Episode 21 & 22 - Gone Fishin' with John Langan

[Dan Jones]

Ahoy ahoy! When @Phyrebrat and I were drawing up our wish list for guests on the podcast, there was one name that the Beanstalker was adamant that we try and get. That was the American author John Langan, who joins us for this episode. John is one of the masters of modern horror and whose seminal book The Fisherman, an exploration of guilt, diaspora history, and weird cosmic horror, won the prestigious Bram Stoker Award in 2016.

So we finally got hold of John and he joins us this month to celebrate the UK launch of The Fisherman (a full 7 years after its original publication!) in October, and we talk all things horror. We discuss the book, of course, and the trends in horror, both modern and throughout the ages. We touch on Lovecraft, King, and some of the other heavyweights of the genre, but also the modern writers who form the "Brat Pack" of contemporary horror such as Paul Tremblay, Laird Barron, and our Chronscast friend Alison Littlewood.

John's a big-hearted bear of a man with a huge, barrelsome laugh, and he was great fun to talk with - we hope you enjoy the episode!
This episode features the first half of our talk with John, with the second half to follow in a couple of weeks.
Elsewhere, @The Judge casts her line far and wide and reels in a juicy talk about fish and fishing, and courtesy of @AnRoinnUltra your perpetually inept hosts of Mars Radio 14 discover that the core essence of reality itself is magic. Or logic. Or a really big fish.

Index:
[0:00:00 - 1:05:51] - John Langan interview
[1:05:52 - 1:10:52] - Skit
[1:10:53 - 1:31:06] - The Judge's Corner

 

[Phyrebrat]

Just a quick note for those who have not listened because they’ve not read the text in question, this episode has some really great info on writing in general from John — you’ll need a pen and paper to note down all the places that come up in terms of subbing throughout the convo.

Of particular interest (to me at least) is @The Judge’s talk on fishing law in the U.K. you don’t have to be an icthyophile like me to enjoy it, and anything that mentions pike gets my vote.

 

[cyprus7]

Just a quick note for those who have not listened because they’ve not read the text in question, this episode has some really great info on writing in general from John — you’ll need a pen and paper to note down all the places that come up in terms of subbing throughout the convo.

Of particular interest (to me at least) is @The Judge’s talk on fishing law in the U.K. you don’t have to be an icthyophile like me to enjoy it, and anything that mentions pike gets my vote.

I listened to part 1 while out for a morning stroll.

The interview with John Langan was fascinating; alas, I must've missed the spoiler warning because the chat gave away some of the story before I realized.

Regarding vampires... I'd bet Dot from Eastender was one, and maybe also Bobby from Dallas (or was that Atlantis?) ;-)

I didn't know there was a Fishing Dynamite law. I do now!

Good podcast!! Well done.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I thoroughly enjoyed this first half of the John Langan interview. The Fisherman is brilliant; I first learned of it through your post about the novel, Phyrebrat, from probably several years ago. When I saw you all would be interviewing Mr. Langan, I checked on Audible, and The Fisherman had just become available as an audio-book. Brilliant story (with a sense of dread that just keeps building, and a perfect ending), and great narration, too. (And the book mentioned my small, Upstate NY hometown, which was thrilling.)

The author is terrific to listen to; so knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about horror. Great interview, and I'm looking forward to part 2.

Also, well done AnRoinnUltra, and TJ, despite my being a vegetarian, and not a fisherman, I found your segment fascinating (and I appreciated the puffin/beaver barnacle joke!).
Good job, all! CC