Pulp Today w/ David Avallone

Aug 15 2022 74 ep. 211

Pulp Today w/ David Avallone Podcast artwork

What is pulp fiction? Glad you asked! David Avallone -- son of prolific author Michael Avallone and a writer himself -- invites you on a tour through the liveliest and most popular storytelling… from the Trojan War to the 21st Century. Special guests include actor James Urbaniak (The Venture Brothers), writer David F. Walker (The Life of Frederick Douglass, Luke Cage) and actor Mageina Tovah (Spider-man 2, The Magicians.)

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Episode 72: J.G. Ballard: Genre As Art

On the season finale, we read and talk about J.G. Ballard’s intro to his classic novel CRASH, in which he defends science fiction – a pulp genre – as a legitimate and worthwhile literary pursuit. Expanding his argument to encompass other disrespected genres could serve as the thesis statement of PULP TODAY. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pe

Episode 71: Faces, Masks and Cities of Glass

Paul Auster uses the detective genre to investigate questions of identity, story and reality itself in CITY OF GLASS, the first novella in THE NEW YORK TRILOGY. In a P.I. story… the first initial is “Private,” but does that second initial stand for Investigator, Eye... or I? --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendan

Episode 70: Even Babysitters Can Be Detectives

Returning guest Emily Edwards, author of the upcoming detective novel Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, and host of the hilarious podcast “F*ckbois of Literature,” introduces us to the Babysitters’ Club Mysteries with #12: Dawn and the Surfer Ghost. It’s exactly what you think. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pen

Episode 69: Hell... and Conventions

As San Diego Comic Con 2022 approaches, David Avallone reads from Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's INFERNO, which connects the dots between fan conventions and eternal suffering. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendantweb Facebook: facebook.com/pendantaudio Tumblr: pendantaudio.tumblr.com YouTube: youtube.com/pe

Episode 68: Vera Caspary's Laura

A great mystery novel with multiple narrators, turned into a great film with just one. David Avallone discusses the life and work of Vera Caspary, blacklists and greylists, and the impossibility of reading this book without imitating Clifton Webb. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendantweb Facebook: facebook.com/pend

Episode 67: Andrew Vachss vs. the Worst People in the World

Like Dashiell Hammett, Andrew Vachss walked the walk before he sat down to write about crime. Unlike Hammett, Vachss was able to write explicitly – honestly – about the kind of monsters who walk the earth disguised as ordinary people. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendantweb Facebook: facebook.com/pendantaudio

Episode 66: Swashbuckling with Horatio Hornblower

Sixty-six episodes in, and we still haven't gotten around to a single swashbuckler pulp. We correct that oversight with today's reading from C. S. Forester's classic Royal Navy hero, in his first adventure. Bonus: what does swordplay really sound like? --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendantweb Facebook: facebook.com

Episode 65: The Felony Squad, Tie-Ins, and Tough Choices

Anyone remember THE FELONY SQUAD? Has Michael Avallone’s well-regarded original tie-in outlived the memory of the TV show it was based on? Listen to a chapter and decide for yourself... --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter: @pendantweb Facebook: facebook.com/pendantaudio Tumblr: pendantaudio.tumblr.com YouTube: youtub

Episode 64: Boldly Going

To celebrate the premiere of STRANGE NEW WORLDS and commemorate the passing of original STAR TREK artist James Bama, this week’s topic is the novelizations of James Blish. There is a reading from the SPACE SEED short story, and Montalban/Nimoy/Shatner impressions are just barely avoided. --Please leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes!-- Website: pendantaudio.com Twitter

Episode 63: Steampunk, the Aviation Pulps and G8

Less than two decades after the Great War, writers who lived through it were already turning their nightmarish experiences into high adventure… and fantastic science fiction. Chief among these was Robert J. Hogan, air war veteran, pulp writer, and creator of the indelible G8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES. Bonus: local air traffic provides realistic sound effects during the reading. --Ple