The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker

Is magic real? This is the question posed by Sarah Pinsker’s short story The Court Magician, in which a young boy turns into a magician after learning all of the street tricks that have been nothing more than an illusion. As the magician uses real magic the moral questions of the cost of magic come into the forefront of the story. Isaac and Reid discuss the cost of magic, the desire for magic to be real, and the extent a short story can display a variety of themes based upon interpretation.

Works Mentioned

• The Court Magician by Sarah Pinsker (spoilers)
• The Prestige (2006 Film)
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini
• The King Killer Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss
• Animal Farm and The Jungle by Upton Sinclaire
• The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (and its many adaptations)
• Lord of the Rings (movies)

Magic Systems

The Court Magician presents a magic system of cost, but not universally equivalent cost. The magician says a magic word and loses something he loves: fingers, furniture, people, memories. A magic system with a cost places limits on what can be considered magic, and by extent what can be considered plot points. But at the end of this story the overall question of ‘is magic real?’ persists. The court magician only becomes the court magician after mastering the trickery of slight of hand and street magicianship. Magic is nothing more than tricks until his desire proves that he wants to know magic, understand magic, be all that magic is. The court magician, in his own seeking for magic, is willing to do magic, but was it all a trick? Can a magic system be built upon a desire to seek magic? Real or otherwise?

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Re-Release: Tideline by Elizabeth Bear

A machine near the end of its life and a curious boy come together and create a relationship that will honor the past and lead into the future. Tideline is a science fiction, award winning, short story by Elizabeth Bear. In this episode of Leave It To The Prose, Reid and Isaac discuss the ethics of robotics and the characteristics of great characters. The story leaves us with many questions off the page, including what machine cognition is like, and if it is possible for a machine to act against its self interest.

Spoilers:

• Tideline by Elizabeth Bear
• Bicentennial Man (movie)
• Born in China (movie)

Science Fiction Robots

Machines are portrayed in many different ways across science fiction, from “WALL-E” to “I, Robot” there is no one vision of the future of our mechanical contraptions. As artificial intelligence continually advances, there is no knowing what the future of robots would look like. Despite all of these different types of robots that could be, the ones that stay close to our hearts are the ones that remain like us: emotional, contradictory, empathetic. The robot of Tideline is one that will steal your heart and make you question what robots could be in the future.

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Re-Release: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

The 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel, A Memory Called Empire is Arkady Martine’s debut novel of interstellar intrigue. In this episode we dive into the characteristic that this book excel at: worldbuilding.

Book Discussion

• Worldbuilding: The strength of this book. Direct and passive worldbuilding are well-balanced to paint a picture of the interstellar empire, the culture of the court, and the strong contrast between Mahit, the main character, and the ever-expanding empire. Passive worldbuilding, the showing more than telling, for example shows up in the names of the characters (Three Seagrass, Six Direction), the poetry contest. Direct worldbuilding, the telling, for example appears when the Imago devise is described.
• Epigraph structure of passive worldbuilding, where the beginning of each chapter begins with an excerpt of a history book or report from a
• Exceptional usage of the magic key, the object or resource the main character possesses that plays a pivotal role in the plot of the story. The magic key of A Memory Called Empire is Mahit’s imago device, a device that allows Mahit to obtain the memories of her predecessor. The imago plays the role as the magic key as it is common to Mahit’s culture, and also is the reason for the death of her predecessor and why the emperor put off choosing a proper successor.
• Setting: Settings react. A Memory Called Empire has a powder keg set up, and Mahit moves through the world as the powder keg explodes. An important aspect of conflict and plot is to set the story within a powder keg, which means to have the story set with multiple type of conflict occurring: political, economic, geological, geographic, etc.
• Other topics discussed on:
  • Pacing: speed and tonal whiplash.
  • Physical vs Intrigue conflict.
  • Character depth.
  • What makes a story award winning?

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Re-Release: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

In a world where books are burned and the mind is distracted Bradbury gives a character a glimpse at something more. Despite the monumental following of Fahrenheit 451, we take issue in the importance this book takes in the dystopian genre. Is the story a warning or a pontification? Join in our discussion.

Spoilers

• Fahrenheit 451
• Brave New World (mild spoilers)
• 1984 (mild spoilers)

Media Mentioned

• The Giver
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Uglies
• Red Rising

Dystopian Science Fiction

The big three: Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. These books were not the first dystopian worlds, but have been deemed as the starting points from which to jump from. Dystopian fiction has expanded, especially with the popularity of The Hunger Games. With new books tackling the subject of dystopia, we have to ask: when do we let the old books retire? Isaac and Reid have their opinions about Fahrenheit 451, but what books would we choose to elevate to dystopian classic?

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Re-Release: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Imagine a world after the oceans have risen and the gods of the previous times have taken physical forms. In Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning we follow monster hunter Maggie as she seeks to find the witch who is creating people-eating monsters. Along the way Maggie meets up with unconventional medicine man Kai and they hunt down the mystery while unfortunately entering police feuds, betting brawls, and enter into the middle of the feud of the gods. Isaac and Reid discuss how this book perfects the young adult dystopia genre as well as discuss how to open a book with twenty pages of intense action. The least we can say is we recommend it, and get ready for a dissection of how books should and ought to be written.

Works Mentioned

• Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

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