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, waste no time on preamble and instead jump straight into their discussion of the books at hand. Kirstyn has recommended Hair Side, Flesh Side, the debut short story collection by Helen Marshall (beginning at 02:45) while Ian has chosen the science fiction novel Light by M. John Harrison. Listeners may want to check out this interview with Helen Marshall, which Kirstyn mentions, as well as the full review of Hair Side, Flesh Side by Nina Allen in Strange Horizons, from which Ian reads an excerpt. Also recommended is a recent episode of The Coode Street Podcast which featured M. John Harrison as well as reviews of Light. by Ian Banks, Jeff VanderMeer and Adam Roberts, and the judges' report for the 2002 Tiptree Award. And for those curious about the Mari Lwyd reference -- Kirstyn again apologises for her Welsh pronunciation, or lack thereof -- here's a picture: If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, you might want to check back in at 1:26:10 for some brief final remarks. Next month, the two books up for discussion will be Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (chosen by Ian) and The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers (Kirstyn's pick). Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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